Planolis Or The Legend Of The Titan

[PoV: Silencer]

In the early hours of morning I awaken, the bed empty besides me. Lith gone. Thinking she must have woken up earlier than me I get out of bed and wasch my self with sope and a bucket of water. Feeling refreshed I take my time to wasch my t-shirt and u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r with sope and hang them out of the window to dry. While they dry I put on my jeans comando style and go searching for Xote or Lith. I finde Xote together with a black bear cub in a robe sitting in the study chatting about one of the stones Xote had taken from the tome where I met him. ''I agree with you that it is from an influential figures tome my be from one of the 13 knights but I will not agree that it is Sir Lances Tome.'' Says the cub when I walk into the room. ''Ah. You are definitely an early riser. It isn't even 8 in the morning. Let me make Introductions... Silencer, Art Bearson the local blacksmith... Art, this here is the men I told you about... Where is your beautiful Companion Lith? Still sleeping?'' Asks Xote me after making the introduction. ''Thats what I want to ask you. Where is Lith?'' I say and witness a look passing between the Xote and Art. ''What is it?'' I ask fully aware the two of them must know something or must have a good guess. ''Well there is this legend...'' Beginns Art telling me about this urban legend of Linkton.

-It is said that a werewolf stalks at night around Linkton search for his prey. His prey being beautiful young woman with special traits. In one version of the legend the wolf kills the woman to collect their blood all to revive his master that sleeps deep below in the ruins of the kingdom. In another version the wolf kidnaps the woman to rip their souls out and replace them with his mistrisses soul.-

I summarise the legend mentaly when I can reade a hint of further knowledge in Xotes eyes. ''Xote?!'' I question him by giving him my most menacing look. ''The legend is true. The same happened to my cousins now wife. There was a werewolf in the deeper parts of the ruins. He kidnapped Jeremias girl anf was taking her underground when the girl fought the beast. When my cousin reached her the wolf was already near death and his girl the clear winner but unable to kill it. Jer broke its neck and skined it. The wolf is surely dead.'' Xote tells me sure of his words. ''How did the beast move the victims?'' I ask and Xote looks a bit unsure. ''I don't know. But I'm sure he didn't walk down the street with his victims over his shoulder.'' ''Are their any tunnels or underground corridors near by?'' I ask getting a bad feeling. ''Only the labyrinth and the air vents. But it is impossible to navigate any of them.'' Tells me Art looking behind me and getting pail. ''What?'' I ask looking behind me. ''The air vent has been moved.'' Thells me the bear going to the vent and checking the missing screws of the vents cover bars. ''Do whe have a ruff sketch of your air vents?'' I ask Xote who rummages around in a stack of papers and notebooks. ''No something better a discription of the place Jeremia fought the wolf. It was in a simple tunnel leading down to the labyrinth. Ah there it is.'' Xote shows me a bafly written paragraph in what seams to be a journal. ''Then lets go...''

Half an hour later Xote, Art and me we clime down a ladder into darkness. Down here in the vents it is cold, wet and a mossy texture overgrowns the masonry surrounding us. A hole new world completely opposite to the warm, dry and light place that is Linkton. Xote led us to the left side of a gargantuan hole to find this ladder, followed by some more ladders. I look down and see a small planked walkway vanishing in the darkness of the vent system. Near the bottom, we find an infested beast looking like a humanoid skined rat welcoming us. Aiming at its supposed head with my M4 I pull the trigger. Whit a band its head exploades, painting the small ledge it stand on in a greenish paint.

Before proceeding, I hear ghoulish sound coming closer from the lower levels to my right. Waiting a minute I see three Infested Ghouls coming up and ginding the dead rat creature. Aiming and shootig I kill all three. Keeping to the left for the time being, we avoid gettig spotted by another group of infected beasts. ''How can there be so many?'' I ask Xote who is the closest to me. ''They are exiled from above or born here. I one found a small town like struckture down here.'' He explains to me wispering to me. Going a bit deeper into the tunnel before us I first need to deal with two more Infested ahead. This time using my M17 I stun shock them before throwing them from the wooden planks that make this level. The farther we go the wonkyer the planks under us seam to become. In the distance I make out some light. Up close I figure out that the light comes from smoky torches on the opposite side of a small rift in the walkway. ''We could use some planks.'' Suggests Art us but shake my head negative. ''I think we should finde another way.'' Tells me Xote but I find grey hair and claw marks on the edge of the rift. ''We jump.'' I say and want to start jumping, when bought Xote and Art hold me back. In unison they say. ''I can't jump that far.'' ''Ok. Then I throw you there.'' I say taking both of them by their necks and do as I said. With 'humps' and 'dumbs' both land safely on the opposite side. With some back tracking I run and jump over the rift. All seams fine until I land on the wobbly planks. With a big crushing sound I feel the wood under me breaking. I break through the first layer of wood but stop my fall one level below my intende wooden floor. Above me I see the torch still illuminating the darkness. ''I think I found the place where Jeremia fought the monster.'' I hear Art say right behind me. And he might be right. I and Xote look into a hole in the wall, where the masonry on the walls end and raw stone begins. Together with the torch we walk into this crack. Just after walking in I make out traces of intense fighting. Claw, fist and weapon marks seam to make up every inch of rock, be it walls, floor or sealing. In one relativly fresh clawmark I find a strand of blonde hair. -Lith- I think, clenching my fists in rage. ''I smell something. Something close to millenia old rotting corpses. '' Says Art, wiggling his bear nose cutely. ''Lead the way bear.'' I say and are lead by Art from the on.

After a time following Art through the labyrinth I hear a familiar voice screaming for help. -Lith- Running up ahead the tunnel opens up to a shallow underground sea with a square artificially island in the middle. The cave see is illuminated by a starfield of stones embeded into the walls and sealing. On the island I finde my gorgeous girlfriend fighting. Lith beauty makes a strong contrast to the hideous humanoide wolf like creature. Furryles the nearly three meter tall beast agile avoids Liths deadly bat swings. Striking at her with its claws, Lith avoids them by jumping behind a strange coffin or altar like structure in the islands centre. Jumping on top of this structure the skined creature fetches Liths weapon from her hands and its claws close arround her neck. From a distance I have to see how Lith is struggeling only to get fixated on top of the coffin. -Think soldier think.- I tell my self and controle my self from just blindly attacking the beast. Behind me I hear Xote suffocating the torch. With hand signs Xotes freezes parts of the water so that we can walk soundless close to the island and close to Lith. The closer we get the more we can here the beast making sound akin to poorly pronounced words.