Chapter 1 New Beginnings
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's. This will be the first and only time I say this.
A.N. Hey guys! First story on FanFiction! Whoop Whoop! I'm not going to say much except that ill accept any and all feedback as long as its not speared with flames. Hope you enjoy!
Marcus Dolton stared down at the letter of his deceased grandfather. He had read it before but wanted to read it again to remind himself why he was on this crazy adventure. Yes he was the only other living family member who had the right to inherit the estate that his grandfather had, but he'd much rather be back home by the fire. Not that having another estate was a bad thing; far from it actually, but to Marcus it felt more like a hassle than a gift.
Opening the envelope he began reading the text.
"Ruin has come to our family. You remember our Venerable house, Opulent and imperial. Gazing proudly from its stoic perch above the moore. I lived all my years in that ancient rumer shadowed manner. Fattened by decadence and luxury. And yet I began to tire of conventional extravagance, singular unsettling tales suggested the mansion itself was a gateway to some fabulous and unamable power.
With relic and ritual I bent every effort towards the excavation and recovery of those long buried secrets. Exhausting what remained of our family fortune on surly workmen and sturdy shovels. At last in the salt soaked cracks beneath the lowest foundations we unearthed that damnable portal and a deluvient evil.
Our every step unsettled the ancient earth, but we were in a realm of death and madness. In the end I alone was the only one who escaped, laughing and wailing through those blackened arcaded halles of antiquity, Until consciousness failed me
You remember our Venerable house, Opulent and imperial. It is a festering abomination! I BEG YOU! Return home claim your birthright, and deliver our family from the ravenous clutches of… The Darkest Dungeon."
It didn't matter how many times Marcus read, and re-read the letter. It still left him in a cold sweat. Sighing, Marcus looked in front of him. He was in a carriage, driven by horse and a stone faced servant of the hamlet that he traveled to. In his company were two men, a zealous warrior of the light named, Reynauld. With him was a highwayman who went by the name, Dismas. Both men have seen combat in their lives so the Heir felt at ease as they traveled together along the old road.
Before long, Marcus was awoken by a cry of pain that emanated from outside the carriage. And within moments the men were tumbling out of control until they met with a brief and painful stop. After gaining their baring all three occupants got out and surveyed the surrounding area. The front of the carriage was utterly smashed due to the rock that stopped it. Their belongings were all over the floor of the dead grass that coated the base of the forest. The servant was nowhere to be seen. Marcus came to the realization that the cry of pain must have come from the unfortunate driver. All around them was a infested and dying grove of trees and overgrown foliage.
"Reynauld, I shall stay here and gather our belongings. Go find the way back onto the old road. Over there seems like a good place to start." Marcus said as he pointed to a circular gate of cobblestone that had iron bars acting as a door.
Without another word the two men left to scout the area leaving Marcus there to tend the baggage. Before he even touched a bag, an old and familiar sounding voice echoed behind him.
"Marcus…"
The young Heir tensed at hearing his name in such a chilling voice. He turned his head to see the form of a hooded thug stepping through the bushes with a large dagger gleaming in the dusk light of the sun. Quickly looking for a weapon he found his sword, a 6ft bastard sword made of fine steel. Grabbing it with righteous vigor, Marcus unsheathed the weapon and prepared himself for a fight.
"Dispatch this thug in brutal fashion, so that all may hear of your arrival."
'That voice' Marcus thought.
'Nevermind that!'
Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind the Heir took his stance and readied himself. Taking in the thugs appearance as he approached, Marcus noticed that something was off about the man in the way he walked, and his very skin looked green, even to the point of infection at some areas.
Marcus decided that he'd make the first move and charged at the thug, raising the sword to his right. Taking a strike at the bandits side, the blade went in a wide arc and tore into the flesh of the bandits mid section. The thug seemed unfazed by the sword and raised his head to look the Heir straight in the eye. This disturbed Marcus greatly, not only was the man not fazed by the sword that was literally in his side but also by the man's eyes, they were black as pitch.
"Our new god will swallow this world, and your precious light that you hold so high will die and return to darkness!" The thug hissed.
Without a reply, Marcus removed his sword and liberated the intelligence from the thugs body, making it fall lifelessly to the ground.
"Well done Marcus."
