| The Travels of Julian Essex |
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So, hier eine meiner Geschichten. Fortsetzung folgt. An dieser Stelle dann auch ein tiefempfundenes und ernstgemeintes "Sorry" an alle, deren Englischkünste nicht ausreichen um das zu lesen- ich schreibe leider lieber englische als deutsche Geschichten.
The Travels of Julian Essex
-A Treatise on the Metaphysics of the Underworld-
by Julian Essex
Dedicated to the Memory of Kitsune
As well to my friends, Reader and Mr.Dorn
I. Foreword :
In every Situation there are several kinds of people: Those who are meant to suffer, for whatever Reasons, those who want to maintain the old order, those who have to stay and fight and those who just deserve to go to better places…
- Malaclypse the Younger
I am about to write about the story of my many travels in the underworld. Of the many things wonderful, mysterious and horrible I witnessed.
This book is basically dedicated to my now gone friend Kitsune, who was in many ways more then a friend to me, sometimes even the one who made things different and bearable. –Getting sentimental, Julian, old boy ? By the way, time to introduce myself, I am Julians shadow and I will enter side commentaries, whenever I feel necessary.
But this book is also dedicated to my friend Reader, who helped Kitsune and me in many ways and of course, last but not least, to my friend Peter Dorn who braved many a dangerous travel with me in the underworld.
So this will be the tale of my voyaging the uncharted as well as the charted waters of this place. My hope is that it may be a fond memory of good times for my friends to read as well as for the occasional other reader a tome from which to get at least a few interesting glimpses of far and foreign places.
I hope as well that one day I might be able to write down the stories yet to come.
New Orleans
August 2001
II. The Beginning
The Beginning is a delicate thing or rather not. I think it best to begin by telling who I was before I died.
There is not much I currently remember about my breathing days, before my first death. Basically there is only one afternoon I spent with a most lovely young lady left in my memory of those days.
-Well if only you could make me relate more of that time. Now that would be telling Julian, wouldn´t it ?
Well yes, I guess it would. But let me go on. On that particular afternoon, about a month after I had been relegated from Cambridge College, for I have to admit, trying to cheat in my exams, I was riding out with that aforementioned young lady. I had spent several nice weeks at a manor one of my friends owned.
We were far in the country when suddenly we encountered this old building, an abandoned hayshack or whatever it was. She was so intent on exploring it, I simply couldn´t deny her wish. So we went in and started to explore it. In the upper section we found only one room. After entering it the door suddenly slammed shut and we were trapped. Then appeared a horrid old man. –Aw Julian, he wasn´t that horrid and old.
Anyway he just appeared from seemingly nowhere and with him came the darkest fear and despair I had encountered until then. –Well that has changed, hasn´t it ?
Yes, I guess, it has, but let´s stick to the story. –Ok.
All right, so the only thing I could do was help the young lady escape out of the window, then he really laid into me. Sucked away my lifeblood and gave me the kiss of the damned. My sacrifice had saved the girl but rendered me into the arms of this beast.
For many years he tortured and abused me in uncountable ways, until one day I finally overcame his powers and killed him.
-Killed him, Julian ? Be honest, you DIABLERIZED him, sucked out his soul and tore it to shreds, I think that´s quite different than mere killing.
Yes, I think so, too. So I drank his blood and got more Power. After that I got away with some young Sabbat Vampires who were at the communal haven at that time.
In the ensuing, I don´t remember how many years, I lived the savageness of the sabbat to the fullest, I guess there are few if none at all atrocities I did not commit during that time.
Then one night in the Sonora desert of northern Mexiko I and another Vampire who traveled with me at the time were suddenly attacked by what I thought at first to be a wild animal, but what turned out to be one of the most ferocious sabbat members I´ve ever encountered. Her Name was Luna and after a while we got along increasingly well.
It was she I spent my last years as a vampire with. I will not relate all the things that happened during that time, this is a tale to be told at another time. Let me just say, we had what the sabbat might call quite a good time.
- A “good” time, come on Julian those were glorious, even magnificent times, all that killing, bloodspattering and maiming. I liked it better back then.
