Tales From the Crypt - The Dark Guild

[Cyrax]

Part I

Darkness enshrouds the foothills of Hero Mountain as a lone Orc wobbles along the main road from the west. The creature was traveling from the mighty kingdom of Orsinium with a note in hand and hopes of the pay-off promised to him by a certain, dark messenger. He had completed his dastardly deed, slaying a Human in Aerata, and left the 'package' at the appropriate location designated by his employer. Today was payday and Grimlok was not about to miss collecting his large sum of gold.

Snorting and snarling, Grimlok continued moving toward the rolling hills which steadily increase in height. It was not too late in the evening to be so dark, but still a certain shadow loomed over the entire area keeping it almost concealed from view. A mist, of sorts, dark in color, was acting as the bothersome element to the Orc as he struggled to see ahead. It was only when a torch could be seen, in the near distance, that Grimlok would be able to find his way.

"You there!"

The deep voice, chilling to a weakling no doubt, was not too frightening to the towering Orc and right away Grimlok displayed the rash nature affiliated with most greenies.

"My gold, you have it?" he exclaimed in return, snorting after the last word exited his drool filled mouth.

"Find the ignorant Orc along the western roads, easy enough."

Smiling, beneath the shadow of his hood, the messenger moves closer to make the payment for services rendered. Grimlok was not too pleased with the 'ignorant' comment, but he was not even sure what most words meant anyway. That, and the fat sack of gold now staring him in the face were enough to keep his mouth shut. After all, the exchange had to take place before he could reveal his master plan!

An Orc with a master plan, interesting indeed!

"Here you are, 300 gold as we agreed" the dark figure says calmly, handing over the sack to the Orc.

"My thanks on behalf....."

Before the man, or creature, could even finish the comment he was cut down by the large Orc who, in the darkness, had unsheathed a medium size blade. The weapon was dull, to the messenger's despair, and the lack of a decent sheath actually would serve to aid in the evil endeavor.

There were three sounds; the body than head both hitting the ground followed by a cackling laugh from Grimlok. Much easier than he had first thought, hearing stories from fellow Orcs at Aerata about a cult lingering in the foothills of Hero Mountain. No problem, it seemed, to simply 'cut' and run.

The Orc reached down to search the body and as he opened the messenger's robe, to look for hidden gold, he noticed a large symbol upon his chest; two serpents engulfing each other's tail in an endless but perfect circle. What was more interesting, even to the stupified Orc, was that both creatures had wings!

"Freaks, one less at least" he mumbled before bursting out again in laughter.

Grimlok had found another pouch of gold, 200 pieces to be exact, and it seemed worthwhile after all to slay his former business associate. If he had found nothing, it would have been for nothing. Well, not that killing was not enjoyable to him for it most certainly was.

The large Orc turned to head west, back home, but a most hideous laugh from the shadows stopped him dead in his tracks. Were there more freak mountain folk waiting in ambush?

Grimlock turned, with his blood stained weapon drawn, and slowly moved back to the dead body. However, the body was missing!

"Meh!"

Looking around, trying to make out his enemy in the darkness, Grimlok calls out with sword flailing all around. Taunts and insults flow from his mouth with relative ease like a typical night at an Orcish bar.

"You coward!" he yelled.

"You stanking Galgamek!"

The only response to the barrage of comments was another evil laugh, but this time followed by clapping!

"I have not seen such a lowlife scum such as yourself in ages!"

Grimlok could only stand in awe as the same messenger he had just killed approached again; eerily similar to the first time. However, there seemed to be no hostile intentions for the treachery. Disturbing, indeed.

"My master would certainly like to meet with one such as you!"

"Tell me, are you interested in making 5 times that amount of gold?"

After several minutes, the shadowy figure realized that the math was too much for Grimlok so instead the amount of 'lots of shinies' was given and the Orc accepted.

[Cyrax]

Part II


Grimlok's massive feet crushed the soft grass below as the two moved further into the foothills of Hero Mountain, into the darkness. Soon, however, the cushion of life gave way and only solid rock remained.

