During our journeys, I leafed through the notes left by our late father Damien as well as those of the rector.

The weeks became months and we ended up reading the diary of the odyssey that led Lord British to his loss.

Excerpt:

27th day of the 11th month of the year 137

The following details the odyssey of his Majesty Lord British as recorded by Remoh, scribe at Lord British's court. The knights Arionis, Meridin, Geraci, Shaana, Noin and Roin accompany us on this journey into the unexplored underworld.

DAY 1

At dawn, we set out on our skiff on the Maelstrom River, east of Spiritwood. Before the falls, we pause to remember the brave men who discovered this entrance to the underworld. Then we cast off and repeat their plunge into the unlit underground waterway. We disembark our boat on the western shore of a large lake. The low ceiling of the cave overhangs us and the humidity is oppressive.

Arionis and Geraci erect a wooden sign commemorating our expedition. The others repair the damage caused to our skiff by the underground rapids that brought us here.

We embark again, following a navigable river to the south. After a short distance, a tributary forks to the east, but we continue south. The cave walls now rise above us, dimly reflecting the light of our torch.

The current becomes stronger and the sound of tortured water increases steadily. Suddenly, the river makes a sharp turn. The roar becomes painfully loud as our skiff rolls down a large drop. A storage barrel breaks loose and knocks Meridin off the boat as we fall. The skiff lands flooded, but miraculously standing. We carry Meridin unconscious back into the boat and retrieve the barrel. He revives as we row west past a southern tributary.

The river slows as we reach another fork. We continue north along the stone wall cut into the water on our right. As the river turns back to the southwest, we hear the sound of approaching waterfalls. We quickly disembark the boat on the south bank. Geraci leaves to explore a promising passage in the rocks to the southeast. When she returns, she reports that the natural fissure slopes steeply down, but joins the river beyond the treacherous falls. We carry our skiff around the falls without too much difficulty and set off again. As daylight declines thousands of feet above us, the river flows into a calm lake, stretching beyond our view into the dark gloom. We row south and southeast, following the shoreline.

A muffled scream and a loud splash are our first signs of danger. We all stare at the stern where, moments before, the raven-haired Shaana knight was sitting. Meridin quickly intones two words of magic, and the lake around us explodes into light, blinding us momentarily. We see a hideous ebony creature, twice as big as our skiff with Shaana clutched in one of its slimy tentacles. Already dozens of meters away, it retreats ten steps with each heartbeat.

Lord British moves towards the stern and stretches his arms towards the retreating monstrosity. In a voice as clear as crystal, in a tone as urgent as the wind, he pronounces seven words. We do not understand their meaning, but we witness their impact. The squid creature suddenly stops. A tearing sound rips through the humid air. A large wave passes under our boat. The octopus creature has been defeated. The light from Meridin's spell fades and new torches are lit to replace those dropped in the panic. Shaana, pulled from the water, is now sleeping in her place on the stern of the boat. Our king is also resting, deeply immersed in the meditation of virtues. We continue rowing.

DAY 2

We wake up on a morning as dark as the darkest of nights. Our campfire is a damp mound of cold ashes. The underground river has risen during the night, soaking the meager supply of dry wood we brought with us.

As we set out again on the waters, we row south. Barely an hour passes before we reach another waterfall, with no possibility of a portage. From the beach, however, we can see the river flowing again only a few meters past the falls. Since we don't have many options, we brace ourselves and head for the falls. But as soon as we are upright, the river turns sharply and we plunge into another waterfall. Shaken and bruised, the group barely has time to hold on tight to the boat before plunging into a third waterfall.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

After a brief respite, we pass over a fourth, but smaller waterfall. Finally, we pass into a small, quiet lake. We dock on the south shore and examine the area. Although a large crack in the cliff face offers a land-based exit to the south, no navigable waterway exits the cave. We have no choice: we take our remaining supplies and continue on foot through the fissure. The difficult trip over the falls has eliminated another option: if we ever return to Britannia, it won't be by retracing our steps.

