Thief: The Dark Project - An unfinished video game adaptation

**Thief: The Dark Project**

**By: Bernie Z  
**

**Prologue**

"The paths of Thief and God are worn as one in the earth. Woe be to him that defies the tree, for he shall be cast out into the world through the veils of pain and fire. Ye shall not rob from the house I have built, or commit any theft or unrighteousness, lest ye be struck down and driven into the earth forthwith, and the land of the heathen consume you." - The Book Of The Stone.

…I was a kid. No parents, no home. Running messages and picking pockets to keep my ribs from meeting my spine. One night, I saw a man. People passed him by like he wasn't there. I thought he might have something valuable, so I sneaked up on him and made a grab for his sack of gold.

"**That isn't for you, boy!**" The hooded man said to me in a deep voice as he grabbed my arm.

"Please sir, I'm hungry," I pleaded him. "Don't tell the Hammers, I promise..."

"**What is your name, boy?**" The hooded man asked, studying me carefully.

"Garret," I answered.

"**It is not easy to see a Keeper**," The hooded man continued. "**Especially one that does not wish to be seen.**"

"Let go of me, old man!" I yelled at him as I tried to pull my arm free from his painful grasp.

"**You've got talent, lad,**" He said as he stared into my eyes, as if he were looking deep into my soul. "**We have a need for those as gifted as yourself. If you've grown tired of how you live, then follow me, and we will show you a different way.**"

"Leave me alone!" I shouted at him.

"**As you wish,**" He said as he let go of my arm, then turned and walked away. I managed to catch up with him just before he vanished into the crowd. It was the beginning of a very long education...

**Chapter 1: Lord Bafford's Manor**

"The essence of balance is detachment. To embrace a cause, to grow fond or spiteful, is to lose one's balance, after which, no action can be trusted. Our burden is not for the dependent of spirit." - Mayar, Third Keeper.

…The man that I had seen the night before had been a Keeper. They had a temple high atop a mountain, overlooking the City of Sarnoth below. The Keepers taught me a little of the art of combat and stealth, by using the shadows, but I already was a master of thievery, so I could've cared less about their guidance. Instead, I decided to go to the city, so I could get away from their... supervision. I stopped in front of the park and sat down next to a tree. It was night fall and the moon was out. I gazed up at the big bright circle in the sky, when I heard footsteps, coming in my direction. I took my eyes off the moon and looked into the shadows ahead. A small rigid outline of an old man appeared and slowly walked towards me. He wore loose cloths and had dusty brown hair which matched his brown eyes and dirty face.

"You, boy!" He said to me.

"What do you want, old man?" I asked him.

"Are you Garret?" The old man asked. "The thief that works for money?"

"Who wants to know?" I replied, eyeing him suspiciously.

"My name is Cutty and I have a business proposition for you," He told me.

"Is that so?" I questioned. "What's the job and how much does it pay?"

"Have you ever heard of Lord Bafford?" Cutty asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I've heard of that fat, smelly, good for nothing Taffer!"

"Well, this mission involves retrieving a prized possession of his," Cutty said.

"I see," I answered as I curled my hand into a fist. "So, he's still alive after all these years, but he won't be for long." An evil grin slowly spread across my face as I looked back at Cutty.

"Why do you say that?" Cutty asked as he sat down beside me. "What did he do that would make you want to kill him?"

"It's really none of your fucking business!" I said back to Cutty. "but since you are offering me a job, I guess I'll tell you. Bafford was the one who threw me into his prison, long ago, with a life sentence. One of the bastard's guards caught me stealing. The guard took me to Bafford and told him of my attempt. He said that I would spend the rest of my life in his 'lovely' prison, just for attempting to steal a pouch of money from one of his fucking guards!"

"So how did you manage to escape?" Cutty asked.

"It wasn't easy, but then again I am one of the best thieves you'll ever meet," I replied to Cutty with a sneaky grin. "I called the prison guard up to my cell and asked him if I could have a glass of water. He gave me an evil grin and exited the room. Five minutes later he appeared back, holding a mug of water, still with the same evil grin he left with. The guard opened my cell door and threw the mug at me, water splashing all over my face and clothes...

"There's your water, you filthy rat!" The guard said with a snicker.

"GO TO HELL!" I yelled back with rage, grabbing the guard by the collar of his uniform. The guard hit me on the back of the head with his elbow, then kneed me in the chest and threw me at the back wall of the cell, into the metal racks. I fell to the ground as pain shot through the back of my neck and into my chest. I managed to fight the pain long enough to pick up a rock and crawl toward the cell door. The guard slammed the door in my face and laughed. I quickly jammed the rock into the lock to prevent the cell door from locking. The guard looked through the bars and grinned at my suffering.

"You sewer rat!" The guard remarked. "Now you can forever live in the filth that you were born from! You should feel right at home." He laughed again and started walking away. He opened the cell block door and closed it behind him. Once the pain subsided, I pushed myself up off the ground and started kicking and shaking the cell door, as loudly and violently as I could, in an attempt to enrage the guard. Immediately, he came running back through the door and up to my cell with fury in his eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?!" The guard yelled in a fit of rage, slamming his fists against the cell door. "Do that again and I will kill you myself!" I slowly smiled at him and backed up. The guard's eyes widened as he realized what I was about to do, but before he could move out of the way, I kicked open the cell door and knocked the guard to the ground. I quickly searched him for a weapon and found a sword, which I put into my cloak. I picked up the unconscious guard's body and dragged it into the shadows of my cell, then I shut the door behind him. I heard a loud click as the lock mechanism kicked in. I opened the wooden door, which led into the halls of the basement area and crept into the shadows. Just as I was about to move I saw another guard come around the corner. I waited for him to pass me by, then I went around the corner and up the set of stairs which led to the main floor. Bafford's entire basement was basically... one huge dungeon and the main floor was where the servants mostly worked, preparing meals and such, so there was no point in exploring those floors. I bypassed the door to the main floor and continued all the way to the top, to the door leading to the second floor. I opened the door and ran into the shadows. I crept through the shadows and into a large square shaped room. To my right I could see the servant's quarters and to my left were the stairs to the third floor. There was only one problem, there were two guards blocking my way."

"Why did you want to go to the third floor?" Cutty asked me. "I would have just escaped into the streets."

"I wanted to get revenge on Lord Bafford for putting me in his prison!" I answered back to Cutty. "I wanted to show Bafford that I was going to become his worst nightmare."

"Oh. I guess I probably would have done the same thing if I were in your position," Cutty said to me. "Please continue."

"Yeah, whatever," I said back, ignoring him as I continued my story. "I looked around, trying to think of a way to get passed the guards, when two more guards came around the corner, talking to each other. They passed me by and went down the hall and exited through a door. To my surprise, a guard opened the door from one of the servant's living quarters. He was holding a bow and a sack of arrows on his shoulder. I didn't care or want to know why he was in there in the first place. My eyes were fixed on the bow and arrows. They were just what I needed to get to the third floor. I crept through the shadows to where the guard was standing and pulled out my sword. I flipped it around in my hand and clubbed the guard with the handle on the back of his head. He fell to the floor. I grabbed the bow and lifted the sack of arrows onto my shoulder, then I grabbed the unconscious guard and dragged him into the shadows. I grabbed the key from the guard's belt and went back to the square room. The two guards were still there, guarding my path to the third floor. I crept through the shadows of the room until I got a clear shot of them. I reached into the sack on my shoulder and pulled out two broad head arrows. My plan was to hit both guards at the same time, so neither of them could call for help or go for reinforcements. I took the bow, turned it sideways and leveled the arrows. I had a nice clean shot of the guards. I drew back the string attached to the bow and released the arrows. Both arrows found their targets instantly. One piercing a guard in the chest and the other hitting the second guard in the neck. They both fell to the floor with an expression of death on their faces. I pulled the dead bodies into the shadows and climbed the stairs to the third floor. I quickly crept into the shadows as I watched a guard pass me by, then I continued around the corner. At the far end of the hallway I noticed a guard standing in front of a copper framed wooden door. It was the armory. There was a little golden plated plaque that read 'Armory' on the door. I pulled out my bow and an arrow, then I waited until the other guard went around the corner. I aimed the arrow at the guard and released it. The arrow hit the guard in the chest and he fell to the floor. I dragged the body toward the armory and turned the door handle, but it was locked. I searched the guard for a key, but he didn't have one, then I remembered the key I took from a guard a while back. I pulled out the key, unlocked the door and went into the armory room, dragging the dead guard behind me. I lifted the guard onto my shoulder and dropped him into one of the barrels next to the wall, then I took a look around. It was a small room which had two rows of barrels beside the wall on the right and a fairly small table against the wall on the left. There were two larger tables at the back of the room next to the wall. I could see my weapons on one table and a variety of arrows on the other. I picked up my sword and put the other in its place, then I picked up my blackjack and put it in my cloak. I went up to the second table and looked at the different arrows. There were fifteen broad head arrows, five water arrows, and two rope arrows. I grabbed all the arrows and put them into my arrow sack, then I exited back out the door, locking it behind me and crept back into the shadows of the hallway. I didn't want any of the guards finding the bodies before I had escaped from this hell hole. I continued down the hall until I saw a guard coming my way. I quickly grabbed my bow and a water arrow from my arrow sack and shot it at the torch in front of me. It exploded on the torch and extinguished the flames. I waited for the guard to come by, then I pulled out my blackjack and clubbed him. I took the key off of the guard's belt and dragged his body deeper into the shadows, then I headed for the throne room. I used the key and opened the door. There was a guard standing in front of the doorway which lead to the throne room, where Lord Bafford was. On his chest was a shiny silver emblem of a shield. It was Bafford's Captain of the House Guards. I pulled out an arrow, aimed it at the captain and with a sadistic grin, released it. The arrow hit him in the chest piercing his heart. The captain grabbed his chest in pain as he slowly fell to the floor. I grabbed the captain's dead body and dragged him behind me as I entered the throne room. There he was, in all of his disgusting glory. Fat and pompous, wearing royal attire. He was sitting on his throne, with his scepter in hand. I pulled out my sword and walked toward him. He eyed me with caution as I stopped in front of him.

"We meet for the second time... Bafford!" I said to him with an evil grin. "but you'll wish we hadn't because now I'm going to slit your throat."

"Hah!" Lord Bafford said back to me. "You don't have the guts! Your just a pathetic thief who's as worthless as the filth he was born from!" I slowly pulled out the body of his captain and tossed it at his feet. Lord Bafford's eyes widened in horror as he looked at the dead, limp body of his captain.

"Try me," I dared back.

"Okay, your win," Lord Bafford replied, fear in his voice. "I'll do anything, just please don't kill me!"

"You should have thought of that before you threw me into your... damn prison!" I snarled angrily at Lord Bafford as I moved closer. "Time to die!"

"WAIT!" Lord Bafford shouted at me as he covered his head. "I can give you gold! Lots of it!"

"It's too late for that now," I told Lord Bafford laughing. "Now who's pathetic?"

"No please!" Lord Bafford shouted in terror. "I'll give you lots of gold and set you free!"

"Oh but I am free," I said smiling at Lord Bafford. "All I have to do now is kill you, then I'll be on my merry way."

"If you kill me then my guards won't rest until your dead too!" Lord Bafford told me as he grabbed his big chest of money. "Here, take this and spare my life."

"Hmmm... I guess for now I can let you live, but don't think I won't be back." I said back as I stared straight into his eyes. "I want you to remember this moment. The way it could have gone, but didn't."

"Please, take the money and go!" Lord Bafford said to me.

"Not so fast!" I said to him, grabbing the big chest. "I need you to lead me passed your guards."

" I will not!" Lord Bafford refused. I walked up behind his throne and put my sword to his neck.

"You will lead me passed your guards," I threatened Bafford. "or I will decorate this room with your blood!"

"All right, just don't hurt me," Lord Bafford replied.

"If one of your guards try to make a move on me, I will kill you," I reminded him. So Lord Bafford lead me passed his guards and to the main entrance of his manor. I released him there and as I was running into the shadows of the streets, I was hit in the leg with an arrow. The chest flying out of my arm as I fell to the ground in pain. I heard Lord Bafford command his guards to bring me back to him, but I was well ahead of him. I had anticipated that something like this would happen. I forced myself onto my feet and staggered up a ladder to the top of a building. I pulled the ladder up onto the roof so none of the guards would be able to climb up if they found me, then I hid there until morning."

"Then your the perfect man for the job!" Cutty exclaimed with a big grin. "but if you're wanted, why are they not still looking for you?"

"I was to sneaky for those idiots," I said to Cutty with a mocking laugh. "They could never find my hiding places, so I guess they got tired of looking."

"What about the arrow?" Cutty asked.

"I still plan to kill Bafford for that, but now is not the time!" I said back. "It has been ten years since then and my leg is perfectly fine!"

"I see," Cutty muttered to himself. "That was interesting."

"That's enough about me!" I ordered Cutty. "What's the job and what do I have to do?"

"Well, I heard that Lord Bafford is out of town," Cutty answered.

"So then what does that have to do with me?" I asked back.

"I want you to sneak into his manor, tonight, and steal the scepter from his throne room," Cutty continued. "Now the manor is heavily guarded from intruders so don't expect a warm welcome. I'll give you some money to buy supplies and equipment."

"You still didn't tell me how much it pays!" I reminded Cutty. "My services come at a very high price."

"A man of money, eh?" Cutty replied with a chuckle. "The job pays ten thousand in gold. That is, if you successfully complete the task at hand."

"Hmmm, that's a pretty good offer," I said back to Cutty. "Fine, I'll steal the scepter for you."

"Excellent!" Cutty exclaimed rubbing his hands together. "You will be paid once you have completed the job and brought me the scepter."

"So be it," I replied back to Cutty. He slowly got up and started walking away.

"Oh, by the way," He said turning back to me. "Here's where to find me when you have finished the job." He pulled out a little slip from his pocket and gave it to me, then he disappeared into the shadows. I got up from the ground and dusted myself off. The nighttime air was fresh. I could hear the constant bell of the clock tower somewhere in the darkness. It was about nine-o-clock, according to the sounds of the bell.

"So, I got a job," I said to myself on my way back to the temple. Upon entering the temple, I quickly went up to the room I was given. I closed and locked the door, then I gazed out at the city through my window, when my eyes stopped on Lord Bafford's manor.

"It's a shame that your out of town," I muttered to myself. "Then I could have killed you as well as steal your scepter, but I have all the time in the world to plan your excruciating death that I will make you experience." I took my eyes off of the manor and pulled out all my weapons, then laid them flat on the table beside my bed. I set my bow against the bed and counted up all the arrows I had.

"Looks like I'll be needing more supplies," I said as I put the arrows back into the shoulder sack. I picked up my sword and put it into its scabbard and pulled the arrow sack over my shoulder, then I took my bow and put it on the opposite shoulder. Last I put on my black cloak and carrying sack. I grabbed the two pouches of money and checked myself in the mirror to make sure all of my weapons were well concealed, then I exited my room and locked the door behind me. I closed the door to the temple and headed down the mountain path, toward the city. As I walked down the path I reviewed the mission to myself.

"The job Cutty wants me to do is pretty simple," I said to myself as I pulled out a lantern and a piece of paper. "All I have to do is break into his guarded mansion, steal the pathetic, fat nobleman's priceless trinket and leave quietly. Cutty has already informed me that Lord Bafford is out of town and rumor has it that his new... Captain of the House Guards went with him, as a bodyguard. In any case, the time is ripe for a bit of burglary. The front gate of Bafford's manor is always heavily guarded and the main street is far to exposed, but Cutty told me that there is a better way in... around to the side, more out of the way. One guard and likely no witnesses to... complicate matters. The piece Cutty wants is a scepter. Silver, jewels... the usual adornments. It should command a high price. Bafford, like most of his kind, probably keeps his treasures on the top floor of the place. Close to his heart... and far from his servants. No point in waiting. I have Cutty's old sketches of the place, and everyone who's going to be asleep inside already is. It's time to begin..."

**Mission One**

"First I'll stop and get some supplies," Garret said to himself as he walked up to the weapons shop and opened the door.

"What can I do for you, young man?" A little old man cheerfully said from behind the counter.

"Give me twenty broad head arrows and ten water arrows," Garret said to the shopkeeper, walking up to the counter.

"No problem," The shopkeeper replied, grabbing the items and putting them on the counter in front of him. "Anything else, son?"

"No," Garret answered. "I have everything I need." Garret reached into his cloak, pulled out a pouch of money and tossed it to the shopkeeper, then exited out the door. He pulled out his lantern and then pulled out Cutty's map and examined it.