Well I guess, so did I, but nowadays I´m not so sure which were my own urges at that time and which were those induced by my sire.
On my last night a wyld hunt was declared on a member of the sabbat who had reached Golconda, a state of mind where it is said that beast and mind are at peace, which of course was treachery to the sabbat.
The one pack to dig her up was of course the mine. In the ensuing battle all members, even brave ferocious Luna were driven away. I guess I should have been scared out of my wits by then, but I was so high on cocaine and my own confidence I simply wouldn´t back away, even though the one I was fighting had been a friend of mine.
Three times she scorched me and asked me to back away. I of course did not. So when her fourth attack came it was more than I could stand and I perished, crumbling to ashes, screaming for a last time “all hail to the Sabbat”!
After that I remember only darkness for a long time. The moment I was returned to consciousness is the one my adventures in the underworld began.
1. The Iron Ship
Waking up was rather odd for me. The first thing I saw was some weird guy disappearing into something like a black void, yelling: ”Fuck the hierarchy!”
I was lying on a metal floor. Lying on the ground beside me was another person. In the far corner to my left I could spot a pile of weapons and other miscellaneous items.
Before I could think or even try to figure my situation, suddenly a door in the wall in front of me opened and some weird guys dressed much like roman legionnaires were standing in front of it. One of them ordered the others to kill us.
I jumped up in one motion, rolled over to the pile of weapons and grabbed up an assault rifle. The next thing was to unload the full clip into the assaulters. To my amazement they vanished into thin air.
When I looked around the room after that, the other man who had been previously lying by my side had already gotten up. He was wearing the most exotic dress of full plate I had ever seen in my life and was pale as death itself.
He looked over to me and just said :”Hand me that rifle, now!”. I of course on one hand still wondering, whether I had survived Roses last assault were in no mood to do so and just asked:” And what kind of weird fucker might you be ?”
He just answered:” Though I think this is none of your affairs : My Name is Peter Dorn, of House and Clan Tremere, now hand me that gun.”
2. Dorn
Well, I being still in many ways my old sabbat self, just picked up another clip, reloaded, leveled that gun at him and said:” Well met, I am Julian Essex, True Sabbat, Pack Priest of the glorious Ghost Riders and now tell me why I shouldn´t kill some deluded Cammie faggot like you at once ?”
-Oh Julian, if only you had done it back then…
His answer was, to be honest, quite astonishing:” Eh, Sabbat that´s fine, but I think that shouldn´t count so much for you anymore, because on one hand we´re obviously in quite a perilous situation and on the other I think you´re quite dead even moreso than you were as a vampire.”
And that was the first time I actually recognized something was wrong. Looking down myself I saw that I was still wearing the same clothing I had been the evening before, but my skin was different, rather shining I´d call it. And beside that the disciplines I wanted to toggle somehow didn´t kick in. So I paused for a second and gave it, I guess for the first time in 80 years a second thought. One thing I realized was that the situation, if not deliberately induced by some of those camarilla pigs was indeed quite dangerous. The other thing were the not working disciplines and my weird looks.
So I just motioned that gun, which actually was his, at this Mr. Dorn and urged him to leave the room for a sneak peak outside. And well he did it, saying :”Hm, I see only one or two, if you just gave me anything like a gun, I think we could do them.”
I just looked at him, saying:” Yes, motherfucker, I hand you a gun and you do me in, do I look like some deluded cammie asshole ?”
He just replied:” Listen, I would appreciate discussing this right after we do those shitheads outdoor and are out of danger, so please now, hand me at least a handgun or take a look outside for yourself. And that I did, being quite careful, ordering him to stand in the far corner.
Looking out I could see two other of those roman style misfits. Up ahead I could also spot a gray sail, so I figured we were in some kind of cabin, aboard a ship. Well, the sky proved to be the most crazy thing I had seen until then, it was pitch black and raining blood, which I must admit, having been to many weird places, was still quite disturbing a sight for me.
