"Time to lift the darkness. Let there be light."
The voice faded away and there was a sensation of movement to the West. Everything was suddenly bright. Marek stumbled forward, unable to quite get his bearings. He fell to the ground, weary from everything that had passed. The entire room was bathed in an eerie green hue. There was a smell of something different though. It was...brine?
Marek opened his eyes and saw a reflection. More mirrors? He blinked as the heavy bearded face looked back sadly and then began to ripple and change. This was no mirror...this was...water. His gaze climbed upwards and took in an enormous stone arm. It was rising out of the water and holding a trident aloft. The larger part of the statue must have been completely submerged by the water.
There was a groaning noise behind him. Marek turned around and looked...was it East? He'd lost all sense of direction. There was a door leading into a high stone wall. It was much higher than any he'd seen so far. This almost felt like...outdoors. He stretched his arms and legs to try and stimulate movement and glanced up...very up. There was a stone ceiling to this place but it was unthinkably high. It was airy too. The whole room gave the perception of space.
Standing tall and upright and smiling at the peaceful air he turned his gaze back across to the water. It stretched on into the very far distance for what seemed like an eternity. It was really hard to see far because green mists danced across the surface of the rippling lake. But it moved North and it expanded outwards indefinitely. The door to the East was set into an alcove about the size of a stadard room. This alcove had a Northern door as well. He turned around and saw that the wall on the South-side extended to the West. It joined the high Western wall which extended up to the ceiling.
And directly West of the small stretch of land he stood on was a dock. It was wooden and decaying and very ancient-looking. The dock moved out into the water. There was a medium-sized wooden boat with oars along the sides docked at the end of it.
Marek shook his head. This was all too much to take in and there was a more important matter. His eyes were drawn to the groaning. Angela was laying on the ground looking very ill. He dashed over and helped her upright. She blinked.
"Where are we now again?" She said, bleary eyed. Marek shook his head. That last chamber was nightmarish. His eyes moved around and took in more people. They were all doing what he had just done more or less. They were taking in the enormity of the chamber. It really was impressive. Most of these people hadn't been outside in 10 years...
"It's beautiful...." Said Culo, smiling up at the high ceiling. Marek nodded. It really was.
"It's just a lake." Said Wilt shrugging. He didn't quite see what all the fuss was about.
"It reminds me of Lake Schmito." Said Emperor Fong proudly.
Stonehard Lee wasn't too impressed either. He was busy doing a headcount.
"Friends. Balagor, Genevieve and Pai are all missing..." He said, rubbing his stony brow wearily.
Parker shot his eyes across the room in a bid to look for them and noticed the hooded figure standing at the water's edge.
"Who are you?" He said suspiciously. The figure pulled down its brown hood and revealed a thick length of black hair. He turned around and grinned at the group. He had an impressive black beard and a thoughtful expression.
"I'm here to carry out my end of the bargain. I informed you all that one would die and that deal was never met."
He smiled and raised a hand carefully into the air. The sky turned dark as he did it and strange green lightning coursed from his hands into the ground.
"I'm sure we will meet again soon. In the meantime, don't go dying too quickly. There is so much to see and do here!"
With a flash, the figure vanished into nothing. The ground where he had struck with the green energy was giving rise to a dark cloud. The group gasped and looked on as the dark cloud formed a personified human shape. A tall, black robed figure stood wielding an enormous scythe. Its eyes scanned the group carefully as if it was choosing something inside. Then it paused and rose forth.
With a mighty swing, the scythe cut through the air, leaving a trail of darkness in its wake. Eyes watched in horror as it arced into a body. There was a thunderclap and the shadow departed, leaving black mist behind that dispersed into the green air.
The body it had hit collapsed slowly onto the ground, shaking before finally laying still.
Boone scampered over and shook it miserably. It wasn't moving. Brie fell to her knees as the tears came on.
And everybody sat in silence for a few moments as the cold, dead remains of Thomas lay still.
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You lose sight of your surroundings. It was quite instant actually. What had you achieved in your life...you reflect carefully.
You went places. You saw the world, or the best part of it before it came crashing into darkness. You went on adventures and you lived a life that any right thinking man would be damn jealous of.
But right now what was this empty feeling? Something was missing. This wasn't....this isn't how it was meant to end. You thought it would be blasting through the sky on a jet crashing to Earth or tumbling down a mountain top or something exotic.
This wasn't right at all.
Maybe...maybe you'd do things differently if you could go back. Maybe you wouldn't have lived such an impulsive life. Maybe you'd have looked after the money and been a responsible child. You can feel your father's stern gaze looking over you. You were going to see him again weren't you?
Would he be proud?
This wasn't the heroic death you were owed. Or maybe you weren't owed anything at all. Maybe...
"
I can undo all that has been done..."
What good is that? You think slowly to yourself. It's done now isn't it. No going back now. You did what you did and...you were happy...you think.
You have been killed. This is a sad event that no player wants, but it's part and parcel of the game. It may not be the end though as there are revives from death in this game.
Please ensure you still follow the game rules. You may post in your journal but do not attempt to contact any players outside of the game.
