Editor's note:
Massive darkness is owned by CMON, all characters hence are theirs by rights. I do not own CMON or Massive Darkness.
This story is a 'novelization' made by my younger brother after he sat in for an absent member of my Massive Darkness gaming group. The following chronicles the first adventure of Sarah the Lightbringer.
Sarah sat, quietly drinking from a wooden mug.
Her eyes lazily scanned the room as she felt the tingle of her warm drink somewhere in her stomach. She glanced down at the cup. Too much, she thought. Then she looked back up, wary of the eyes now watching her.
The tavern wasn't particularly full nor empty. Travelers, farmers, and soldiers just floated in and out like bubbles on the top of a beer. She should go home, tend the garden then go to bed. There was no adventure in watching drunks stumble through those swinging doors anymore.
She reached into a small leather bag and produced a pair of silver coins. She was about to drop them next to her cup, when the doors swung open again. They swung so hard, the hinges rattled and quieted the room. Sarah, and the patrons, watched as a hulking, man squeezed himself between the doorframe. Gold bands wrapped tight against each arm, his face sported splashes of blue paint and he was completely naked. Well, almost. A fur of some fierce beast was swaddled around his hips. And he wore boots. That was it.
As soon as he entered, a small, nearly undetectable shadow darted around him and shifted along the wall. This caught Sarah's eye, more so than the naked barbarian stomping towards the barkeep. The shadow, a man clad in all dark clothes, found a seat in the corner of the room. A single candle lit the table. The dark man pinched the wick and became even darker.
Sarah's gaze was brought back to the door. A tall man with an almost as tall beard and a long curved hat and wooden staff entered, his arm thrown around a shorter, stocky warrior. The second was covered in armor and wore a sheathed sword on each hip. A paladin, Sarah thought. And the other is likely a wizard.
The doors swung shut and the conversations of the room started back up. Through the growing din the barbarian could be heard ordering every kind of drink available. Sarah tried to return to her drink.
A barbarian, a shadow, a wizard and a paladin all walk into a tavern. Lightbringers. Warriors banded together who fought the Darkness, a nightmarish force that vomited up the worst of one's imagination. Orcs, goblins, trolls, ogres, trogs, spiders, hellhounds, even ghosts all found their ways out of the shadows. The Lightbringers were determined to rid the world of them as they had in years past.
Sarah found herself envying them. She had long dreamed of fighting off a horde of goblins and raiding their rumored treasures or of facing off with an ogre mage in the dark dungeons. She looked back at the barbarian. The scars on his back and neck told of the many battles he had been in. A bandage was wrapped around his upper thigh . It had a large red stain. They must have just come from a dungeon raid.
A bird whistled somewhere in the room. No one seemed to notice except the barbarian. His head lifted from his pitcher of grog. Sarah didn't think his head could swivel upon the mass of a neck he had. The naked warrior looked at the dark corner. Sarah followed his gaze. The shadow lifted one hand and pointed at her. At her? Sarah heard the barbarian's seat slide back. He lumbered across the room and plopped down at the other side of her table. The man looked at Sarah, who fumbled with her drink, unsure whether she should say 'hello' or run away screaming for the door.
"You fight?" The man asked.
"You? Uh, no. I'd rather not fight. I-I can leave if you want the table."
"No leave. You fight darkness?" The Darkness? He was asking if she was a lightbringer. What could she say. She had fought with a goblin once. Did that count as fighting the darkness?
"Yes. Yes I fight the Dark." The barbarian smiled. Well, his mouth curved upwards at each end and a few square teeth slipped out.
"We want you to fight with us. How you fight?"
"We? With you?"
"Yes. Sword-man, stick-man, grumpy stick-man, scary-girl, and uhh…. me."
"Oh. You are Lightbringers right? You fight the Dark so you are bringers of …light?"
"Light men. Yes. We make light in dark place."
"That's what I thought." Sarah wondered to herself.
"How you fight? With pointy stick?" The giant asked.
"Pointy stick?" Sarah looked over at her side. She had a javelin propped against the wall. She mostly used it to ward away goblins and wolves.