Climbing up a few large boulders, the dark messenger turned to offer a hand at which the Orc simply snuffed and lifted his bulky form up to continue on. Both were having trouble on the terrain and that only proved its difficulty, seeing as how the messenger lived or worked here. If he was having trouble than surely it was dangerous and something important must be at the end of the long deadly path.

"Grimlok, correct?"

"Aye!" the big creature responded while looking around carefully; still following slowly as if not trusting his current companion.

"As you know, my name is Cerius" the messenger stated, having already met with Grimlok prior to the recent encounter.

The two continued to climb, with Cerius being interrupted by loosing his footing only to be grabbed by the large Orc, and after traveling a bit further they could finally see light in the near distance.

"However, what you do not know is that i am part of a secret organization known as the Dark Guild" Cerius stated, turning back and looking at Grimlok as the two were coming ever closer to what seemed to be a gateway of sorts.

"We are called upon, to handle certain affairs."

"Lowly assassins?" Grimlok exclaimed followed by a small chuckle.

It seemed the Orc had possibly found a group worthy to serve. Hell, to murder and get paid lots of money was what he was here in this world for. Or was he here for something, someone, else?

The two were now roughly 30 yards to the main gates of Kyrtos and without fail the guards bark out at the intruders.

"State your business travelers, you are trespassing!"

One of the guards, covered in black robes stepped forward with his hand out; to stop the two from continuing forward. The second guard, standing nearest the gate grabbed his spear with two hands readying to strike if necessary.

"Meh, nice friends..." the Orc said, jokingly.

Grimlok was not impressed and could crush both of their skulls with relative ease, but he was still not exactly sure what or who he was dealing with. The episode awhile ago, after he thought he had killed Cerius, was quite disturbing and surely some sort of magic was being used. Even a dumb orc could figure that out.

After glancing up at the head guard, Cerius and Grimlok are allowed to pass. The creeking of the gates alone would cause banshees to run in horror, nevermind the smell, so it was no surprise that Grimlok winced and complained. Cerius, however, was totally unaffected.

"Welcome to my home" the guild member said, while leading Grimlok further into the small village.

Only a few buildings were standing and they were sh*t shacks at best. It seemed if there was a 'society' or group of people than they would be elsewhere, possibly inside the moutain?

After arriving at what seemed to be a dead end, Cerius mumbled some sort of chant about a Dread Father and soon a gaping hole opened to allow entrance into a secret cave!

"Ahead my master is waiting for you, do not linger or he will grow aggravated."

Grimlok snuffed off the remark, fearless of any enemy, and could only think of the huge rewards to be reaped for murdering countless targets.



The question was; would he enter?

[Cyrax]

Part III

Grimlok stared into the dark entrance before looking back to say something to Cerius, but the messenger was gone; disappearing into the mist once again. He was alone with no guide and the initial confidence which had been driving him was beginning to fade. It was his natural instinct to be afraid of the unknown, but the hunger for gold and power overruled all emotion or reason.

Crunching noises were heard as Grimlok began to move into the darkness and he wondered if small pebbles or juicy insects were under his feet. There was no way of telling, at the moment, for no torches were around to be utilized. Only pure courage or ignorance could push the Orc forward and soon enough, to his delight, a small well lit pool could be seen in the distance.

"Ha!"

Grimlok moved forward and the light from a torch, mounted on the wall, began to illuminate the area surrounding his feet. He looked down to see hundreds of crushed bugs with thousands of their brethren running around in all directions, including up his legs!

"Whoa!"

Green goop hit the floor after numerous insects were smooshed on his lower leg. It stretched from his leg to his hand as he pulled away and finally threw it splatting against the wall. While dancing around to get the bugs away he never noticed the glowing eyes peering at him from above, laughing at his display of might over such weakling creatures.

Grimlok thought he saw something in a large hole above the main pathway, almost like another tunnel, but decided it was too high for a beast to reach so he continued on. He slushed through the small pool, with his new torch, and moved forward into more dark passages until finally coming to an opening which was in the near distance.