So I turned around, picked a handgun out of the heap which turned out to be my old Desert Eagle and handed it over to Dorn, saying:” Here you are, and don´t get any funny ideas, you´ll walk ahead and I’ll watch you closely, Mister.”
He just took it with an angry notch, gave it a cursory check and advanced in front of me. The two Romans of course didn’t prove to be a problem for us.
After that we looked around the ship and found the hold to be full of more of those weirdos. So we went back to the pile, because Dorn mentioned something about a grenade resting within it.
I allowed him to pick it up, all the while watching him closely for any sign of treachery. But he simply got the grenade, advanced towards the door of the hold, pulled the pin, and threw it in, closing the door afterwards. The grenade finished all of those inside.
After that I looked overboard and for the first time beheld the whole splendor of the tempest. And this was the first time I realized that Dorn after all might not be that wrong with his remarks about this place.
I just turned and, still pointing the nozzle of his own gun at him, and asked:” So tell me, Mr. Almighty Tremere, where the fuck are we ?”
He just replied:” Well, the underworld of course, didn’t you know that ?”
I must admit, I was basically dumbstruck, for of course I was, as a former user of the discipline of Necromancy quite familiar with that word, but I had never thought or even imagined it to be like this.
Then he added:” And you Mr. Seem to be quite obviously dead and a wraith to me. So as you seem to be a denizen of this godforsaken place, could you please tell me where this ship is heading or how we could get off it, for I seem to have lost quite a few essential Items.”
And that was the first time I realized that I was indeed truly and utterly dead, cause all the evidence had dropped by now and the oddness of the place had by then convinced me quite thoroughly. Another point was Dorns honesty and lack of betrayal. So I just asked:” Ok, Mr. Camarilla ass fucking swine, if I am dead and you’re still undead please tell me how you get to be at this place.”
His answer was more than astonishing:” All right Mr. Essex, I think there’s no reason for not telling you the truth.” And then he went on, telling me one of the weirdest stories I have ever heard. He told me that some time ago, while investigating an ancient grave he had found an iron crown which enabled him to enter the lands of the dead, which in turn he had started to explore. On one of his expeditions he had been beset by several weird figures, wearing gas masks and swinging mallets, who at last had won the upper hand against him. When he woke again he had seen the same guy vanishing and lying on his right side a pale man wearing weird faery glyphs. Well it was easy to know it had been me.
I do really not know why, but I started to believe him. So in the end we agreed on a weird pact: I was to help him get back his crown, which obviously had been stolen by our liberator and in turn he would help me get back to Montreal.
So I gave back his gun to him, while in turn he handed over a spare shotgun he had to me. I also got the chain mail, as well as a sword of one the guys I had blasted with the first spray of Dorns gun. Further on he returned my pistol to me.
After that, I do not know how I did it back then, I tried to ascertain the way our “savior” had left us, discovering a quite uncanny ability to do so and even open some kind of shadow door to follow him.
Well my first jump of course got us right in the middle of the tempest. Subsequent tries to track the perpetrator down and to open doors finally got us to the edge of a big black forest.
- Ok Julian, and this is where I kick in. There´s something you forgot and if it wasn´t about saving our sorry butt, I wouldn´t tell.
While sending those poor fucks inside the hold to oblivion you spotted someone. Remember ? As you´re looking dumbstruck I´ll go on.
There was a Helmsman aboard the ship, remember ? When you approached him and tried to “coax” him into telling you where the ship was headed, he just jumped over board. So, now you remember, do you ? Well…. I could tell, where he was headed, but I guess you better find out for yourself.
3. The Inferno
Even from the outside this forest looked exactly like that type of dark and foreboding forest one always used to be afraid of while being a child.
Everything was darker and a kind of grayish hue hung about the whole place, not to mention the rain that had now changed from blood to human tissue and hair.
There was a path leading into the forest, it looked like the only way we could take and it seemed obvious the savior/thief must have followed it. So we followed that path right into the forest.
After a while we came to a small clearing and suddenly found us surrounded by centaurs and as they were underworld centaurs they of course looked mean and dangerous. To this day and after having met those beasties quite often I haven´t been able to discern whether they are simple plasmics, spirits that got lost, wraiths of skinland centaurs, who as far as I am concerned have never existed outside of ancient Greek tales, or just some crazy artificers version of:” That´s something I always wanted to do.”