"Yes. I am good with a jave-… a pointy stick." Again the hulking man smiled. Sarah noticed the wizard and paladin watching them. They waved, smiling and drinking at the same time. Sarah hesitated then waved back.
"Tomorrow, sunrise. We leave to fight. You bring pointy-stick and fight too." The man stood up. His head bumped a rafter which rattled the building. He smiled sheepishly and walked away. As he left, the paladin threw a few gold coins to the barkeep and left with the wizard. Sarah found she could breathe again. Her head fell to the table as she wrapped her mind around the encounter. Had she had just joined the Lightbringers?
Sarah heard the whisper of feet close by. She lifted her head and saw the shadow from the corner standing before her. He looked at her from somewhere deep in his layers of cloth, she thought. He extended a hand and a leather pouch dropped to the table. Sarah thought she heard him say something before he vanished, dipping in between the candlelight to follow the other Lightbringers outside. Sarah looked at the bag, opened it and was transfixed by the yellow glow of gold coins. She quickly tied up the pouch and set it inside her jacket. Then it came to her. The shadow man had whispered something to her.
"There's more where that came from."
The next day.
Sarah stood outside the tavern. She wore the white armor of her father. He had been in service of the woodland elves. He wasn't a Lightbringer like the Elves, but even guards had protection. She twisted her grip around the javelin. Or was it a spear? She was never too keen on the difference. Hopefully the barbarians friends weren't either. Though she suspected that they were all battle-hardened soldiers, so they probably knew the exact difference.
Sarah tried to breathe slowly again. If she was going with them into combat, she had remember her father's lessons: to keep her head on straight and her priorities in check.
She saw the barbarian before seeing any of the others. Then the wizard with his tall, floppy grey hat and the then the paladin. His armor shined with red and gold aura. The shadow man lurked somewhere behind them. A hunched man with a helmet of wings walked just behind them. He carried a staff as well.
They came right up to her. The barbarian pointed at himself.
"Bjorn" he said with a smile. Sarah smiled and waved at the group. The wizard stepped closer.
"Hello dear child. My name is Elias, wizard at your service. The brute you talked to last night is Bjorn, the Shadow Barbarian. Then my equally drunken friend Owen, Paladin of Fury." Owen bowed his head. His eyes were bloodshot, but other than that he stood tall as if the 'drunken' part was simple part of his title.
"Then there is Whisper and Ajax. It is unfortunate but we are missing one member, Little Ned."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear. Is he okay?"
"Mostly dear. He caught a sickness while on our last adventure. He rests at the inn while we are away. That is why we hired you dear girl. With you, we have six members."
Six was a lucky number. She remembered now that Lightbringers often traveled in groups of six or so.
"Hello. My name is-"
"Sarah. Noble Warrior." The hunched man named Ajax spoke. "Uses a throwing javelin for distance combat. Also good for close range." He said all this without looking up.
The wizard's eyes rolled. "Oh don't mind him. He is right of course. Ajax often knows things." Elias tapped at his forehead and raised an eyebrow. "All sorts of things." She felt suddenly afraid. If Ajax knew all this, he might very well know she was hardly the battle-emboldened warrior everyone else seemed to be. But then Elias wiggled a finger about his head and crossed his eyes. A playful jib perhaps?
"Elias, now is not the time to insult your fellow wizard." Owen stepped up and tapped the other man on the shoulder. "Save it for the dungeon when you can rile him up". Owen let loose a bold laugh. Elias joined him and together they supported each other as they laughed together.
Sarah let out a nervous chuckle. "See Owen. She is one of us. We have nothing to worry about." Elias pulled her in for a hug.
"We go stick-man" Bjorn thundered above the group. He hefted a weighty battle-axe over one shoulder, turned and walked down the road. The others followed. Then Owen, Elias and Sarah.
They arrived.
The dungeon was dark and stank of goblin. Torches lit the way every so often.