Entering a large room with two gates on each flank, Grimlok could finally see the man who was to make him very rich. He wasted no time and approached his new employer, eager to kill again and earn his loot.

"Hear you are looking for assassins?"

The person seated ahead, on a stone throne, was obviously the leader as Grimlok saw no one else present in the cave while he moved through. He wondered how such a weak looking old man could hold such power, at least according to what some locals around Aerata had said. He also wondered why he was being ignored after asking a question.

"Hmmmm" the man said, minutes after the inquiry was made.

Rising from the throne, the leader finally raised his head to look at Grimlok and to the Orc's surprise he was not a man at all. Instead, there was a black void for a face with two gleaming purple eyes! Torn and tattered robes were wrapped around what looked to be an ancient and decrepit body. It was a Demon!

"Wha.......what do you want with me Demon!?" the Orc exclaimed, angered and frightened all at once.

The master of the Dark Guild was none other than Cyrax, former second to the indomitable Demon King. In the twenty years since his disappearance such ignorant fools like Grimlok would probably not know of him. It was the main reason that the Orc did not sh*t himself already.

However, to keep his word, Cyrax pointed to a mound of treasure sitting to his right. Grimlok could not even hold himself back and tried to move toward it. The slamming of a gate behind him though, the way he came in, would serve to awaken him to what was possibly going on here.

"That is a good question, but certainly one that you do not truly wish to know."

As Cyrax spoke, blackened smoke exited the void of his face. It was mst likely ash and dust from the millions of charred bodies in the Underworld, most of which he probably killed himself.

The gate on Grimlok's right opened and he turned to eye the treasure, hoping to grab and run without worry of a weak looking Demon to stop him. Hell, he was not going to stand around and wait for what was going to happen next. Or, was he?

"What the...."

Grimlok was frozen and unable to move on his own. The Demon had cast some sort of spell on him!

A most hideous laugh followed, along with more smoke, before Cyrax sat back down to enjoy the show.

Raising both of his hands slowly and then moving them precisely, the dark master began to make Grimlok dance like a puppet!

"La da da..... de de de..."

Cyrax motioned his hands as if conducting a dark symphony and he enjoyed his dance lessons offered to the Orc at no charge.

"Ah well, enough of that, i am bored" he said, after a few more minutes of fun.

It was at this point that a bone chilling scream was heard. Grimlok could still not move on his own and soon found himself turning slowly to face the open gate to the right. From the gateway came something that only the bizarre and crazed mind of Cyrax could think up!

A Minumanombie rumbles forward from its holding cell, drooling and flailing its massive muscle bound arms around. Grimlok and Cyrax were the only two to have witnessed the new creature, but unfortunately one of them was about to get mauled by it!

"Gwarrrrrrrrrrrr!!!"

The creature had a Giant Zombie torso with Minotaur arms and legs. Instead of the typical decaying head of a Zombie, there was now a Human head present; though still drooling with crooked eyes.

"Meet my latest creation!"

The monster rushed toward its snack with great speed for being so big. It seemed the bulky, fat body of the Giant Zombie did not slow down the creature as much now with powerful Minotaur limbs. Also, amazingly it was a bit smarter due to its Human head, though it was still only as smart as its master's orders. The Zombie body, as Cyrax would boast, was to hold more 'meat'.

[Cyrax]

Part IV


The cold stone floor is all that Grimlok could feel as he struggled to awaken from his unconscious state. He had been floored by a massive overhand right, coming from the Minumanombie, and his face went from ugly to unregcognizable. It was more than likely that his own mother would not be able to discern her kin at this point!

"Wh....?"



Blood dribbled from his mouth down to the ground while attempting to rise, but short shackles stretched from his limbs keeping him down. Still though, he could lift his head up enough to notice the iron bars ahead; clearly signifying some sort of prison cell.

