Lasthope3.Mx2 (Last Hope III: Adjudication)
Journal Text File.
Author: Timothy Duncan (tduncan@haverford.edu)

As in the second part of this series, some of the major 
map events will be carried out in text to enrich the 
story.  Please read the introduction before playing (if
you desire), and turn to the appropriate chapters when
called for in the map.



Introduction: The Trial of Corribus
  
  The Wizardress crosses in front of you and smiles, a
dagger cluched loosely in her hand.  "Well," she says,
"How the tides have turned, Corribus."  

  In frustration, you fight against the invisible bonds
that hold your arms uselessly to your sides.  If they 
hadn't caught you off guard you might have had a chance, 
but shocked as you were, the battle was dismally quick. 
The sight of seeing the Wizardress Mok Choi, who you had
seen die with an arrow through the back not a month 
before, had certainly stunned you.  Only Bred and 
Catarina were at your side, and although capable 
fighters, they were no match for the arcane talents of 
a magician and the squad of soldiers that appeared 
quickly in response to Darrence's loud call. An inaudable
growl escapes your clenched jaw as you try to cry out
a curse at the sinister, yet beautiful, Wizardress who
stands idly before you.  Unfortunately, the magical bonds
that paralyze you also hold you mute.

 Your visible struggle seems only to gladden her.  Letting
out a soft laugh, she edges closer, placing a hand on 
your chest.  "It is really a shame, you know," she purrs
seductively, "If only you weren't so bent on honor and
virtue, we could have made a wonderful pair."  

 "Mok Choi, cut it out.  We have more important matters
to attend to."  The coarse voice brings a frown to her
features.  A dangerous light seems to enter her eyes,
but almost immediately it is gone and she is smiling 
once more.  "Of course, my Lord," she replies, and turns
away. "But only if I can have him when we are finished 
with him."

 The man emerges from the shadows and eyes you from a
distance.  His laugh shows no humor, "My dear Wizardress,
when *I* am finished with him you won't be able to
recognize him, let alone 'play' with him."  Lord Councilor
Darrence glares at you for a minute, then returns to the
shadows.  A light flares from Mok Choi's outstretched 
hand, illuminating the room.  After your eyes adjust, you
see that you are in the same room, YOUR office, and once
again, Darrence is lounged leisurely in your chair.  
Catarina stands some ten yards away, and Bred is nowhere
to be seen.  

  Darrence's voice breaks the silence, "Now, to our 
current buisiness.  Corribus, you've been a very bad 
person.  You've been caught delving into forbidden magical
arts, a very serious crime.  As a council member, I am
permitted to judge you and sentence you now.  Of course,
prodocols mandate that you are allowed to speak on your
own behalf first.  Mok Choi, release his gag."  You feel
a tingling around your mouth and are releaved when feeling
returns to your tongue.  The feeling allows your emotions
to return to a boil.

  Nearly shaking with rage, you yell, "What is the 
meaning of this?  You will never get away --" 

  "That's about enough," Darrence interjects, "Let the 
records show that one Corribus, Lord of Holbark, is 
guilty of delving into forbidden magic and will be 
sentenced to death after serving two months in prison,
to atone for his grievous sins.  Of course, his sister
is most certainly an accomplice to this crime.  She shall
suffer the same fate." 

  In desperation, you sputter, "This is an outrage. The
council shall--"

  "Corribus, I *AM* the council.  Mok Choi, please remind
the prisoner that convicted criminals are not entitled 
to speak."

  Mok Choi smiles and waves her hands in a simple magical
gesture. You are about to protest again when a massive
wall of air slams into your stomach, knocking the breath
from you.  Being paralyzed, you are unable to recover 
your balance, and fall backwards several feet.  From the
floor, you hear Darrence get up from his seat and walk
over to you.  Bending close, he smiles, "Of course, your
lands are now forfeit.  I shall rule the world, Corribus,
and you will take the blame!  You think I've only made
one THUNK? You are so, so wrong."  He laughs and stands
upright.  With a smile, he calls out, "Guards, remove
the prisoners.  I tire of their presence."  

  He turns to leave, but stops.  "Oh, and prisoners aren't
allowed to see where they're going, are they?  Mok Choi,
please see to it that they cannot see."  Another frown
runs across her face, but she complies with Darrence's
order, and your world is plunged into darkness...