"Lets see now," Garret muttered to himself. "The entrance to the underground tunnels is behind the mansion, in a small well house. I will use them to gain access to the mansion. Shouldn't pose too much of a problem." Garret put away the lantern and map, and continued down the street, toward the manor. There were five guards standing in front of the main entrance to Lord Bafford's manor, talking to each other. Garret bypassed the main entrance and continued around the manor. As he was walking, a guard came around the corner and slowly walked toward him.

"How's it going?" The guard asked as he passed Garret by. Garret pulled out his blackjack from his cloak and clubbed the guard from behind. The guard fell down in front of him. He dragged the guard into the shadows in the corner of the street and continued toward the well house. He turned a corner and continued down the street and around another corner. Once he got to the streets behind the mansion, he could see the guard that was standing in front of the door to the well house. Garret carefully looked the guard over. On the ground, around the guard were three wine bottles. He heard the guard hiccup, then start singing drunkenly. A grin spread across Garret's face as he walked up to the guard and then behind him. He pulled out his blackjack and clubbed the guard. He grabbed the key from the guard's belt and dragged him into the shadows. Garret looked up at the full moon in the night sky and admired how beautiful it was. He unlocked the door of the well house and opened it, then he closed and locked it behind him. The well house was small and narrow. About the size of an outhouse. Garret looked down the well and saw the fast currents in the water.

"Damn!" Garret said to himself. "That is one hell of a long way down." He put the key on a small wooden shelf and jumped into the well. With a huge splash, Garret landed in the water and made his way to the surface. The current took him to a circle shaped room where he could see water dripping from a large grate up above. Garret noticed an underwater cave in the wall below him and decided to take a little swim through it. He surfaced on the other side and looked around. It was another circular room, but much smaller than the one he had come from. Next to the wall were two chests and a lot of dead bodies. Most of them were nothing but bones, but there were a few that were not fully decomposed yet.

"I guess I wasn't the only one to discover this hidden room," Garret said to himself. "I wonder what happened here." Garret climbed out of the water and went toward the chests. The locks on the chests were fairly standard, but nothing a master thief couldn't handle. He pulled out one of his lock picks from his set and started picking the lock on each chest. With a satisfying click, each chest unlocked and Garret opened them.

"Must be my lucky day!" Garret said with a laugh. He grabbed the gold from them and put it into his carrying sack, then he closed the chests. Just as he was about to dive back into the water he noticed that there was something white in the opposite corner to him. Garret went to check it out and his stomach churned. It was a big, pulsating, white cocoon. The size of a person's head. Garret turned his head in disgust and, trying to stop himself from vomiting, he dove back into the water and resurfaced in the larger circular room once again.

"What the hell was that?" Garret said to himself almost out of breath as he cupped his hand over his mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick! Whatever it is, it probably killed those people in there." Garret quickly shook his head to get rid of the nauseated feeling and continued to swim down the tunnel. The current took him straight to the wall of the cellar. There was a big crack in the wall from years of wear and decay. Garret pushed aside one of the barrels which concealed the crack and entered through it, then he opened the door from the cellar and into a large storage room. He slowly crept through the shadows of the storage room and moved toward the exit when he saw two guards standing in the archway. He quickly hugged the wall to evade the guard's sight and listened to their conversation.

"Why the hell do we always get the lousy jobs?" The first guard asked the second guard. "I want to look for some action."

"We're suppose to be guarding Lord Bafford's wine storage," The second guard answered.

"Guarding from what?" The first guard asked sarcastically. "There's nothing here but rats and disgusting bugs. Wait a minute, what am I saying! We should be very careful. One of the rats or bugs could sneak up on us from behind and steal all the wine."

"Shut up you Taffer!" The second guard said annoyed. "We've got a job to do and we're going to do it."

"Well since I'm down here, I'm going to grab me a bottle," The first guard said as he moved toward one of the wine racks.

"Do that and I'll cut you down where you stand!" The second guard threatened.

"Try it and you'll die by the tip of my sword!" The first guard answered angrily as he pulled out his sword. "I have no problem killing a fellow guardsmen such as yourself!" The second guard slowly sheathed his sword and calmed himself down.

"Let's just return to our posts," The second guard said calmly. "The last thing we want is bloodshed."

"Fine by me!" The first guard replied with a laugh, sheathing his sword. "It'll save me from having to get my sword dirty."

_These guards are pathetic. This should be a piece of cake._

Garret watched as the two guards walked down the hallway and separated at the intersection. He quickly went into the hallway and waited for the guard to turn the corner, then he followed him. Garret came to another big storage room and watched as the guard walked across the room to the hallway on the other side, then he followed. He went toward the guard until he heard a loud clanking noise. Garret quickly dove into the shadows as the guard spun around.

"What's that noise?!" The guard said as he looked around. He slowly moved towards Garret's hiding place. As the guard took each step, Garret noticed the same clanking noise he heard. Garret felt annoyed at himself for being so careless.

"Hmmm, must of been a rat," The guard said to himself returning to his post.

_Dammit! Do you want to get yourself killed?_

"I have to be more careful," Garret said to himself as he stepped out of his hiding place and slowly moved over the metal floor trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Humph, who the hell does he think he is, threatening me!" The guard muttered to himself, pulling out a tin of whiskey. "Wouldn't even let me snag a bottle for myself. Always trying to impress Lord Bafford by being the perfect guard. I'll show you, Taffer when I best you at a sword fight and cut your... oomph!" The whiskey tin fell out of the guard's hand as he fell to the floor. Putting away his blackjack, Garret picked up the whiskey tin and took a drink of it, then he threw it onto the guard's chest and dragged the guard's body into the shadows. He continued down the hall and opened the door at the end. In the room there was a servant preparing food. On his left was a huge cauldron on the stove and behind him, a huge, delicious chicken, roasting in the fireplace. Garret's mouth watered as he looked at the chicken.

"I believe I have arrived at one of the kitchens," Garret said to himself. "Come to think of it, I sure am hungry!" He slowly crept up behind the servant and clubbed him on the head, then he dragged the body into the shadows of the outer hallway and went back into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. Garret walked up to the big roast in the fire, ripped off a leg and slowly ate it, enjoying the wonderful, succulent flavors that filled his mouth. As he was eating, he looked around. There were cheese blocks on the table behind him along with a big ball of lettuce which had somewhat been cut into little strips. On the table, beside the stove were two uncooked steaks, some beets and carrots. Garret ripped off the other leg and continued eating as he walked over to the steaming cauldron on the stove. After finishing the second leg he picked up a big wooden spoon beside the cauldron and tried some of the stew inside.

"Bafford sure has good taste!" Garret remarked as he took another spoonful of the stew and then another. "Damn, he sure knows how to live the good life." Once Garret was full he walked over to a barrel full of apples and grabbed three, just in case he got hungry again later, then he walked up to the cabinet and opened it. The cabinet was full of wine bottles of the finest brand. Garret grabbed four bottles and put them into his carrying sack.

"I'll take some of these to celebrate my victory once I'm out of here!" Garret laughed. He turned around and went to the cabinet on the other side of the room and opened it. His eyes widened and a huge grin spread across his face. In the second cabinet were two golden goblets with small diamonds engraved into the outer rim.

_Well since your in here you might as well pick up something for yourself_.

Garret grabbed the goblets and put them into his carrying sack, then he continued down the hallway to another door and opened it. He entered the room and closed the door behind him. There was a huge pool in the middle of the room and up on the second floor. Garret could see a balcony overlooking the pool. He continued passed the pool and to the door on the other side. He could see two guards patrolling the area. In the middle of the room were two small support pillars and four torches, one on each side of the pillar. As the first guard disappeared around the corner, Garret pulled out four water arrows and extinguished each torch on the two support pillars, then he quickly crept between them and waited for one of the guards to return. Just as he had hoped, a guard slowly walked down some stone stairs leading to a small circular room with a table in the middle of it and some chairs around it. He waited for the guard to pass his hiding place and then clubbed him on the head, then he quickly dragged the body into the shadows of his hiding place and waited for the second guard.

"Hey, what's going on back there?!" The second guard questioned as he came running back around the corner and into the dark room. "Damn drafts, always blowing out the bloody torches!" The guard continued to look around in the dark, while Garret watched from his hiding place. Garret waited until the guard had his back turned, then he slowly crept up behind him and clubbed him. He dragged the guard's body in between the two support pillars with the other guard and went up the stairs to the circular room. There was another, much longer, wooden stairway leading up to the second floor.

"This must be my lucky day!" Garret said to himself climbing the stairs. He came to another circular room identical to the one that he had just passed. Straight ahead was a small archway that lead to the second floor hallways. Just as Garret was about to go into the hallway, he saw a guard and quickly moved out of sight. He waited for the guard to pass by, then he emerged from the room and pulled out his blackjack, but the guard was already too far away. Garret noticed a small ring of keys on the guard's belt, which he probably would be needing if he wanted to retrieve the scepter. Just then an idea came to his head. He could use the blackjack as a ballistic object. Garret looked around to make sure there were no other guards, then he threw the blackjack hard at the guard. It connected with the guard, on the back of his head, as he flew face down from the impact onto the floor. Garret walked over to him and picked up his blackjack and dragged the body back into the circular room, then he grabbed the key ring off of the guard's belt and continued down the hallway. He turned the corner and walked to the door at the end. It was locked. Garret grabbed one of the keys and used it, but no luck. He kept trying until he found the right key, then he opened the door and walked into a huge room which appeared to be a lounge. Garret could see the set of stairs leading to the third floor ahead of him. He slowly climbed the stairs and opened the door at the top.

_Hmm, this was a little to easy_. _Be very careful from here on in._

Garret silenced the voice in his head and cautiously looked around. There was a door at both ends of the hallway. Garret decided to take the door on the left first. He opened the door and found a big, indoor garden on the other side. Lots of big trees and bushes on either side. There were also two sets of stairs on opposite sides of the garden which lead to the pool balcony and the wall patrolling area around the castle.

"This is strange," Garret said to himself. "I don't recall seeing a garden the last time I was here." Garret turned around and went back the way he came and took the door down at the other end of the hallway. He opened the door and continued down the hall and around the corner. There were six doors in this hallway. The first door led to a bedroom, so did the second and third door. The forth door led to a cozy little room and archway, which had a balcony overlooking the main entrance of the manor from the inside. There was a guard standing at the edge of the balcony and on the opposite side was another balcony with a guard. Both guards had bows so it wouldn't have be wise to club them. Garret went back to the hall and opened the fifth door. It led to another little cozy room, identical to the first one, with a chair in front of a warm fireplace. On a small table were two small pouches of gold which Garret put into his carrying sack. There was another archway which lead to the other balcony that Garret saw earlier. He went back into the hallway and opened the last door at the end of the hallway. He emerged into another hallway with three doors. One on the left, one on the right and one at the end of the hallway.

"Hmm... If I remember this right, then the door straight ahead leads to another hallway," Garret said thinking to himself. "So then the door on the left must lead to Bafford's throne room and the door on the right should be my ticket out of here." Garret unlocked the door with his key ring and opened it. He entered an octagonal shaped room with four stairs leading down to the floor. There were two doors. Both on his left and right.

"What the hell?" Garret said confused. "I don't remember any of this. Bafford must have done a lot of renovating since I was here last." The door on the right was covered with silver chrome and the door on the left had a golden mirror hanging from it. Garret tried the door, but it was locked, then he pulled out his key ring and tried every key until he found the right one. The key had the inscription "Bedroom" on it. Garret opened the door and he couldn't believe his eyes. It was Lord Bafford's bedroom and it was full of valuable items. Golden candle holders, golden plates and goblets, a box full of jewel ornaments and more. Garret grabbed everything he could carry and then exited the room, locking the door behind him. He then looked through his ring of keys and found one with the inscription "Throne Room" on it. Garret used the key on the silver chrome door and to his amazement, it opened. He went into the throne room and saw the scepter carefully placed on the wall beside the throne.

"There it is," Garret said with a sly grin as he picked it up and put it into his carrying sack. "Now to get the hell out of here and back into the streets!" Garret locked the throne room door behind him and returned to the hallway and opened the door to his escape. He entered a large room with furniture stacked against the walls. Garret looked around and then continued to the door across the room, but then froze in his tracks when he heard a voice behind him. He slowly turned around and saw two guards standing at the entrance to the room.

"Going somewhere, Taffer?" The guard asked Garret.

"I see we have another trespasser to deal with," The second guard said to the first. "Do you know what we do to trespassers, boy?"

"Hmm...wait a minute," The first guard said as he eyed Garret thoroughly. "Haha, I knew it!"

"Huh?" The second guard asked confused. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"It's him!" The first guard exclaimed. "The thief that was thrown in jail ten years ago for stealing that pouch of money from me! I never forget a face!"

"Yes, your right," The second guard said in surprise. "He was the one that almost killed Lord Bafford. Trapped like a rat in a cage."

"We've been searching for you for a long time, boy!" The first guard said to Garret with an evil grin. "Lord Bafford said that you would come back to get revenge."

"Lord Bafford will give us a big reward if we bring his head on a platter for him," Replied the second guard.

"Maybe even a promotion as well," The first guard continued. "Prepare to die, boy!"

"Oh, by the way," The second guard said smiling as he pulled out his sword, which was accompanied by the first guard's sword. "I was the one that shot the arrow into your leg ten years ago, and now I will finally have the privilege of finishing the job!" Garret dropped his carrying sack and slowly pulled out his sword and spun it around in his hand.

"You want me?!" Garret taunted. "Then come and get me, Taffers!" The first guard ran at him and swung his sword, but Garret blocked it and slashed the first guard on the arm, then he kicked him in the face and knocked him to the ground. The second guard advanced and swung his sword which was met with Garret's. He grabbed the guard's arm and flipped him over his back. The guard landed on the ground with a loud _thump._ The first guard got back up and continued to attack. Metal clashing against metal with every swing. Garret looked behind himself as the second guard ran at him. He dodged the first guard's swing and tripped him, then he spun around and drove his sword through the stomach of the second guard. The guard's eyes opened in surprise and then became lifeless. Garret pulled his sword out of the guard's stomach and then attacked the other guard. He kicked the guard's sword out of his hand and swung his sword through the guard's chest. Blood pouring out from his wounds as he fell to the floor.

"That was way too close!" Garret said to himself, sheathing his sword and then collapsing onto the floor in exhaustion. Once he rested a bit, he grabbed the two lifeless bodies and pulled them into one of the corners in the room, then he pulled out his blackjack and smashed the light above him and the two beside it. When he was done, he picked up his carrying sack and opened the other door which led to the library and looked around. Against each wall were huge shelves of books stacked all nice and neat. There were two windows to the left and a small desk with a chair in front of each window. At the opposite end of the room was another door leading to the hallways. Garret walked up to the desk and read the scroll that was sitting there.

"I wonder if Bafford reads the Merets, just for show?" Garret questioned. He put the scroll back on the desk, pulled out the key ring and threw it onto the floor, then he carefully opened the window and pulled out a rope arrow. Garret pulled out his bow and aimed the arrow into the roof, then he climbed down it and dropped into the streets. He pulled on the rope arrow and it came unstuck, and fell to the ground. He wrapped it back up and put it in his arrow sack, then he disappeared into the shadows of the streets...

**Chapter 2: Break From Cragscleft Prison**

"Before death came, the liars were made to feast upon the hands of the thieves, and the thieves were made to ingest the tongues of their liar brothers, and we praised the Master Builder for his judgments." - The Hammer Book Of Tenets.

...An hour later I arrived back at the temple. A sight for sore eyes. I opened the door and went up the stairs to my room. I locked the door behind me and took off my cloak. I laid my carrying sack on the bed. I put my sword, bow and blackjack against the bedside table, then I put the arrow sack on the other bedside table. I looked at Lord Bafford's manor through the window and smiled at a job well done. I opened my sack of valuables and pulled all of them out. I took the two golden goblets, put them on a shelf above my dresser and admired them, then I pulled out the scepter and laid it on the dresser.

"Tomorrow, I will go to town and exchange all of these valuables for gold," I said as I closed my carrying sack and put it on the floor beside the bedside table. "but for now I shall rest. I've definitely earned it." I removed my cloak and hung it on a hook on the door, then I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes. I was very tired from the job.

I woke up the next morning, greeted by the blinding light of the sun. There was much to do. I quickly changed into my normal clothing and went downstairs to the dining area where I was greeted by one of the Keepers.

"Sleep well, young Garret?" The Keeper named Gerald asked me.

"I guess you could say that," I said as I rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes.

"We have a wonderful feast prepared for this morning's meal," Another Keeper interrupted as he walked up to us. "Fit for a king, but come, see for yourself." The Keeper lead us to the long entree table. There was a long line, where all of us anxiously waited for our meal. Once I got my meal, I went to sit with Gerald and one of his associates.

"So, young Garret," The Keeper, Marcus, asked me. "What do you have planned on this glorious day?"

"What's it to you?" I answered him. "That's none of your business anyway."