Anyway they surrounded us and asked us to pay tax for walking through their forest.
- And this Julian is the point when you should have begun beating this idiocy out of their ugly skulls. I still think it would be a good idea to kill them next time, we´re around.
Hm, I don´t think so, but as always we have different opinions on topics like that.
- Now come on, don´t be so bourgeois on one hand doing that is just what they´re asking for with their audacious behavior and besides they´re a nuisance and it would be fun.
All right, we´ll see, when next time we meet them, but let me go on with the story, ok ?
-Agreed.
So Dorn paid them the tax they wanted by giving them some other swords we had salvaged aboard the ship. After that they let us pass on and redrew into the forest.
After walking through that forest for some more time, we suddenly could hear loud music and in the distance there was the sound of horns.
We tried to follow the music and after a while came to another bigger clearing. At the forests edge there was a wooden building. In front of it stood several cars of different kinds. It just looked like the modern version of a fairy tale inn.
Beside that nobody was to see on the clearing, so Dorn and I advanced cautiously. When we had reached the front porch of the building we saw a sign hanging above the door, reading “Inferno”, the music was definitely louder now.
So we entered what was to become my favorite club for years to come.
Inside the music wasn´t quite as deafening as could be expected. The crowd was, to spell it modestly, quite mixed, soldiers from most ages of mankind were there as well as many different kinds of other people and weirdos.
We advanced towards the bar where a woman of obvious asian descent was serving the customers. I sat down on a stool on front of her, while Dorn just kept standing beside me and just said :”Hi I am Julian Essex and to be honest am quite new to this place, so what kind of drink do you serve?”
She said :”Pleased to meet you, I am Souxsie. As you are new to this place, I´ll tell you the one and only rule : No trouble, understood ?
And well yes, we serve Sake and Whiskey, so what do you like ?”
While I had been talking to Souxsie, Dorn had been looking around the room and suddenly nudged me with his elbow, saying :”Look over there, Essex, I think there´s the Prick who stole my crown and mask!”
I looked towards the way he was pointing and saw the guy, who had disappeared aboard the ship sitting in one dimly lit corner.
Turning back to Siouxsie I just said :”I guess, we´ll settle for whiskey, but excuse us for now, for I guess we´ll have to discuss something with that gentleman over there”.
After saying this, we just left the bar, heading directly over towards that guy in the corner.
When we approached his table, he just looked up at us and said :”Oh, hi, you´re the guys I freed aboard that ship. Sit down and have a drink with me.”
Before I could utter a single syllable, Dorn answered :” I prefer standing. My name´s Peter Dorn and who´re you and where the fuck are my crown and mask ?”
- Ah, at least Dorn always had the right words for the situation.
The guy seemed to be as astonished, as I were and just said :” Er, well, yes, I´m Soup, but please sit down and don´t make such a fuss.”
I simply sat down, still overwhelmed by the whole situation, while Dorn did the same but at the same moment said :”Now listen Mr. I´m not joking, hand me back my Items, cause if you don´t I´ll blast your sorry butt to wherever you bastards go.”
I intervened by saying :” Um, I hope you excuse my friend, but he seems to be quite upset by having lost those things, if you still have those things, is there a way for us to acquire them ? By the way my name´s Julian.”
Soup looked at us took a sip from his drink and said :” Sorry guys I wish I could help you but I have already sold those things to a customer of mine.”
Dorn glared at him and hissed :”Tell me the name !”
Soup stared back defiantly saying :”And why should I ? Now, Mr. Dorn I know what you´re thinking, but do me in and you´ll never get the name. But I´m not here to fuck around with you guys and I don´t want any trouble so I´ll tell you, what I know.
I don´t know the guys name, but he dwells at….”
At this moment a loud horn blast could be heard outside not anywhere as far as it had seemed, when we arrived. We all looked up seeing Siouxsie approaching our table with a tablet of glasses.