START MAP 

  




Chapter One: Going Out Of Business (sorry this is a 
		lenthy one )

  With a grunt of exertion, a group of your men finally 
topple over the large smokestack that juts out of 
the largest building complex of Factory G2H1.  After the
town fell, you almost immediately had them begin 
destroying all of the production facilities.  If you 
dismantle the factories when you can, you decide, there
is no chance of them posing a problem later on.

  With a loud crack, the smokestack hits the ground and
shatters, sending dust and broken rock flying into the
air.  Your men begin to cheer, and you almost feel like
celebrating with them.  You've certainly come along way
since escaping from that dungeon on Kyle's island.  But
unfortunately, other desperate thoughts keep you sober
and somewhat morose.  The most pressing of these is 
any news of your sister's whereabouts.  You can't help
but feel that you should never have left her.

  With a sigh, you turn away and begin walking back 
towards your tent, when suddenly from the dense thicket
of trees to your left comes a deafening crash. With quick 
reflexes, you manage to turn just in time to dodge the 
large wooden club that a second before would have made 
a fine mess of your beautiful head.  Scrambling to your
feet, you find yourself face to face, or rather, face 
to navel, with an enormous giant.  For a brief moment 
neither of you moves, but then he lifts the club again 
and prepares to smash you into the ground.  

 Once again you manage to barely dodge what could only
described as a tree trunk.  While the giant is trying to
recover from his missed strike, you manage to fumble
your sword loose from its scabbard and begin charging.
The details of the battle that followed seem to mesh 
together, and the next thing you know, you are lying on
your back with several faces staring down at you.  One
of the faces, a soldier whom you recognize, smiles a 
grin filled with several missing teeth. 

 "Whew, m'Lord.  We done thought you were dead, what with
that giant smacking you on the noggin' with that fist
of his."  The soldier turns around and calls out that
your are alright.  Several gasps of relief erupt from
the crowd.

 Rubbing your sore head and grimacing at the swollen 
bump that seems to scream under your invading fingers,
you reply, "Giant?  So he got away?"  

 The soldier smiles back. "Nuh-uh, sire.  We done 
captured him, we did, after you stabbed him in the leg
that is.  We thought you might like to be talkin' with
him so we did'n kill 'im right off."

 Easing yourself to your feet is difficult, and you almost
fear that gravity is going to get the better of you, but
you manage to somehow retain your balance.  With another
grimace of pain, you tell the soldier you must see the
giant immediately.  The soldier nods and leads you to a
spot about fifteen feet away where several more guards 
are standing in a ring around the wounded giant.

  The giant attempts to stand when he sees you coming, 
but a guard jabs the butt of his spear into the giant's
kidney, forcing him back to the ground.  "You stay still,
ya hear?" the guard yells.

  The giant suddenly bursts out crying.  In a voice that
seems to shake the ground, he sobs, "Hogal not want kill
human.  Hogal sorry about head.  Please no kill Hogal."

  In shock, you work your jaw several times, trying to
think of something apropriate to say.  Finally, you 
settle on, "What?"

 The giant sniffs and replies, "Hogal ordered to make 
big men.  Sir Kyle tell Hogal that Hogal die if big men
not made.  Hogal scared of Sir Kyle.  Sir Kyle know 
witch woman.  Witch woman want Hogal dead.  Kyle say
Hogal kill knights who come to town.  Hogal do what Kyle
say."

 Sheathing your sword, you kneel down in sympathy. You 
can certainly sympathize with Hogal's feelings.  Giant 
or not, anyone could be scared of that heathen Mok Choi.
You pat the giant on the shoulder.  "Hogal," you say
softly, "I won't let anyone kill you.  But you must help
me.  I don't want anyone to die if I can help it, but
Kyle and the witch woman are bad people.  What exactly
do you do here?"

  Hogal wipes away a tear and replies, "Hogal make big 
men." He indicates big by spreading his arms far apart.
"Big men go to special place when Hogal done with them.
Big men not finished after Hogal done with them.  Witch
woman come to place where big men kept once a month
and finish big men with magic."

  "Not finished?  So you are the last step in the 
production line?  And Mok Choi comes and finishes them?"

