Through the desert and into the City of Keligaan lies the relic of old. An item that held monstrous power, A ring that is said to carry the soul of the old king. The city has multiple entrances with each one containing a trap. Some say that one of the traps, trap you in between the portcullises and the walls slowly close in on you till you become paste. One is said to be disarmed, the trap they say, was a pit that lead into a portal to the abyssal plane. Everyone keeps on talking about the City of Keligaan when some haven't even gone there. Until people heard of a race. A race to find the item and exit. The reward is a million gold. All kinds of people signed up and even a few, went ahead already.
In the desert stood a dwarf. The dwarf wore chainmail armour, heavy boots and a two handed axe. The dwarf moved deeper into the desert. Winds hallowed, sand slammed against him, scorpions and worms moved along with him. After a couple of days he found a city. The walls were taller than any fortress, slits were carved evenly for multiple archers to fire rapidly against enemies. The dwarf took a step forward towards the walls. A loud explosion came from behind the wall. The dwarf looked up at the top of the wall. Within seconds he saw a cannonball fly above the wall and land. The explosion went off, clearing the sand away from the walls. The sand covered up small, sandstone pressure plates. The dwarf bent down to wipe away the dust when his hand pressed down another pressure plate. A green smoke, rose from beneath the plate. The dwarf began choking, and then puking, then blood came from his mouth when he couldn't vomit any more. He felt a ghostly hand enter his orifice, and it went down, far down into his stomach. The hand began to yank at his intestines till they broke off. It dragged out the intestines through the dwarves, mouth, as if he was regurgitating. In and out, organ after organ, until the dwarf bled to death.
The vision ended and the woman looked up.
"A dwarf has already fallen to the traps of the city."
"Which quadrant was he in?" A man asked as he walked into the tent.
"Quadrant 7 sir. The trap there is pressure plates, each one does something different."
"Damn, is that the only trap we know?"
"Yes sir." She said. The man screamed.
"We need to know what they all do! The ring will tell us everything that we need to know about King Therrat and what happened after his death 40 years ago."
"How about a race to find the ring and bring it here?"
"Fine, just do it." The man sighed as he walked out of the tent. Outside was a base camp, in the middle of the mountains of del. Most people at the camp are archeologists and scientists. They are looking for the fabled book of Gendelif. It is said that it can remove the desert around the city.
The man walked through the camp and into the forest that surrounded them. As he moved, the landscape around him shifted and moved. Tree's being cut down, stone pathways being laid down in front of him. Buildings being made from the ground up and families moving into them. After a few more minutes, the area around the man stopped moving. The man walked up towards a large a building. The building has a victorian style to it. Shingled roofing, large wooden doors and a few windows. The sound of horses and the clacking of their steps on the road were familiar to the man. The man walked into the building, sighing with relief.
"That didn't take long Felinian." A large woman said as the man walked into the home.
"Sorry, I was out at the expedition site. Could you get me a glass of milk Sarah? I'm feeling a bit out of it as of late."
"Sure thing love."
As the woman walked out of the room, Felinian looked around the room. Straight ahead of him is a set of stairs touching the back wall, going upstairs. To the left is the kitchen where Sarah is making a glass of milk. To the right is the living room. Felinian walked towards the staircase and began climbing it. Once he got onto the landing he turned to his left and entered a room. The room has one bed, a telescope and papers scattered everywhere. He walked towards the telescope and turned it towards one of the stars. The star the telescope looked at slowly began to fade. A stream of white glittering ash came out of a tube near the back end of the telescope.
"Here's your glass of milk!" Sarah said as she left his room. Felinian looked through the telescope to make sure the star is completely gone. He then grabbed a broom and a dusting pan to clean up the white ash. Felinian put the ash into a bucket. He took out a syringe and filled it with the white ash. He grabbed the pocket watch that is on his belt and injected it with the ash. The man grabbed a notebook that is on the table and ran out of the room. He took the staircase down and booked it out the door. Again, the area around him began to shift and tear away from itself. Buildings, roads and other structures being taken apart, tree's growing until it all stopped.
Felinian came out of the forest reading from his notebook. He looked around the area trying to find the exact location of the book that was buried long ago. Looking back down at his notes, the two pages had small wet splotches on them. The sky had turned grey from his walk to his home and back. Thunder roared above him and the crew around him are running back to their tents. Felinian walked over to his tent. As he walked in, a small dagger went flying into the cloth behind him.
"Nice to see you again Herald."
"Mmmm yes, yes it is and I have heard that you set up a race for a ring of great power?"
"You've heard correctly. The reward is a million gold. Get the ring and bring it back to me and you'll receive your money." Felinian said. The Herald smirked and walked out of his tent. "I'll take that as a yes, Herald."
