Might and Magic (Ch. 12)

Ongoing blog of Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum

Chapter 12: The Truth is Out There


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We started out excursion at the city of Dusk, because we could set out from there with full provisions and a comfortable supply of cactus nectar.

We would need it. The deathly heat of the eastern desert was brutal and unforgiving. For every hour we crossed another dune, we used a supply of food and water equivalent to a full day's journey anywhere else.

Each turn in the desert does indeed use a unit of food for each character. And when you run out, a different character dies from the heat each turn thereafter.

We explored first that decrepit ruin we had seen before but not explored, Castle Dragadune. Ravaged by time and elements. The walls had crumbled away almost to dust, but the underground passages still stood clear from the vantage of the windswept entrance.

In one of the passages we saw an inscription carved in the rock with a steady hand. "28 days out. No food. Low on supplies. We fear the worst yet we continue." -- signed with a careful script was the name Corak.

We were filled with an intrepid excitement. The great sage was -here-. And we were following in his footsteps. But was he seeking a passage deeper into Dragadune, or a way out? We knew he must have returned to safety eventually. Or else his tale never would have been told.

Deathly things lurked in the corners of Dragadune. Hooded fixures with stained axes rushed at us and sought to add us to the specter of death that hung over everything. In the fast pace of combat, we were never quite sure if monsters like these were flesh and blood, or merely apparitions from beyond the grave.

In the deepest levels of Dragadune, we found treasure, but little else of note. Another message from Corak was etched in one corner--informing us that the Clerics of the South were just below.


The Clerics of the South are the only important thing in Dragadune. They're involved in 'recharging' the spots around the game where you can raise your vital stats like Might and Endurance and others permanently.

The embalmed remains of ancient soldiers, buried with their full arms and armor stalked the lowest levels. Even Faulkner's prayer of Undead Turning had only the slightest affect on them, and we decided to depart the castle forthwith, lest we linger and depart our mortal coil.

We continued our excursion south across the eastern edge of Varn. In the distance we eventually stumbled upon a ring of sturdier stone hills that seemed out of place in the sandy wasteland. It seemed as though something lied within, beyond our scalable reach. Alicia attemped to teleport us over the mountain range, but a strange force prevented the spell from taking hold. Some artifact of great power must lie within, for it to interfere with the flow of Varn's magic. Alicia used a more powerful spell to etherealize us into this lost valley.

Inside was a place of wild trees and fauna the likes of which we had never seen before and have not seen since. Enormous lizards the size of dozens of orcs prowled the woods in search of prey. They noticed us instantly and were all around us. Even just one of these giants would have been a threat tantamount to a score of dragons. To be pursued on all sides by them was a danger that can not be understated. Had it not been for Alicia's spell of Time Distortion, we surely would have perished.

In the center of this verdant sanctuary we found an artifact of tremendous power. An altar housing a simple bronze hourglass---etched into the side of the pillar was writing that we recognized from the careful script as Corak's. It said simply, "The land that time forgot".

We could not take the hourglass. An unknown force tethered it to its pillar. So, because we had sworn to leave no stone unturned in our search for the Sanctum, we turned it--not knowing what effect it may have.

Our long journey through Varn and harsh training under the Guildmaster had left us beaten and weathered with the ravages of time. What we found after turning the glass was that some of the harshest of these punishments had been undone. The lines in our faces had vanished. Old scars had healed and vanished entirely. We didn't ache quite so badly as we did before. We had been rejuvenated with no ill effects. Suddenly, we were all in the prime of our lives again and ready to seek out the Sanctum once more with renewed vigor!

Each time you get into the Land that Time Forgot and turn the hourglass, you shave 20 years off your character's age, down to 18 minimum! That's one quick and nice way to undo unnatural aging attacks.

 So with newfound energy, we resumed our trek south. After a long journey, the sun left us beaten and spent. Our supplies were starting to run low, and the cactus nectar had run out.

Before we decided to turn back though, Betty June suddenly insisted she saw something on the horizon. A kind of dwelling she could not adequetely describe. We thought her mad from heat, perhaps--catching sight of mirages. And yet, at the peak of the next dune, with the vantage point slightly higher, we could see what she saw. A glint of light reflected off the high sun, indicating a kind of large metal object. We had never seen anything like it.

The air was warped and corrupted as we got closer to the thing. Occasionally we would find ourselves teleported randomly to another spot in the desert if we wandered into such unstable areas. The large metal object appeared to be a building of some sort. A kind of craft perhaps, for although there were no wheels or sails like a caravan or ship, there was no permanent foundation to it. Only a large body glowing with a kind of dim magic. It looked to have been damaged, for large pieces of it crumbled and were strewn about the nearby sands. Is this what Lord Kilburn wanted us to see?

As we approached the open mouth of the craft, a small demihuman wrapped in a kind of metal skin exited the thing and approached us. But it made so sounds that I recognized as kobold or goblin or gremlin. Only a series of short tonal noises that made no sense to any of us.

Being hostile here puts you into combat with a group of Aliens. They have high HP but only a moderate melee attack, but they do have a high chance of casting a Disintegration spell at you each turn. Winning the battle sometimes nets you a Laser Blaster as a dropped item, a nifty little widget that increases your Accuracy stat when equipped and casts Disintegration when (U)sed in battle.

