Avrek, Chaos Knight
Contents
Prologue
I will tell you this now: My sire was a demon. I will tell you this now: I am motivated only by the desire for power; a hunger to subjugate and tyrannize. I will tell you this now: I will not stop until my goal has been achieved. My name is Avrek, and I will tell you this now: with Makhleb as my witness, the Orb of Zot will be mine. Blood and Souls for Makhleb!
The Dungeon
I took my first steps into the fabled dungeon, rumored to hold the Orb. It does not impress me. Around the staircase is a pool of magma, burning like the rage of the gods. A thin bridge of land connects the bridge to the main dungeon. Relishing the heat, I step across. Immediately a bat swoops upon me. I strike its wings, grounding the mewling creature. I send its soul to eternal torment at the hands of Makhleb with the creature still vaguely alive.
I crept further down the halls of the dungeon, and heard a slurping noise in the distance! I knew that could only mean a jelly was nearby, and I would have to be extremely cautious. I snuck about the dungeon, and discovered a goblin keeping guard, evidently unworried about the jelly. He dodged my first three blows with ease, but his dagger did nothing to penetrate my armor. In return, I cleft him nearly in two with a single blow. Searching the area, I came upon a steel ring, notched as if it had been struck. I took it for my own.
After drinking a potion that made me feel as if my very soul was aflame, I raged through the dungeon looking for something to slay, but found nothing. Eventually, I collapsed in exhaustion and a kobald came upon me. I crawled towards it, and the darts it threw nearly cost me my life. I ripped its throat out and laughed at its pitiful attempts to scream. However, I needed a good deal of rest before continuing.
A scroll deduced for me that my ring was not cursed, so I slipped it upon my finger, but noticed no effect. Hoping the ring would make its effects clear, I tore through the remaining creatures of the dungeon, and felt my power grow as I sent their souls to Makhleb. They offered precious little resistance, and I descended to the second level of the dungeon.
D:2
I found a group of hobgoblins and kobalds squabbling over a pair of boots. I saw they were indeed fine, and the first of the group, a kobald, felt my axe in his back before he noticed me. The rest were far too surprised to do anything but gawk as I dismembered them one by one. Donning the boots, I found them to be unnaturally resilient...like me.
After a great deal more wandering, I came upon a large snake. It lunged for my throat twice, connecting the second time. Seizing the opportunity, I took my axe and bisected the snake. Luckily for me it did not seem to be venomous. As I stood over its corpse intoning the prayer of oblation, I felt myself grow stronger once more.
I discovered a glorious altar to Makhleb! I prayed before it, and creatures stormed out of the nearby passages. Knowing this to be a test, I killed them all and sacrificed them unto the altar.
Reading a scroll, I suddenly knew the purpose of the ring I wore: it sustained my abilities. I wasn't terribly impressed, but it was certainly better that nothing. I descended once more.
D:3
The first thing I saw was, incredibly, yet another of Makhleb's altars! Disbelieving my eyes, I stepped towards it, only to find myself teleported elsewhere, in the poor company of an orc and a hobgoblin. I painted a mosaic of hate upon the walls with their blood. Pressing on, I found a powerful looking goblin. He screamed at me "Ijyb! Ijyb!" over and over. I took that to be his name. We had a long duel, he swinging his club at me in vain, my axe somehow unable to injure him. Finally, I summoned all my reserves and struck him once, staggering him; he was open for my second blow, which opened his throat like a blood-red smile. I felt my strength grow, and felt Makhleb's approval. My open hand burst into flame for me to smite my foes. Finally, I took from Ijyb's twisted corpse a wooden ring. It wasn't cursed, but I was at a loss as to what it does.
