I wrote this bit for a concept art piece from Shroud of the Avatar as part of their first fan fiction community spotlight contest, and to stretch my writing muscles outside of my current novel. I'm absolutely in love with the connectivity of this development team and their community of backers, and how much they want to involve the fans in the process of making their game. It's the perfect example of how games will evolve beyond huge budgets and big publishers, and an even greater example of people voting with their wallets for the kinds of games & companies they want to see in the industry.
Without further adieu, I give you:
Krelm and the Underworld
– Part 1
A Shroud of the Avatar Fan Fiction
It all started when
Krelm ventured north east into the forest, to hunt for a stag to feed his
family. It had been a lean year for crops, and what little they had after their
tithes had not lasted long. They would starve if he didn't make the journey.
That would be a worse fate than risking the danger that lie within these woods.
The Baron’s men had
set upon him as he was taking aim with his bow on a great beast of a stag, with
ten points adorning its velvet covered crown. It was punishable by death to be
caught hunting in the Baron’s woods. Without hesitation, and with little
regret, he loosed the arrow in their direction, falling one of their steeds,
which fell on and rolled over its master, crushing him beneath its weight.
Chaos broke out amongst the small band of patrolling guards. Five remained, and
they all had horses.
He had fled deeper
into the forest before they could recover from their shock. The thicker forest
and gullies would provide him much needed advantage if he was going to have any
chance at escaping. Thankfully, the large hood of his cloak had hidden his
face. All he had to assure was that they did not catch him, and they would be
none the wiser as to whom was in the forest, hunting the Baron’s stags.
He bounded up a
root strewn hill, and leaped off the other side, landing in on his right thigh
into a slide. Nothing mattered but escape, not the pain, not the lack of
breath; not the hunger in his belly. For his family, he would risk everything.
His feet hit the bottom of the ravine and he sprung up into a run immediately,
following a shallow creek bed south into the darkest part of the forest.
Shouts echoed out
over the ravine has the patrol crested the hill, hot on his trail. He risked a
glance over his right shoulder at them. They were cautiously guiding their
horses down the hill. Soon they would catch up if he didn’t make it to the
thick forest ahead. They would be forced to pursue on foot from there. Vines,
roots, rocks, and thorn bushes had claimed this inner most sanctum of the
forest as their own, and they had grown thick as a wall baring invaders from
their realm.
His feet splashed
and sloshed as he bounded through the stream. He slipped his axe out of his
belt as he approached the wall of foliage, and bolted up the opposite side of
the ravine, looking for the easiest place to cut a path beyond the barrier. He
hacked and slashed his way through a promising hole in the brambles, barely big
enough to crawl through. He could hear the horses in the ravine below now, and
knew he had little time left. He pushed forward on his belly through the
brambles, using his arms to shield his face and neck from their cutting
needles. His heart was racing, and it felt like a full day had passed by the
time he had made it beyond the first barrier to an overgrown clearing full of
green leafy plants and canopied by towering pines, poplars and firs. Only the
slimmest bit of sunlight made it through the canopy.
He needed to find a
place to hide. The soldiers would not tarry long here, for days end would mean
death most certainly in this place. Wasting no time, he bounded over bushes and
clumps of tall grass, leaving as little natural path for them follow as
possible. The thickness of the trees would provide him cover as he moved
further away from where they would emerge. Distant curses alerted him that they
had made it through the barrier, just as he spotted an ancient tree that
towered above all the others around it. A hollow barely big enough for a
slender man without armor to squeeze into. Risking whatever may lurk within, he
tightened his cloak around himself, un-shouldered his bow and quiver and
wiggled his way inside. It was dark beyond measure inside, but spacious enough
for many men to fit comfortably. He was able to stand to full height, and could
not feel a roof above him as he reached into the darkness above with his axe.
He sat against the inner trunk of the tree, facing the opening, his bow in his
lap with a nocked arrow, preparing for the worst.
It felt like hours
passed as he sat in the dark bowels of the ancient tree, like a trapped rabbit
waiting to be pounced on by a wolf. He could see what little light there was
outside beginning to fade as the sun began to set behind the western mountains.
A glimmer of hope entered his mind for a moment, but was shattered as he saw
the flicker of torchlight on the ground outside. A dry branch cracked beneath a
solid footfall, followed by a muffled curse. He slowly and quietly stood and
moved further back in the darkness of the tree, ready to draw and fire his bow
on whoever dared to look inside.
