Freedom

The Joy of Being Myself, Once Again

Seven-hundred, eighty-six days. I had been a thrall under the control of the three mind flayers for seven-hundred, eighty-six days. The atrocities I bore witness to, helpless to act against, to cry out in rage and sadness, unable to throw myself against the bonds that held me so tightly. I could not bear even ill will against them, so constant was their probing thoughts. If they caught you plotting, you were taken away, never to return.

But we saw the bones. We saw the pulped flesh and marrow of friends, comrades, lovers and complete strangers. We saw the room of skulls, the tops of which were crushed and peeled away for the mind flayers dark harvest.

I arrived in this Hell with four others like myself, sent out from the Undergates. Their mechanized titan bore us to their lair tirelessly. If we showed even the slightest hint of resistance, the fel creatures would unleash a blast of... energy, I think, and we would almost lose conciousness. Some would even pass out due to the constant stress that sort of thing would put on our bodies.

I vaguely remembering arriving at lair above the waterfall. Others were there before me, and after looking into the dead eyes of the thralls there, I knew that if I were to make it through the day, I would see others be brought here as well. The iron machine brought us to a room littered with skulls where a slightly taller Mind Flayer awaited. All five of us were lowered to the ground and as soon as our feet touched, we were frozen in place. The dread creature explained that we were going to live, but we would have to serve the creatures in any way that they said.

And there would be a price to pay for disobedience. A stout dwarf, a thrice-removed cousin to the Hammertower clan named Edrick Glitterbeard, was not so bound like the rest of us. He spoke up, spitting a gallant statement of how he will never bow and scrape for a creature as the one addressing us now right into its face. The creature chuckled (which sounded more like a pulpy exhalation of air) and with its four mouth-tentacles, grabbed Edrick; the tentacles worming their way into his scalp.

If you have ever dealt with these creatures before, or even if you have ever heard of them, you know what comes next. Yet you do not. You do not know the nauseating crunch of bone, the heart-rending scream of your compatriot. You cannot see the horriffic expression on their face as their brain is violently removed. You cannot see the blood pouring from their skull and eyes. Oh, and as for Edrick finding himself removed from their spells they placed over the rest of us, it would seem that they like their food wriggling, trying to struggle and pull themselves away.

For seven-hundred, eighty-six days I remained a thrall, a puppet to the will of my master. Less than a servant for these creatures, I was considered naught else but food. But on my seven-hundred, eighty-seventh day, I found myself to be free, removed from the compulsion of the Mind Flayers. It would seem that others were looking for these creatures and in their efforts, inadvertantly freed me.

Only later after a fight with the great metal titan, hiding at the top of a rope (how we managed this I still do not understand) and a tremendous battle with my three masters did I learn their names...

Rorrin, a nimble dwarf with a level head on his shoulders.
Groehl, dwarven cleric of Throrn. A shining representative of his diety.
Gim, a gnome or bear I do not know which. Something tells me he does not either. Gallant nonetheless.
Tenedos, a human mage among dwarven warriors. What I do not understand about him is what brings one to venture where he would be so out-of-place?
Peak Hunter, a mountain of a man with powerful arrows that fly straight, if not true.
Sarge, dwarven armsman. I have never seen someone strick with a fury to match his.
Derrinar, a dwarven druid, quiet and reserved.
Argus, half of him is stone, the other half is dwarf. Quiet yet he speaks with a severe authority, commanding the attention of those around him.

They saved me a great many years of servitude to the Mind Flayers. On my honor, on my life, I must repay them for their deed.

Associated Regions: Citadel

From the journal of Rurik

Contributor: Justin Philport