Greyshade
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Teasers(I do know a thread like this exists but it was just for one teaser)
Teaser 1
Yesterday, a worn out hooded messenger entered our office. Without a word he handed us a half-torn envelope and then he vanished as suddenly as he had appeared. We were confused but then opened the envelope full of excitement. What we found was a creased letter, covered with strange black stains that turned our fingers black as we touched them. Even though the ink was almost faded, we immediately recognised the handwriting of our dear friend Amaro. As we read, our eyes grew wider and wider, our hearts started to beat faster and chills of fear ran down our spine. Even now, we are still struck by the terrifying news. Of course, we do not want to withhold the content of this letter from you so read on, if you dare...
My dear friends,
it's been a long time since we last spoke. You know that I usually prefer solitude and contemplation when strolling through the wilderness. But this time, it's different... I've seen things, my friends, that you cannot even imagine – not even in your darkest nightmares. I'm still shaking, I can barely write. Darkness has fallen upon me, something evil terrorises my mind. But writing to you somehow soothes my soul so let me tell how I ended up in this miserable state of mind.
Where do I begin? Yes, yes, a few weeks ago, I stopped by in Kazordoon to visit an old friend of mine. As the evening went on he told me about the new steamboat technology and a new dwarfish expedition far away from Kazordoon. Deep beneath the earth, they had mapped the underground rivers and while searching for new mines, one of the survey ships had discovered a seemingly untouched cave system with rare ores. They established a first base there, called "Farmine" but the times are rough and resources scarce so they are struggling for support to hold and expand the base. You know, my dear friends, that I, Amaro, the adventurer, cannot resist such a tempting offer. My friend willingly told me the directions and after some hours of sleep, I already was on my way to Farmine. But what I found was quite disillusioning. Only a few skilled dwarfs were working day and night to foster the expansion of the base, with little to eat and little to drink, little of everything. They welcomed me with dwarfish cordiality and Ongulf, their leader, did not hesitate to ask me for help. The dwarfs had already built an elevator towards the surface but found themselves right in the middle of mountains. Since he could not spare a single dwarf, he sent me off to find a way out of the mountains.
I still remember the view from the top of the mountains... it's forever burned into my brain. A vast continent stretched out before me, a continent I had never set foot on before. I saw a huge steppe-like area, the soil seemed dry and parched, there were strange plants and grasses, animals I had never seen before. Far away in the distance, the icy peaks of another range of mountains glowed in a deep red as the sun set. It seemed as if a fierce dragon tried to melt the ice with his blazing breath. "Dragonblaze Peaks" I said to myself. Flocks of large birds circled the peaks. They looked majestic and I wondered if they might be dragon creatures. I still don't know so I leave it up to your imagination, dear friends. But alas, the beauty of the moment did not last long. The longer I stared at the peaks the more the feeling of something evil started to creep up my bones. My body shivered and my throat felt tight as if someone was choking my neck. A dark presence... it spilled over the mountains like thick oil. So I decided to find a way down as quickly as possible. I waited until sunrise and after a few hours of climbing, I finally reached the dusty ground. I should have gone back to the dwarfs, I know, but I was too curious to learn more about this new continent, full of unknown challenges and dangers.
And so I started to explore the unknown land. I hoped to find a town or a village nearby and felt relieved when I recognised several buildings in the distance. Yet all that I found were ruins. It must have been a sophisticated town once. Even though decayed, the elegant architecture deeply impressed me. The buildings were covered with dragon- and snake-like ornaments and decorum, everywhere I looked I found evidence of some kind of lizard culture. Nevertheless, the town did not seem abandoned. Collapsed roofs had been repaired with fur and leather, I found makeshift mats and war banners with symbols that seemed strangely familiar but I couldn't remember where I had already seen them before. Suddenly, I heard battle cries in the distance and saw a dusty cloud coming closer. Fear caught me so I took to my heels and ran away as fast as I could. The steppe did not offer any good places to hide so I decided to head east, always looking for cover behind the head-high grasses.