The path out of the cave is at first boggy and tedious to walk, but it gets easier as we leave the lake behind. Soon the path curves north again and we come to a large cave with an irregular rock ceiling several stories high. We are now walking on yellow grass.

A movement of his feet makes Arionis stop. Before we can draw our weapons, a large leathery tentacle as thick as a man's leg wraps itself around Arionis and begins dragging him into his underground lair. Noin drives his deadly main left into the tentacle. A thick green fluid flows from the severed tentacle and falls out. Arionis staggers to his feet and quickly shouts a warning. Noin turns to sever a second tentacle just before he catches it. Movement in the grass where we came from indicates that more tentacle monstrosities are approaching. We flee together to the north side of the cave, slipping between the rocks into a passage leading to the east. Soon, the passage turns right and we head south again.

At the end of the passage, we find ourselves in a massive cavern. The walls and ceiling extend beyond the glow of our torches. We wait in vain for the return of our echoes. It is difficult to probe a cavern so large that it drowns out the echoes. We turn to the right, along the southern wall. The stench of a stagnant river fills the air. As we walk, the mud gives way to sand. When we leave the river behind, we camp.

DAY 3

A cry of pain wakes us up after only a few hours of sleep. Meridin utters an oath followed by two ominous sounds, and a macabre scene is revealed. Knight Geraci stands unsteadily and plants her dagger on six large worms swarming around her, rearing up to strike, while deftly avoiding her dagger. Her left arm is held against her chest in an attempt to stop the flow of blood from a gaping wound.

Lord British raises his staff and utters an incantation. An intense coldness momentarily sets in, then the six worms forget their prey and attack each other with an unreasoned fury. Meridin magically draws out the worm's venom. We quickly bind Geraci's arm, gather our gear and resume our journey east along the southern wall. Only two worms are still writhing as we leave.

After the wall finally curves north, we take a passage out of the cave to the northeast. The path is rocky, but wide enough for three people to walk abreast. The twins, Noin and Roin, who come up behind, are the first to notice the large winged creature with matted brown fur and sharp unsheathed talons. But when we stop to look, it flies away. Half an hour later, we notice two of these creatures, but they fly away again when we turn around. An hour later, three of these ugly creatures approach, flying closer than the previous incursions, before flying away. We accelerate our pace.

The passage leads to a large grassy area with a high earthen ceiling. As we stop to rest, a deafening crescendo of screams announces the invasion of a dozen winged monsters. The avian terrors attack in force. Armor and skin are torn from our backs. Our swords swing, our daggers fly, but in vain. Only two winged monsters are wounded and then finished off. The other ten circle us furiously as Lord British shouts mystical words of command. Four more attackers are destroyed, but many more of our group have fallen.

As I fight, I see Meridin out of the corner of my eye. He crawls out of the fray and raises his arms. Before he falls, he utters four words. A great flame bursts between his outstretched arms and spreads forward. One by one, the last of the nightmarish creatures are consumed by the flames. The largest bat spirals to the ground. Its burning carcass crashes next to Meridin's corpse - a memorial fire for our great archmage.

DAY 4

Today we three have buried the valiant Arionis knights, Meridin, Geraci, Noin and Roin, here on the underground battlefield where they fell. Tomorrow we will seek the path back to our own world; our disastrous quest here is over.

DAY 5

The Wraiths came this morning. There were three of them. They came through the stone. Their blackness was deeper than the shadows from which they emerged. They came toward Lord British, ignoring Shaana and me. Lord British held their gaze, whispering words of life, healing and protection. They were still moving forward. One of them raised his hand, pointing to our Lord. Then a flash of silver struck our immortal king and he fell to the stony ground.

Shaana was frozen, transfixed. I stumbled, but when I touched the cloak, I stepped back. A bad feeling came over me. They had taken our Lord with them. I was powerless to stop them. I'm afraid we all are."