  The giant nods.  "Witch woman take big men back with 
her when she finishes."

  You consider the giant's words.  You decide to ask a
last question.  "Hogal, how many factories are there?  
And how can I kill big men that the witch woman hasn't 
finished yet."  

  Hogal begins counting on his hand.  "Hogal know of five
factories.  Hogal and other giants only allowed at this
one.  Big men die by themselves without factories and
without magic of witch woman.  Usually take a week."

  You almost smile in delight.  "So if I destroy the
factories, big men will die in a week?"  The giant nods
again.  "Excellent!  Hogal, you can stay here.  I am going
to kill Kyle so that you don't have to worry about him
any more."

  The giant grins and you begin to turn away.  "Hogal 
want help you.  Hogal know that place where big men kept
has secret place.  Big tall stone with map.  You follow
map and find treasure.  Hogal hope this help.  Hogal
want kill Kyle."  The giant smiles at you.

 You thank the giant again and tell the guards to let 
the giant go.  The reluctantly loosen his bonds.  What
a wonderful turn of events.  All you have to do is 
destroy all five factories and all of the unfinished 
THUNKs in the area will die.  And of course this treasure
is intriguing.  It might help you against Kyle and his
armies.  In any case, before you return home, this large
production area is going to see a drop in production
efficiency.  Darrence is going out of the THUNK making
business...

END CHAPTER ONE







CHAPTER TWO: The End of Sir Kyle

 With a final surge, your forces manage to break through
the ring of soldiers that surround Sir Kyle and his 
commanding officers.  The circle collapses inward in a
bloody thrust of swords and pikes, and Kyle is quickly 
dragged off of his dark black stallion.  Afraid that he
will be trampled to death by the hoardes of soldiers,
both yours and the enemies, you dismount your own horse
and force your way to where Kyle was perched upon his
mount.  With sword in hand, you and a group of paladins
cut down the last of Kyle's defenders.  Drenched in blood,
you search frantically for the fallen knight, but corpses
lie everywhere, and it is difficult to distinguish one
from the other.

  "Sir Corribus," a voice yells, catching your attention.
You turn towards the voice and see a soldier with an 
arm in a sling waving a sword with his good hand.  "Sir
Corribus, I think I've found him, my Lord."

  You rush over to where the soldier is standing, nearly
tripping over the masses of corpses and broken swords
and armor.  Gasping for breath, you look down to where
the man is pointing.  Half buried under his horse, you 
see a knight in shiny silver armor.  His sword arm is
pinned safely under the carcass of his mount, and his
other arm is a bloody mess.  The knight seems to want
to speak, but all that emerges from his mouth is a 
gargled froth of blood and saliva.  

  This must be Kyle, you decide, and what a fitting way
to meet him.  Every nerve in your body aches to lay your
sword to his neck, but then you'll never know of your
sister.  Grimacing, you kneel down to the fallen warrior
and begin speaking slowly.  "Sir Kyle, you have been 
vanquished.  I know of your plans.  The THUNKs have 
been killed.  Production has been halted.  The factories
have been eliminated.  Show some honor and tell me where
my sister has been taken."

  The knight smiles, showing straight, bloody teeth.  In 
a raspy voice, he manages to sputter, "Ah, Corribus. What
a noble fool thou art.  To think that Darrence and that
witch of his would have not thought ahead.  Why, there
are.." the knight gasps for breath and coughs, sending
blood running down his chin, "tons... of THUNKs already
made.  And they are pro...produced elsewhere.  You'll 
never w-win.."  

  You grab the knight by the edge of his breastplate and
life him up so that his face is no more than two inches
from yours.  Breath that smells like garlic and blood
nearly gags you.  In anger you growl, "Where is my 
sister, knight?  Tell me or I shall leave you here to 
rot in the sun!"

  Sir Kyle chuckles again.  "Oh Corribus... if only thou
knew what a delightful maiden she was.  'Twas a shame I
had to k-kill her.  But rest assured, Corribus, she was
a pleasure to have around until I fed her to my dogs."
Kyle exhales and shudders as his mortal wounds begin
take their toll on his wavering strength.  With a fierce
roar, unwilling to let the man have a peaceful death,
you grab your sword and bring it down on the dying knight
with all of your might.  The sword shatters and Kyle lets
out a final, piercing scream.  The pain-filled shreak 
brings you some pleasure, but unfortunately you still 
do not know if your sister is still alive, much less 
where she could be if she IS alive.

