
Journal.Txt - Read THUNK.txt first.

For use with THUNK.MX2

Go to the appropriate journal entry (there are five) 
when prompted by the map.  Reading these is not vital to
the conclusion of the map, but may help.








Journal Entry One - Rescuing Corribus.
(The following assumes that you have brought Catarina
to rescue him, which you probably didn't, but it was 
easier to write the story that way, so bear with me!)

  As you draw near the island, a figure waves from the 
sandy shore.  Yes, you can just see him.  It is 
Corribus, by his height and build, and the shiny red
cape that flaps lazily in the salty breeze.  He seems
elated to see you, and rightly so!
  You dock your ship and board smaller boats to row 
yourselves ashore, not wanting to risk marooning 
the rescue ship as well.  Though you just emerged from
swamplands, the air is very cool, probably because the 
waters are still cold from their winterland origins.  
Even though it was for dire circumstances, you were glad
to volunteer for this excursion.
  Your boat finally glides to a stop a few feet from the
shore and Corribus is there to greet you.  With almost
a leap, he throws himself into your arms.  "Oh Catarina,
I so missed you.  I thought I might never see you again."
He pulls back and smiles.
  "The same for me," you reply, obviously not with the
enthusiasm he expected.  
  "Sister, something irks thee?" he asks.
  Taking a deep breath, you relate the story of the 
messengers which you sent to the Wildes. [If you haven't
gotton that far, you are quicker than I anticipated, so
continue reading after day 35 or so.] "It seems these
are not the 'Wildes' we took them for," you conclude.
"The people of this land are not as primative as I 
thought.  As we were sailing to rescue you, I saw castles
and towns and armies encamped along the coast.  Corribus,
I fear they plan to invade our lands."
  "I know," is all he replies.
  "You know?  How?  And if you know, why so cheerful?"
  "Bred is missing," he says, and continues to describe
his story to you.
  In stunned silence, you bite your lip.  So that's how
Mok Choi plans her attack.  She's going to build hundreds
of those THUNKS and then send them in!  In a panic, you
grab his arm and dig your nails into his flesh. "Brother,
what are we going to do??"  
  He turns his eyes to you, seemingly oblivious to your
stone grip.  "We shall attack."
  "Attack?  Corribus, might I remind you that we just 
finished a war.  We aren't prepared to fight a battle,
let alone another war, especially against a foe as 
powerful as this!"
  Corribus seems to wilt.  "I know, sister, but what 
choice do we have?  THey only have one THUNK now, and 
they still outmatch us.  But we have a chance.  These
people are still primative and we are experience in the
ways of warfare.  Perhaps he can do something... perhaps..
In any case, we must return and organize a force and 
quick.  Time brings death."
  It wasn't a pleasant reunion, and almost immediately
you are back aboard the ship and on your way.









Journal Entry 2 - Recuing a Friend


  A punch in the face sends the prison guard flailing to
the ground.  These primatives must be really overconfident,
you decide, if they allow a welp like that to guard a 
prison, a prison which looks more like a barracks.
  You have your men force the door and are pleased to see
that it indeed holds Bred and your small but elite 
contingent of troops.  You embrace briefly and fill Bred
in on events.  He nods somberly after your story is
concluded.  You ask for his version of events.
  "It was incredible," he begins.  "We emerged from the
portal and were suprised by the signs of civilization 
that we saw.  I must say one thing.  These Wilders have
hid their technologies from us for a long time, and well.
I never suspected that a nation existed here.
  "Anyway," he continues, biting a nail.  "We explored 
a little, but were soonafter ambushed.  I was surprised,
but we recovered quickly.  These are well trained lads,
you see.  I was sure we could fight them off, because
they wielded nothing but spears and leather armor.  Well,
that was until I saw IT."
  "You mean the THUNK?" you interupt.
  "I suppose," he replies.  "Whatever it was, it was big.
And walked like a golem.  It was incredible, and what's
more he absorbed every spell I threw at him, though you
know I don't know many.  His troops, though overmatched
and outnumbered, were impossible to kill.  It was as
if we fought stone statues for all the damage we did.
Let me tell you, this guy was tough."
  You listen to his story with a lurking sense of power-
lessness.  What are you going to do, if this guy is THAT
strong??  With Bred's troops, you might stand a chance,
but it is going to take a hell of a plan...
  "Any idea why she did this?" Bred's voice brings 
you from your reverie.  
  "What?"
  "Mok Choi.. why she attacked us."
  "No idea," you reply.  "Catarina said something about
'addressing past grievances' but I don't know what that
means.  It doesn't really matter though.  The threat 
must be neutralized.  My father always said that War
comes first and questions second.  I never understood
why he said that, but it makes sense now."
  "It's good to see you, friend.  Now, lets go show these
automatons who rules this world, yes?"









