Unused alias #6's page

"So you are corporal Matt. The knight upstairs told us to seek you out.. he failed to mention the scorpion. Were those your comrades in there?"

The man snaps out of his thoughts, only to become more nervous. "Scorpion? No, yes... Yes! The elf attacked... Gods! I-I couldn't move. So many dead around me! My spear must have broken, a-and my armor. And the pain! I-I woke up in here, and couldn't move..."

"What general do you speak of? What Throne?"

"Our great general! Y-yes! The general and I are good friends. He's a good friend, and a great commander. He was... The Throne, that's our domain." He then suddenly raises his voice, now shouting: "Please! The general needs your help! United land..."

"What's going on?"

"I-I heard voices down here. No, that's not... I was taking a break from the outpost duties. And... I came down here. A-and then the elf attacked. Or... no?"

The man has applied crude first aid to his legs, apparently, and they're no longer bleeding. But he seems to have lost a lot of blood, and his mental state is clearly damaged.

"I am sorry for you wounds friend. I wish I had the power to help. We know barely anything of your order, but we have heard of them. We would love to know as much as possible."

The man nods. "Hell... Hellfire. We secure the peace, that's right... I think I broke my legs. Do you think I'll be all right? Should I see a doctor?"

The voice had come from the direction of the scorpion's cavern. Ushio, followed by the others who are illuminated by light spells, scouts ahead into the side tunnel. Seconds later, Ushio gives the all-clear and the others join him.

In the side tunnel there's a lone bearded man sitting in the corner. Both of his legs end around the knees, below that there's only bloody stumps. Next to him lies two halves of a broken spear and a breastplate cleanly cut in two. He notices the group and says delighted: "Gods bless! What a joy to see so many people with their minds intact! Hear me, the general needs your help! There's no time, the Throne might be in danger...!"

The man is visibly agitated, and you try to calm him down.

"Ah y-yes... I am Matt, a corporal of Hellfire. Y-you know Hellfire, don't you? We secure the peace in this place... Yes..." The man gets lost in thought for a moment.

(Pay no mind to the familiar alias; this person is clearly not the same guy as before.)

With this large player cast it'd be foolish to wait for 1 or 2 players just to react to some NPC's dialogue. We're moving on.

"We could take you with us, are you sure you want to die?"

The man sighs. "Those pesky Hellfire fanatics put me in a pretty bad shape. It may not show, but I know my viscera have been hexed with some advanced pyromancies. I only have a day or so to live, and if I wait that long my death is slow and excruciating. I'd want it to end quickly." He speaks matter-of-factly with no fear in his voice.

"Very well. I hope you found solace in knowing you were a great help to us. Rest easy, my friend."

Your words make the man smile for an instant. "Heh. It's funny. If only you knew my sins... but I will not concern you with that."

"Before Goramar sends you to whatever lies after death in this place- what was your name?"

The man makes a nervous laughing sound. "M-my name? Why, it's not very important. You haven't heard of me, what difference does it make?"

"Oh, I almost forgot!" The man changes subject. "I have a friend on B14F, that's just a few floors above. Her name's Felisse, she's an alchemist. If you seek the Explorer's Guild, you should pay her a visit. If you do, could you tell her I was killed by Hellfire? Thank you."

The man then turns back to Goramar and nods. "I'm ready."

"If the gathering of souls is going to lead to me leaving this place, it sounds as though killing you will benefit us both"

The man closes his eyes and smiles. "This, too, is a way out. Good luck, newcomers!"

"The man offered for us to kill him mercifully. I say we oblige, "

"Tell us about this place then I will do you the honor of ending your life by my blade."

The man sneers at your statement. "Hmph! I get a feeling you'll make it far in the Labyrinth with that attitude. Think I'll give you a hint... but first..." The man takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

"None of us know how we got in here, I assume it's the same for you. We do know that we need souls to survive. The more souls you gather, the stronger you became and less hungry you feel. There is no food here, so souls is all we have. But take my warning: it's better to be hungry than insane. For if you gather too many souls, you start to lose your mind. Then again, if the alternative is to suffer hunger for eternity, who am I to judge?"

The man opens his eyes and looks Goramar right in the eye. "I haven't heard of a way out, but they say that souls is the key to freedom. Take that however you like. If that sounds too vague for your tastes, maybe you should seek the Explorer's Guild. If anyone ever finds a way out, it ought to be one of them Explorers. No promises though."

The man continues to look at Goramar in the eye, with the exhaustion gone and replaced by determination. "I think I've blabbered enough. Now, your part of the deal, if you would."

"There is always something to be done. Do not give up hope."

"What are you looking at?"

The man flinches from your touch, but keeps on staring at the pictures on the wall. "This place has no hope you speak of. Optimists like you won't survive here for long, I fear..." The man doesn't answer your question about what he's looking at.

You follow his gaze. Right now he seems to staring at a painting of a halfling woman. She has tanned skin and curly black hair. You notice that all the people pictured in the paintings have their eyes closed, as if they were resting.

"Pardon if I'm interrupting the conversation, but where are we?"

"Ah, how rude of me not to give you an introduction..." the man says snarkily. "Welcome to the Labyrinth. As you'll soon notice, this place is damnation itself. Hell. Abyss. Abaddon. Whatever you want to call it... this place hates mortals. Of course, the 'formal' introduction to the Labyrinth would be to brutally slaughter you all. Consider yourselves lucky! Ha ha ha ha ha..." The man laughs, but for some reason you doubt he was joking...

The man sighs heavily. "I see you have no intention of granting my wish before I answer your questions. Very well. I suppose I could atone for my sins by helping a group of newcomers such as yours."

"Oh, I think we've all sinned. That's why we're here, isn't it? 'Hellfire'? Who would that be and why would they want you dead?"

The man seems surprised and impressed by your statement, even lifting his gaze away from the paintings for a brief moment just to look at you in the eye. "For a newcomer you catch on quickly. Yes... I think we've all sinned to get here... but that's not what I'm talking about. I've sinned twice: in mortal life and here."

His gaze turns back to the paintings. "Hellfire is an organization a friend of mine found. Hellfire hunts those who've lost their mind, and those indicted. As for why they'd want me dead...the reason is the founder is no longer my friend."

The man seems to be looking at all the paintings, one at a time, rather than focusing on one single painting. He looks at each of them for some 10 seconds before moving on to the next.

No one can help me... not any longer. The man does not look Pahleg in the face, keeping his sight fixed on the paintings.

I have sinned, and now I meet my punishment. If you want to help me, do it by leaving me be or by killing me mercifully.

Hellfire has finally found me, has it? Go on, do what you must. But please, do it quickly, the man says. He closes his eyes and looks away from you. He then turns his head back to you.

Wait, you aren't Hellfire, are you. You must be newcomers then, correct? His voice is now calmer, if a bit more sorrowful. Such a... cruel ending to my story...

If you are hungry, feel free to end me. Though I'm 'fraid I have few souls to give you. The man continues to sit, leaning to the wall. His gaze is fixed on the paintings on the opposite wall.