She put our drinks in front of us, looked at us and said :”Here are you drinks gentlemen and if you take some advice, I´d say you finish them fast and leave, I guess there´s some trouble approaching.
By the way that´s half an obolus for all of you for the drinks.”
I grapped inside my pocket and found some of the weird coins, Dorn and I had salvaged while searching the fallen legionnaires aboard the ship. I handed over two of them towards Siouxsie :” I guess this should be ok, shouldn´t it ?”
She just looked at the two coins: “Yes, of course. Thank you and may you travel safely, goodbye.”
At this moment another even louder hornblast could be heard outside. Soup got up, finished his drink with one gulp and looked down at Dorn and me.
“Ok, guys, he dwells at summer country, that´s a far shore, as far as I know. How to get there you must figure for yourself. Bye.”
With that he left.
Dorn just looked at me :”Jays, fuck, Mr. Essex, what is a far shore ?”
I just returned his glance :”Sorry, Dorn, I don´t fucking know. I´m new to this place as you should guess.”
Suddenly I spotted a movement at the front of our table and saw a figure standing in front of us. The guy was dressed in some of those legionnaire garments I had seen earlier.
He just looked at us and said :”Ok guys, give me a drink and I guess I´ll be able to tell you a few tidbits you´d like to know.
Oh, if you´re wondering, I couldn´t help but overhear your discussion with that guy who just left.” With that he simply sat down in front of us.
I, simply wondering, whether things could be turning to the worse by the minute just ordered new drinks at Siouxse´s.
- Oh, Julian, things could turn for the worse, for example by aiding this Dorn fellow. But that´s just my 2p.
Yes, I guess that´s your 2p, but I think differently´, but shall I go on with the story ?
- Yes, feel free to do so.
Ok. So, after the drinks had come the legionnaire guy just looked at us and said :” Ok, gentlemen, I guess there are a few hints I might give you..
First : This summer country is indeed a far shore, thus you´ll have to traverse the tempest.
Second : Mr. Dorn or whatever you call yourself down here, there´s a definite hint in one of your pockets which you Mr. Essex should be able to make some sense of.
Third : Don´t ask my name, I won´t tell and get lost ASAP.”
With that he gulped down his drink, stood up and left.
I just looked at Dorn who was feverously searching his pockets, suddenly looking up with an astonished face, saying :”Jays, Mr. Essex I think this could be a splinter of my crown”, thereby presenting towards me a jagged piece of black Iron.
I looked at it. But when I raised my hand to take it from his hand he redrew it and looked at me distrustingly.
I said :” Look, Mr. Dorn, I know we had a bad start. After all the things I said I understand you do not trust me. But if you´re right I am a denizen of this place and after what the weirdo just said I might perhaps be able to make some sense out of that splinter, so would you allow me to just touch it for a moment ?”
Dorn looked at me again, then carefully though seemingly prepared for everything handed the splinter to me.
I took it from him and scrutinized it thoroughly. Suddenly I had the feeling that I knew instinctively where to go. So I handed it back to Dorn and just said :”Allright Mr. Dorn, time to go, I think I know the way, though should I loose that feeling it might be necessary to give that thing back to me, Ok ?” Dorn just nodded his approval. Thus we stood up and left the Inferno.
Outside most of the cars that had been parked there had left. Thick black clouds where roiling in the skies above and strong winds were bending the trees of the surrounding woods.
“Seems like there´s quite a storm brewing, Mr. Dorn, guess we should hurry our errand”, I said. Dorn just shrugged:”I think we both have weathered worse in our times, Mr. Essex, let´s got.”
-Ah, such naiveté then, Julian... sometimes that can be a blessing.
We marched our way back through the forest towards a direction I could sense with my new, by then by all means uncanny ability.
After an at least to me unmeasurable span of time Mr. Dorn and I finally reached a beach and to our surprise found a bridge, seemingly composed of pure moonlight. We looked at each other and I just told him that I though this was the way to go.
Dorn just nodded his approval and we carefully stepped on the bridge that led up into the darkened heavens above.