As a group, they walked the dungeon much as they had come in: Bjorn and Owen in front, Ajax and Elias in the middle with Sarah guarding the rear. Sarah followed the groups lead and held her weapon at the ready.
The shadow man somehow drifted from Bjorn's side back to Sarah. The two of them walked side by side. Sarah cast a several glances at the quiet mystery man Elias had called Whisper. She could hear Elias quietly discussing with Ajax. Probably battle-strategies. She leaned closer to Whisper.
"Hi. Thanks for the gift yesterday." Sarah paused and looked over to the man. He said nothing. He did nothing. Sarah tried again. "I see you don't have a weapon. Do you fight like the rest?" Again Whisper said nothing. Annoyed, Sarah said with more force, "You guys invited me to do this with you, I would at least like to know-"
Whisper held a finger to his lips. Rather, to the space where his covered mouth was. Sarah almost ran into Elias when the whole group stopped. Sarah dared to hold her breath. In front, Bjorn made a signal with his hand. Owen nodded his head and crept forward alone. He disappeared around a corner.
"Goblins have good ears."
Sarah almost jumped out of her skin. She looked over at Whisper. He looked in her eyes and said again.
"Goblins. Big ears." Then he held a finger back up to his face. Sarah understood. Owen appeared again, crept up to the barbarian and whispered in his ear. Then Owen went to Elias and Ajax. Then to Sarah and Whisper.
"There's room full of gob warriors. 'Bout six. Bjorn and I will go first, then Elias. Ajax and you stay outside and watch our backs." Whisper nodded. Owen looked to Sarah and winked. Then he turned and went back to Bjorn.
Sarah adjusted her grip on her javelin. They were about to have real combat. She was ready, she told herself.
Suddenly Bjorn let loose a terrible roar. It echoed through hallways and seemed to shake the very ground. The man even beat his chest twice before gripping his battle-axe and charging. Owen yelped and followed on his heel. There was a terrible crash as Bjorn broke through a wooden door. Sarah heard the screech of surprised goblins, followed by the higher pitched squelch of goblins losing arms and legs.
Elias came to the doorway, wand ready with a smoking fireball at its tip. He stood by the doorway and smiled. He lowered his wand and beckoned the rest of the group in. Sarah entered to find worse than her imagination. Goblins had indeed been killed. Chopped was more like it. The smell was quickly churning her stomach. Bjorn stood tall amongst the dead, patting Owen on the shoulder.
"You be faster sword man. I kill more than you." He chuckled. Owen wiped down one of his blades and chuckled.
"It's only because you got in first."
"Everyone, grab some loot. Be aware we are still in enemy sights." Elias found a table set up with candles and a stack of books. He flipped through a few before setting them down. Ajax stayed outside with Whisper.
The room was fairly empty. Save for a few barrels in the corner that probably held some kind of goblin liquor. Bjorn and Owen sampled the barrels. Owen immediately spit the vile liquid and cursed. Bjorn seemed to enjoy it, though not as at much as at the tavern.
Soon they were in the halls again, moving from shadow to shadow. As they walked, Owen dipped back next to Ajax. Sarah moved closer to listen:
"So AJ, what's this I hear about an immortal."
"The Immortal. A high troll rumored to be unkillable. Sent by the darkness to guard one of its dungeons. Possibly this one."
"This one? Then why are we here."
"Wherever the Darkness resides, we will go." That sounded like a Lightbringer mantra to Sarah. Owen spit to one side.
"We'll see how un-killable it is when I get to it"
"Unwise. We would be better off running."
"Running." Owen mumbled to himself.
"Hush". Elias whispered ahead of them. Again, Bjorn took up his axe. Owen split from Ajax and stood next to Bjorn. The two motioned silently to each other. This time Owen would go first, then Bjorn and Elias. Each member nodded to the next.
"Ready" Whisper said faintly.
Owen didn't yell like the barbarian, but he did charge in, kicking the door flat to the ground. He disappeared in a flash of motion, swinging twin blades. Bjorn followed. Elias dipped in quicker, obviously eager to get in at least one kill. Ajax turned to the tunnel they just went down. Whisper and Sarah faced the next hallway. Sarah listened once again to goblins screeching and crying out. Bjorns axe fell with a mighty thud.