Such strange and alien figures and crafts were beyond our comprehension. We even wondered if perhaps-- that -this- was the Inner Sanctum we were seeking. And this small demihuman a part of its guard.

After a pregnant pause when it was apparent that the small stranger had no hostile intention, we similarly stood down our weapons and approached peaceably. Once we were up close, the small one watched each of us in turn intently, still emitting it's short noises. It then fell silent and moved slowly back to the mouth of the building before turning and this time addressing us in the common tongue...

"Varnlings take heed! Our prisoner has escaped and may be disguised as a noble. Find his counterpart to expose him!"

We could scarce believe the words just imparted to us. But before we could ask for anything more, the small man had disappeared back into the craft, and the entrance closed itself from us. We needed to return to Sorpigal. We were stunned and exhausted and out of supplies.



Only after a night's rest, our thirst quenched, and our bellies full once more could we bring ourselves to regroup and discuss what we had just learned.

Long ago, it is said that Corak came to Varn as a herald of the Ancients. The legends describe him coming from the stars and then leaving through the Gates to Another World at the edge of Varn, returning back to the stars to worlds unknown for which he earned his nominym 'The Mysterious'. If indeed---that craft we were all resolutely sure we truly saw in the sands was something that arrived from the Ancients, could it be that Corak was the prisoner who had escaped?

No...as quickly as the idea had come we had dismissed it. Corak was never depicted in any legend as being furtive or hiding himself away. He walked openly among Varn, travelling it from one sector to the next, mapping and charting out every last corner.

In fact, it was through this mental image we shared of him travelling through Varn so intently that the connection was made, first by Sam and then with all of us agreeing.

Corak wasn't exploring the entirety of Varn just for it's own sake. He was looking for something. Corak wasn't the prisoner of the Ancients...he was the warden....a jailer seeking his lost charge...

And then, either deliberately or through misdirection, he left Varn and his craft in the sands behind, to seek his prisoner in other worlds. And never returned.

Which meant, if the demihuman is to be believed--Corak's prisoner was still HERE. On Varn. Disguised as a noble...

Sam immediately became suspicious of Lord Hacker, speaking about how the eccentric mage had brewed his foul potion without ever disclosing its effects. But Alicia dismissed this notion--pointing out that all mages in Varn have a tendency to become eccentric and slightly mad if they drink too deeply of sorcerous power. We had seen as such in Okrim, among other crazed wizards.

She suggested instead Lord Ironfist, who was known to be cruel and hostile to friend and foe alike. But Faulkner dismissed this notion. He reminded us that the prisoner said we could only expose the prisoner by finding the counterpart...that whoever the imposter was, the real noble must still be -alive- somewhere. And Lord Ironfist would had died first before allowing himself to become anyone's prisoner.

A thought was brewing in my head, and my companions sensed it and waited for me to speak. I think everyone's thoughts were on accusing Lord Inspectron, because my suggestion instead was met with a mix of curiosity and fear.

"King Alamar...."

Sam, who carried an extremely lawful nature was dismayed by the very suggestion. Alamar was our now-and-eternal king, he insisted. To suggest that someone as powerful and untouchable as he could be usurped was unthinkable. Preposterous. I was talking about someone, after all, who is so regaled as powerful and wise that it was widely believed he had -found- the Inner Sanctum already.

And what, then, about the way his behavior had changed since then? King Alamar--who ruled Varn with a just and true hand...King Alamar, who punished the wicked and led five cities to prosperity...suddenly, it is said, he 'found' the Inner Sanctum and suddenly became a changed man. Withdrawn, shut away, allegedly ravaging Dragadune and Dusk--an attempt perhaps to destroy Lord Kilburn who knew or suspected the truth? Letting the overworld sectors crumble to ruin and letting monsters and demons run wild. King Alamar, who suddenly disappeared from everyday life and let the cities move underground for safety while he only taxed, and taxed, and taxed yet more.

Does that sound like the same Alamar to you? Is what I asked. Or does it sound like the real Alamar suddenly disappeared and.. -something- more sinister took his place?

To cement my accusation, I pointed to his 'quest'. All the other lords gave us tasks that suited their own ends. Lord Hacker for brewing his potion. Lord Inspectron for charting the surrounding land. Lord Ironfist for his own glory. Among all the nobles, only Alamar's motives were deliberately occult. The Crypt of Carmenca. A fool's errand. Meant not to serve anyone's interest but only busy us away from finding the truth and ensuring we never returned to see him again.

My explanation was too damning to resist and slowly, even Sam nodded his approval. And we were all in agreement.

We had no idea if it would bring us closer to the Inner Sanctum at all, or even at this point if it truly existed, but we decided that this 'False Alamar' had to be exposed. We would take up Corak's quest, and succeed where he had failed. We would find the real Alamar, wherever he was, and put him back on the throne where he belonged.

But first, in preparation for this task, we visited the Guildmaster once more. One last time, to make sure we were as ready as we could ever be for the task that lie ahead.