We marched on and on for another time we could not keep track of, our clothing torn by increasingly strong gusts of wind, until finally in the distance we spotted a far out shoreline.
4. Summer Country
As we neared yet another beach we could see that the Island we were approaching was covered in lush green woods and as we made landfall we could hear sounds of distant music and laughter.
Dorn looked at me and said :”Seems to be quite some paradise for this otherwise forbidding plane”. I just nodded my approval and walked on.
-Yes Julian, actually this was paradise, but you had to forsake it out of stupid pride and your mad “Man on a Mission” behaviour, oh what troubles would have been spared us if you just had...
Snap out of it you´re way ahead of the story.
-Very well, my lips are sealed.
As we stepped further on what seemed to be an Island in this weird 3 dimensional black sea, we were approached by merry dancers, who sung and danced away.
However I noticed some kind of deep sadness in their eyes, but was unsure of its origin. The dancers greeted us and invited us into their masters hall whom they named Oberon.
The band of merry dancers led us through yet another forest though its atmosphere was much morelively and thus deeply different from the darkened woods surrounding the Inferno. We even saw several animals of different kinds.
As we neared the hall the music grew louder until finally we spotted a high ceilinged building that was open to the front and had beautifully adorned walls. On the ground there was a big U shaped banquett table.
In the midst of it sat a tall man with a crown. He approached us motioning us in and welcoming us as guests. He offered us chairs and some of the lush food that was spread in golden bowls across the table.
Upon being introduced to Oberon Dorn just blurted:”I want my crown and mask, now!” Oberon looked at him with a mildly surprised glance and just replied: “I am sorry my honored guest, but I bought those and am unwilling to give these goods back”. Dorn just grunted upon hearing this.
-Ah, good old Dorn, some of his straightness would look well on you Jules
Oberons insistence on us eating some of the offered food however made me suspicious and a lingering memory of a childhood tale stopped me from even tasting a single fruit.
Seeing this Oberon said:”As you seem unwilling to partake of my freely offered food I ask you to at least tell us a tale from abroad as well travelled you seem.”
And thus I started telling tales of my long and arduous journeys as a member of the Ghost Riders.
While I was spinning my tale adding details here and there –Old habits die hard, hm, Julian, old liar ?- I suddenly spotted Mr. Dorn sneaking up behind Oberons throne, where behind a painting our previous secretive probing had hinted his goods were.
Noticing this I increased my pace of storytelling to further ensnare my audience and to keep them off noticing Dorns secret moves.
When Mr. Dorn turnt with a smile, giving me a thumps up, I knew that he had found what he had been longing for and thus smoothly slid towards ending my storytelling.
The audience applauded my endeavours and asked me to go on racounting stories, but I appeased them by telling that another day would see the next of my tales.
Knowing that it was time to part for us now, I stood up and bowed, turning towards the exit. Oberon now sped up and tried his very best to get us to partake of some of the offered foods, bot we stood strong and declined.
Thus we marched off towards the beach again, escorted by Oberon and his guests. Upon noticing that we by no means were to be coerced into eating anything at all, our host finally gave up.
Upon reaching the beach we found the bridge where we had left it, but the storm vastly increased in strength. We said goodbye and set out to return towards the lands we knew.
6. Into the Labyrinth
Upon marching forth on the silvery bridge we immediately noticed that the raging storm had vastly increased in pace, strong gusts were ravaging our cloaks and got near to blowing us off the bridge.
We clenched our teeth and marched ever onward. With every single step, the storm, now nearing what must measure up to hurricane strength increased its pace. Suddenly Mr. Dorn let out a startled yell, when to my own surprise I found the bridge beneath my feet starting to dissolve.
Dorn, Vampire Thaumaturgist of seemingly quite some stature, immediately began chanting incantations and shortly after started to fly. I, still ignorant of my own abilities reached into my inner self and discovered I could sprout what I would call ectoplasmic wings. However flying with those proved to be a wholly different thing. I tried my best to use those as the bridge beneath our feet was seemingly vanishing into nothingness.