Journal Three - Killing a Wizardress

  The castle fell to your troops in a mad last assault at
its massive crenelated walls.  With its outer perimeter
breached, you made quick meat of the remaining garrison.
Some of them surrendered and others fought but were cut
down quickly, leaving a stunned yet proud Mok Choi 
standing forlornly in the middle of the courtyard, her
dead soldiers littering the ashen land about her. 
  Lightning crackles from her fingers, but your mages
tie the magic flows surrounding her body before her
power can strike you down.  You saunter casually and,
dare I say, a bit arrogantly up to her quivering 
paralyzed body.  Though she can't move, her eyes seem to
lift her chin and nose at you anyway.  You can't help
but smile at the powerless creature who lies at your
mercy.
  "Well well.  Look what we have here," you chide.  A
wizardress without her wizardry.  You gaze at her evil
eyes and shudder to think that this is the woman who 
would have killed every citizen of your country for 
her own gain.  It takes all of your restraint not to
strangle her on the spot.  But you can't.  You need 
answers.  You turn around to consider what questions
to ask.
  A hissing voice speaks up, "Fool, what do you..."
  You spin around to the woman and slam the back of your
gauntleted fist into the side of her head, knocking her
off her feet.  "I ask the questions," you scream at her.
Her moans bring a tinge of satisfaction to your ears. 
Your troops, standing in a circle around you and Mok Choi,
don't make a move to interfere.
  Bending down, you grab her by the arm and yank her to 
her feet.  "Stand, you beast." you command.  She struggles
to her feet as you eye your handy work.  She definitely
has a broken jaw, you decide.  "Now," you begin, circling
her, trying to decide what to ask.  "I want to know how
one goes about killing one of those Monsters of yours.
Those THUNKS.  Which are outlawed, mind you."
  "You'll never kill it," she sneers, but it comes out
as a distorted gargle, because of her broken jaw."
  You laugh, forcing her to scowl.  "And how do you know
I haven't captured it already and am just curious how to
kill it?"
  She forces a smile.  "You cannot kill it, not without
special means.  You can only capture it..."
  "Enough," you interrupt.  "What I really want to know
is why you attacked us.  WHY?"
  She stands proud.  "To address grievances for acts done
against us many years ago."
  "And what grievances would those be?"
  She begins to shrug, but her features contort into a
horrible mask of pain.  With a scream, she collapses to
the ground in a heap.  You bend down and find an arrow
protruding from her lower back.  
  You shout orders to your men to find whoever was 
responsible.  The clap of feet echoes as soldier scurry
to begin a search, but after several hours nothing 
turns up.  Maybe you will never know why you were 
attacked.  But you have a bigger problem on your hands.
What to do with a THUNK that cannot die.  If he is 
captured, big deal.  He may just break free again...







