The Shining Stone

[Note: This story includes and in the tradition of fantasy books and fantasy rpgs. If you don't want to play a character that can die then all apologies, but this story isn't for you.]

The village of Gutandor is situated on the craggy Western Coast of the Island of Seven Stones. North of Gutandor is the island's capitol of Morgent, and inland to the East the foreboding Dragon's Spine mountains, where mythical creatures of all types are said to dwell.

Beyond these mountains is said to be the city of the damned, where cursed souls became trapped when they fled the mortal coil. Legends speak of the armies of this city, the dead and their tormenters, marching on Morgent and all of the island. But this, this happened long ago and was of no concern to the king and his people in the capitol.

But not so for Gutandor, where strange occurrences have long kept the shepherds awake at night. Livestock disappeared and were found stripped of their flesh. There were strange howls and screams that terrified the people living there and omen piled upon omen, until one night, they came. The dead shambled forward, clawing and gibbering, tearing flesh from bone. Behind them and among them were the legions of the damned, hellhounds and the lithe serpentine warriors and their glaives, towering above all the overlords and their flails that dripped acid.

Gutandor was no challenge for this horde and the town was burned to cinders, all of its inhabitants killed or carried away by the army of the damned. All but two that is.

Sheltered beneath an iron tub the two huddled together throughout the rampage. They heard the screams of their friends and loved ones mixed with the inhuman moans of the hellish monstrosities. They escaped to this hideaway just in time, fleeing from the burnings eyes of one of the reptilian demons. The eyes that beckoned them to "stay, just for a moment, your blood so hot and delicious."

One of them was touched by this beast as they fled, received its cursed mark, and would die by nightfall. The other held the key to the island's salvation, for Gutandor's prophet had foretold that one of the pair would survive the attack and carry with them a powerful gem. If they could get it to the druids of Dragon's Spine, the druids could unlock its magic and banish the demonic masters of the undead back to the underworld. Without a mind to control them the dead would return to eternity.

You will make this journey or die trying. Who are you?

1. Melena - 18, and just grown to womanhood, you are beautiful and supple, with long blonde hair and steel blue eyes. You are willful and good with your father's bow and you have a small knife in your boot. You are very new to sex.

2. Hans - 18, and the son of a woodcarver, you are extremely strong from cutting wood throughout most of your life. Your shoulder-length black hair, strong jaw, and gray eyes have enchanted more than one woman in the village. You carry with you a large wood axe and a short sword.