"Young Garret, as stubborn as always," Gerald interrupted and grinned at Marcus. "Some things never change."

"Ah, so this is the troubled young lad that you took in from the streets," Marcus said as he eyed me. "Is he willing to learn the ways of the Keepers?"

"I believe so," Gerald answered. "Isn't that right... Garret?"

"Yeah, whatever you say," I answered.

"Ah, Gerald, how are you this fine morning?" Another Keeper asked. "and how is your youthful apprentice coming along?"

"I see your still happy as always, eh Merek?" Gerald teased, chuckling.

"Why should I not be happy?" Merek answered with a big smile. "There is a glorious day laid out before us!"

"It is glorious indeed and it makes me feel grand, and I also see you've already heard of our new guest, is that not so?" Gerald asked as Merek nodded. "Well then, let me introduce you two. Merek, this is Garret, the young man I took from the streets to be my apprentice. I plan to teach him the ways of the Keepers. Garret, this is Merek, a very good and wise friend of mine. He is full of wisdom and truth."

"I am very glad to me you, Garret," Merek greeted cheerfully. I looked up at him and nodded my head, then I continued eating.

"Young Garret still isn't use to the ways of our people yet, but eventually he will learn!" Gerald said looking at Merek. "He is still very selfish and stubborn. Ah, here comes Jarin!"

"Good morning Jarin," Merek greeted.

"Good morning Merek, Gerald and Marcus," Jarin answered. "and how are we this fine morning?"

"We are very fine indeed," Marcus answered.

"Come, sit!" Gerald told Jarin. "We have much to talk about."

"Indeed we do, my friend," Jarin answered back. I continued to eat as I listened to the four Keeper's conversation. After I was done, I went back up to my room and gathered my things together. I put my cloak on and put the scepter in my carrying sack with the rest of the valuables. I grabbed my sword, blackjack and bow and put them under my cloak, then I headed out the door, locking it behind me. I descended down the stairs and out the main door, down the mountain path, towards the city. I never liked social gatherings and I didn't give a damn what they thought about me. I had a job to complete and money to make. I went to the trade shop and traded my valuables for gold. The shopkeeper was a former acquaintance of mine so he always gave me a good deal. After I finished all of what I had to do, I decided to go to Cutty's place to deliver the scepter. Once I got there, I stopped and looked up at the house that stood in front of me.

"Looks like Cutty isn't as poor as he was letting on," I said to myself as I walked up the steps and to the front door, then I knocked on it. There was no answer. I pulled out the piece of paper that Cutty had given me the night before. The address was exactly the same as the one on the paper.

"Hey, Cutty!" I yelled, banging on the door. "Answer the damn door!" There was no answer. Something was not right. I decided to break the door down to see what was wrong. The door flew off it's hinges and crashed to the floor as I entered Cutty's house. My eyes opened in surprise as I looked around. The whole house had been pillaged. There were papers on the floor along with broken glass and furniture.

"What the hell happened here?" I said to myself as I gazed upon the destruction. There was a small table in the middle of the room that still stood as one piece. On the table was a small piece of paper. I walked over to the table and picked up the piece of paper. It read:

"I have been found out. As I write this to you, the Hammerites

are trying to break down my door. It is useless for me to try

and escape. They would have just searched until I was found.

It won't be long now. Their plans for me are not yet known,

but be assured, I will most likely be tortured to death. If I'm

not mistaken, I believe that they plan to take me to Cragscleft

Prison. It is located on an island in the middle of the Lake Of

Souls. You can access the island from an old dock located to the

west of the city. Once you reach the island, look for a secret in

the wall. By the way, if you want the money that I owe you,

then you will come and break me free."

Cutty.

"Dammit!" I yelled as I crumpled the paper and threw it on the ground. "I can't believe that this is happening to me!" In a fit of rage, I picked up the table and smashed it against the wall, then I exited out the door.

"Apparently they didn't approve of his occupation," I told myself. "and I doubt they'll approve of mine. So hopefully they'll never catch sight of me when I break him out of their prison. Which is exactly what I'm going to do. They're holding Cutty in a mining complex carved out of a quarry. The quarry is flooded, but the Hammers still work the top level mines and have converted part of the complex into a penitentiary for those who... "violate" their tenets. An associate of mine was confined there and has provided me with a map. It would be difficult to get in by way of the main gate, but there is another option. The mines break the surface of a hill south of the quarry. I'll drop into the mines and head for the prison, which will be found somewhere up hill and to the north. The Hammers don't venture into these lower mine levels because everyone believes them to be haunted. I'd rather not have to do this job, but Cutty is a reliable fence, and I don't appreciate the Hammerites abducting him. Plus, he still owes me money for the Bafford job…"

**Mission Two**

"I wish Cutty gave me better directions!" Garret said looking down the beach of the Lake Of Souls. He slowly walked down the beach, making a mental note of everything he saw. Farther down, he noticed an unusually large patch of vines. They were unusually thick as well, especially for dead vines, which was strange. Garret walked up to the vine patch and moved the vines aside. Behind them was a concealed, old, abandoned, wooden dock with a small rowboat tied up to the pier. The wooden dock was falling apart from years of decay. Garret walked up to the rowboat and examined it. The boat was old and rickety, and had a few holes, but it was still usable.

"I must be crazy to want to use this piece of junk!" Garret exclaimed, wiping his forehead. He broke off two long pieces of wood from the dock and threw them into the boat, then he untied the rope from the pier and got into the boat. He grabbed the two pieces of wood, put them in the water and started rowing to Cragscleft Island. The island was about two miles away from the city. It was said that the island was located exactly at the center of the Lake Of Souls. It was around midday when Garret finally touched shore on the island. The sun was beginning to set behind the mountains to the west. He jumped out of the boat, into the water and pulled the boat onto the shore. He wiped his forehead once more and examined his surroundings. The main way into the place was on the other side of the island and was most likely heavily guarded. The mine entrance was surrounded by jagged mountains all around half of the island.

"Hmm, Cutty mentioned a secret in the wall," Garret said to himself. He slowly walked beside the wall, pressing his hands against it. All of a sudden, a piece of the wall pushed in and a large door revealed itself, struggling to open due to the build up of years of rust. Garret went into the cave and shortly appeared on the other side of the jagged mountains. Long ago, it was said that an enormous rock fell from the sky and hit the island. The mine was built here because of the unknown rock, which turned half of the island into a crater. These mountains were also made from the impact of the unknown rock. So the miners, trying to keep their fortune hidden, created a secret entrance, for easy access. Only a select few knew about the mine back then, which is why the door was hidden. Garret stood at the edge of the crater and looked around. He noticed mine car tracks leading into the tunnel wall at the bottom of the crater. It was partly flooded and the only way in was to swim through.

"Looks like I'm going for swim," Garret said sarcastically and dove into the water. He swam as fast as he could and resurfaced in a dark cave. It was too dark for him to see anything. Garret pulled out his lantern, but it was out due to the water. He quickly felt around for some stones and struck them together a few times over the lantern, producing sparks, which eventually re-ignited the wick over the oil, then he put them away in his cloak pocket. Garret raised the lantern in front of him and cautiously examined the dark cave. He could make out three tunnels, one leading left, one straight ahead and the other leading right. He pulled out his map and looked at it to see if there was any indication of which tunnel to take, but it only showed how many levels of the mine there were and the detailed sketches of the prison and barracks.

"Damn," Garret said tucking his map away. "I guess I'm on my own." He pulled out his sword and checked out each tunnel. He noticed a small swarm of flies at the mouth of the one on the right. Slowly, Garret went to investigate and his eyes washed over a rotten, half decomposed corpse. The stench was unbelievable. Garret grabbed his cloak and put it over his mouth, trying his hardest not to vomit, then he jabbed the rotten, decomposing corpse with his sword. Nothing happened. It just laid there in complete silence as the small swarm of flies continued to circle. Garret grinned and silently cursed himself for his insolence. Just to be safe, he backed up into the wall and crept passed the dead corpse and went into the tunnel. Shortly, he came to a branch. One tunnel curved left and the other tunnel curved right. The mine car tracks broke off and continued down the left tunnel and into the darkness.  
_ Where there's mine car tracks, there has to be a way through the mines, right?_

Garret silenced the voice in his head and continued to think. It was worth a try. He only had his life to lose if he got lost in the "supposedly" haunted mine. He veered left and went down the tunnel. As he went farther down the tunnel, it became narrow. There were skulls engraved into the walls, on either side of him. One after another.

"I don't like this," Garret said to himself with a worried expression on his face. "This is not good." After a lengthy period of time, the tunnel started descending until it became flooded with water. Garret stopped and looked around as frustration built on his face.

_Not another damn flooded tunnel!_

Garret slid his sword back into its scabbard and put the lantern on the ground. He grabbed two small sticks and wrapped some rope around them, then using the light of the lantern, he grabbed the two rocks which he had used to re-light the flame a while back, broke them in half over one of the skulls engraved into the wall and grazed them down, then he tied them onto each stick and created a small flint-like device that he could use to re-light the lantern whenever he needed. Garret put everything back into his cloak and dove into the water. The underwater tunnel continued to descend, then immediately took a sharp turn upward. He emerged out of a small hole in the ground and pulled himself out of the water, then took a look around. He had just entered a gigantic room, but that wasn't the thing that horrified Garret most. In each corner of the room was a big pile of bones, around ten feet high. In the middle of the room stood a massive pillar, made from marble and the skulls of the dead. The ceiling of the room was approximately forty feet high.

"Damn!" Garret said to himself. "It's a dead end." He took one last look around before he was about to go back the way he came, when he barely noticed a small cave, just below the ceiling in the wall. The only way up was by rope. The wall was much too steep to climb and even if it was climbable, he wasn't very good at climbing anyway. Garret dug into his arrow sack and fished out three rope arrows. He quickly tied them together and walked to the far wall, so he was standing directly under the entrance, then pulled out his bow. He took aim at the ceiling directly above him and released the arrow. It shot into the ceiling and unraveled. Garret pulled on the rope to make sure it was sturdy, then he climbed up the ropes to the small cave. He jumped onto the ledge and grabbed the base of the rope arrow in the ceiling and pushed down on a small clip. The rope arrow immediately came loose and Garret untied and wrapped the three rope arrows back up and then put them in his arrow sack. The cave was too dark to see anything, so Garret pulled out his lantern and used his home-made flint on it. He slowly walked through the tunnel, inspecting everything he saw. Farther down, he noticed something sparkling, so he decided to check it out. The closer he got, the brighter it became. Garret set his lantern down beside the sparkling object and picked it up. It was a big diamond, the size of a rock. A gemstone. A grin spread across Garret's face as he pocketed the gemstone.

_This just might be worth while after all!_

Garret picked up his lantern and continued down the damp, dark tunnel. It started descending as he passed by fragments of a crushed skull. Another chill ran down Garret's spine as he continued down the tunnel. It curved right and continued to descend until it came to a dead end.

"What the hell?" Garret wondered. He pushed on the wall as hard as he could, but nothing happened. There was something covered in dry mud in front of him. He quickly brushed it off and uncovered another gemstone. Greedy as he was, he grabbed the gemstone, but it wouldn't budge. It was stuck. He pulled at it with all his strength and stopped when he heard a loud click. All of a sudden, the ground underneath him opened up and he fell through. Garret continued sliding down a small shaft as it curved left and right, until he landed on the ground on his back with a loud _thud_.

"Son of a...," Garret cried in pain as he struggled to get up. "Now where the hell am I?" He looked around, trying to stop the dizziness from the fall, and noticed the same swarm of flies that he had seen before, along with the rotten corpse. He was back at the entrance of the mines. He picked up the lantern beside him and put it back in his cloak. Garret decided to try the middle tunnel this time, hoping that his luck would have to change sooner or later. He pulled out his sword and continued down the tunnel. It took a sharp turn left and then another sharp turn right and continued to curve. Up ahead, he noticed a small machine, which looked like a generator of some he got closer, he noticed a small metal platform hovering over a fairly large hole. Garret stopped in front of the generator and put his sword away, then he examined it. He could hear a quiet humming noise coming from the still working machine. He looked up and saw equal sized holes above him. On the generator was a small panel with four red buttons, going down vertically. The two bottom ones were lit while the other two buttons appeared cracked and broken.

"Hmm, if I'm right," Garret thought to himself, examining the panel and then the holes above him. "then this must be some sort of elevator. The top button must be for the top level mines, where I need to go; the second button must be the second level of the mines; the third button must be the main level and the bottom button must be the basement level." Garret walked onto the platform and pressed the top red button, but nothing happened, then he pressed the second button. Still nothing happened. Frustrated, Garret slammed his fist on the two buttons.

_This is just great. First the dead corpse, then the strange trap and now this! What's next I wonder..._

Garret lost his train of thought when he heard a strange hissing noise coming from the darkness below. He quickly pulled out his sword, stepped off the platform and waited. Nothing but gentle humming of the generator was all that Garret could hear now. He slowly stepped back onto the metal platform, cautiously looking in every direction, and pushed the bottom button on the panel. The elevator platform immediately came to life and started to descend into the unknown darkness. Down to where something silently watched, waiting for the right moment to strike. Something deadly.

"Lenard, have you seen my young apprentice, Garret, anywhere?" Gerald asked. "The nerve of that boy. Always ignoring his lessons!"

"Yes, I believe I saw him earlier," Lenard answered. "He left five hours ago. He said he had something very important to do. He also muttered the name 'Cragscleft' as he went out the door."

"But Cragscleft is just a prison in the middle of nowhere," Gerald said to Lenard. "Why would he want to go there?"

"Forgive me for being so bold," Lenard answered. "but I believe that he is committing unlawful acts behind your back. Perhaps he has more secrets than he'd like you to know_. _The other night, when he came back from the city, I noticed he was holding a piece of paper. He was mumbling something about a job and a scepter. I think he is a disgrace to our people. To our religion. If you keep him here, he will only desecrate our beliefs. Perhaps it is time for him to go his own way, Gerald."

"Perhaps," Gerald said to himself as he looked out one of the windows towards the city. "Perhaps."

The elevator platform pulled to a stop at the bottom. Garret stepped off of it and into the dark tunnel. Far off in the distance, he could make out the faint glow of a small light. Garret cautiously walked down the tunnel, the flickering light casting eerie shadows on the tunnel walls, making Garret feel more nervous and uneasy. As he came closer, he could make out a small, circular room. There were also two tunnels leading in the opposite direction on the other side of the room. Garret slowly entered the room and looked around. Up above him was the small flickering light that he had taken notice of earlier. He took a step forward and then froze in his tracks as he heard the hissing noise again.

"Shit, this is not good!" Garret said to himself. "This is definitely not fucking good!" Garret noticed the sound of quick, continuous _thudding _noises of something big moving in the darkness. He shuddered as the sick, wet _thudding_ sounds that the creature was making, concealed by veils of darkness, got closer. He froze in a midst of panic as the creature darted under the flickering light. It was headed straight for him. As the creature lunged for Garret's throat, he regained his courage and barely managed to dodge it's attack. He quickly turned around and pulled out his sword long enough to see the creature land on the wall and scurry into the shadows once again.

_What the hell is that damn thing?_

It lunged at him again and he dodged it and swung his sword. The creature landed on the ground, spun around and lunged again. Garret dove out of the way and swung wildly as he landed on the floor.

"Too fast!" Garret said to himself as pain shot through his side. "It's just too fucking fast! I need a plan and quick!" As he pushed himself up from the ground, he was hit by a wet and sticky substance. Garret tried to run at the creature but noticed that he couldn't move his legs. They were all covered by the sticky slime that the creature was spraying at him.

_What the hell is this stuff? It's like glue. Shit, I can't move. I'm going to die if I don't do something now!_

As the creature lunged at him, Garret quickly used his sword to cut through the sticky substance and dove sideways as it came at him, then he vigorously swung his sword in the direction of the deadly creature. He heard an unholy screech erupt from it as the sword easily tore through its flesh. Its lifeless body hit the floor and its legs curled above its body. For a moment, Garret didn't move. He stood still and closed his eyes, trying to stop the rapid beating of his heart. His head was still spinning from the near death experience. Once he began to relax, he decided to take a look at his attacker, and was horrified at what he saw. Eight hairy, black legs curled over top of its dead body. It was a huge spider. Its body was covered in thick, green bristles. As for the head portion, it was also covered in thick bristles, along with sharp venom dripping fangs. Garret shivered as its lifeless, beady little eyes stared blankly up at him. The spider alone could have covered half of his body.

"Damn, that was too close!" Garret said to himself still dazed. "I have to be more careful from now on, or I could get killed." He put his sword away and examined the two tunnels in front of him. Just as he was about to decide, he heard a wet, cracking sound. Garret looked back at the spider's body and saw the most disgusting thing he had ever seen. The spider's abdomen slowly split open as green fluid erupted from it. All of a sudden, a huge swarm of baby spiders emerged from the crack and spread all over the room. There was at least two-hundred of them. Garret could feel some of them starting to crawl up his leg and quickly shook them off.