Krelm listened to
the men argue amongst themselves as to who would take a look inside. Eventually
one of them felt brave enough to show them all how silly they were being, and
poked his head inside, his arm outstretched before him with a lit torch so that
he could see what lurked in the depths of the shadows. Before his eyes could
adjust to see past the torchlight in front of his face, an arrow hit the
soldier in the left eye, killing him instantly. His body slumped to the ground
awkwardly in the opening, and the torch hit the ground and rolled towards
Krelm. He lunged to put it out with his foot as he nocked another arrow. There
were four men left that yet threatened his life. His first flurry of stomps
failed to scuff out the flames, so he jumped on the torch with both feet, in an
attempt to smother it of oxygen as he pushed it into the soil.
A loud crack
deafened him into a state of shock as the ground beneath him and the torch gave
way to emptiness beneath, and began a free fall decent. A surreal sense of
falling in a dream took over all of his senses, and his life flashed through
his mind as he flailed his arms, losing his grip on the bow and nocked arrow as
he did so. All he could see was darkness as he prepared for the end. His scream
finally found his throat, moments before he saw a feint glow rising to meet
him.
A moment later the
darkness shot away in all directions as he cleared whatever dark hole he had
been in, and the sudden awe shocked him harder than his predicament of falling
into the unknown, drowning his scream in his throat once again. A giant pool of
water was rising to meet him swiftly, its depths glimmering with a greenish
blue glow. The site of it all overwhelmed his senses as he fell into the
ancient stone cavern, with pillars of rusty brown stone holding up the world
above him. Stalactites and stalagmites were everywhere, and islands of dirt,
stone and crystal littered this giant cavern. He thought he saw something
purple and pink flutter about near a distant pillar.
He slammed into the
surface of the water awkwardly before he could fully take in his surroundings,
unaware of its sudden arrival. He felt his left arm go numb, and immediately he
was flailing against the warm water, trying to find the surface through a storm
of bubbles that filled his vision. He let his natural buoyancy do the majority
of the work, and he broke the surface like a cork shooting out of a wine bottle
as he gulped in a number of large breaths. He tread water as he looked around
for solid ground. Not far to his left was an island covered in yellowy green
mushrooms that towered like trees, and purple plants with tiny blue flickering
orbs of light moving about them like bees after pollen on flowers. A few
layered stalagmites reached toward the chamber’s stone ceiling far above, and
water trickled out of the top of the center most spire, eddying in small pools
along the mineral’s surface, before following a small stream out into the pool
of water. Everything glimmered in this place, and an overwhelming sense of
peace filled his heart and mind. He swam ashore and lowered himself against the
smooth stone to catch his breath. A hiss and a splash sounded as the torch he
had attempted to stomp out hit the water where he had been, followed by a small
shower of debris that used to be the floor of the tree above.
Exhaustion hovered
like a threatening storm cloud at the edges of his vision as he tried to focus
on his surroundings, and his thoughts became muddied. He failed to get up off
the ground half a dozen times before laying still. Darkness crept across his
vision until his new world faded from view. He dreamt of his family, and cried
out for them in his nightmare, forever just out of reach. Then there was the
fall. He dreamt about it over and over, forever falling. As he dreamt of the
ground rising to meet him, he startled awake just before impacting. He had no
idea how long he had been unconscious. Hunger ripped at his belly, and he
looked around for anything that looked edible. He had no idea what he could
trust in this environment, but if he didn’t try eating something, he would
starve to death either way. Clumps of mushrooms were everywhere, sometimes
forming small circles. It seemed as good a thing to try as any. He picked a
number of them and ate his fill.
A tingled began to
spread throughout his body, starting from his belly and spreading in all
directions. At first he feared the worst. Had he had ingested deadly poisonous
mushrooms? When pain or convulsions failed to follow his heart settled. He felt
oddly energized, and he felt as though he could lift a mountain. He laughed as
he jumped to his feet to survey his surroundings with fresh eyes and energy.
Crystals of all
sizes jutted from the stone pillars and walls of the cavern all around him, and
the glow from the water lit everything with an almost sun like quality. A land
bridge just beneath the water’s surface formed a path that wove through the center of the water, branching out to circle around each of the stone pillars.
A dark violet haze formed the only darkness in the distance, and even that
emanated a glow of dancing colors. Little orbs of bright blue floated and fluttered about the cavern, and once again he thought he spotted a purple and
pink creature moving about on one of the stone pillars.
Cautiously, he made
his way along the land path, the shallow water splashing about and sending
ripples across the glass like surface as he did so. Ripples reflected in the
glowing light on all the surfaces, magnified by some of the crystals in places.