The battle continued longer than the last. Sarah dared to peek inside. Bjorn had dropped his axe and now held a long claymore sword. He dueled with a goblin chief who wielded a similar blade. Though not a large as the barbarian's but still deadly in the fiends hands. Goblins chiefs were in charge because of their ferocity in a fight. Owen stood to a side, knocking a smaller goblin's spear from its hand. The sickly green thing hissed and attempted to claw at him. Owens whisked a blade across its neck. Its head toppled off with a sickening black thud of flesh. Elias stood close to them, looming over a smoking corpse. He looked up at the barbarian and crouched, aiming his wand. The tip brightened like a small star before shooting across the room. The sphere of light hit the goblin chief square in the chest and threw it into an adjacent wall.
"Archers!" Ajax yelled. Sarah whirled from the doorway to see Ajax standing in the hallway. Each hand held high over his head. A staff in one hand and a wand with a glowing green tip in the other. Sarah could just see their enemies down the hall. A group of goblin archers stood in the light of a torch at the far end.
Whisper ran and slid on his knees next to Ajax. In one single motion, he pulled a small bow from his cloak and strung it with an arrow. The move had shifted his hood back and long raven hair spilled out over his shoulders. He aimed for a half-second before loosing the arrow. Ajax pointed his wand and a bolt of green energy shot from it. The green light hit one archer first. The next goblin took Whispers arrow straight through its face. Two more archers appeared and Whisper gave them each an arrow as they rounded the corner.
Sarah felt useless. Everyone was faster than her, more aware of the dangers around them. She looked back into the room. The battle was over and Bjorn was taking up his axe again. Then, at the other end of the room, a door creaked open. Three goblins with knives darted inside. They were headed towards Elias. Sarah snapped up her arm, stepped forward and threw her javelin. It sailed across the room silently until it met the first goblins head. Its body was thrown back with a fierce snap. Without thinking Sarah rushed into the room. She picked up a pair of goblin-sized spears resting against the wall, stopped to lean back and threw one hard. The second goblin had seen her enter, turned to fight, and then tried to dodge when she released her weapon. The spear went low and caught him just under his neck.
The third goblin yelped in panic and turned to escape. Sarah drew back her arm and sent the other spear into the fleeing goblin's back. Sarah stayed still and watch for any movement. She needn't have bothered as all three were dead. Bjorn and Owen stood to one side, eyes wide. Elias too, looked shocked. His eyes shifted from Sarah to the goblins. She finally saw what they saw. All three goblins had been pinned to the wall, a javelin and two small spears holding them up like puppets.
Sarah took a deep breath as the others recovered. Bjorn stepped over to the goblins and pulled the javelin out of the wall and its head. Owen threw him a cloth. Bjorn cleaned the head of black ichor and offered it back to Sarah. She took it.
"Nice." Owen said. He put an arm around her shoulder. "That was pretty quick thinking." The four of them left the room. Sarah noticed that Whisper had spent several more arrows on more goblin archers that had arrived. Some goblin of the corpses smoking with a light green glow.
"Everyone all right?" Elias called to them. Everyone nodded and formed back up. Sarah looked over to Whisper who was gathering his hair back up under his hood. Rather, her hood. Sarah could just see the feminine features of her face before they were covered up with a swath of dark cloth.
Sarah opened her mouth to talk. But wasn't sure what to say. Whisper took notice of her interest.
"It doesn't matter." She said faintly. "We are Lightbringers. The Darkness doesn't care if you're a man or a woman. It just kills."
Sarah knew that was right. She knew of people who had lost loved ones to the Darkness. It affected nearly everyone. Its reach was…massive.
As she thought quietly to herself, the air was split by monstrous roar. At first Sarah thought it was Bjorn again, charging into a room. But when she looked up at him, he was silent. The barbarian crouched and listened, turning every often.
"Now what was that?" Owen aptly said.
"The Immortal, I suspect" Ajax replied.