"No, I need more time to choose a tunnel! " Garret told himself in a midst of panic. "What am I going to do?"

_Run dammit! Just run as fast as your fucking legs will carry you!_

With that thought, Garret took off. He ran as fast as he possibly could, not looking back to see if they were after him. He didn't care. Garret listened to the beat of his heart as it pumped adrenaline through his veins. He closed his eyes and pushed his muscles to their limit when, all of a sudden, he crashed into something solid and fell to the ground in agonizing pain. Garret grabbed his ribs as throbbing blasts of pain shot through his entire body with each beat of his heart. As his vision began to clear and the pain started to subside, he was able to move again. He slowly pushed himself off the ground and onto his knees, then with his remaining strength, he pulled himself onto his feet. Garret searched his cloak for his lantern, but to his surprise, it was not there.

"Damn," Garret said to himself. "I must have lost it while I was running." Garret started to search through the darkness for the wall that he had hit and felt something hit his foot. He bent down and searched the ground when his hands came across something metal. It clattered on the ground as Garret tried to make out what it was. He felt around the warm object and realized that it was the lantern that he thought he had just lost. He pulled out his home-made flint and sparked it over the wick in the lantern. The wick ignited once again and he examined his surroundings. In front if him was a wall, which he figured he must have hit while he was running blindly. Garret rubbed his head, trying to stop the rest of the throbbing pain and clear his blurred vision. There were two tunnels beside him, which lead in opposite directions. He could hear the faint trickling of water coming from the tunnel to the right.

_Water? Why would there be water so far underground?_

Garret pulled out his sword and continued down the tunnel. As he got closer, the trickling of water became louder. The tunnel curved right until it became narrow. Garret came into a big room and examined his surroundings in the faint light, which lit the room from a small crack in the ceiling. In the middle of the room was a fairly large pool of water. Above the pool in the wall, was another small crack which had water gushing out of it and into the pool below. He looked into the clear water and noticed a faint glow coming from the crack in the wall.

"I might as well take a closer look," Garret said to himself and put his sword away. He took a deep breath and dove into the water, then swam towards the faint glow. He stopped in front of the crack and examined it with his fingers. To his surprise it fell away and revealed a hole into a secret room. Garret quickly swam through the hole and surfaced onto the sand. The secret room was bare except for four large chests against the wall in front of him and a rusty plaque on the wall above them. He walked up to the plaque on the wall and examined it. It read:

"Behold the great chests within this room, Choose wrong and

suffer a certain doom, One chest is true while the rest are

merely illusions, Beware and believe not the many false

delusions, Carved onto the lid of the four chests be symbols

of five, Unite the symbols of power in order to survive, All

four chests hold half of each symbol of power, Connect each

symbol properly to devour, Beware the secret sixth symbol

which does not belong, Be cautious and choose carefully or

thou shall be wrong."

"Very interesting," Garret said to himself, studying the inscription. "There's still more."

"When these symbols are joined, they will unlock the truth:

Symbol of Fire, Symbol of Water, Symbol of Earth, Symbol

of Air, and Symbol of Heaven. To reveal the Symbol of

Heaven, the four elements must become one. Beware as it

will also reveal the Symbol of Hell."

Garret continued to study the engraving, then decided to examine the four chests. Just as the riddle said, there were three different halves of the symbols on each chest.

"Hmm, what does it all mean?" Garret thought to himself. "Now I get it. It's a puzzle. I must connect each symbol together." He examined the first chest and found the first half of the symbol of Fire. On the third chest was the second half and the first half of the symbol of Water. The second chest had the second half and the first half of the symbol of Earth. The first chest had the second symbol and the first symbol of Air. The second chest had the final half of the symbol.

_What now? To reveal the symbol of Heaven, combine the four elements._

Garret examined the last two chests and pieced a picture of what the four symbols would look like as one in his mind. He looked at the lid on the last chest and found the two halves of the symbol that he pictured, only they were facing the opposite direction.

"Bingo!" Garret said smiling. "The symbol of Hell faces outward and symbolizes hate and destruction, while the symbol of Heaven faces inward and symbolizes love and harmony!" He looked at the third chest and found the two halves facing inward. With a well deserved grin, Garret opened the third chest and the other three vanished in a cloud of vapor. His eyes opened wide as he pulled out five golden, jewel encrusted medallions. Each one with a symbol of an element carved into the middle. Garret examined the medallion with the symbol of Heaven, then turned it around to reveal the symbol of Hell.

"The two most powerful forces in the universe bound by four elements," Garret said to himself amazed. "These medallions will definitely be worth a handsome price, but I think I'm going to keep this one." He tucked the other four medallions into his carrying sack and put the medallion of Heaven and Hell around his neck. After making the final checks, he jumped back into the water and resurfaced in the other room. As Garret was about to leave, he noticed that the water that was pouring out from the crack in the wall a while ago had now stopped. He pulled out his lantern, re-lit it and then traced his steps back to the other two tunnels. When he arrived, his eyes widened. The tunnel which he had come from a while back was now blocked by a cave-in.

_What the hell is going on here?_

Garret shuddered as a picture of the disfigured corpse entered his mind. He pushed the

thought aside, pulled out his sword and continued down the unexplored tunnel. All he could hear was the fast beating of his heart and the sound of his footsteps accompanying them. The lantern in his cloak lighting up the way. In the distance, Garret noticed a faint blue glow of light. The closer he got, the more visible it became. He stopped before a large, rusted metal caged door. It was made of long and thick, horizontal metal bars. He tried to see past the door, but all he could make out was the blue beam of electricity in the darkness. Garret pulled out his lantern and examined the door. There appeared to be no lock mechanism on it. He examined the walls around him and found a small lever concealed by a crevice in the wall to his left. He put his sword away and grabbed hold of the lever, then with all of his strength, he pulled it down. Garret heard a loud click as the lever stopped and immediately the room came to life. He watched in amazement as the blue light began to buzz and crackle loudly. The lights on the walls and ceiling, one by one, slowly began flickering on, then the barred door lifted. Garret walked into the room and examined the area. In the right corner of the room was the blue beam of electricity. There were two metal ball like objects on small poles accompanied by rings around them. Both poles were attached to a huge machine with an assortment of different switches and dials. Garret walked up to the huge machine and examined it. He flicked one of the switches on the panel and one of the lights in the room diminished. He pushed the switch again and the light brightened.

"Hmm, must be some kind of power generator," Garret said to himself as he continued to examine the rest of the place. In the middle of the room were two large operating tables with caked on blood soaked into the sheets. There was a large boulder that had destroyed half of the second operating table. Most of the tools had been scattered along the ground, but some of them still remained on top of the other table. Along the ground ran three different sets of mine car tracks which lead into the walls. Far on the left wall, Garret could see a lone mine car and littering the ground beside it, were piles of rubble and pieces of broken machines. Against the wall, he could see more machines that had also been destroyed.

_What the hell happened here?_

Up above him, was a large bridge which had been partially destroyed. The middle of the bridge had been destroyed and the other half was blocked by another large boulder. Jumping to the other half of the bridge would have been far two long to attempt anyway, even if there was no boulder blocking access to the other side. Up above the bridge Garret could see another bridge, which had not been destroyed, but had a third large boulder in the middle of it. Up above that bridge was a narrow ledge in the wall that lead into another tunnel which he could reach if he climbed the boulder in the middle of the bridge. The entire room was enormous. Built into all four levels of the underground mine.

"If I can get to that ledge, I'll be able to get to the prison," Garret said to himself. He looked around and barely noticed a hidden tunnel behind one of the broken machines. He pushed the machine with all his strength, then jumped back in horror and disgust as a rotting corpse fell out of the cave. Garret's heart skipped a beat when he heard a terrifying moan coming from something unseen. He frantically pulled out his sword and looked all over the place, then he slowly walked up to the corpse and jabbed it with his sword. It continued lying there, motionless. When Garret finally calmed down, he pushed the corpse aside with his sword and went into the tunnel. On the ground was one of the three mine car tracks which appeared to have lead into the wall. He slowly followed the tracks as they continued to ascend. He cautiously entered the small room before him and looked around. To his right were four tunnels all leading in the opposite directions. Straight ahead was another tunnel which continued to lead up. Garret jumped against the wall in horror when he noticed the five rotten, decomposing corpses all over the room. He also noticed that one corpse was wearing a Hammerite uniform. Garret's heart started beating faster as he began to imagine what happened to the Hammerite. He slowly moved towards the tunnel ahead of him, trying to stay as close to the wall as possible, then he continued up the ascending tunnel. He exited the mouth of the tunnel and walked onto the partially destroyed bridge in front of him. Garret was on the second level of the room and he had to get to the other side of the bridge. He looked around and noticed a very narrow ledge to his left which he could use to scale to the other side of the bridge, if he could make it without falling to his death. Garret closed his eyes and jumped to the ledge. He hit the wall and started to lose his balance. He looked down and saw the motionless, rotting corpse directly below him, and pushed himself into regaining his balance. He closed his eyes and stood there for a few seconds, trying to force away the pounding sensation in his head, then he scaled the wall to the other side and jumped onto the other side of the bridge. He lifted himself up onto the boulder and examined the wall. He jumped from the boulder, grabbing the narrow ledge above him and pulled himself up onto it, then he pulled himself up onto a higher ledge. Garret then jumped toward the second bridge and pulled himself up onto it. He was now on the third level of the room. He quickly climbed the boulder in front of him and readied himself as adrenaline continuously pumped through his veins. He backed up as far as he could and got a running jump and barely managed to grab onto the narrow ledge.

"Shi-t!" Garret moaned as he struggled to pull himself up onto the ledge. Once he was up, he sat down against the wall and rested. He looked down and saw how far he had climbed. When his heart beat was back to normal, he got up and examined his surroundings. He pulled out his lantern and continued into the tunnel. Farther down the tunnel, Garret noticed something on the ground and as he got closer, it started taking shape as the light of the lantern began to reveal it. A lump formed in Garret's throat as the light fully revealed the dead body. He stopped in front of it, pulled out his sword and jabbed the dead body. He bent down and inspected the body.

"This use to be the body of a Hammer," Garret said to himself, turning the guard's body over. "He must have been killed very recently and I'll bet that whatever killed him is still here." The Hammerite's uniform had been ripped and torn, and was soaked in blood, but a large white cross on the chest of his uniform was still visible. In his hand was a large metal hammer with drying blood on it. The Hammerite's face had been slashed horribly and the blood on it was still warm. As Garret continued inspecting the dead Hammerite, an ungodly moan erupted through the silence of the tunnel.

_What in the hell was that?! _

Garret jumped as a second moan broke through the silence. He quickly got up and readied his sword, his body shaking profusely. He picked up his lantern and hung it on his belt, then he cautiously took five steps forward, passing the disfigured body of the Hammerite. He stopped and listened. Nothing but silence now.

"I really don't like this!" Garret said to himself as he slowly continued through the tunnel, as it began ascending. He walked out of the tunnel and entered a small room with three more tunnels, one going left, another going right and the third going straight ahead. To Garret's right, next to the wall was another elevator. He walked up to the elevator and examined it. The panel had been ripped off and was hanging by a few of its wires.

_Great, now what do I do?_

His thoughts were broken by another ungodly moan, a lot more closer than the last ones were. The moaning noises grew closer and closer with every second. Garret jumped back in horror and his entire body felt one thousand pounds heavier as his eyes fixed on the most horrific thing that he had ever seen. Slowly, a flesh peeling, walking corpse showed itself from around the corner and turned its grotesque head upon Garret. There were pieces of decaying flesh hanging off of every bone. One of the corpses eyes hung loosely against its cheekbone and half of its left jaw was missing. The corpse moaned hungrily and started limping towards Garret as a swarm of flies eagerly followed.

"What evil magic is this?!" Garret said as he took a step back every time the corpse limped forward.

_Do something or you're going to become one of them!_

Regaining his courage, Garret charged at the flesh peeling abomination. He swung his sword as hard as he could and hit the corpse in the ribs. It let out an angry wail as a small chunk of decayed flesh, that the sword had cut off, fell to the ground. Garret stepped back, mortified as the rotting corpse swung its long knife-like fingers at him. He dodged the corpse's fatal blow and struck its head with his sword, cutting off another piece of rotten, decayed flesh. The corpse swung again and Garret was barely able to block it with his sword as the force of the impact knocked him to the ground.

"DAMMIT!" Garret yelled out in a fit of panic. "This isn't going to work." He quickly rolled out of the way as the corpse swung its deadly claws at the ground where he was. He had to figure a way to get by this corpse if he wanted to make it out of this place alive. Just then an idea struck him. He quickly found some footing and when the corpse was close enough, he charged at it, head first. He slammed into the corpse as hard as he could and it flew to the ground with a loud _thud_ as the flies darted off into the tunnel that Garret had come from.

"This will buy me some time," Garret said as he looked for a direction to go in. "but not much." He ran past the corpse and into the tunnel ahead of him. Up ahead he could see an intersection dividing the tunnel. The tunnel branched left sharply and the other branched right sharply.

_No time to choose. Just keep running as fast as you can!_

Garret took a sharp left and continued down the long tunnel, the lantern guiding the way. He stopped dead in his tracks when he came to the ruins of what appeared to be an old abandoned church and also a dead end.

"Fuck!" Garret yelled in anger. "I went the wrong way. There still might be time to go back." He was about to turn back when he heard the loud wailing of the corpse close behind, which gave him second thoughts about it. Instead he walked through the ruins of the abandoned church and examined the area for anything that might be useful against an undead corpse. A few of the large pillars in the abandoned church had collapsed or crumbled apart. A large collection of rubble and earth had also littered the church floor. The back half of the church had been caved in and some pews were broken, while others were toppled over. Garret noticed something in the rubble near an alter at the front end of the church. He quickly went over to the alter and picked up a stone tablet.

"Interesting!" Garret exclaimed as he examined the stone tablet. There was an inscription carved into the tablet. It read:

"To destroy the undead which roam these haunted mines,

one shall need the sacred water pure that shines

Through the darkness one shall unveil the true power,

and with it they shall destroy all that devour

The alter of stone is the key to the holy weapon,

use this and destroy the unholy infection

Uncover the resting place of the fountain of youth,

use it to end the curse and thou shalt unlock the truth

If there are two, there must be seven, five, and six,

find three, four, one and eight to form the Holy Phoenix."

Garret continued to study the inscription when another moan erupted from the tunnel behind him.

_If you plan to do something, do it now!_

"Shit!" Garret said in frustration as he looked around the area. "What the hell am I suppose to do?" He walked around the alter and noticed a carving shaped exactly like the tablet in the back of it. Quickly, he put the tablet into the slot. As he did, a small tile on the alter slid away to reveal a panel with strange pictures around a set of small dials shaped like door knobs. There were a total of eight dials on the small panel. Each of the dials had pictures around it which appeared to be parts of what looked like a bird of some kind. It was picture parts of the Holy Phoenix, but each dial had the exact same pictures around them as the others did.

"How am I suppose to form a picture of the Holy Phoenix when all the dials have the same pictures?" Garret thought to himself. "Maybe if I use the numbers that the inscription mentioned." He quickly studied the panel and turned the first dial five times and heard a loud clicking noise as the dial locked into place. He then turned the second dial four times, but instead of a loud clicking noise from the panel, there was a loud noise that came from above him. He looked up just in time to see a huge pendulum blade swing towards him. He quickly jumped over the altar as the pendulum blade swung past, barely missing him and disappeared into a slit in the ceiling.

"Fuck!" Garret yelled, out of breath from the very close brush with death. "What did I do wrong?" He jumped back over the altar and examined the inscription on the tablet more closely, then he turned the dial back four times to its original setting. Just then an idea hit him. He turned the dial three times instead of four, and with a loud click, it locked itself into place. Garret grinned, then studied the tablet again and turned the third dial two times and it locked into place. He turned the fourth dial seven times and it also locked into place, then he turned the fifth dial once. After that he turned the sixth dial eight times, and the seventh dial four times, then the eighth and final dial six times. As the final dial locked into place with a loud click, Garret stood up with a smile of satisfaction on his face. The puzzle had been solved. He waited for something to happen and momentarily panicked as a loud rumble filled the room, but was only the wall behind him sliding back and disappearing, revealing a small fountain filled with mysterious glowing water. A statue of the Holy Phoenix stood in the center of the fountain, as the glowing water poured from its mouth.

