On a circle of sand in a circle of stone,
With a sword and a scepter of silver and bone.
Tear the sky with lightning spark,
To dance with the devils and demons of dark.
-- Cinichericom 4:23
R A T I C U S
The Second Element of the Cycle of Joining.
Copyright (c) 2002 by G. J. Shannon
Version 1.0 Build Feb. 17, 2002
For all its appearance of comfort it is still a prison. Not cold, not damp, not even particularly dark. Certainly not what you expected when the evil wizard Raticus took you from your village of Dwenodon in the Western Lands and carried you off to ... well, to be honest, you're not sure where you are now. But from the length of the ride, two days and a night, it must be some distance from home.
You recall very little of the journey. You were never
completely awake, probably the result of some spell cast upon you by the
wizard. The only memory that stands out clearly is being told again and again,
in a monotonous drone that your task was to open the box. And that you would
not be free until your task was completed. What is this box, and why does
that wizard think that you can open it where he has failed?
Now you have been imprisoned in these rooms for several days. There are no
visitors, and no visible exits. When you are hungry food appears quite magically.
Your other needs are attended to in equally mysterious ways. You are
completely alone. The things you had with you when you were captured
have been taken. Now it is only you. You and the box.
Faces
 |
The room is of moderate size. The floors are stone,
but covered with warm wool carpets. The walls are bare stone blocks, each
carved with a different hideous face. There are torches on each wall, unlit.
Sunlight streams in through a narrow window to the south. To the west is
an open doorway. In the center of the room stands a round table. |
Resting on the round table is a small box.
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