Fortuna guided me to the city that now lies in front of me. It seemed that a battle had taken place here recently... maybe the horde I ran away from tried to conquer the city? It was protected by thick barricades so I did not venture to ask for entrance. I searched for a safe resting place close by with a good view on the city. Its lizard-like architecture reminded me of the ruined buildings I just had left but in a much better condition. The towers and temples looked filigree yet solid and sturdy indicating a high advanced culture. What kind of race may live there? Lizards? Thinking about the lizards around Port Hope, I can barely imagine that. What do you think, my friends? Is it possible that there is another, more advanced lizard race? But then, how did they gain such power and wealth? So many questions...
I started to examine the surrounding area and noticed strange black puddles here and there. First, my escape from the unknown horde and then the impressive city had occupied me so much that I had not recognised that plants and grasses were not as beautiful as those I saw below the mountains I came from. Here, they looked all rotten. I approached one of those puddles and a foul stench filled my nose. The puddle seemed like an open wound of the earth and a black oily substance had obviously tainted the vegetation around it. I could not stand the stench any longer so I returned to my resting place.
Another traveller had lit a fire there and I sat down next to him. I stroke up a conversation but now I wish my curiosity had been less keen. He knows what lies behind the Dragonblaze Peaks, he had been there, he had seen it with his very own eyes. And what he told me brought back all those memories from the top of the mountain when that dark presence got hold of my soul. But you are far away, my friends, and I know you are curious, too. I don't know if I'll ever return from this adventure so let me share my newly gained knowledge with you.
This land is called Zao by its inhabitants and the black oily substance flows thick through its veins. It harms every living being. Plants, insects and even small animals which are exposed to it long enough are killed by its evil influence, transformed into rotten travesties only to breathe live again as foul and disgusting abominations. We can only imagine what it does to larger creatures... or humans. But where does it come from? My gaze drifted towards the icy Dragonblaze Peaks again when the traveller told me about the shadow that has fallen onto this land. He made it clear that the answer to my questions lies behind those mountains and he warned me that I...
And right here, we could not read on. A big black stain had corroded the rest of the letter. What happened to Amaro? We are very concerned and sincerely hope that he is still alive and will write us again soon. But also, we would like to know more about this strange continent, what about you Tibians?
Teaser 2
My dear friends,
I hope my last letter did not make you worry too much. I'm slowly getting used to the dark presence constantly staring at me from behind the Dragonblaze Peaks and the tales of the traveller I met help me to keep up my spirits. This land is indeed full of challenges and threats, many new adventures lie before me and I'm eager to experience them all.
Northeast of the Zao Steppe, at the bottom of the Dragonblaze Peaks, the traveller, which is what I call him, had recently met an old lizard priest called Zalamon who was looking for help to fight against dragonkin who wreak havoc behind the mountains, in the so-called Muggy Plains. Though the dark presence lurking behind the peaks still gives me the creeps, the traveller convinced me to offer Zalamon help together with him. Though I'm not a novice anymore the traveller is way more experienced and adept. You never know what perils may await you so I feel safer with him by my side.
Oh, and there's another place we plan to visit before crossing the Dragonblaze Peaks. The mountains covering Farmine hide another secret... Well, now that I know about, it's probably not a secret any longer, I guess. Yesterday, we came across a young dwarf, a greenhorn who had stolen away from working in Farmine. He was quite talkative, not to say he almost talked his head off. Out of curiosity, he had climbed a vine in the mountains which Ongulf, the dwarven leader in Farmine, had mentioned to him. Full of excitement, he told us about a primitive human tribe he had found then. Holy moly! Cavemen! What a sensational discovery! Our young friend talked so fast, with so many words, that we did not understand everything he said. He mentioned the name Lazaran quite often, who's probably the leader of the tribe, and told us about a holy skull which ... [missing piece] ... and suddenly he showed us a strange dance. We decided that we should better see for ourselves. The traveller will take the greenhorn with him to Farmine and I'll join them after having visited the strange alliance in the Steppe ... [missing piece]
... should introduce our new young friend to Spectulus one day. Ah, Spectulus, Edron's quirky astronomer! I guess the two of them would get along well. During my last visit, he had told me about the Lightboat and his obsession to sail the sea of light with this strange device. The greenhorn might be able to help Spectulus on his endeavours to build that thing. They both seem equally dedicated and enthusiastic whereas I'm always a bit sceptical about ideas coming from Spectulus.