"Then we run?"
"Promptly"
Everyone gathered a little closer to each other. They moved faster now; a reckless walk instead of a cautious crawl. The roar echoed again, louder than before.
"It's catching up" Owen commented.
"How does it know where we are? We don't even know?" Sarah asked.
"Think of this darling," Elias replied, "You're a monster who can't die. You've probably lived here for who knows how long and you have nothing to fear. I don't think it knows where we are but this is his domain. It will find us sooner rather than later."
The group picked up their pace again. They were at a slow run. They weren't opening any more doors. They only stopped if a door was already ajar to check the room. No use getting easily ambushed.
They did this for some time before Ajax made them stop.
"A bridge lies ahead. Tread carefully."
Indeed, a turn later a narrow bridge appeared. It was only a few feet wide and spanned across an inky black gorge.
"I suggest one at time." Elias offered. "Ladies first?" He looked at Sarah and Whisper. The cloaked woman arched a brow before pushing Elias aside. She danced across the bridge in a matter of seconds. Sarah followed carefully. There was no breeze but the bare bridge made her nervous. She closed her eyes and leapt the last few feet.
The Immortal roared once more. This time it sounded as if it were just down the hall. Sarah felt a pulsating tremor in the ground. Owen came next, then Ajax. Owen gasped loudly and clutched at his shoulder. A crooked barbed arrow protruded from his shoulder. Sarah turned around and saw a small company of goblin archers stood at the ready. They had been ambushed.
Whisper charged forward. She notched an arrow and dodged a volley from the goblins. She let loose a shaft while ducking into cover.
"Get close. They're rotten at close encounters" Owen ordered. He had found a pillar to hide behind. Ajax was pressed close to him. He held his wand over Owens shoulder. It cast a soft purple glow and Sarah could see the arrow withdrawing from the paladin's shoulder.
Arrows clattered against stone around Sarah. She ducked a volley and rolled to another pillar. Bjorn dashed across the bridge, charging straight for the archer contingent. He roared a battle-cry. He held his axe in one hand and the claymore in the other. The first goblin he got to was frozen in fear. Bjorn ducked his head and rammed it into the puny creature. Its chest caved-in, spurting blood and bones in all directions.
"Where's Elias?" Sarah shouted over the din of battle. She looked over to Owen.
"He's fine. Focus on the mob, so we don't get overwhelmed."
Sarah looked over to the goblins. The chief had engaged Bjorn. Whisper moved closer and rained a steady volley of arrows into them. Ajax moved along the other side of the room, keeping to the shadows. Just as Ajax sent a green blast into a goblin archer, a wall near the barbarian came down. The air was filled with stone dust. Bjorn grunted in pain. Owen cursed as he saw what had just come through.
An ogre the size of house crashed through the openeing and into the room. It held a long log in its hand. Owen ran into the fray and swung his swords. A dark line of blood appeared along it's leg. The ogre grunted and kicked at Owen. The paladin rolled to avoid it. Bjorn lifted himself from the rubble he had been buried in. He was covered in dust and blood, though he seemed not to notice any of it. A lone goblin leaped over the rubble attempting to stab Bjorn in the back. It was intercepted by Whisper who now ran while firing into the dwindling crowd of goblins.
The ogre pulled a large knife from somewhere on its body and swung at the attackers. Owen and Bjorn took turns assaulting the ogre. Ajax hid behind some boxes while casting green bolts across the room, scattering the last of the archers.
The ogre roared and stomped. It had cuts from Bjorn's axe all over its arms and legs yet the beast seemed unaffected by the injuries. Ajax focused his magic toward the monster. He sent a flurry of emerald-like blasts at the ogre. A shimmering white wall materialized around the fiend and intercepted Ajax' attack. The white wall disappeared and the ogre started to glow with a purple hue. In a matter of seconds the cuts along the ogre's arms and legs came knit together and his bloated blue flesh became like new.
Sarah realized: the ogre was a mage, maybe even qualified as a battle-wizard. Then another thought came to mind. The creature of the Darkness wasn't fighting very hard. It wasn't fighting at all really.
