A Jaded Life

The first week of the Road to Purgatory-Beta is over. Let's look at the highlights.

A dark forest.

The camera flies through the trees, showing small animals, then a large, black wolf. Then it reverses, away from the wolf, moving through the forest, until it stops, looking over the shoulder of a tall man, dressed in an green cloak and leather armor. The camera circles him, showing the spear on his back, the bow in his hand and the quiver at his side. Then, the man starts moving forward, stalking through the woods, the camera fixed over his shoulder.

The clearing with the wolf comes into sight, the ranger slowly aims, then draws his bow and let's his arrow fly. The camera follows the arrow in, time slows, the wolf gets hit into the shoulder and leaps up. Then, the camera flows back, showing two arrows, mid-flight, heading towards the wolf, when the camera reaches the ranger, the bow leaves his hand and he readies his spear. The wolf, after getting hit by a second arrow, let's loose a fearsome growl. Then it charges the ranger and just as the wolf jumps at the ranger and the ranger stabs to ward of the wolf, the shot fades to black.

Cut

Evening, the sky is red with the setting sun, illuminating some soft clouds

An open temple, made from white stone, two winged Valkyries, one male, the other female, both dressed in white gowns are standing next to a bed, containing another Valkyrie, this one injured. After a nod from the female, the male raises an golden apple and starts praying in a soft tone. The apple starts to shine in a golden light, first soft then stronger, until a beam of light, stronger than any before, ripples out, shining onto the injury. Suddenly the injury starts to close until there is nothing left, but a bad memory. Then, the female smiles and says “See, just like that, Idun is able to help our people. You will make a good Priest.”

Cut

A clear sky

The rolling foothills of a mountain range

The camera shows a group of Orcs, tall, most of them in shades of green or brown, most wearing little in the way of armour. Those only wear fur-loin cloths and are bare-chested but they are all holding aloft their weapons, some hold axes, others clubs, one or two spears, The leader, the only one who wears real armour, he is wielding a large, black hammer. The camera settles over the crowd, especially over a warrior who's holding a two-handed axe. Then, the leader turns to the camera and silence falls over the rowdy horde. Then, the leader speaks, a deep, rumbling bass. “Today, is the day we will take their Fortress. Too long have the dammed dwarves of Hammerforge dwelt in their hole, today it will be their grave! Charge, warriors of the Blackhammer-Clan. Charge to victory or death.”

The horde roars in approval and the forwards ranks start moving, the warrior with the Blackhammer hanging back, talking with his second.

Then, the camera flies forward, overtaking the charging orcs, until it reaches the rocky hillside. There is a large Gate set into the hill, showing an Anvil and in front of it is a small fortress. The walls are equipped with strange cannons, mounted between the crenellations. Dwarves are milling around, some manning the cannons, others are readying crossbows. All are armed with war-hammer and shield and wearing chain-mail, ready for war. A captain is barking orders, looking through a spyglass. The camera zooms into the spyglass, then starts a journey, back to the horde. By now, they are in sight and their prior trot starts into an all-out charge, battle-cries echo through the hills.

Then, the dwarven cannons open up, not with blasts like one would expect from cannons but with almost coughing sounds of escaping steam. But they compensate their lack of noise, with impact, their payload ripping gashes into the horde, smashing Orcs aside but the cannons are too few, too slow to kill all the orcs. Then, on a shouted command, the crossbows are raised in unison and on a second command, a volley of deadly bolts is shot. Again, Orcs fall but then the orcs are at the gates.

The Orc we've seen in the beginning with his large Axe is one of the foremost and he starts hacking into the gate, trying to destroy enough of it to get to the bar, which is holding the gate closed. The dwarves strike at the orcs through the murder-holes of their fortress and it becomes a race, can the dwarves kill enough orcs or will the orcs tear down the gate.

Then, the gate breaks, the remaining orcs flood in. They still outnumber the dwarves but it's a close thing. A chaotic melee ensues until there is a loud whistle and all Dwarves try to get back onto the high-ground on the walls. Then, on the side of the Mountain-gate, two jets are exposed and suddenly the courtyard is filled with superheated steam, boiling the Orcs and the Dwarves who didn't make the high-ground alive, their war-cries changing into cries of pain. Then it's over and the dwarves walk back down from the walls. The orcish warrior we've seen in the beginning tries to stand but his wounds are too heavy. Then a dwarf walks up, his hammer raised and then the hammer falls.

Again, the shot fades to black.

Cut

A snowy forest, sky overcast and darkening.

Suddenly, movement, a dark form steps out of the forest, dragging small, almost childlike creatures with long snouts and whiskers.

Similar looking creatures see the dark thing that stalked them within their forest for the last few days and know, they need to get the warriors and protect the workers, women and children, so they retreat into their home, the camera follows them. Then, as their warriors want to move out to drive the dark thing away, an ice mist flows into their home, extinguishing their fires, leaving trails of frost on the rocks. One warrior steps in and the mist is so cold, it burns him. They all retreat into the maze that is their burrow, the dark thing will not be so stupid to follow them in but if it is, they can easily surround and kill it, they have lost good people to it.

Then, time speeds up, everything is shown in fast forward over a torch so people see the torch burning down over time.

After some time passes, the warriors start to feel strange, they don't find their way within tunnels they walked hundreds of times before. They stumble, like drunk but nobody knows why or what is going on. Then, in the deeper levels, the shaman of the tribe suddenly feels the problem but it's too late. “It's in the air!” and indeed there is a thin, dark mist, almost invisible in the flickering torchlight but it has saturated the burrow and they can't find their way out of their home. Then one of the older workers who lived further up, lies down and dies, closely followed by others.

Panic breaks out, they try to find their way but everything twists and turns, making some unable to even stand. Cries from the deepest level echo through the warren, the nestlings are dying. The shaman tries to clear their chieftains mind but nothing seems to work. Then the shaman also dies. Soon, only the chieftain is left, but no matter how he turns, nothing makes sense. After stumbling around for some time, he falls and the camera follows the tunnels until it reaches the exit, now blocked by a wall of ice. Time slows back down. Within the wall, in a small enclosure the dark being sits, it's form hidden by a cloak of shadow, it's eyes closed and the features hidden further in shadow. Only the lips, curled into a smile are visible. Suddenly, emerald green, almost glowing eyes become visible and a clear, happy bell-like laughter is heard.

Cut

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