The Herald reached the desert at last. One whole month it took him from the mountains of del to the desert Kelugian then to the town of Gerah, where the race will start from. Tons of people wandered around the town, waiting in anticipation to see who all will go and get the ring. A few people caught the Herald's eye. A half-clops in a black garb, a woman with red robes who is talking to a scruffy dwarf. An elf with with black velvet hair and an old geezer. A bell rang loudly and the people began to make a pathway for those who are going to do the Trails of Keligaan. Sixteen different people have lined up near the edge of the town. A large woman walked in front of those people.
"Hello maggots! Listen up! There are five rules to this. Rule number one! You must collect the ring and bring it to the mountains of del! Rule number two! You are allowed to kill anyone as soon as you are out of view of any town or in the city of Keligaan. Rule number 3! If you are teaming up with another person, you must split the reward between the two of you! Rule four! Only teams of two! Rule five! Each person has to take one of the sixteen quadrants of the city! I'll need each of your names to assign your sections! First up is the old man!"
"The names Gedas."
"Next!"
"I am Kilia, from the kingdom of Ythandril." The woman in red robes said, winking at the dwarf beside her.
"Thank you! Next!"
"Largared." Said the dwarf.
"Next!"
"I am Dejan, of the elves of oak." The elf yelled. The large lady gave him a scowl. She asked for the other names until it landed on the Herald.
"I am known as The Herald." he replied. The woman finished writing everything down.
"Alright! Here is your assigned quadrants" She yelled as she past the paper off to a little girl. The girl ran towards each and every person. The Herald read the paper and saw that he had to go through the back end of the city and it was labeled as quadrant 16.
"Go out there you filthy bastards!" The large woman yelled at the top of her lungs. People immediately ran towards the horses. The Herald walked over to a camel vendor and bought a camel. He climbed on it and rode off into the desert.
It's been five hours since he last seen a person. For all the Herald knew, they could have already reached the city, or they all died. His camel spat onto the ground. The herald sighed. He knew he is almost there. The journey to the city on camel takes about 8 hours. On horses it's about 9 hours. The wind picked up a bit as sand is being flung into his eyes. A loud yell came from behind him.
"Damn it Largared! I don't give a rats ass about your fucking beard!"
"Oh really now? You're the one who killed a fuckin elf. Whoop de do. I killed our king because he was gonna kill every damn elf!"
"You are the worst person I have ever met!"
"Shut it mage."
The voices grew quieter as The Herald moved away from them. Then they appear in front of him.
"Why the fuck did you blink us Kilia! I could have aged ten years!"
"Oh for fucks sake! I don't give a damn about your age! We just need to grab the fucking ring and leave."
The Herald saw the two people arguing. The dwarf, Largared. Short with a hot temper. Easily angered. Kilia, the mage. Average height, could be insane judging from her actions earlier. Disregarding some of the rules, The Herald rode straight .
"You two seem to be lost. Need any help?" The Herald asked the two. The two looked up at him. Kilia was the first to respond.
"We aren't lost, we are just arguing." She responded. The dwarf rolled his eyes.
"We're lost. Can you help us?" Largared told the man. The Herald sighed and got off his camel. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two sheets of paper.
"Here, take these. They are maps to the city of Keligaan. It'll help you out." The Herald said. The two grabbed the papers out of his hand. The next thing The Herald saw was the desert storm going around him. He got back onto his camel and travelled forward.
Ythand stood in front of one of the entrances to Keligaan. He arrived at his quadrant ahead of everyone else. He got picked for quadrant six. The gate in front of him must have the trap. He grabbed the portcullis and lifted it up. He stepped inside. The loud clattering of the portcullis falling back into the ground, shook some of the sand off of the floor. A large libra symbol has been inscribed into the floor. Ythand bent down and put his hand on the symbol. A large flash of flight came out of the symbol. Ythand reared back, begin blinded from the light. With a loud thunk, Ythand looked at the being standing on the symbol. A knight with pure white armour. It wielded a large greatsword made of white steel. Another thunk. The thing moved. Ythand panicked. He drew his sword and pointed it at the white knight.
"D-d-don't move! I-I-I don't w-w-w-want to hurt you!" Ythand screamed.
The white knight raised his sword upright and spoke.
"Leave this city." It boomed
"I-I-I can't if it means saving my daughter, Kilia!"
"Then I'll let you rest in piece." The knight grabbed the portcullis and lifted it up. He shoved Ythand underneath the portcullis.
"P-p-p-p-please don't do this!" Ythand pleaded. The Knight grunted as he threw the gate upwards. In an instant, the portcullis pierced into Ythands body. His blood slowly came out from underneath the body. As Ythand breathed in his last breath, The Knight bent down, and began eating his corpse.
Three contestants arrived at the city. Three looked at their quadrants. The first is a man in his thirties with huge muscles. The second is The Herald, and the last is a young woman, in her twenties. The man in his thirties yelled at the two people.
"You guys ready for the traps here?" He asked. The two both nodded their heads. "Alright then. Shall we begin?"