But I better end my letter now, I still have to prepare my trip back to the ruins in the Steppe. I don't know when I'll be able to write you again, dear friends, but don't worry about me.
Yours faithfully,
Amaro
Teaser 3
Friends,
In my last letter I told you about my plans to visit the orcs in Zao Steppe and the return to Farmine. In Farmine, a dwarf told that most Tibian creatures now carry new items with them. He had slain several commonly known beasts and instead of the massive amounts of food and heavy stuff they used to carry with them, found much lighter items which he could stack in his backpack. Even more, he was able to sell most of them for an even better price like the heavy stuff before. For example, he got a carrion worm fang from the corpse of a pesky carrion worm which he could sell to Fiona. And Malunga happily offered him some gold coins for the thorn of a thornback tortoise. Have you already heard about that? Should I ever return, I'll try to find out more about it.
But back to Zao... I know you're curious to hear about what happened there but I'm struggling to focus my memories on that. I've come across many strange creatures so far and as an explorer, it's my duty to study them a bit and tell you more about them. I've already named all these creatures so I guess you can call me a zoologist now. Also, noting down my observations helps me to take my mind off of the dark emptiness in my soul. I've attached a couple of illustrations I made. Be warned though that some of them are more than just scary...
But I also ran into a larger creature, an aggressive beast with a voice like thunder and sharp teeth - the gnarlhound. I've seen some of the them serving the orcs as hunting animals, beasts of burden, mounts and occasionally, even food source. Orc marauders ride those feral beasts into battle. They are probably one of the reasons why the orc horde manages to break through the barricades in front of the lizard city Zzaion on a regular basis. However, their attempt to seize control of the city never lasts long and they soon end up getting pushed back out of it by the lizards. Then, both sides immediately start to prepare themselves for the next battle.
However, I fear that is not the entire horror Zao holds. But let me explain. After the traveller and I had paid the cavemen a visit, we started for the Dragonblaze Peaks. Yesterday, we finally reached the vicinity of the mountains. But alas, I was plagued by a terrible nightmare last night. A dream so vivid and horrifying that I don't dare to sleep again. I think I've seen what awaits me behind those mountains...
Lizards were chasing me. Lizards, I've never seen before... well trained armies of lizard legionnaires, elite troops consisting of lizard high guards, lizard dragon priest capable of powerful magic and with an obsession for conflagration and ritual arson. There were also lizards with an overly aggressive, even self-endangering fighting style. Lizard zaoguns, this name still echoes down the dark hallways of my mind... And I saw lizards with a dark skin as if the black oily substance flows right through their veins, as if the dark presence has chosen them as a temple. Their souls must have been driven to madness...
Suddenly, a few ghastly dragons appeared in my nightmare. Their bodies looked as if they had failed miserably in an attempt to transform themselves... abominations, shrieking in their eternal agony. I tried to run away but I could not move my legs, I screamed... and finally woke up in cold sweat.
And now, several hours later I still feel like all my energy has been drained from my body. Something is poisoning my mind. Maybe I've already spent too much time near those black puddles. I'm afraid my curiosity might kill me this time but the knowledge I gained, the experiences I made, won't be lost. That's the reason I'm writing these letters... even if I should perish, my spirit will survive.
Yours faithfully,
Amaro
Screenshots from test server (only tutors can access it)
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