This scenario will take place over one night, and it will begin at the Ilthien Harbor House (wherein the senior member of the Protectors of Light reside) at 8pm Eastern Time/7pm Central Time, on the night of Sunday October 27 (tomorrow night).

If the players lose this one, it is likely that the character of Galen will be deleted, unless another RP way out of this situation somehow presents itself. If the players DO lose, I'll take advice on how to get out of it, as this character means a lot to me.

My fencer, Rafael, will be present, as will my wife's mage, Peri.

This is my first player-run scenario, so please ge gentle with me......I'm only aware of some of the ground rules, so I apologize in advance if I break any.

Be warned that the description of Galen's capture that follows is rather graphic for these boards; don't read if you're squeamish. It's enough to know what you have to do.

-Galen's player

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Galen's Damnation

Galen rode on his horse, Iolo, alone in Ilshenar, as he always did.

What shall it be today? Blood elementals, I think.......Aye, blood elementals.

Galen amused himself with his ability to carry on conversations with himself. A sure sign of insanity.

Although Galen's mind was distracted, his eyes were not. They darted this way and that as he walked from the Shrine of Spirituality, along the mountains, to the Blood Dungeon. "Death within the home of she who takes life," the ancient documents said of that foul place.

Well, when I go there, Galen thought to himself, it is I who bring death......Death to those who mete out death. Intolereence to the intolerent. It was an ugly way, but it was the only way that seemed to work.

As always, Galen easily slipped by the skeletal creatures who guarded the entrence to the dungeon..........And then entered it, that strange dungeon which had its own unseen source of light. He rode quickly yet cautiously, dodging past imps, the deadliest of all pests, until he found his target........A blood elemental. Even from far away he could smell the foul thing. He lifted his bow of blood drinking, and let loose an arrow.

Galen hated himself for how much he loved battle somtimes, for how good he was at it.......But, nevertheless, it was an undeniable fact; This was Galen's life. This was his talent. Not his love, perhaps, but his talent for sure. Between many arrows and a few swings of his runic sword, the blood elemental was down. Galen approached it quickly to loot it before another one spawned..........

Then he heard it. He recognized it right away as the voice that had haunted him for months, the reason he had not slept since God knows when, the voice he heard whenever he closed his eyes, and he was shocked that he had not recognized it before. It was the voice of The Harrower, the Abyss's foulest servant........And it was behind him.

"Hello, Galen," it said. "Remember me?"

Galen knew he was no match for the creature alone. Cursing his own cowardice, Galen kicked his horse into a high gallop and bolted down the hall.........The Harrower had no feet, therefore no footsteps, but Galen could hear the foul creature's robe of ancient black rustling along the floor behind him, catching up to him..........Galen rounded the corner, thinking he was free if he just got around the next bend.....

And then, somehow unseen before, a balron stepped from the shadows. Galen knew which one it was, as he had fought them all. It was the Collector of Souls, named for his job.......It was this creature who was charged with bringing the souls to the Stygian Abyss for torture......And its presence here could mean only that Galen's nightmares had come true.........The Harrower had come for him.....

Still, there was a chance.......Galen ran Iolo even harder, kicking the poor beast mercilessly, trying to divert it around the balron.....And he almost made it too, and then the greatest of all enemies reared its ugly head........Galen felt a horrible pain in his chest, and his heart simply stopped working........He was paralyzed, betrayed by his own battered heart and could not direct Iolo. Not knowing what to do, frightened by the evil around him, Iolo stopped moving, and Galen felt the Harrower's cold hands on his back.......They ripped him from Iolo's back and slammed him hard into the stone wall........

Galen could hear and feel his lower spine snapping, and his ribs cracking under the pressure of the Harrrower's strong hands crushing his chest.........

"I asked you a question, Galen," said the Harrower.

Galen spit his own blood into where the Harrower's face would be, if the beast had a face at all. Galen could see its savage red eyes.

"I heard you. Your questions aren't worth answering."

The Harrower let Galen fall to the ground, he was conscious of Iolo's death screams, and then he felt the balron's powerful claw impale his chest, pinning him to the stone floor of the dungeon, piercing through his lungs and spine........Galen's heart was now the least of his concerns. Galen did not bother wondering why he was not yet dead, or at least not yet conscious of being dead. The Harrower could have done that himself. The Collector of Souls exists for pain, not death. Death is left to others.

The Harrower looked down at Galen. "Scream, Galen," it said. Galen's response was to spit more blood. The blood, however, did not reach its target......Instead, it pathetically rose into the air mere inches, and then fell back down on Galen's own face. The Harrower laughed.........Galen knew that laugh all too well; he had heard it the first time he fell to the Harrower.

Galen had little strength left, and he was determined to use it to fight his enemies with wit as he always had, when using weapons failed or were not apprioriate or possible. "One question.........Why all the trouble? I'm not worth it.......And why didn't yu just send a murderer from Felucca, or Relious Shade, to get me.....They'd have been a lot less expensive.........." Galen could barely get out the last word.....his mouth was full of blood and the remenants of his own teeth.

"As to the latter," responded the Harrower, "this method is more fun. As to the former........" The Harrower reached down, whether it knelt or its arm somehow elongated Galen could not be sure, and reached inside Galen's tattered flesh. THe Harrower grabbed a hold of Galen's intestines, and began to pull and tug at them, and out they came, inch by inch and foot by foot and and yard by yard. Despite his spine being shattered, Galen somehow felt the pain quite acutely.

"You, Galen........So much have I heard about you.......You, who defeated the vampiric curse itself......You, who is a constant annoyance to my colleague the Shadow......You, who slays my minions again and again and again, never stopping, never resting.........You who refuses to allow my smallest servant to pass by unmolested......You, who has defeated the Champions of Evil time and time again..........You, whose persistence has done far more damage to me than you are worth.........You, who became the first person in a thousand years to make me taste my own blood......Yes, Galen, you are quite insignificant. But you will be much moreso now........You shall come with me to the Abyss itslef, Galen. You shall not live, you shall not die, you shall exist forever beyond the reach of life and beyond the realms of death. None shall be able to save you. The Balron Triad of Montor shall watch over you, what's left of you anyway.......You shall spend eternity screaming and begging for death....."

"Like Hell I will," Galen responded.......Or thought he did.......

And then, the torture began in earnest. And, ever true to his word, Galen cried and wept and prayed, but he did not beg for death, and he did not scream.

• Galen could hear today......... Protectors of Light 04:31:36 pm, 10/27/2 (0)