Marcus turned to the sound of his name being called to see a ghost of an old man staring at him with a hearty smile. The old man turned out to be his deceased grandfather. From the looks of it, he still wore that old red trenchcoat and his white scarf that was tied comfortably around his neck. His pants were made of a fine cloth that was black, no doubt intentional. His skin was pale, which struck him as odd. His hair was also white as snow, one of the things he remembered as a kid when his parents took him to see his grandfather.
"Grandfather? How are you alive? I thought you were dead." Marcus said, still very much confused.
"Oh you're right Marcus I am dead, however for me it was not the end. I've been sent back to set things straight and to help guide you, and the people you lead to victory. For me this is a sort of purgatory. If I can help you succeed in this noble quest than I will be granted access to heaven."
"And what would happen should you fail?" Marcus questioned.
"For you it is the death of all on this earth and the very light we pray too. For me it is a hell far worse than any other would ever receive no matter how horrible and great of sin they could be." His Grandfather said with a heavy sigh of sadness. "But! There is a chance we could prevail. We have the light and the people to help us on this on our side."
"Doesn't leave me with much a choice now does it? Oh well, I came to take this estate anyway, a little challenge never hurt anybody." Marcus said, his head held high at the idea of saving the world.
"Your bravery was always something I admired about you Marcus." The grandfather said with a smile "Now you must hurry though, your friends are in danger."
'This is ridiculous!' Reynauld thought as he dodged another shot from a bandit.
The first bandit they ran into had attacked them when they were a only a few steps away from the gate which was annoying but nothing they both couldn't handle. They had also ran into a tent that housed some gold and a few slices of bread which they took. However when they went through an identical cobblestone gateway they encountered a behemoth of a man who stood at least 7 feet tall and was ripped with muscles and fat, along with a small man with a rifle who wisely stood behind him. The overgrown thug held onto a whip with multiple wires that had metal balls at the end. He was wearing a green hood and a makeshift midsection cover that had green cloth being held together by 2 grey belts.
The second man had the same green hood but also wore a tan shirt that matched his pants and belt. Each of the men had gold pouches slung onto their waist belt.
Dismas, realizing the men were surprised took the first move and fired a grapeshot round, embedding lead into both bandits causing a cry of annoyance and pain from the thugs. Reynauld realizing there was no turning back now, raised his sword and charged at the thug champion, cutting a long gash across the chest. With rage the two men retaliated, the champion pulled his pistol out and fired at point blank range, hitting Renauld square in the chest. The little man also attacked Reynauld with a shot from his rifle, however this only dented his breast plate. Dismas took this time to fire another round at the champions head. Luck was on his side as the bullet went straight through causing the beast of a man to fall. Reynauld then took this advantage and quickly stepped over the corpse and cleaved the small man in two, killing him instantly.
Taking a look around, Dismas saw they were in another clearing, but this one supported a view. He drew to the cliff that lead to the hamlet and the old road they seeked. Reynauld noticed a large chest that was lying a little bit away from the smaller man. Upon closer inspection he found that it was unlocked. Reaching out with his hand to open the chest-
"WAIT!" Dismas yelled as he noticed Reynauld draw closer.
Reynauld was then tackled, not by Dismas but by Marcus.
Marcus rolled off Reynauld and stood, releasing his breath he'd held in. Reynauld got on his elbows and looked at his feet, just inches away from his crotch was a hatchet embedded in the ground.
"Well that was close!" Dismas said through choked laughter. This inspired Marcus to laugh as well from Raynaud's interesting position.
"Shutup Dismas." Reynauld said as he got up.
"Oh come now Reynauld, even you must admit that was funny." Marcus said as he took Reynauld's hand to help him up.
"Now, back to business. I've inspected the remains of the carriage and thankfully nothing was lost. Did you find a way to the Hamlet?" Marcus asked.
"See for yourself." Dismas said as he motioned with his arm the cliff view.
"Perfect!" Marcus said.
"Well i'll be taking this-" Reynauld said as he reached into the chest
"Oh no you don't Reynauld!" Dismas yelled as he caught his friend in the act, taking valuables that could help their overall quest. Reynauld had asked Dismas to help him break his habit of taking things he wanted when nobody was looking.
"Your right, for once." Reynauld said, the last part under his breath. "On the brightside though there are a few deeds and a large amount of gold in this chest, though I can't say how much. Also there was some gold from the bandits own purses."
"Excellent, we shall take them with us. Better that we have them than thugs who no doubt stole them." Marcus said as he went in the direction of the Hamlet.