While Grimlok attempted to free himself from the chains, he did not hear the footsteps approaching. Two guild members were coming to collect the prize, a large Orc lured into the dark dungeon of Cyrax with false hopes of endless gold. It seemed to be no challenge at all for the magician to gain play things! Power or wealth always corrupted the weak minded!

"Lets go, our master has big plans for you!"

One of the two guild members began to laugh out loud, not able to keep in the delight he felt from the situation. He and his comrade moved to unshackle Grimlok, but before doing so they both let loose some kicks to the prisoner's face; knocking him out yet again.

"Sleepy time!" the other exclaimed, wiping some blood from his boot to the floor after stomping on Grimlok's face.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After locking his precious pet in its holding cell, Cyrax moved to a doorway behind his throne. The entrance was hidden away, in the pitch black, and required some form of light to guide one forward. Torches were used by the normal guild members, most of whom were Human, but the Dark Master had no need for such 'aiding' tools.

With his right decrepit hand raised foward, the evil being descended a spiral staircase with a small glowing sphere of fire hovering above his palm!

It seemed he had mastered the arts of fire magic over the past 20 years, taking the flames from simply engulfing his hand to a compressed sphere. Controlled blasts of fire were now possible, as opposed to his old 'all or nothing' magical attacks which left him with less strength. His magical stamina was already unmatched but the longer he lived the more powerful he would become!

Cyrax's dark robe dragged on the dirty stone below, leaving a track through the accumulated dust as he walked forward. It was unfortunate that pieces of the last maid were being utilized for a project, so it seemed Cyrax would have to clean himself at some point!

"Hmph"

His gleaming eyes would have been enough to lead through the blackness, not counting his normal demonic ability to see in the dark, but it was so fun to play with fire. One could say that he had become quite the pyromaniac over the last few years. As he approached the bottom of the spiral stairs, evidence of said personality was present!

Charred bodies, 10 of them, were shackled to the walls and due to the positioning it was clear that they were burned alive! Some of the guild members, who are not allowed in the dungeons at the same time as Cyrax, said that he liked to listen to the screaming as one would do with music!

"I wonder what he is going to make this time?"

A Human, but dark indeed, spoke to his comrade as they moved to exit the crypt at the back of the dungeon. The area was off limits to all except if patients were being delivered for surgery.

"Shut it, you know we are not to talk about it ever" the other says, clearly a demon by his eyes glowing slightly in the dark.

The creature was correct, but Cyrax had already overhead the conversation as he was standing directly in front of them!

"I trust your eyes did not wander......" a dreaded voice exclaimed from the darkness.

Cyrax appeared before the two men who immediately dropped to their knees. He had extinguished his flame and moved into the shadows of the pitch black, using an invisibility spell.

"My master.....nothing, we saw nothing!!"

"Good..."

The Human was amazed to see one Demon cowering to another in such a way and wondered to himself how powerful Cyrax truly was. Barilia was the name of the Demon beside him and he was not known to be a weakling in any way. What would possess him to be so frightened by his own master?

Cyrax moved between the two, who were still bowing, and both could not help but have their nostrils filled with the most hideous odor imaginable. It was death, plain and simple. The evil magician was ripe with it as if bathing for eternity in an ocean of dead bodies, which in fact, he would probably consider a nice vacation!

Both members got to their feet and picked up torches, which were laid down temporarily, and continued to move out of the dungeon. Well, Barilia was able to move but it seemed that Tarril could not!

With no words spoken, to be heard by any, a dark voice still entered the mind of the Human!

Barilia was no fool and never stopped to look back. Few were allowed to stay in the dungeon or even step foot near the crypt and those who did were never seen from again!

"Come, i wish to show you something" the voice stated, though Cyrax was already inside the crypt and out of sight.

The massive door was opened half way and Tarril struggled, as always, to push it open. It was one of the reasons Barilia had to accompany him with the prey, because one or two Humans were not even strong enough to open the crypt door! How pathetically weak the species was, at least that is what Cyrax always ranted about.