  Standing up, you toss the hilt of your broken sword
on top of the dead knight.  You motion for your officers
to assemble the surviving troops.  Though Kyle is dead,
there is still activity in the area that must be
eliminated.  Fortunately, without the military genius and
draconian laws of Kyle, his army should quickly fall
apart.  And when it does, you shall not tarry long in
the area.  You must find Lord Winscott and see if you can
assemble a force large enough to challenge Councilor 
Darrence, who now controls the armies of Holbark and
probably the entire continent of Corgarian.  

And of course, the Wizardress and her THUNKs still lurk
in the shadows.  Walking back to your horse, you make
a silent promise to yourself to find your beloved sister
if she lives, and avenge her death if she is dead...

END CHAPTER TWO







CHAPTER THREE: In the Councilor's Chambers

  The office was lit by only a single candle, causing
shadows to dance wildly on the distant walls.  Darrence
sits at his desk, previously the desk of the Lord of
Holbark, and taps the blade of his serpentine dagger on
the hard oaken desktop.  Standing to his left is the
Wizardress Mok Choi, wearing a dark black satin rope that
seems to absorb what little light there is in the office.
With the hood pulled up to cover her eyes, she looks more
like a demon from the underworld than a young woman.  
Perhaps she is a demon, Darrence muses.  She certainly
acts like one!

  Her voice is deceptively sweet.  "Darrence, you must be
thinking something.  You have yet to address this issue."

  Of course I'm thinking of something, you evil witch,
Darrence says to himself.  I'm thinking of how I can rid
myself of you and your filthy magic.  Audibly, in a voice
caked with sugar, Darrence replies, "It is a problem, 
surely.  That fool Kyle underestimated Corribus, as I 
warned him not to.  Now our entire plans are jeopardized.  
Our production facility is in ruins.  We are set back by
months at the least.  I swear I shall kill that man with
my own bare hands."

  Mok Choi edges closer.  "You should have killed him 
instead of sentencing him to prison.  You took a risk.."

  Darrence in turn moves away from the Wizardress, even
though she smells remarkably like fresh roses.  "Of course
I took a risk.  I am no fool.  But nobody is executed
without a proper term of atonement.  I do not invite the
wrath of the gods, Wizardress."

 Mok Choi's eyes flash dangerously.  "If there is wrath
to be had, councilor, you would already have invited it."

  Grinding his teeth, Darrence shifts again. "It would
have caused suspicion if I had killed him outright.  
Besides, what's done is done.  We have a problem that
needs rectified.  If he seeks his sister, he will come
here to find her.  He is certainly on his way now. He
has an ally here somewhere, but I know not who it is."

  Mok Choi straightens and begins to glide away from the
candlelight, fading, like some undead apparition, into
the shadows of the room.  "Don't worry about him,
councilor.  You worry about restarting production in our
backup facility.  I know where Corribus is going, and
I'll be waiting for him.  He'll never find his sister,
unless she is already dead, in which case they will be
seeing each other very, very soon."  

 Darrence grunts and snuffs out the candle, causing the
room to pitch into total darkness.  Part of him almost hopes
that Corribus kills that witch in the struggle.  Now that
many of the THUNKs are built, he thinks to himself, 
her usefullness is quickly dwindling.  Sheathing the
dagger in his convenient belt scabbard, Darrence 
leaves the office to walk among the lighted hallways of
Holbark Castle, his castle.  In the dank and cold 
basement, where Darrence eventually ends up, another
man lurks.  The conversation between the two is brief
and the other man nods several times.  Darrence turns
away as if to leave, but the man calls out in little
more than a whisper.  "Lord Darrence, what should I do
if she gives me trouble?"

  Darrence smiles, showing a sinister set of teeth in 
the flickering torch-light.  "Kill her.  Either way,
she has served her purpose."  The man bows, and the 
musty hallway is left in silence...

TO BE CONTINUED  

(See Last Hope, Part IV, Toran Rift, for continuation)

Questions/Comments?  Email me tduncan@haverford.edu.
  