The ogre seemed to chuckle, its stuffed belly shifted back and forth. It wasn't here to kill the Lightbringers, it was here to stall them. Another roar, not from the ogre, completed her thought. The Immortal was upon them. Sarah checked for archers before going back to the bridge. Elias stood in the center, a thick red stick in one hand. Just beyond him was the Immortal.
It was a High Troll just as Ajax said, but it was far more powerful than any Sarah had imagined. It stood several feet above Elias and glared at him. Its body was more muscle than anything else; like it was the polar opposite of the flabby ogre mage. It was lean, and held a stalactite as a club. Two horn-like teeth jutted up from its jaw, curving around its lips almost up to its eyes. The troll smirked; an odd thing to see. The corner of its mouth curved around to the edge of its face. Its eyes gleamed with a dull red light. This was Darkness's champion. And if the rumors were true, also un-killable.
Elias, however was unafraid. He called light to the end of his staff and touched it to the red stick held. He set it down on the bridge, end up, and slowly backed away. The troll stepped onto the bridge. Then the world lit up and a cacophony of sharp cracks filled the air. Sarah shielded her eyes with her hand. She also felt a displacement of air near her as Elias rushed past.
"Hurry girl. They won't last long!"
Sarah blinked and came face to face with Elias.
"The pillar Sarah! Break the pillar!" The wizard was smashing his staff against a stone pillar. Every impact sent cracks racing through stone. His fourth swing shattered the stone edifice with loud crack. The light from Elias's magic died down and all that was left was pile of ash and few burning embers. The High Troll bellowed as the explosion of light between them dissipated. The wizard pulled another red stick from his sleeve and set it among the rubble taking care to point the business end at the Troll.
"Didn't you hear me girl! Break the pillar!" Elias pointed at Sarah then the pillar she had been leaning against. She was so confused but the wizard was so confident. She took a step back and dug her javelin into the stone. It chipped. She dug again and again.
The red stick Elias had sizzled and shot forward, crashing into the troll. At first it only sizzled. The troll lifted his hand to wipe it away when it exploded in red light. Sparks shot to the sides, lighting up the whole bridge and the misty, empty air around it.
"Love those things! Couldn't believe I found them down here."
The wizard was pulling out more and more of the red sticks. The High Troll shouted and leaned forward, charging. It would run over them in seconds. Sarah desperately chipped at the pillar. Finally it gave. A large chunk fell loose. The red sticks shot forth in smoke, trailing yellow sparks. These shimmered and twisted as they flew. Nothing exploded, rather they just spilled forth bits of light and fire. It slowed the Troll just enough. Elias stood to his feet, staff held forth.
"You!" He shouted into the abyss.
"Shall not!" Then he swung his staff against Sarah's pillar.
"PASS!" The pillar flew apart, knocking Sarah to her backside. A second later the troll disappeared. The bridge under its feet crumbled underneath him and carried him down. Sarah awed as the invincible, un-killable, champion fell into the dark.
Elias breathed in relief. "Gotta' love fireworks." He offered a hand to Sarah and helped her up. A groan sounded further into the room. Bjorn stood atop the ogre mage, axe held over his head. Then he brought it down, splitting the ogres face in two.
"Try healing from that." Owen declared. He held one arm close to his chest and there was spatter of black goo on his face and armor. The barbarian jumped down. He too was caked in filth. Whisper and Ajax came out of cover and joined the group.
Whisper held a golden cup in her hand. Sarah looked beyond at the pile of goblin corpses. They had been sitting upon a large pile of gold and jewels. Enough wealth to feed them for ages. Or buy premium weapons. Or get filthy drunk every night for the rest of their lives.
No one was rushing to the treasure though. As they walked through the opening the ogre had created, several members picked up a piece or two of gold. Sarah chose a pink diamond and put it in her pocket. They would leave the rest of the treasure; it wasn't what they had come for. They were Lightbringers, not dungeon raiders.
"So," Sarah asked, "What's next?"
THE END