[Cyrax]

Part V

Tarril entered the crypt of Cyrax with caution and for the first time noticed many tools scattered along a stone slab used for a table. There were two large slabs in the room, one of which was currently being used for 'surgery'. The reason Tarril knew this was because he had brought in the Orc, Grimlok, and had witnessed the Minumanombie on the upper level. If that were not enough to inform him, the sounds of tearing flesh and grinding bone could be heard!

While the Human looked around, curious but fearful, he never noticed Cyrax turn to set his deadly gaze upon him. Looking back to his master, Tarril almost vometed when seeing the severed head of Grimlok sitting upon the stone table. It was not the sight of blood or the decapitated green head that made him feel ill, but instead a powerful feeling coming over him. As if he were halucinating, the eyes of Grimlok began to glow a bright purple and shortly after the mouth spoke to him!

"What a nice neck you have!"

The severed head began to laugh, after taunting Tarril, and soon it started mumbling encantations out loud. Shortly after, the body of Grimlok started to move and Cyrax was gone; or so it seemed.

The Human was frozen in fear as the Orc's corpse rose from the table and began walking toward the crypt door. The crypt door!

"No!!"

Tarril ran as fast as he could to reach the exit, but it was too late. Putrid decaying hands rose from the solid ground below and grabbed both of his feet, acting to paralyze him while the door slowly began to close.

"Please!....Help!!"

All that could be heard, from the outside, was the cry for help before the heavy crypt door closing tight.

"My master, why?" Tarril called out, hoping to halt the inevitable and gruesome death awaiting him.

Grimlok's massive body approached closer and closer while the Human begged for his life. He had joined the Dark Guild with hopes of being transformed into a Demon, but little did the fool know that only the most worthy of the weakling race would be allowed to change over.

Tarril is grabbed by the towering Orc body and after a few minutes of intense pain, his arms are ripped off!

He stumbled backward, blood shooting out from each main artery all over the damp floor, and to his amazement saw the body of Grimlok cut in twain at the hips from behind!

Standing behind the fallen pieces was Cyrax, who slowly appeared from the shadows with a large scythe weapon clutched in his grasp.

"Master, even with no arms i can aid you in your conquest!"

A fine line of blood formed from Tarril's forehead to his chin before two halves split apart and fell to the ground! The Human's arms were upon the ground, bathing in a pool of blood, and so were the chunks of Grimlok.

"Fool, you know nothing....."

Cyrax picked up the fresh torso and placed it on one of the stone slabs. Then, he grabbed the two arms from the pile that was Tarril and laid them down near the Orc body.

"Hmmm" he thought, tapping his non-existent chin with a greyish finger.

It was a difficult choice. Should he go with the Centaur body to provide maximum mobility and strength enough to hold the Orc body, or use the left over Minotaur legs? He wanted the Human arms to be able to utilize a bow with the precision that race was known for. They were great with creating and using weapons, but pure strength and deadly power was not something many of them could attain.

After about 2 hours in the crypt, working on his project, Cyrax emerges from the room and enters the dungeon where many cells line the walls. No torches are lit and after the door closes behind him, the only remaining light was from his glowing eyes.

Ascending spiral stairs to the upper level of his domain, the dark magician thought of new plans and how they would unfold. When he finally reached the doorway to the throne room, there were three Cyrax's and they were all laughing out loud.

"What do you think?" one of them said.

"I like it!"

"Bwahahahaha!" the third exclaimed.

All the Cyrax's moved toward the throne and then one of them sat down and pulled a small box from his inner robe. It was the famed Pandora's Portal!

"Go, and do not fail me."

A Cyrax bowed and then disappeared into the shadows before leaving the lair. Blackened wings form and unfold from the other Cyrax's back and soon he too is leaving to fulfil his orders.

The remaining Cyrax manipulated the cubed box in his hands and soon it began to glow. He stepped foward, from his throne, and placed the object on the floor in front of him. Soon it was engulfed in sweeping arcs of electricity and dark particles. A portal opened, ripping the vail between realms and soon he was gone into another world.