"I hope this was worth it," Garret said to himself as he pulled out half of his water arrows, unscrewed the glass tips and poured out the water. He dipped each of the tips into the fountain until they were full of the mysterious glowing fountain water and screwed them back on, then he put them back into his arrow sack. By the time he dipped the final arrow tip into the glowing water, the undead corpse had appeared around the corner and was headed in his direction. Garret grabbed his bow, then put the newly filled water arrow that he had just filled against the string, took aim and fired it at the corpse. The arrow connected with the corpse's chest as the tip shattered and the mysterious glowing water splashed all over it. Vapor rose as the corpse let out a painful moan and combusted into a ball of flames, then exploded in a cloud of fluid. Garret stood there in awe at what the mysterious glowing water filled arrow had done.

"Effective!" Garret exclaimed as he looked at the dismembered corpse torso. Once he finished admiring his destruction of the corpse, he continued back down the tunnel he had came from. When he was back to the intersection, he took the right tunnel and continued down it. He passed by another dead body of a Hammerite and continued into a small room with tunnels branching off in every direction.

_Great, now where do I go?_

Garret walked towards each tunnel and listened for any indication of which one to take. When he stopped in front of the right tunnel, he could hear a low hum that sounded identical to the sound of the elevator generators he had used before. He grabbed his bow and a glowing water arrow and cautiously walked into the tunnel. He entered a dark, small room and looked around. The lantern hooked to his belt granting him visibility. Three tunnels appeared through the darkness. One going left, one going straight and one going right. In the corner to Garret's right, there was a small generator with a control panel for the elevator, and beside it was an elevator platform. Panic slowly filled Garret's mind as he walked towards the panel. To his relief, the top button was glowing red.

_Finally, I can get to the prison and rescue Cutty._

As he stepped onto the platform, he heard two separate loud moans coming from one of the tunnels in the room. He quickly readied his bow and scanned each of the four tunnels. He waited and listened for any sign of the corpses, but there was nothing but silence. He turned to the panel and slammed his fist on the top button. The elevator struggled a bit from the years of rust and then slowly began to ascend. The elevator platform came to a stop on the top level and Garret stepped off, examining the new area. The entire room was bare except for two tunnels ahead of him. He stood in front of the two tunnels and tried to figure out which one to take. After some thought, he decided to take the one on the left. The next room that he came to had three decomposing corpses lying on the ground in front of the exit tunnel. One corpse wore a Hammerite uniform. Garret cautiously traversed the room and slowly walked over the two corpse bodies that were in his way. As he stepped over the last corpse, he heard a loud moan that made his heart skip a beat. He quickly scrambled back and aimed his bow at each of the three corpses on the ground. The corpses just continued to lay there, motionless. Garret lowered his bow, turned around and went down the tunnel to a very sturdy barred gate.

"I'm definitely close," Garret thought to himself. "These gates are here to keep someone or something from getting in." He examined the area passed the gate. The room was well lit by two hanging lights on the ceiling as well as the tunnel ahead. Beside the tunnel, on the wall ahead of him, was a small lever.

_This is going to be tricky._

Garret put away his bow and the glowing water arrow, then pulled out his blackjack and put it through the bars of the gate, then with force, he tossed it up into the air. It came back down and landed on top of the lever, pushing it down.

"There is nothing I can't do!" Garret said to himself with a grin. The barred gate slowly began to open. As the gate finished opening, Garret heard a loud moan, followed by two more behind him. He quickly turned around and his eyes widened in disbelief as the three corpses that he crossed over began to get up. He re-armed himself with his bow and the glowing water arrow and shot it at the closest one. It burst into a ball of flame and exploded in a cloud of fluid. Garret took that time to run through the opened gate and pull the lever back up. The gate closed by the time the second and third undead corpse got to it. They moaned angrily at Garret as they tried to grab him through the barred gate. He just looked at them with a torturing grin, picked up his blackjack and continued down the tunnel next to the lever. He put the glowing water arrow back into the arrow sack and lifted the bow back on his shoulder, then pulled out his sword. As he continued though the tunnel, the lights began to get dimmer until there was just a small faint orange glow coming from far ahead. When he neared the end of the tunnel, he could hear voices. He leaned around the edge of the wall and spotted two Hammerites standing halfway up a set of stairs that branched off and met in a room beyond. Each of them held a large metal hammer in their hand and had the same uniform on as the dead Hammerites Garret had seen a while back. There were two torches on the wall behind the Hammerites which illuminated the room. Garret quickly entered the room and crept into the shadows that the stairs made, then listened to the Hammerite's conversation.

"I hate this job," The first Hammerite said out loud. "Three more years and I can retire."

"Quit yer complaining!" The second Hammerite ordered. "It's an honor to be able to work for the Master Builder and besides, your giving me a headache." Just then a third Hammerite entered the room and joined the conversation.

"Did you hear about the incident that happened?" The third Hammerite asked the other two.

"What incident?" The first Hammerite asked in return.

"The incident at Lord Bafford's Manor," The third Hammerite continued. "A thief broke into his manor and stole his scepter as well as ten-thousand worth in gold, jewels and silver, then disappeared without a trace."

"Your lying!" The second Hammerite interrupted. "His manor is heavily guarded. There is no way even the most skilled thief could break into his house, let alone steal everything inside!"

"Do not assume anything," The third Hammerite warned the second. "Not only did the thief break in and steal everything, but he ended up killing four guards while doing it."

"WHAT?!" The first Hammerite said with disbelief. "That's no ordinary thief."

"Especially if he could make it though Lord Bafford's manor without anyone seeing him," The second Hammerite continued.

"Most of the other guards were found unconscious," The third Hammerite noted.

"I remember the filthy Taffer that we arrested a while ago in prison block four was saying something about getting a scepter," The first Hammerite mentioned. "He must be the thief's accomplice!"

_They must_ _be talking about Cutty._

"If that's true," The third Hammerite warned. "then the thief is most likely going to try to break him out of this prison." Garret slowly crept though the shadows to the far end of the room and grabbed his bow and a broad head arrow.

"Hah!" The second Hammerite exclaimed. "I'd just like to see that thief get by me!"

"Be careful what you say," The third Hammerite warned. "It just might come true."

"I can't believe that you two are scared of a little thief!" The second Hammerite said to the other two. "The day a thief can best me in combat is the day that I..."

The Hammerite was cut off as an arrow pierced his neck. With a _gurgle _he grabbed his throat and the metal hammer fell out of his hand, then he fell to the ground as blood poured out from the wound.

"SHIT!" The two other Hammerites yelled as they took cover behind the stone rails.

"It has to be him!" The first Hammerite yelled to the third.

"Where the hell is he?" The third Hammerite yelled back.

"I don't know!" The first Hammerite answered. "He must be in the shad..."

Another arrow came flying though the air and hit the Hammerite in the head before he could finish. He instantly fell to the ground as a pool of blood formed around him.

"Damn you thief!" The third Hammerite yelled as he got up in a blind rage. "I'm going to kill you myself!" Garret pulled out another broad head arrow and aimed it at the Hammerite and fired. It hit him in the chest and he fell back against the stairs. Garret grinned and put his bow back on his shoulder, then he quickly climbed the stairs and entered the next room. He cautiously went down the small corridor, then stopped in front of a metal door. He could hear the whistling from a Hammerite on the other side. He slowly pushed the door open and watched as the Hammerite disappeared up a small flight of stone stairs that continued behind the wall. He quickly crept into the shadows by the stairs, pulled out his blackjack and waited for the Hammerite to return. When the Hammerite returned, he waited until the Hammerite walked passed his hiding place, then he crept up behind him and clubbed him on the back of the head. He grabbed the body and pulled it into the shadows, then went up the flight of stairs. He followed the short corridor to the door, cautiously opened it and examined the area. It was clear. The area was bare, except for the upper level that was seen clearly, as well as a large loading elevator powered by a big generator below the upper ledge. Garret entered the room and took a look at the panel. Two red buttons shined brightly. He pressed the top one and walked onto the elevator platform as it started to ascend to the ledge. When the elevator platform stopped at the upper level, Garret got off and walked down the corridor as it turned left. He stopped at the door and slowly opened it. No Hammerites in sight. He walked through and shut the door behind him, then continued through the long torch lit corridor as it curved left and right, until he stopped at an intersection. One of the corridors broke off left and the other continued straight ahead. He examined the two metal plaques on the wall beside each corridor. The metal plaque on the wall with the arrow pointing down the left corridor had the word "Factory" chiseled into it. The other metal plaque with the arrow pointing straight ahead had the word "Upper Mines" on it.

"Great," Garret said to himself. "Now where do I go?" Then he remembered the map that he had, which had the entire layout of the prison. He had long forgotten about it since it was completely useless in the underground mines. He pulled out his map and inspected it, tracing the route of the Factory with his finger and then the route of the Mines. Two prison blocks were located in the Factory portion of the prison while the other two prison blocks, Barracks and the exit were located in the upper Mines area.

"One of those Hammers said something about a man in prison block four waiting for a scepter," Garret thought to himself. "I guess I have no choice but to go take a look. Since I'm here anyways, I might as well find that beggar, Issyt, and kill him for stealing my lucky hand of glory, that is, if he's not dead already." With a grim smirk, he put the map back into his cloak pocket and continued down the left corridor to the door. He opened the door and followed the corridor around the corner, and emerged onto a suspended metal walkway above a fair sized room where a Hammerite stood, working the controls, in front of a large cauldron filled with orange glowing liquid metal. The Hammerite pulled on the left lever and a stone block, engraved with a hammer closed up beside him, then he moved to the other side of the cauldron and pulled the lever. Garret watched as the gears under the cauldron started up. The cauldron slowly began to tip until the liquid metal spilled over the edge and began pouring into a hole at the top of the stone block. Garret continued down the catwalk, passed a set of stone stairs going down and disappeared around the corner that led down to where the Hammerite was. He went around the corner and stopped as another Hammerite began the process. He waited for the Hammerite to pull the second lever and start the flow of liquid metal into the enclosed block, then he quickly continued across the walkway, ignoring the stairs, and continued around the corner where he met up with another Hammerite working with a cauldron. Up ahead the catwalk ended, so the only alternative was to follow the stairs down to the Hammerite. Garret quickly went down the stairs and waited for the Hammerite to pull the second lever so there would be enough noise to walk over the metal floor undetected. The Hammerite pulled the lever and Garret crept up behind him and pulled out his blackjack, then with a hard swing, he connected with a swift blow to the back of the Hammerite's head. Garret caught the Hammerite before he fell to the metal floor and dragged his unconscious body behind some large crates in the corner beside the cauldron. Behind him was a small corridor leading to the other two smelting rooms and in front of him was another corridor which lead to the prison blocks. He walked down a short set of stairs then around the corner and down the long cold, dark corridor. He stopped at the edge of the corner when he heard voices and leaned around to have a look. Two Hammerites were standing in a watch-post having a conversation. There was a huge portion of the stone wall that was cut out as a window so they could guard the entrance to the prison blocks. Next to the window was a metal door. On the wall behind one of the Hammerites, Garret noticed a small red button.

_Must be for the alarm._

Garret waited until the Hammerite's backs were turned and then ran into the shadows. He slowly crept through the shadows to the other side of the room and continued down the corridor to an intersection. In front of him were two metal plaques. The one with the arrow pointing left had "Prison Block 3" on it and the one with the arrow pointing right had "Prison Block 4" inscribed on it.

"After I rescue Cutty, I'll see if I can find a very dear old friend of mine," Garret recalled to himself. "The sister of Basso the Boxman came to me a while ago and told me that he'd been caught and brought here. Reliable enough, she had also given me the prison block where he was being held in and told me that I would be greatly rewarded, but I refused. I had more important things to do at that time, but since I'm here now, I might as well collect on both." He took a right and proceeded up the long flight of stairs that turned around the corner and stopped at the metal door. He opened the door and made sure it was clear, then he continued down the corridor and around another corner. He stopped when he heard more voices and leaned around the corner to examine the area ahead. Up ahead was another watch-post where two Hammerites stood talking to each other while momentarily glancing out the window. Garret also noticed that both of the Hammerites had a small, shiny bronze key dangling from their belts.

"I'm probably going to need that key if I'm to rescue Cutty from this prison," Garret thought to himself. He took notice of the four pillars on the back wall and got an idea. While the Hammerite's backs were turned, Garret silently moved behind the first pillar, then to the second, then the third. He finally crept through the shadows to the final pillar and began to think of a way to get the key from one of the Hammerites without being noticed. Garret quickly crept up to the door, pulled out his blackjack and lightly knocked on it, then listened to the Hammerites.

"What was that?" The first Hammerite asked.

"Stay here," The second Hammerite ordered. "I'll go check it out." Garret quickly crept back to the pillar and waited for the Hammerite. The watch-post door opened as the Hammerite walked out with his metal Hammer held firmly in his hand. He searched the room and then started in the direction where Garret was hiding. As the Hammerite passed his hiding place, he lifted the key off his belt and put it in his cloak pocket, then waited to see if the Hammerite would notice.

"Anything?" The first Hammerite asked.

"Nah," The second Hammerite answered. "Must of been a rat or something. They're all over the place nowadays!"

"Bloody disgusting creatures they are!" The first Hammerite exclaimed as the second Hammerite made his way back to the watch-post. Garret watched as the Hammerite opened the door and then continued their conversation. Garret quickly crept up the set of stairs and up to another corridor. He stopped in front of the metal door at the end and pulled out the bronze key. Just as he suspected, there was a large metal box on the left wall with a keyhole in the middle of it, and a small latch on the side of the box. He put the key into the keyhole and turned it. The latch slowly shifted to the bottom and stopped with a loud click, signifying that the door had been unlocked. Garret proceeded through the door and crept into the shadows by the wall, then up to the corner and leaned around it.

"This must be the holding area," Garret said, taking a look around. There was a row of four cells on the left, another row of four cells on the right and on the second floor walkway, he could make out another row of four cells on the right. Straight ahead, at the far end of the room, was a stairway that lead to the walkway above. Above the stairway arch, was another watch-post. A lone Hammerite, half concealed, stood in it, staring out of the window.

"I'll need to find a better position if I am to take out that Hammer," Garret mentioned to himself. He then noticed that the upper walkway was making a shadowed path beneath it, so he quickly crept through the shadowed path, to the far end of the room and proceeded up the stairs. Garret pulled out his bow and a broad head arrow as he neared the corner at the top of the stairs. He leaned around it, raised the bow with the arrow at the Hammerite, pulled back on the string, then let go. The arrow shot through the air and hit the Hammerite in the back, piercing his right lung. The Hammerite spun around to face Garret, as blood emerged from his mouth and then collapsed onto the ground. Garret unlocked the watch-post door with his key, entered the small room and looked around. Against the rear wall, was a desk with five books on it, and to the left of the desk, on the wall, were twelve levers with numbers beside them. Garret walked over to the desk and picked up a book which had "Prisoner Manifest 3" written on the cover.

"This must be the book that lists all the prisoners contained in Prison Block 3," Garret said as he opened the book and began searching through it, then stopped. "Ah, here we go! Cutty… PB3, C1." Garret dropped the book back onto the desk and walked up to the levers. He found the lever marked with a "1" next to it and pulled it down. There was a loud _clank_ as the first cell door unlocked and opened. Garret went back down the stairs to the first floor and proceeded towards the now unlocked cell. In the cell was the weak and frail body of Cutty, pressed up against the far wall.

"Come on, it's time to leave!" Garret ordered to Cutty. "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner I get what you owe me!"

"It's too late for me, now!" Cutty replied, coughing profusely. "The filthy conditions of this place have ruined my lungs. I grow weaker with every second. I fear I will die soon."

"You are not dying until I get my money, old man!" Garret snapped back. "Now get up!"

"No!" Cutty answered, his coughing intensified and blood emerged from his lips. "If it's your money that you're after, you'll never get it now, but there is a lost treasure far more valuable than anything I could ever give you. It is known as the Horn of Quintus. It's buried deep in the catacombs outside the city. Here is a map to the location of the catacombs." Cutty reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to Garret, he coughed a few more times, then fell to the ground dead.

"This is just fucking great!" Garret exclaimed in frustration. "I now have a map to a lost treasure that may not even exist! I would have rather got my money instead. At least I can sell the scepter and I'm not leaving here without my lucky hand of glory, that Issyt the beggar stole from me!" Garret backtracked to the Prison Block 3 entrance door and exited.

"First, I'll go and rescue Basso the Boxman, a former associate of mine and maybe get a very big reward from his sister," Garret said with a smirk. "Then I'll go and kill Issyt, if he isn't dead already!" He proceeded back to the sign and took a left at it. Up ahead of him there was another metal door with a keyhole box on the wall. Garret pulled out the key and unlocked the door. He entered through the door, turned the corner, followed the corridor to the end and stopped at another corner. He peaked around it and examined the area. It was basically the same as the other holding area. On the main level, there were rows of four cells on the right and left, and on the second level walkway, four rows of cells were on the left side.