In the next room, I found a shooting gallery for my new power. I threw bolts of lightning at a rat and an orc, killing them before they could reach me. Unfortunately, their screams drew a pack of gnolls, and I was forced to retreat. Falling back to a corridor, I confronted the first of the hound-things. He was armed with naught but his claws, and I killed him quickly. However, the second of them was armed with a vexing whip. He struck me with it whenever I moved in to attack, forcing me to drink two potions of healing. I dodged his next blow and severed his whip hand, ripping the beast apart as it gaped in shock. The third of the gnolls wielded a spear, and he impaled me upon it, lifting me high into the air. It tossed me off its weapon, and laughed at me as I writhed in pain. It dropped its spear in favor of finishing me off with its bare fangs, but as my vision began to fade, I forced my screaming body to obey my commands, and drank my most potent healing potion. Thus invigorated, I grasped my axe once more, and the gnoll and I tangled together, a dance of death between malice and fury. Malice emerged the victor. I didn't leave enough of the gnoll to sacrifice to Makhleb.
D:4
Immediately upon descending I was assaulted by another large snake. I struck the beast down, and laughed as I felt my power grow. Later, I discovered the identity of the second ring I wore: a ring of ice. I saw no reason to continue wearing it.
As I walked down the bloodstained halls of the dungeon, I turned a corner and found myself standing face to face with a massive ogre. I fired destruction into its chest to no real effect, and reluctantly entered melee with the barbarian thing. It swung at me three times, and each time I dodged aside and slashed at it, wounding it heavily. When it managed to connect, it nearly knocked me off my feet, but I cut the ogre down before it could attack again. I rested for a few moments before I heard a resounding bellow in the distance. Perhaps the ogre's mate had discovered its fate. Indeed, at the edge of my vision I saw another of the brutes coming for me. This time I harnessed Makhleb's energy and tore huge rents in the ogre's midriff, and finished it off with a single sweep of my axe. As I sent it to Makhleb, I caught wind of a foul stench. Certain it could only lead to a vicious beast, I followed the smell to its source. I found, tucked into the corner of the walls, a distillery, operated by a very mad gnome by the name of Noisor. He offered me his brews, but I didn't want to taste whatever he was making. I slew the remaining animals and descended.
D:5
The stairs led to a hovering imp which appeared to be commanding a massive scorpion. I fired destruction at the imp, but the flames had no affect upon it. Fearing the scorpion's sting, I prayed to Makhleb to grant me strength, and beside me appeared a bright orange demon. I bade it destroy the scorpion as I killed the imp. It carried quite a reward; I took from it a glowing staff, and a scroll which reinforced my armor.
Just as my demon disappeared, a kobald jumped out from hiding and fired a dart, striking me in the neck. Normally these craven creatures possess no threat to me, but I felt the telltale effects of curare venom in my system. I disemboweled the kobald, and as I sat down to rest, I saw a man in the distance. He shouted at me that he would show Sigmund (whoever that is) and that a flail was better than a scythe any day. Though I was drooling and in a stupor at the time, I found the energy to blast him to bits before he could touch me. I took his flail. It made me feel safe somehow.
Tucked in a dusty corner, I found a book of ice magic. I was glad I had my ring; I planned to learn from it. Hoping to quickly figure out spellcasting, I read scrolls of fog and identify; I learned I had a staff of death. Still puzzled, I pored over two more scrolls of remove curse, and finally got the hang of magic. Sadly, I realized the book had nothing truly useful to offer; My flail wouldn't benefit from Freezing Aura, and I had little intention of stabbing with ensorcelled hibernation. Somewhat disappointed, I descended.
D:6
After a duel with a giant carnivorous frog and a phantom, I ran into a napping centaur. I woke it up with a zap of energy, and ducked around a corner, when it followed, I butchered it, taking its meat for myself while it still breathed. Later, I encountered an ogre. I laughed at its clumsy attempts to strike me, playing with the beast as it swung furiously. Sadly, It connected with me eventually, crushing my skull and killing me.
A Complaint
Aww, come on! Level seven and I got one-shotted by an ogre. Bah, I hate this game. --Incomp 00:10, 23 March 2010 (UTC)