Journal 4 - A thunk on the head of a THUNK

 Through tactical brilliance, you emerge from the battle 
with the enormous automaton victorious.  You must admit
one thing, however: the THUNK was a magnificent sight.
He must have killed sixty of your men by himself - with
his bare hands along!
 After seeing to the distribution of prisoners, you make
your way down to where the THUNK is being held by a 
group of your strongest mages (you were able to pry the
crystal ball from his forhead, thus dissipating his 
immunity to magic).  In the middle of a large circle of
robed men stands what must be a ten foot tall man.  A
giant two handed sword, definitely as long as you are 
tall, rests beside him on the ground.  It glows a dull
orange, matching the aura that shimmers around his 
forest green cloak.
  One of the mages looks up as you approach the circle.
"Sire, I think we have him... pacified."
  You nod grimly at the mage and begin to turn away. 
"Kill it."
  The mage grips your arm, jerking you to a halt.  "We've
tried, sire.  Nothing seems to have any effect on him.
Our spells still will not destroy him, and our swords
might as well be cutting iron instead of flesh.  I'm
afraid that all we can do is hold him still."
  Hold him still?  A ten foot tall killing machine is
just captured and these foolish mages are content to
hold him still?  "There must be a way to kill him," you
announce.  "We will search for it.  In the meantime, 
make sure he doesn't so much as cough or sneeze.  This
continent still poses a threat to us, even without this
.. creature.. and I must meet the threat head on. 
  "What is your name, mage?" you ask, suddenly.
  "My name is Tyler, sire.  Tyler Borlin."
  "Well, Tyler.  This hunk of junk is now your charge.
If he escapes, you might as well run away, too.  The
lives of thousands depend on your dilligence, and I'll 
not tolerate failure in it.
  The mage bows his head. "Of course, my liege."
  With a last look at the towering creature, you begin
walking back up the grassy hill, wondering what you will
do next.  The biggest threat has been eliminated, but 
there are still others.  This continent is huge, and the
loss of one army is not the loss of a war.

PLAYER NOTE: because I could not remove heroes from being
recirculated, the two heroes who are 'incapacitated' in 
the story may reappear (and probably will).  I cannot 
help this, but they should be much less powerful the 
second time around, so just pretend that the original 
heroes are  dead and that you fight new ones. :)








Journal Five -  A foggy and uncertain ending.

 It was a long, difficult struggle, but it seems that 
you've emerged victorious.  But your victory has brought
with it many troubling questions.  Why were you attacked?
What are you going to do with the THUNK?  How did the
wizards of old destroy them?  Until you can answer these
questions, the THUNK has been imprisoned and is being
guarded by a hoard of your best court mages.
 As for you and Catarina, well, you finished your river
vacation and then began heading home to Holbark.  You 
must admit that seeing the stately spires and dull
gray massive walls of your home will be a relief after 
all these months of combat.  The cruise was nice, however,
especially this time of year, especially with Bred there
to entertain everyone with his newly invented THUNK
impressions (he does a great robot).
 Finally, you arrive at your native shores and almost
cry with happiness.  Has it been so long?  The captain
of the guards is standing at attention on the long, 
wooden pier as you disembark from the ship.  He has a
downcast expression on his face, and he is sweating 
profusely.  "Tom!" you yell to him.  He looks up 
nervously.  As you close, you give him a big bear hug.
He frowns and bites his lip.  Something is wrong.  "Tom,
what's the matter?  Aren't you glad to see us?"
 "Very glad, m'Lord. But.. there's a problem," he 
whispers. 
 You laugh, trying to cheer him up. "What could possibly
be a problem?"
 Tom doesn't warm to your cheerfulness.  "I'm not to 
speak of it sire.  Someone is.. waiting.. for you in
your administration chambers."
 You are caught of guard, but quickly regain control.
Who could it be?  You and Catarina make your way up to
Castle Hobark, not amidst the celebration you expected,
but amidst a large city of shut doors and hushed voices.
As you walk under the massive portcullis of the keep 
major, you can't help but notice that you recognize
none of the faces of the guards.  And they are wearing
royal green uniforms, the color of the Grand Council.
 In your administrative chambers, you are surprised to 
see a man lounging in your chair, a foot propped up on
your gilded desk.  "Grand Councilor Darrence?  What are
you doing here?  Get out of my chair."  Your storm up
to the desk, prepared to throw the man out of the 
colorful window in the back of the room if you must.
 The man, dressed in a very fine green coat, slowly stands
and circles around to you.  "Its about high time you 
returned, Corribus.  I-"
 "Lord Corribus," you interrupt.
 "Yes.. well.. no longer."
 "What?!" In a fit of anger, you draw your sword.  "By
what right -"
 Darrence holds up a finger.  "Lower your weapon.  You 
are under arrest by order of the Grand Council under
article 87, ammendment 2."
 The energy drains from you.  "What is that?" you ask, 
lowering your sword, but not sheathing it.
 "Conspiracy to create a THUNK."  You gasp.  Darrence
smiles sinisterly.  Bred draws his sword.  Catarina
faints.  And all eyes turn as Mok Choi emerges from a 
shadow in the corner of the room...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Questions/Comments?  Email me, Tduncan@haverford.edu
Play Part III, Adjudication for continuation.