"Hmmm. I wonder which cell Basso is in?" Garret questioned himself. "Guess I'll need to find the manifest book for this block." There was another lone Hammerite in the watch-post above the stairway arch. Same as before, Garret crept through the shadowed path the walkway above provided and climbed up the stairs. When the Hammerite's back was turned, Garret quickly crossed the walkway and crept back into the shadows. He knocked on the wall, while concealed in shadows, to lure the Hammerite out of the watch-post.

"SHUT UP IN THERE!" The guard yelled out. "I'm not in the mood for tricks!"

"Damn!" Garret muttered. "He thinks I'm one of the prisoners trying to get on his nerves." The Hammerite turned back and continued staring out of the window. Garret decided to knock on the watch-post door instead.

"What the hell…?" The Hammerite questioned as he pulled out his key. He unlocked and opened the door, then peeked through to see if anyone was there. Garret waited behind the door with his blackjack, until the Hammerite fully emerged from the room, then with powerful swing, clubbed him in the back of the head. The Hammerite fell to the ground with a _thud_. Garret searched the body, then picked it up and dragged it into the room. He looked around and saw a similar desk against the far wall, as well as another row of twelve levers. There was a pile of books on the desk. Garret picked up each book, one by one, until he found the book with the title "Prisoner Manifest 4" written on the cover. He opened the book and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for.

"There we go," Garret muttered to himself. "Basso the Boxman, PB4, C5" Garret looked at the levers on the wall, then pulled the one with a "5" marked beside it and with a loud _clank_ the cell door unlocked and opened. He walked back down the stairs and towards cell 5.

"What the…?" Basso asked in surprise as Garret came into view. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Yes, my friend," Garret answered back. "It is me."

"Garret!" Basso exclaimed with a huge smile as he hugged Garret. "I have not seen you in a long time, friend."

"Nor I you," Garret said back, smiling. "Still in thievery eh, Basso?"

"It's what I live for!" Basso exclaimed with pride. "I'm the best thief that ever lived!"

"Still trying to prove that your better than me, huh?" Garret asked laughing. "Then tell me, if your so good, why did you get caught and thrown in here?" Basso's face immediately changed to an expression of fear.

"My friend, I have something very important to tell you!" The worry in Basso's voice intensified. "It was two days ago, I had just finished a job and got paid for it. I was walking down a night lit street, when I was confronted by six guards. The strangest thing about it was that only two of the guards were armed, while the others were not."

"So what?" Garret scoffed. "It wouldn't be hard to escape from that."

"I thought so too, that is, until I realized the reason they were unarmed," Basso explained carefully with an intense stare. "Black Magic!"

"What?!" Garret's eyes widened in horror. "That's impossible! There is no such thing… is there?" Just then, Garret remembered the undead corpses he had fought. A chill crept down his spine.

"Tis true!" Basso replied. "The Hammers have found some way to harness evil powers to do their bidding. Be careful my friend. They are very dangerous!"

"Don't worry about me!" Garret grinned. "It will take more than magic Hammers to catch me."

"I can see that," Basso laughed. "By the way, how come you're here in this wretched prison?"

"The guy that I was working for got arrested by the Hammers and I came to bust him out, but he ended up dying in his cell, and I didn't even get my pay!" Garret answered. "But he told me of a lost treasure that's suppose to be buried deep in the catacombs outside of the city. He also gave me a piece of paper with the location of the catacombs on it. I just hope that this treasure actually exists and is not more trouble than it's worth. It better be worth more than Bafford's scepter!"

"You're the one who stole the scepter?" Basso's asked as his eyes widened. "The news has spread all over and the Hammers are even talking about it."

"Is that so?" Garret remarked. "The man I was suppose to rescue in this prison was going to pay me for it!"

"Tough luck," Basso replied. "but I might be able to help you find a map, which is suppose to have the entire layout of these so-called catacombs. You're not the only one looking for this lost treasure. Some of the Hammers are now seeking it too. I overheard a couple of them talking about a map that they confiscated from one of the prisoners a while back. If I'm right, then it will probably be locked up inside a safe in the barracks, on the top level of the complex. The only way to get there is to go through Prison Block 1."

"Then I guess I had better go and retrieve that map," Garret replied. "I'll need it if I want any hope of finding that treasure."

"Then this is goodbye for now," Basso answered. "I hope we will meet again, under much kinder circumstances."

"Be safe, my friend," Garret said back. Basso nodded, then quickly ran out of the room and disappeared around the corner.

_Now, to go and get my lucky hand of glory back!_

Garret returned back to the room with the four pillars and hid behind the closest one. The two Hammerites from before were still conversing in the watch-post. Garret crept through the shadows to the door on the other side and went through it. He descended back down the stairs and down the corridor which lead to the other two Hammerites from before. He crept passed them and turned around the corner, which led back to the factory part of the prison, where the huge cauldrons full of melted metal were. He climbed back up the stairway and back onto the metal catwalk, then slowly crept across it back to the very first intersection.

"Now it's time to explore the mine section of the complex and get my lucky hand back," Garret mentioned to himself. He turned left and proceeded down the long corridor. Up ahead was an intersection. There were three tunnels. Garret stopped at the intersection and looked at each tunnel. There was a tunnel breaking off to the left, another tunnel going right and the main corridor continuing straight ahead. Garret looked down the left tunnel. Far off in the distance, he could make out a faint light.

"Hmm, I wonder what that is," Garret questioned. He walked near the right tunnel and examined it. A faint humming noise came from the distance.

"Must be another generator," Garret thought to himself. "Might as well check them all out." He decided to take the left tunnel first. He continued down the dimly lit tunnel until it split into three short tunnels, each leading to a room.

"This must be where the miners sleep," Garret mentioned to himself. Each room had ten bunk beds in them, against the left and right walls. At the front of each bed were chests, which probably held their belongings. Garret pulled out a lock pick, then proceeded to pick the locks on each chest, and search through them, one by one. Then he did the same with the other two rooms. There was mostly nothing of value except for a couple of gold and silver coins that the miners received for their labor. Garret collected all the coins and put them into the carrying sack, then backtracked to the main intersection. He decided on the middle corridor next. It lead to the main entrance area of the Prison. There were several Hammerites patrolling the area and a large, barred iron door. There was no point on continuing, so Garret returned back to the intersection once again and proceeded down the dimly lit right tunnel. He continued down the tunnel until the end and stopped in front of an elevator. He stepped onto it and pushed the top button. With a whir of the gears, the elevator started ascending. It came to a stop at the top and Garret stepped off, then proceeded down the corridor to another intersection. On the wall were two signs, which had "Prison Block 1" and "Prison Block 2" inscribed on them. The first sign had a arrow pointing left and the second sign had an arrow pointing to the right.

"I'll have to go through prison block 1 in order to get to the barracks," Garret told himself while pulling out his map and examining it. "But first I should check out prison block 2 to find out if my lucky hand of glory is there." He proceeded down the right corridor and came up to another watch-post. The Hammerite was fast asleep. Garret cautiously crept by in the shadows. He could hear the snoring of the Hammerite as he passed by. Garret continued around the corner and went down another corridor. He leaned around the corner and examined the area. The holding area was on the other side of the wall. Garret looked up to see of there was a Hammerite in the watch-post. The Hammerite was sitting on a chair beside a desk, reading a book. Garret crept through the shadowed path and ascended the stairs. He crept onto the walkway, until he got a good view of the Hammerite through the window, then pulled out his bow and a broad head arrow. He took aim at the guard, pulled back the arrow, then released it. The arrow sailed through the air, piercing through the book and hitting the Hammerite in the chest. The Hammerite's eyes widened, and with a loud gasp, the book fell out of his hands, and his body went limp in the chair. Garret went to the door and used the key to unlock it, then opened the door and examined the room. It was the same as the others. There were two stacks of books on the desk and twelve levers on the wall next to it. Garret picked up the books, one by one, until he found the book with "Prisoner Manifest 2" written on it, them proceeded to flip through the pages.

"Hmm… where are you, Issyt?" Garret questioned as he continuing to examine the pages. "Ah, there you are! Issyt Kempar, PB2, C9." Garret tossed the book back onto the desk and went up to the levers. He pulled down the lever with a "9" marked beside it and immediately an audible _clank_ was heard as the cell door unlocked and opened. Garret exited the room and proceeded onto the walkway towards the opened cell. At the far left corner of the cell, Garret could see a skeleton. He moved closer and noticed something shiny under its ribcage. Garret pushed the ribcage aside and saw his lucky hand of glory that he had been searching for.

"Poor bastard must have swallowed it before it could be confiscated by the Hammers," Garret thought to himself, picking up his lucky charm and pocketing it in his cloak. "It's a shame I didn't get to kill you myself." Garret exited the cell, then descended back down the stairs and out of Prison Block 2. He crept passed the sleeping Hammerite and made it back to the main intersection. He headed straight across to the corridor and turned left at the corner. The corridor lead to another watch-post with two Hammerites standing in it. Garret crept passed the watch-post and continued around another corner. To the right were stairs leading up and to the left a long corridor. On the wall were two signs. The right sign had "Barracks" inscribed on it, while the left sign had "Cells" inscribed on it.

"No need to go to the holding area," Garret muttered to himself. "The sooner I get that map, the sooner I can get the hell out of here!" Garret ascended the long spiral staircase leading to the barracks and opened the door at the top with his key. The Barracks portion of the island prison was like a huge convent of sorts. The floors were carpeted and lamps were sprouting from the walls, giving the hallways light.

"It's nice to know that the Hammers have some class," Garret mentioned, admiring the hallway. Just then, a Hammerite walked around the corner. Garret dove into some nearby shadows to avoid the Hammerite's view.

"Hey, who's there?" The Hammerite called out, pulling out his metal hammer. "Show yourself or prepare to taste cold steel, intruder!" Garret slowly got up from the floor and revealed only his face from the shadows to the Hammerite.

"I'm glad I found you, "Garret said to the Hammerite.

"Who are you?" The Hammerite questioned suspiciously.

"I'm one of the prison guards," Garret answered as he slowly pulled out his bow and a broad head arrow. "There is a thief in prison block one who killed all of my men and is releasing the prisoners. I barely got away in time."

"What! That's impossible! How the hell did he get passed the others?" The Hammerite questioned Garret. "I must go inform the Captain of this at once!" The Hammerite put away his hammer, turned around and started running back the way he came. Garret raised his bow, pulled back the arrow and released it. It flew through the air and hit the Hammerite in the back. With a cry of pain, the Hammerite stopped in his tracks, fell to his knees and collapsed to the floor. Garret grabbed the dead body and dragged it into the shadows. He continued walking down the hall, turned around the corner and entered a large room. In the middle of the wall on the left side of the room, was a door. The far wall straight ahead, housed another door as well as a third door on the right side of the room. Garret walked to the door on the right and opened it. There was a hall which lead to a spiral staircase, leading to the second floor.

"Maybe I better explore some more before I go up to the second floor," Garret mentioned to himself. "You never know what valuable treasures can be found in a Hammerite convent." Garret closed the door and continued across the room to the door at the far end, which was locked. He pulled out his key and tried it in the lock, but it did not unlock the door.

"Damn!" Garret muttered as he put the key away. "Guess I'll have to use my lock picks!" Garret pulled out his set of lock picks and grabbed the one that was the same size as the keyhole. Then he began picking the lock. It took him a full minute before he was able to unlock the door. Garret put away his lock pick set and opened the door. He gazed in wonder at the magnificent chapel in front of him. On two tables, were five small golden hammers. Garret walked up to the two tables, grabbed the golden hammers from each one and put them into his carrying sack. Under one of the tables was a drawer, which was locked. Garret pulled out a lock pick and picked the lock of the drawer until it opened. He pulled opened the drawer and saw two large coin sacks, a stack of gold coins and a stack of silver coins. He quickly grabbed everything in the drawer and put them into his carrying sack, then closed the drawer. On the alter at the front of the chapel, sitting on a golden stand was the great Hammer Book of Tenets. The cover was made out of the finest black leather known to man and the letters on the cover were made from gold ink.

"Ah, the Hammer Book of Tenets," Garret remarked as he picked up the heavy book. "The one true faith of the Hammerites." Garret set the book down on the altar, picked up the golden stand and put it into his carrying sack. Garret exited the chapel and entered back into the main room. He then proceeded to the final door that was on the left side of the room and opened it. It also lead to a spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

"Guess I'm done down here," Garret muttered. "Time to go and get what I came for." He climbed up the spiral staircase and opened the door at the top. There were three Hammerites patrolling the area. Garret quickly went through the door, closing it behind him and crept into the shadows. He waited in the shadows as one of the Hammerites passed him by and noticed that a silver key was dangling from his belt. As the Hammerite passed, Garret quickly lifted the key off of the belt and put it into his cloak pocket. He followed behind the Hammerite as he continued on his patrol route, making sure to always keep to the shadows. The Hammerite passed an intersection and continued down a separate hallway. Garret crept up to the corner and leaned around it. He noticed two Hammerites standing in front of a door at the end of the hallway having a conversation.

"I sure am hungry," The first Hammerite mentioned. "What say we go down to the kitchen and get us a quick snack?"

"I guess no harm could come from that, as long as it's quick," The second Hammerite replied. "I am getting a little hungry and a snack will help enhance our alertness." The two Hammerites proceeded down the hall towards Garret's hiding spot, then turned down the opposite hallway. They met up with the third Hammerite from before and conversed for a short while before continuing on. Garret went up to the now unguarded door and attempted to open it, but it was locked. He pulled out his newly acquired key and unlocked the door. He opened the door, crept inside and closed the door behind him. There were two doors in the room, one to the right and one to the far end of the room. A Hammerite, patrolling the room, entered the door on the right and closed it behind him. Garret made his way towards the door on the far end of the room. He noticed the plaque beside the door with the inscription "Captain's Quarters" on it. He grabbed his key and unlocked the door, then proceeded into the room, shutting the door behind him. The room was heavily furnished. On the left, against the wall, was a dresser with drawers and a mirror on top. On the floor beside the dresser was a healthy looking plant. Near the door to the right, was a gramophone sitting on top of an elegant wooden end table. On the right side of the room was a lush couch and at the back of the room, against the wall, was a massive bed. Snoring could be heard from under the covers.

"Must be the Captain getting some… beauty sleep," Garret said with a sarcastic tone. "Let's see if there are any valuables in the drawers" Garret moved to the dresser and opened each drawer one by one. He found a small coin sack and put it into his carrying sack. On the dresser was a elegant steel key, which had "Office" inscribed onto it. Garret grabbed the key off the dresser, pocketed it, then exited out of the Captain's Quarters. He entered the door on the right, which the Hammerite entered previously, and found himself in another hallway. At the end of the hallway were three doors, one on the left, one at the end, and one on the right. Garret continued down the hallway to the three doors and noticed that the middle door had another plaque with "Captain's Office" inscribed onto it. He pulled out his newly acquired key and used it to unlock the door, then went inside. At the back of the room was a large desk with papers on it. Many painting hung from the walls. Behind the desk, in the wall, Garret could notice a hidden niche, covered by another painting. He walked up to it and removed the painting to reveal a hidden safe.

"There we go!" Garret exclaimed, inspecting the safe. "This is going to be tricky, but nothing a master thief can't handle." The lock on the safe, was a four part lock, which contained a master lock and three smaller locks around it. Each lock would have required a separate key, but they could've been anywhere in the complex. Garret pulled out a lock pick and proceeded to pick the master lock. When it unlocked, he could hear a faint repeating ticking sound. As one minute went by, the ticking stopped and the master lock returned back to its original locked state.

"Looks like a timed mechanism," Garret commented as he pulled out three more lock picks. He put each lock pick into the other three locks, then picked the master lock once more. As the ticking started, he immediately continued picking the other three locks as fast as he could, until at last the safe opened. With a satisfied grin, Garret pocketed his lock picks and examined the contents of the safe. Contained within the safe, were five pouches of money, three purple gemstones and the map to the Catacombs. Garret grabbed all the items and put them into his carrying sack, then closed the safe and hung the picture back up. As he began opening the door to exit the office, the door on the left swung open and a Hammerite entered the hallway. He stopped for a moment, mumbled something under his breath, then continued down the hallway and exited through the door at the end. Garret exited out of the office and checked the door on the left side. He noticed a sign on the wall with "Look-out" written on it. He climbed up the spiral staircase and opened the door at the top to the outside. There was a massive look-out post, with around sixteen Hammerites patrolling the outer walls.

"This could be my way out of here," Garret mentioned to himself. "but I will have to be very careful about the patrols." Garret crept into some near by shadows and waited as a Hammerite patrol passed, then continued around the outer wall to the front. He noticed a wooden beam sticking out from the wall and a ledge below it, which he could climb down to ground level. Pulling out his bow and a rope arrow, he waited until the Hammerites were far away, then shot the arrow into the beam. The rope unravelled and Garret climbed down to the ledge below, then again to the ground. He continued around the mountains and back to the boat he came in. Entering the boat, he grabbed the makeshift oars and rowed back to the city. He arrived at the shore later that night. He got out of the boat and began the journey back to the temple. He climbed up the temple stairs, but stopped when he heard a voice address him.