All three stepped forward. Multiple explosions went off in front of The Herald as if it were a cluster bomb. The explosions moved towards him. As they moved, they picked up speed, carrying their momentum. The Herald stood still, quietly looking at the other two. The girl's trap seemed to be some Illusionary images. The man's trap is a maze made of glass walls. In the maze with him is a minotaur. The Herald scoffed. The explosions weren't going faster, it was two explosions going off at once. The explosions split ten feet away from him. His trap is now clear. The girl is done with hers and is waiting for the other two at the gate. The man is dead. His head has been removed from his body, and his torso is ripped in half. The Herald looked for the minotaur, but when he found it, it was sitting on a glass bench, eating the man's arm.
"Are you going to keep me waiting or what?" The girl yelled at the Herald. He nods, and walked his way towards her. When he caught up with her, he noticed that inside the entrance is an open pit. The Herald grabbed the portcullis and lifted it up. The girl went in underneath, quickly followed by the Herald. Inside the pit is a large swirling portal. It seems that the two were lucky. The trap has already been disarmed.
"Come, we need to get in the city!" The girl exclaimed. The Herald looked at her with question in his eyes. He sighed and walked over to the inner portcullis. As the two began to lift the portcullis, a loud scream came from the other side of the gate. The two panicked, they threw the gate up and ran in. To their left is another minotaur and their right is an ghostly female. Most likely a banshee and she has alerted the entire city that people has entered it.
Kilia sighed as they entered the city. The two of them got teleported just before the war started. The last thing she remembered is fire raining down onto her. Largared on the other hand, saw the crowd below him run away for their king is dead. The next thing the two remembers is that the both of them woke up in the middle of the mountains and met a man named Felinian. He said that he could get them back by lending them his pocket watch. Kilia asked what year it was and the man told them. The two were in shock, but in order for them to re-write time, they had to go and get the ring of Therrat. The ring their old king held apparently told what happened to him and the rest of the kingdom.
A loud scream took Kilia out of her thoughts. It came from the other side of the city. Largared looked up at Kilia and ran towards the scream. She sighed, and followed Largared. They past all kinds of buildings, taverns, inns, blacksmiths and even a house surrounded by old decaying stone statues. Kilia stopped moving. She walked up to the house and entered it. The home is dusty with cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. Kilia went towards the kitchen. A hole to the basement was in the middle of the kitchen. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she ran out of the home.
Largared, after running for ten minutes straight, heard the sounds of combat to the right of him. Holding tightly to his axe, he moved as quietly as possible towards the combat. Two men stood with their weapons raised. One, is a white knight with large metal armour, wielding a large white greatsword. The other is a young man, holding a katana up to his eyes. The two lunged at each other. The katana struck deep into the plated armour, letting black mist pool out from the crack in the plate. The white knight grunted. He turned his great sword around so that it is pointing at him. A loud yell came from inside the knight's helm as he thrusted the sword through him and the young man. The young man fell slump as the two fell down onto the ground dead.
The Herald and the woman both stood panting. They are now at the keep of the city. The last trial before one of them can get the ring and bring it back to the mountains of del.
"Well sir. It has been a long ass day." She said. The two looked at each other and the girl laughed. "You are so abnormally tall. Surely you can't be human right?"
"I am human and I am also not human. I'm a half blood." The Herald answered. The woman laughed as she walked towards the keep. "Hey, it isn't funny okay."
She turned around and jumped at him. She landed into his arms, sighing with relief. The woman kissed him on the cheek and fell back onto the ground.
The Herald stood in complete silence, stunned for what happened before him.
He moved towards the keep with the woman at his side.
Inside the keep made the two feel really small. Large tapestries hang from the walls. Long red carpets on the floors with statues all along the walls. The girl held onto his arm as she was hugging a bear. Eventually they came across two large doors. Inside sat a throne with a decapitated, rotten body sitting in the throne.
The girl puked onto the carpet. The body in the throne stood up and walked over to the two. The body drew out a longsword that lit up with flame. It pointed at the girl as if it were to tell her to draw her weapon. The Herald took it upon himself to draw his own weapon. The Herald's weapon is an axe. The axe lit up his portion of the room with a dim blue flame.
"You, Herald. Are hereby sentenced to death for ending the kingdom of Ythandril!" The corpse boomed. With a loud sigh, The Herald opened his mouth.
He breathed in. The fire on the corpse's sword flew into his mouth. The Herald closed his mouth.
"Aw man was that ever good! Who casted it the enchantment on it cause I need to high five that man! Woo!" The Herald said excitedly. The girl looked at the Herald stunned. He just ate the magic off of the longsword.
"You must be a wizard of sorts. One of the Cyclops wizards." The girl said with worry in her voice. The Herald walked up to the corpse, swung his axe into the corpse's chest letting the mist pool out of him with the ring. The Herald bent down and picked up the ring. The two walked out with the ring, winning the race.