On and on Dorn and I made our way jumping and flying whenever parts of this bridge over troubled water gave way beneath our feet. Ofttimes we were near to falling into the roiling seas below , but time and again we managed to escape doom. Whenever one of us was in peril to fall the other would help out.
After another immeasurable amount of time we finally got to walk on a seemingly more stable part of this moonlight bridge, when in the distance we saw what seemed to be a far off lantern.
On and on Mr. Dorn and I marched fighting our way through the raging storm until that distant light grew nearer and we saw that indeed it was lantern held by a hooded figure aboard a small boat.
When we –carefully- stepped closer, a hand waved for us to come closer.
As we did so –that´s just your problem Julian you always follow each and every fucking hand begging you to come closer and every so often you wonder why you get bludgeoned in the process- a ghostly voice spoke to us: “ Travellers hurry on, weary as thee might be, a storm is rising that will consume each and all if thou doest not succeed with thine mission.”
Having whispered this to us the stranger moved his boat away, once more leaving Mr. Dorn and me to our own and to the storms whims.
Dorn and I moved on struggling ever harder to make our way down the bridge. Our troubled march became ever harder as more and more parts of the bridge simply gave way beneath our feet. Many times we got close to being washed over by the waves that were now littered with vile creatures of many a kind –well the Nosferatu believe that outer ugliness is just a reflection of the troubled soul that only their kind manage to express whereas the other clans hide their mangled and disfigured souls… the same might be true here Julian, old boy-.
Anyway, we persevered and finally could see another light in the distance. As we drew closer we could see that it was the same boat with the lantern now minus the rider.
When we approached the boat we saw the lantern hung on a stick with a note attached to it : “Hold fast to this and never lose thine courage on the road ahead”. We took the lantern as it was obviously meant for us –ah finally that old rogue spirit returning to you, where´s no owner to be seen things lying around must be meant for me!-
As we stepped forth from the boat the bridge finally gave way and melted into nothingness. Dorn and I dropped into the seas below, fighting valiantly to stay aloof, but to no avail.
We were sucked down by the greedy sea to what I though must be the end.
When we regained our senses we found ourselves lying on the bottom of a spiraling stairways made of venous marble that spiraled ever upwards. The air was full of sound and fury. Shrieks, screams, yells- a whole cacophony and in the flickering light of our still burning lantern we notice shades of many a different ilk pass above and around us, their voices full of anger and triumph.
Mr. Dorn turned towards me:” Let´s get up and out of this Mr. Essex, I do not think we belong here.” And thus Dorn and I took up our relentless march once again. I held fast to the lantern always remembering and doing my best not to loose my courage.
Of the horrors we heard and witnessed there are too many for me to name them all. I can only say that it was the worst I had ever seen so far.
When we had ascended the stairs for some time we suddenly heard loud bells through the symphony of sound and fury around us and then screams foretelling the end of Stygia. Droning voices were yelling : “Stygia the great has fallen, beware ye souls for Oblivion has come to reap its reward!” At that moment of despair I saw the candle flicker and start to die, it took me my utmost courage to walk on and thus keep the light alive.
At that moment when the light seemed to regain its composure the flame suddenly flickered and died, but in the distance we could see another light and it seemed the toll of the bells came from that direction.
Dorn just looked at me:”Seems we´ve run out of good fortune Mr. Essex, time to run for our very unlives.” Having said that Dorn turned around loosing a hail of bullets into the fray that was following us, then turning again and leaping towards the light and bells. I gave my best, speeding up as well. And thus we rushed off towards the exit followed by what at that time seemed to be the literal hordes of hell.
As we finally reached the exit we very nearly smashed into a phalanx of those weird roman guys, who at the last gave way and allowed us to pass. Behind us we heard the sound of bitter fighting and voices commanding to “close the gate”, ahead was a gigantic and grim fortress.
Turning around we saw the legionnaires fighting off the last of the specters and closing a solid and obviously heavily enchanted gate.
Turning again we saw a single figure in a black cloak approaching us :”The Lord awaits thee gentlemen, please follow me.” Looking over to Dorn I saw him shrug and nod his approval.
Thus we made our way into the fortress.
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