"Where have you been, Garret?" A Keeper questioned with a deep, commanding voice.

"Why the hell should I tell you?" Garret answered back. "It's none of your fucking business anyway!"

"So be it!" The Keeper exclaimed with a heavy sigh. "It is with great regret that I hereby exile you from the temple. You will gather all of your belongings and be gone!"

"What if I don't want to go?" Garret asked. "Maybe you should just go to fucking h…"

"SILENCE!" The Keeper commanded with his booming voice. "We have knowledge of your activities and that is NOT our way! You have disgraced us and our temple with your evil deeds! You WILL leave or we shall call guards to have you imprisoned!" With that, the Keeper entered the temple door and disappeared. Garret entered the temple and proceeded up to his room, packing up all of his belongings, then went back down to the main floor. As he exited the main temple door, he tossed the key to his room, over his shoulder and left the temple for good…

**Chapter 3: Down in the Bonehoard**

"…And the manfools piled rocks on rocks and raised a treesie roof, hammers saws tear the skin of goodsie wood… and laughs at the Woodsie Lord. …And when learns the Lord of this, He sends His beastesses to the manfools… who attacks and hammers saws their useless fleshes, and build him a house of they rotting skins." - Unattributed, Trickster Song.

…I was pissed at Cutty for a good while after the… prison debacle. But hey, you can't blame him for what the Hammers did to him. So I decided to go after the Horn that lay deep within the Catacombs outside the city. The map that I… procured, apparently belonged to a man called Felix. It will be useful when I get inside. The Keepers had thrown me out of their temple, so I had to rent a room at the Sword and Dagger Inn. It wasn't as nice, but it was a roof over my head. Not many people require a Thief-for-hire nowadays and it's not like I have a whole lot of choice… the rent is due on my room… and my landlord's even tougher than the Hammers. Cutty's map is pretty specific about where the entrance is. Felix's map was detailed enough, but too bad it's not clear about how to get to the Horn. Felix did some scrounging before he was caught, and his notes say the Horn is in the tomb of some nobles… The Quintus Family. Felix, helpful as always, also mentioned in his notes that the Catacombs are suppose to be haunted. Think I'll go make some inquiries about where a "Heretic" like me can get some Holy Water. Always go prepared…

**Mission Three**

"Looks like I'll have to hitch a ride over to the Silver Mountains," Garret commented to himself. He stood on the side of a road at the outskirts of the city which lead to the Silver Mountains. In the distance he could see a man, sitting in a carriage, being pulled by a horse approaching. The man was a shady looking character with a brown beard covering most of his face. He wore old, patched up miner clothes.

"Hey, you!" Garret yelled to the man as he passed by in the carriage.

"Whoa!" The man called out to his horse as the carriage came to a stop, then the man turned his sights on Garret. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"I need a ride," Garret answered. "That is, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," The man replied. "Hop aboard. Where are you headed?"

"The Silver Mountains," Garret told the man. As he said this, the man's skin turned pale and an expression of horror appeared on his face.

"Are you mad, boy?!" The man cried out as fear filled his voice. "Have you not heard the rumors of that place? Tis' haunted! That be where the dead walk!"

"I am already aware of that and I come well prepared for the dangers that lie within," Garret told the frightened man. "Look, I'll pay you twenty gold coins if you take me there."

"No!" The man cried out. "I refuse to go to that cursed place! No matter how much coin you tempt me with!"

"Listen, old man, I have neither the time nor patience to argue with you!" Garret yelled. "Either you take me to the Silver Mountains, or I will take my sword and spill your blood all over this road!"

"No, please!" The man cried out. "I can take you as far as the old abandoned town which is half a mile from that cursed place, but I will NOT go any farther!"

"Fine," Garret replied and hopped onto the carriage. The man snapped the reins and the horse started moving towards the Silver Mountains. The sun was beginning to set by the time they arrived at the abandoned town.

"End of the road," The man said to Garret as the carriage pulled to a stop. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? Many entered this cursed land, but none have returned!"

"Don't worry about me," Garret replied with a smug grin. "This wouldn't be the first time I've encountered the walking dead." The man became astonished at the mention of that. Garret hopped down off the carriage and headed towards the Silver Mountains, where the haunted Catacombs lie, untouched for three-hundred years, save for the tomb raiders and treasure hunters. With a snap of the reins, the man road off back the way he came. Garret begin his journey to the Catacombs. The sun had set behind the mountains in the distance and the night creatures were beginning to come out. The hooting of a owl, far off in the darkness, followed by the chirping of crickets was music to his ears. He was use to being alone, with only the crickets to keep him company. Garret pulled out his lantern and lit it as the final rays of sunlight diminished. As he continued towards the Catacombs, he reminisced about the past. It had been a very hard life for him. If it were not for Basso, who taught him the very art of thievery, he would probably be dead somewhere in an alley. Basso was almost like a brother to him, always helping him out in times of need. Basso and Garret would always compete, for fun of course, to see who was a better thief, the teacher or the apprentice. Those were the good days. Finally reaching the Catacombs, Garret stopped and examined the area. There were three crypts, but only one of them lead to the underground network of the Catacombs. He pulled out Cutty's paper, which had a circle around the third crypt on the right. Entering the crypt, he noticed a small, man-sized hole in the ground with a rope hanging from the ceiling and dropping down into the dark tunnels below. Garret attached the lantern to his belt, grabbed the rope and descended into the dark tunnel. As he landed on the ground a gust of wind blew through the tunnel. Small parts of a cobweb slowly floated down to the ground. Garret held up the lantern and looked around. There were bones everywhere in niches dug into the tunnel walls. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something in the darkness, a faint image of a tall and muscular figure could be seen.

"Who's there?" Garret yelled at the unknown figure. He pulled up his lantern, but the figure disappeared back into the darkness before he could see it. He pulled out his sword and walked towards the area where the figure had been, when a loud crunching noise made him jump. He looked around, then down at his feet. Garret was relieved to see he had only stepped on a skull. Broken pieces were littered around his foot.

"I've got to lay off the wine," Garret mentioned to himself as he calmed down. He continued down the tunnel and around the corner to another identical tunnel.

"Like a rat in a maze," Garret muttered to himself as he continued down the tunnel and around another bend. In the darkness, at the end of the tunnel, stood the unknown figure.

"Hey, show yourself!" Garret yelled at the figure. He could make out two red dots, floating in the darkness. As Garret cautiously moved closer to the figure, the red dots became brighter, then the figure vanished around the corner.

"Come back here!" Garret yelled, running after the figure. It was incredibly fast and was at the other end of the tunnel by the time he reached the corner. The figure turned around another corner and Garret followed as fast as he could down the tunnel to the other corner. The figure taunted Garret, by standing still in the shadows momentarily, then disappeared again. Garret ran around the corner and chased after it. Down another tunnel and around another bend.

"Come back here you piece of sh… arrgghh!" Garret cried out as he tripped on a ribcage. In front of him, was a huge pit in the ground. He grabbed the edges of the pit to keep himself from falling through. Down below, he could see three zombies eagerly awaiting fresh me. Two of the zombies moaned and started to claw at the air above them, hoping to grab Garret's cloak in their efforts. He slowly pushed himself up from the pit, leveraging his arms against the wall and made it back to his feet. Checking his map, he realized that he would have to go down the pit to reach the lower levels. He pulled out his bow and a holy water arrow and aimed it at the two zombies still clawing at the air below. The arrow shattered against one of the zombies and the holy water splashed onto the other zombie. They let out loud wails as they ignited into flames. A few seconds later, they exploded in a cloud of fluid. He pulled out another holy arrow and shot the third zombie, which burst into flames, then exploded.

"Now I just need to get down there without injuring myself," Garret commented as he slowly lowered himself into the pit. Dangling a few feet from the ground, he let go of the ledge and dropped to the tunnel floor. Garret heard a loud moan come from behind him and spun around, and came face to face with a fourth grotesque, rotting zombie. It was missing its left eye and half of its jaw. Garret tried his hardest not to vomit from the unspeakable stench.

"Fuck, it must have been hidden in the shadows!" Garret mentioned to himself as he slowly backed away from the horrible abomination. For a brief second, Garret thought he could see a grin form across the zombie's face. What was left of it anyway. The zombie slowly shambled towards him, raising its arms. Garret quickly pulled out his bow and a holy water arrow and aimed it at the zombie. Realizing what was about to happen, the zombie swung its arm with lethal clawed fingers at Garret and knocked the bow and arrow out of his hands. The zombie then swung its other arm and ripped off a piece of his cloak. Fumbling to pull out another holy water arrow from his arrow sack, Garret jumped back as the zombie continued to swing its arms wildly at him. He managed to dodge the attacks and finally pull out another holy water arrow. Looking at the arrow, an idea came to him. He dodged another swing from the zombie, then smashed the tip of the arrow over its head. Garret backed away as the zombie burst into flames, then exploded in a cloud of fluid as body parts flew across the room. He bent down to pick up his bow and the holy water arrow from the ground, then continued down the tunnel and around the corner. He came to a small room that contained tunnels which branched off into every direction. It was a labyrinth of endless tunnels. Garret pulled out Felix's map and inspected it. On the map there were tunnels that lead into tunnels that lead into dead ends. Garret noticed that the third tunnel on the right was marked on the map, so he proceeded down the tunnel. Up ahead he could see little bits of dirt and rubble. As he continued down the tunnel, the rubble kept increasing until the whole floor was covered in it. In front of him, was a smaller tunnel that was dug into the Catacomb tunnel wall. Garret pulled out the map once again and examined it. On the map was a small line leading from the Catacombs tunnel to another area. The line had "Burricks Caves" scribbled on it.

"I guess this is where I go," Garret mentioned to himself. Tucking the map away, he crawled into the tunnel and started following it down. A minute later, he came to a three-way intersection. He pulled out the map once again and inspected it.

"Well this is just great!" Garret exclaimed sarcastically. "Where the hell do I go now? There is only one single line on the map! It never showed any intersection." Garret put the map away and looked down each tunnel. He decided to continue down the middle tunnel. As he moved towards the middle tunnel, he heard a noise coming from one of the others. Garret listened carefully. The sound was coming from the left tunnel. It was a loud _thump_, like the footsteps of something big. It was slow. Each _thump_ was about ten seconds apart, but whatever it was, it was getting closer with every second wasted. The creature slowly revealed itself around the bend, far down the tunnel.

"What the hell… is that?!" Garret asked in shock. The creature slowly turned its gaze upon Garret. It was almost identical to a lizard, except for the fact that it was the size of a man and appeared to walk on two feet.

"Is that a Burrick?" Garret asked himself. "I've heard that they are hunted for sport. I've never seen a live one before." The creature started moving towards Garret, slow at first, but then faster and faster with each step. Garret pulled out his sword and prepared himself for the creature's attack, but it just stopped three feet in front of him. It stood there, studying Garret with its eyes.

"What the hell are you up to?" Garret quietly questioned the creature. He noticed a mane covering the creature's back, similar to a horse's mane, but it was flat and appeared matted and oily. Slowly, the creature opened up its mouth and out came a huge cloud of green gas.

"SHIT!" Garret yelled as he dove out of the way, avoiding the toxic cloud. "Must be some kind of lethal poison!" The creature moved closer to Garret, as he got up off the ground, and opened its mouth again. With sword in hand, Garret stabbed the creature in its mouth. It whimpered in pain as Garret twisted the sword deeper into the back of its head. Blood poured from the creature's mouth as Garret pulled out the sword. Weak from the loss of blood, the creature made one final attempt to kill Garret, by opening its mouth, but with no strength left, it collapsed to the ground and died. Garret knelt down beside the creature and inspected it to make sure it was dead, then he stood up and continued down the middle tunnel. As he made his way down the tunnel, he noticed a faint light coming from around the corner. As he got closer, the faint light became many faint lights in a small pile on the ground. Garret stopped in front of the pile and knelt down to inspect it, then picked one up. It was attached to what looked like the base of an arrow. The tip was identical to an arrowhead and was made of glass, but what amazed him the most was that there was a little cloud of fire swirling around inside.

"Amazing!" Garret exclaimed in astonishment, admiring the swirling fire. "An arrow of magical fire! I must have it!" Garret grabbed the fire arrows, one by one, from the pile and added them to his arrow sack with the other arrows. There were ten in total. That wasn't very many, so they had to be used wisely. Garret continued down the tunnel which opened up into a huge cave system. There were tunnels everywhere. Garret's jaw dropped as he searched the cave room with his eyes.

"FUCK!" Garret yelled in frustration. "There must be over twenty tunnels in here!" All of a sudden, a group of eleven Burricks appeared, each one coming from a separate tunnel, to investigate the noise disturbance. They were all identical to the creature that Garret encountered before.

"Terrific!" Garret muttered sarcastically. The Burricks huddled together, then as a pack, proceeded to advance towards Garret. He slowly backed away, pulling out his bow and one of the newly acquired fire arrows, then took aim at the middle of the pack and released the arrow. It went flying into the middle of the Burricks. A huge explosion erupted from the pack as a wave of fire consumed everything. The force from the explosion blew Garret back as he hit the cave wall and fell to the ground. Pain shot through his body as he struggled to get back up. He dusted himself off and stared at the carnage.

"I can't believe how powerful that was!" Garret exclaimed, trying to stop the ringing in his ears. There was a large pool of blood where the pack of Burricks once stood. Parts of the creatures littered the whole cave. Pulling out his map, he inspected each of the tunnels. The map only had six tunnels, while there were at least twenty that Garret could make out. He pocketed the map and looked at each tunnel. He noticed that one tunnel was a foot higher off the ground than the others.

"I guess I'll try that one first," Garret mentioned to himself. He proceeded down the tunnel, around the corner and then down another tunnel where he emerged into another cave with three branching tunnels.

"Now lets see where I am," Garret muttered as he pulled out his map. "Looks like I chose the right tunnel. I'm here, so I need to follow this tunnel to the intersection, take the right-most tunnel and follow it down to the second intersection, then take the left tunnel, which should lead me to an old abandoned underground Hammer Complex." There was a small asterisk beside the Complex diagram. Just then, Garret noticed that the very bottom of the map had been secretly folded. He unfolded it to reveal another small asterisk, that had barely readable, writing in front of it, which read:

"Beware of Burricks. Extremely dangerous and deadly if provoked. Travel in packs."

"Great, where was this information when I needed it?" Garret muttered sarcastically. "So those were indeed Burricks then." He tucked the map back into his cloak pocket and continued down the tunnel. A little while later, Garret emerged into the main entrance hall of the Hammerite Complex. It was an underground building designed for the preparation and burial of the dead, but ever since the strange accident occurred, the Complex was abandoned. The rumor of the incident was known as the Quintus Curse. The Hammerites were digging a new burial chamber for the bodies, when they uncovered an old, secret ancient tomb that appeared untouched for eons. It was said to be a massive room. In the middle of the room was a large pit that contained only darkness. On a platform, suspended high above the center of the pit, sat what was known as the legendary Horn of Quintus. At the other end of the massive room was a building, which had a winding stairway, also suspended in the air, that lead up to the platform, where the legendary horn sat. It was said that the horn had magical powers. A greedy general, who was in charge of the Complex at the time, took the horn from the pedestal and used it. Instead of granting him powers, he began to age rapidly, as his skin peeled from his bones. That was when bad things started happening. First, people started disappearing, then others started getting a strange disease. Everyone began to die from the unknown sickness. A few days after the incident, there were strange sightings by the diggers, that the dead were coming to life. Slowly, one by one, the workers that had died from the mysterious sickness, started coming back to life and killing the workers. All the remaining workers and Hammerites ran for their lives and the Hammerite Complex has been abandoned ever since. A chill ran down Garret's spine as he looked up at the gigantic hammer hanging from the ceiling.

"There is definitely a great evil present within these walls," Garret mentioned as he pulled out his map to inspect it. "Looks like I'll need to get past these doors to gain access into the inner sanctum." Garret walked up to the large rushed, metal doors which lead to the inner sanctum. He grabbed the handle and pushed the door, but it wouldn't move. The door was stuck. Sealed by years of neglect. Garret put his sword and bow on the ground, along with his arrow and carrying sack, then backed up, took a deep breath and ran towards the door. He hit the door at full force with his shoulder, bounced off and landed backwards onto the ground as pain shot through his arm.