As he approached the stone pillar in question, he heard something scuttle across
the stone surface, and caught the tail of something as it moved out of view on
the opposite side of the pillar. He kept his hand on the hilt of his axe just
in case he needed to defend himself quickly, but felt there was no immediate
danger. He waited patiently where he stood, hoping to catch a glimpse of the
creature, and to ascertain if it was threatening or not. The silence was broken
by a series of screams and splashes back from where he had come, and a loud thud.
He looked back, and to his horror, saw three of the soldiers flailing about in
the water. A fourth had hit the rocky island that he had slumbered on, his body
shattered and bleeding.
He cursed under his
breath. What drove them to follow him he wondered as he turned and fled deeper
into the cave before they could collect themselves and spot him. He needed to
find a way out of this place, but part of him felt as though he could live down
here forever, and be at peace with that fate. What about his family thought?
They needed him more now than ever. It drove him forward into the unknown with
a renewed determination. Krelm spotted an old looking wooden bridge over a
small chasm in the cavern, and a short ways beyond it, a cave let led into
darkness. It was the first opening he had seen leading away from this main
cavern. Glowing water trickled and flowed over the edges of the chasm into
another body of water far below as he crossed the bridge. Again he thought to
himself, ‘What is this place?’
Clearly someone or something lived down here. Where else could that bridge have
come from?
It was magnificent,
and his mind was racing at all the possibilities of what it could be. He knew
that even if he made it out of this place alive, he would be back. It wasn't a
thought so much as a certainty in his bones. He raced into the dark opening
before slowing down; looking over his shoulder to be sure the soldiers had not
spotted him. There was no sign of them. The tunnel had a slight incline to it
which seemed promising, but without light, it would be slow going. He kept one
hand on the rock wall on his left as he slowly progressed ever upward. The
tunnel began to spiral slightly but consistently, and it felt like days were
passing by as he climbed. A gust of fresh air hit his face, and his heart
jumped as he thought he saw the darkness begin to break ahead. He picked up the
pace, and before long could see light ahead. He burst from the tunnel to
blinding light as his eyes quickly tried to adjust, and once they came into
focus, he found himself standing in the middle of a thick forest glade. Sunlight
pierced the canopy of trees overhead, casting rays of light across the foliage
in random locations. He had no idea which way the edge of the forest was that
would lead him home to the south west. He needed to see the sky to spot the
location of the sun. Deciding that the quicker he picked a direction, the
quicker he would find his way home; he chose a direction and headed off into
the forest.
Krelm spent the
better part of two days finding his way out of the forest, and when he finally
emerged, he found himself far to the south, near some farm lands a great
distance from his own home. Relief overwhelmed him as he emerged from the
forest, falling to his knees and letting the sunlight kiss his upturned face.
He had managed to find a fresh water stream and followed it out of the forest.
He had not hungered since eating the mushrooms in the cave, nor had he needed
to sleep. But he had needed plenty of water, more than usual he felt. After
resting on a small hillside overlooking the farmlands for a short while, he got
to his feet and began his long journey home to his family. He would need to
make a new bow and quiver, and then be off to hunt again to provide for his
family if they were to make it through these lean times. The cavern was never
far from his mind, and the mystery of what lay deep beneath the surface ached
in his mind. It haunted his dreams, filling him with a tingling sensation every
night, and he began to hear a voice beckoning for him in his sleep; soft and
distant, yet familiar.
His wife and son
were going about the days chores when he arrived home four days later, looking
worn and ragged. They ran to meet him, wrapping their arms around him as they
wept with joy that he was alive and well despite his outward appearance. He
smiled as he took his wife’s face in his hands, tilted her chin up and kissed
her deeply. They begged to know what happened, but he would not speak of the
events within possible earshot of others in the village. They went about the
rest of the day completing the chores in silence. That evening, over dinner
inside their quaint little home, he told them everything in a hushed voice. His
son listened intently, his jaw almost on the floor, and his stew untouched as
he was mesmerized by Krelm’s tale. The glint in his wife’s eyes spoke of her
amazement and held an unspoken request of never return to that place. She knew
better than to ask such a thing of him. He would provide for his family first
and foremost, but when the time was right, he would return to that place. He
finished his tale, and beckoned for his son to eat his stew and then crawl into
bed.
That evening, he
slept with his arms wrapped around his wife, a safeguard for his unconscious mind
that would keep him tethered to this world if the voice returned. He knew
already that the underworld would claim him when he eventually returned to that
place.