"Damn!" Garret cried as he slowly picked himself up off the ground. "That was not a smart idea." He flexed his arm, trying to make the pain recede. He then looked around for an alternate route and noticed a small set of stairs leading up to the second floor balcony. The only problem was that the bottom half of the staircase was destroyed. Garret picked up his belongings and moved toward the stairs. He noticed a large wooden beam going across the ceiling. He pulled out his bow and a rope arrow, then aimed it at the wooden beam in the ceiling above him. He released the arrow into the beam and it unravelled, then he grabbed the rope and climbed up to the top half of the stairs and then to the second floor. The doors on the second floor were also sealed by years of neglect. The only thing that was of any use to Garret was a small window, which he could use to gain access to the inner sanctum. He climbed through the small window and onto an extremely narrow ledge. He could see the tunnels that were dug into the walls, which lead deeper into the tombs. Hugging the wall, Garret slowly scaled the narrow ledge and made it to the other side of the second floor balcony. He could see two long stairways leading down to the main floor, on opposite sides of the room. He also noticed three doors on the main floor and one door, straight ahead of him at the end of the second floor balcony. Garret descended down the stairs to the main floor and entered the door nearest to him. The door led to a hallway with three more doors. Pulling out his map once more, he inspected it and entered the door on his right. In the room he could see many old tools and tables. There was a door on the other side of the room.

"According to the map, I'm in the preparation room," Garret remarked, examining the map carefully. "If I exit through that door, then follow the hallway down to another door, I should be half way to my destination." Pocketing the map, he entered the door and continued down the hallway to another door at the end. The door was locked. Grabbing a lock pick, he proceeded to pick the lock. Once finished, Garret opened the door and entered another hallway. He noticed that this hallway was a little odd. It was descending deeper into the earth, into unknown depths. There was a door which led to the entrance of the first burial chamber. The floor was littered with bones from long ago. Garret quickly traversed the room, bones crunching under his feet, as he made his way to the door on the other side. He could make out an odd shuffling noise coming from behind the door. He put his ear up to the door and listened. Almost immediately, the door suddenly flew open, throwing Garret back, into a pile of bones. Three Burricks, followed by five shambling zombies, entered the room. He noticed that two of the Burricks were brown and the other one behind them was grey. Garret slowly got up and started backing away from the advancing pack. The creatures followed, matching every step he made. Slowly, he pulled out his bow and reached into his arrow sack to pull out a fire arrow. Sensing what he was about to do, the Burricks attacked, shooting two condensed, high speed balls of toxic gas at him. Garret quickly jumped sideways, dodging the toxic green balls and landed into another pile of bones as the balls hit the wall on the other side. He frantically started searching through the bone pile for the fire arrow that he dropped when he dodged the attack. There was a loud _clanking_ noise as the pack of Burricks started charging towards him. All of a sudden, the ground started sinking beside him. The bones were being eaten up by a small hole in the ground. Garret tried to get up, but stumbled back into the pile of bones.

"What the hell… SHIT!" Garret yelled out as he got sucked through the hole in the floor, landing backwards on a large pile of bones below. "Why do I keep ending up in these situations?" He picked himself up from the pile of bones and rubbed his back as he looked up to where the hole use to be. It was gone, as if it never existed. The room that he now stood in was blanketed in complete darkness. The only source of light was the glow from the lantern hanging off of his belt. Garret grabbed the lantern in hand, lifted it overhead and surveyed the room. He noticed that the room was mostly identical to the one he had fallen from. It had four tall support pillars in each corner of the room, along with the ground covered with bones. Garret started walking around, checking each wall for any indication of a door. There was a small, unlit torch on the wall, which he decided to light. He grabbed the torch and pulled it, but it wouldn't detach from the wall. He pulled again, harder this time and heard a loud _click_ as the torch shifted down and a small door revealed itself beside the torch. There was a narrow passage which lead to a staircase winding down, deeper into the darkness. Garret descended the winding staircase and opened a small wooden door at the bottom. He was back in the tunnels again. Pulling out his map, he examined it once again. The Horn's resting place was not far. Garret tucked his map away and continued down the tunnel. He turned right and then down another tunnel. He continued down the tunnel turning left, down another tunnel and turned right at the end, then another right. Garret could see a faint glow as he got closer to the end of the tunnel. He emerged out of the tunnel and stepped into a gigantic room. His jaw dropped as he examined the gigantic room. He could see a building on the other side, but in between him and the buildings, were over a thousand motionless zombies sprawled all over the ground. In the middle of the gigantic room was an enormous pit of darkness. Suspended above the pit was the Horn, sitting upon a pedestal, just like in the rumors.

"What… the… fuck?" Garret muttered, staggering back towards the tunnel entrance. "T-t-this i-is u-unbelievable!" The only way to the building on the other side, was to traverse through the room of littered undead. He would have to step over the zombies with out waking them up. He thought to himself for a moment. It was probably the stupidest thing he would ever do, but he needed to proceed if he wanted that Horn. Slowly, gaining back his courage, he started towards the building on the other side. He stepped over the zombies, one by one, until he slipped on a bone and fell on top of one of them. Staring it straight in the face, Garret stayed as still as he could, trying not to move. The zombie continued to lay there motionless. Garret slowly and carefully stood back up, then continued traversing the room. He jumped over two zombies and then stepped over another. Finally managing to reach the building on the other side, he jumped to the outer platform of the building.

"Whew… made it!" Garret exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Taking one last look at the floor of zombies, he continued inside the building. He was on the left-most side of the building and had to get to the middle part. There were three doors, one to the left, one to the right and a pair of double doors with copper trim, straight ahead. Garret pulled out his map and examined it, but noticed that there were no more details on how to proceed.

"Great," Garret mentioned sarcastically. "Looks like I'm on my own now. I have to find a way up to that Horn." As he pocketed the map, he heard a quiet moan coming from behind him. He could smell the familiar foul smelling odor. Slowly, he pulled out his bow and a holy water arrow, then he waited for the right moment to strike. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the zombie shuffling towards him, hands outstretched. The disgusting odor getting stronger with every step. Garret pulled back on the bow string and waited for the zombie to exit out of the shadows, then with a smile of anticipation, he spun around and shot the arrow through the air. It connected and the zombie burst into flame, then exploded in a cloud of fluid.

"Now which door do I take?" Garret wondered to himself. "I could take the left door, the right door, or the important looking double doors straight ahead." He eventually settled on the double doors and entered into a big room. There were three doors in the room. He decided to take the left door. He continued down the corridor and around the corner, up a flight of stairs and up to the roof. He was now on the roof of the middle half of the building. Immediately he noticed the suspended winding stairway that lead to the Horn over the pit. It would soon be his for the taking. Garret slowly ascended the winding stairway and up to the Horn. There it was, sitting on a golden stand, the legendary Horn of Quintus. Smiling at his triumphant success, he picked up the horn and admired it. As he put it into his carrying sack, he heard a loud rumbling. To his unimaginable horror, the zombies in the room started rising from the ground, one by one. There was an enormous horde of zombies beneath him.

"FUCK!" Garret cried out in exasperation. "This cannot be happening!" The entire horde of zombies below turned their decaying heads up towards Garret's position and let out spine tingling wails and moans. He could see the zombies entering the building. It was only a matter of time before they reached him. He was trapped. He quickly looked around for a possible escape and noticed a small tunnel far off in the wall of the room. It was extremely risky, but it was his only option for escape. Garret pulled out all of the rope arrows he had left from his arrow sack. There were only five in total.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this!" Garret exclaimed. The small tunnel in the wall was around fifty feet away from the platform suspended above the pit. If he messed up, he would end up falling into the enormous pit below. Garret shot the first arrow ten feet from the platform into the ceiling, then he shot the second arrow ten feet from the first one. He repeated this until he shot the last arrow. He quickly put the bow over his shoulder and backed up to get momentum for his jump. The zombie horde was already three-quarters of the way up the winding stairway. They were getting closer with each second. Taking a deep breath, Garret ran as fast as he could and jumped off the platform, barely managing to grab the rope. Using the momentum from the jump, he swung back and forth. When he was close enough to the second rope, he jumped and grabbed onto it. He looked back at the platform a saw that it had been completely overrun with zombies. Garret swung to the third rope, then to the forth. He swung to the fifth rope and felt it shift under his weight. A sense of panic went through his mind as he realized the arrow was coming loose. He had to hurry. As he took one final swing and leapt towards the small tunnel in the wall, the ceiling around the arrow broke apart and the arrow came loose.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Garret cried out has he hit the wall with a loud _thud_. He had managed to grab onto the bottom ledge of the tunnel. He watched as the arrow fell to the ground below and broke into pieces. Struggling, he pulled himself into the tunnel and rested against the wall. He could see the horde of zombies moaning and wailing angrily at him.

"That was too close!" Garret exclaimed, catching his breath. "Now that I have what I came for, it's time to get the hell out of here!" He picked himself off of the ground and continued down the tunnel as it curved left and right, and stopped at a very short, but steep incline. He could hear the loud _thump_ of heavy footsteps ahead. It was moving away from him. He waited until the footsteps grew faint, then proceeded to climb up the incline. Once he made it to the top, he continued down the tunnel. He made it to the end and barely managed to stop himself from falling off the extremely narrow ledge underneath him. Panic raced through Garret's mind as he examined the room in front of him. The whole floor, save for the extremely narrow ledge that ran halfway around the room, caved in and only a massive pit remained where the entire floor use to be. There was only darkness below. The narrow ledge met up with two other tunnels on the other side of the room. Garret carefully traversed the narrow ledge, hugging the wall, but lost his footing near the tunnel as the ledge crumbled beneath his feet.

"FUCK!" Garret cried out as he fell, managing to barely grab onto the narrow ledge with his fingers, but his fingers were slipping and eventually he fell backwards into the darkness of the pit. As he was falling, his life flashed before his eyes. Memories of the past came back to him. He knew that he was done for, so he shut his eyes and waited for the painful impact of whatever waited below. He imagined that there would be jagged spikes waiting to impale him at the bottom. He waited for death, but ended up diving head first into an underground lake. Completely surprised and shocked that he was still alive, he quickly swam for the surface and emerged into an enormous cavern. There were lit torches hanging from the walls, neatly spaced from each other, going around the room and into a tunnel in the distance. Garret swam to shore and climbed out of the water. He noticed a massive pit, full of deadly spikes, off to his left.

"Glad I didn't fall into that," Garret mentioned as he passed the pit and headed towards the tunnel. He stopped dead in his tracks when a loud _roar_ echoed through the tunnel ahead of him.

"What in the HELL was that?!" Garret asked himself. His heart raced as he looked down the torch-lit tunnel ahead of him. As he did, he remembered the tall, muscular figure and the two glowing red dots in the darkness, back from when he had first entered the Catacombs. A shiver went up Garret's spine as he wondered if the roar belonged to the same figure. He pulled out his bow and a holy water arrow, then proceeded to wait. In the distance of the tunnel, he could hear the _thump_ of something big and heavy coming his way. Emerging from the corner, Garret could make out the same figure he had seen before, the two red dots had been its eyes. He stared at the massive creature as it came out of the tunnel and into full view. It was more horrible than anything he could have ever imagined, even while he was completely drunk on wine. Standing in front of him, was an eight foot tall monster, rippled with pulsating muscles all over its massive frame. Its body and head were completely hairless. Garret stared in horror at its face. Its eyes glowed intensely, but there was only a blank expression on its face. The creature was completely naked and had no genitals of any kind, and its skin was completely pale. At the end of the creature's right arm, was a massive ball of flesh, covered with sharp bony spikes, similar to a giant mace. Its left arm was mostly normal, except for a three foot long blade of bone, emerging from its elbow, curving down passed its hand. Garret watched, completely helpless, as the creature took a step forward.

"I cannot even begin to conceive what I'm going to do!" Garret mentioned as the creature took another step forward. Garret's legs were wobbly and weak, and he was completely frozen with fear. The creature took another step forward until it was right in front of him. He looked up at the creature as it looked down at him. It paused for a few seconds, as if it was studying him, then it raised its left arm, bringing the three foot blade into position.

"FUCK!" Garret cried out as he managed to regain the use of his limbs. He barely managed to dive out of the way of its lethal attack. One second late and he would be missing his head. Garret aimed his bow at the creature and shot the holy water arrow at it. The tip shattered against the creature's face as holy water tricked down it. Unfazed by the attempt, the creature took another step forward. Garret counter-attacked with a punch to the creature's gut, but it was ineffective as pain shot through his hand. The creature raised its spike mace into the air. Garret dodged the attack as the mace smashed into the ground. The creature stood back up and turned its gaze upon him. Garret pulled out one of the fire arrows, remembering that he was saving them for just such an occasion. He backed up ten steps, then fired the arrow at the creature. A huge explosion threw Garret back against the ground. As the smoke cleared, he saw that the creature was still standing. To his horror, the explosive arrow had absolutely no effect on it. The only thing that he noticed, was that the creature had stumbled back about six steps. He watched as its eyes glowed brighter, with intensity, then with blinding speed, it flew at Garret and crashed into him with extreme force. Garret flew five feet into the air, as the bow flew out of his hand and landed on the ground a few feet away from him. Garret landed on the ground with a loud _thud_ as his breath was knocked out of him. Pain shot through his body as he struggled to get up. The creature stared at Garret again as its eyes glowed with fearful intensity. Realizing that it was about to attack again, he got back up to his feet and prepared himself. It brought up its spike mace and charged at Garret. He quickly dove out of the way and rolled across the ground to his bow. He quickly picked it up and pulled out another fire arrow, but the creature grabbed him by the throat and raised him three feet off the ground. It stared into Garret's eyes intensely, then threw him at the wall. Pain shot through Garret's body as he struggled to get up again. Just then, an idea hit him and he remembered the spike pit. He quickly ran near the spike pit and yelled at the creature, waiting for it to attack. Much to his surprise, the creature just stood there, watching him, trying to study his plan.

"Come on your piece of shit!" Garret yelled. "What the hell are you waiting for?" He immediately swallowed his words as the creature crouched down and then jumped thirty feet into the air. Lifting its spike mace over its head, it came down on Garret. He was barely able to evade the devastating attack as the full force of the creature's spike mace slammed into the ground. The ground shook intensely from the attack. Garret shielded his eyes as chunks of dirt and rock flew through the air. As it cleared, he began to see the creature taking shape. It was kneeling on one knee with its spike mace driven into the ground. Garret watched as the creature continued kneeling there, completely motionless.

"What's going on?" Garret wondered, staring at the creature. "It can't be dead." He slowly got back to his feet and started backing away from the creature. When he felt he was a safe distance away from the effects of the fire arrow, he readied his bow and took aim. Much to his surprise, the creature immediately turned its head towards him and stood up. He watched its eyes brighten again, but was prepared this time. He fired the arrow at the creature, the explosion driving it back six steps, then shot another fire arrow at it. The creature stumbled back another six steps, towards the spike pit. Fire arrow after fire arrow, pushed the creature closer and closer to the spike pit. The creature was near the edge of the pit and Garret pulled out his last remaining fire arrow.

"I need to make this count," Garret said as he took aim. He released the arrow as it hit the creature. It stumbled back, letting out an ear shattering _roar_ as it fell backwards into the pit. Garret walked up to the edge of the pit and saw the creature, impaled on four spikes, as blue blood oozed from its massive wounds. Finally, it was over. Garret looked around and noticed that the creature's roar had collapsed a wall, which revealed a small tunnel. He quickly traversed the room and entered the tunnel. He eventually came to a room covered by a sticky, white substance that reminded him of webbing from a spider. As he progressed through the next tunnel, the walls became more and more covered, until they were coated with it. Garret did not like what he was seeing. He continued through the tunnel until he came to another huge room. He was disgusted to see huge, pulsating, white cocoons, littering the room. They were much larger than the ones he had seen a while back, in the sewers. All of a sudden, he heard a loud _crack_ to his left and was horrified to see one of the cocoons breaking open, as a large spider slowly climbed out, all covered with slime. He then realized that the cocoons were not cocoons at all, but were spider eggs. He watched, frozen in fear, as more of the eggs broke open and more spiders climbed out. On the other side of the room, he could see two tunnels. A faint light could be seen coming from the one on the right. If he could just make it passed the spiders, he'd be home free. As he was formulating a plan, one of the spiders attacked. Garret dove forward and rolled across the ground as it flew over him, then ran as fast as he could. He dodged the other spiders and ran into the right tunnel. He continued down the tunnel and could feel a small breeze wash over him. He stopped at another intersection and waited for the breeze. It was coming from the left tunnel, so Garret continued running until he emerged from the mountainside. He lost his balance and tumbled down the side of the mountain until he crashed into the ground below.

"I'm getting too old for this shit!" Garret muttered as he struggled to get up. His body ached terribly. He pulled out the Horn of Quintus and examined the jewelled, golden horn. With a deep, satisfying grin, he put the horn back into his carrying sack and began his long journey back to the city… END


End file.
