“I’m alive.”

These were the words Detlef Sierck cried in amazement as he woke up, looking up at the crashed ruins of Castle Drachenfels that awkwardly hung above him, only barely prevented from coming down on top of him by the strong foundations of the castle’s lower levels. His surroundings were steeped in darkness, only lit by a few gaps in the ruins above that let Morrslieb’s verdant light through though Detlef had no means of reaching them nor would he be able to fit in any of them even if he could. Thus, a terrifying thought entered his mind. He was trapped here, trapped in the dungeons beneath what used to be Castle Drachenfels with no means of escape. However, his thoughts were interrupted as an omnipresent voice bellowed down the hallway, seemingly stemming from wherever Sierck happened to be looking at the time.

“YOU ARE CORRECT MORTAL. YOU ARE ALIVE, FOR NOW AT LEAST. SO, MR. SIERCK, YOU DECIDED TO STAY BEHIND. I COMEND YOU FOR YOUR BRAVERY. FEW OTHERS HAVE EVER MADE IT THIS DEEP INTO MY HOME.”

“Drachenfels? How can you be here too?” Sierck asked.

“YOU THINK BECAUSE THE CASTLE ABOVE SHARED MY NAME THAT I WOULD ONLY BE PRESENT THERE? ALL THE GREY MOUNTAINS ARE MY DOMAIN, BOTH ABOVE AND BELOW THE GROUND. THE MOUNTAINS ARE MY FORESTS, ITS INHABITANTS MY MEAT ON WHICH TO FEAST. BUT YOU HAVE YET TO TELL ME WHY YOU ARE HERE, MORTAL.”

“I have come to save Genevive Diudonne!”

“AS MY HONOURED GUEST, YOU’RE WELCOME TO LOOK OF COURSE. DO NOT TAKE ME FOR AN UNREASONABLE SPIRIT. THEN AGAIN, I DO LIKE TO WATCH YOU SQUIRM SO SHOULD YOU PURSUE THIS COURSE OF ACTION, I SUGGEST YOU EXPECT RESISTANCE ON MY PART. MOREVER I RECOMMEND YOU START RUNNING.”

“Running?”

“YES MR. SIERCK. RUN!”

The voice instructed as a dozen skeletons began raising themselves from their caskets within the walls of the dungeons’ crypts around the playwright . Upon seeing the imminent threat, Detlef struggled to rise onto his feet. He coughed up a load of dirt, his head was numb, his focus strained by concussion, his hands shook in trepidation and the lining of his stomach was shot with anxiety. Nevertheless, Detlef had not come down here just to run away when things proved difficult. The love of his life, the vampire Geneviève Diudonne, was somewhere down here in the Great Enchanter’s possession and so long as she remained detained, nothing would hold him back.

Detlef stood tall and started running through a corridor, scarcely able to see what was ahead of him on account of the lack of lighting but as he heard the rattling of bones pursuing him, he knew he had no choice but to press on.

He ran as fast as he could into the darkness ahead, up winding corridors and twisting passageways yet his skeletal assailants never fell far behind.

“I MUST CONFESS I’M RATHER ENTERTAINED WATCHING YOU STUMBLE AROUND INSIDE ME. YOU WON’T MIND IF I TRY OUT SOME OF MY OLD TORTURE DEVICES WILL YOU? ONE DOES NEED TO KEEP THEIR GEARS WELL OILED AFTER ALL.”

Detlef tried to take no notice of the Enchanter’s taunts as he focused more on the skeletons who were following him. Nonetheless, this changed when he turned a corner only to narrowly avoid having his head chopped off as a bladed pendulum swung down from the ceiling. Detlef clung to the side of the hallway to avoid the blade and proceeded to shimmy against the wall. The skeletons idly ran into the pendulum, causing their form to break apart though they immediately began re-assembling themselves as soon as the blade stopped swinging.

Detlef kept running, kept avoiding traps as spikes rose from the floor or arrows were thrown across hallways by unmanned weapons, all while calling out the name of his beloved. But Geneviève did not answer. Nobody did. Who knew how deep this labyrinth went? She could be miles away for all he knew. Heck, with the way these halls were placed he could be running in circles with the dark of night blinding him to this fact for all he knew.

He kept running, eventually entering a torture room with bird cages containing human bones hanging from the ceiling and all manner of torture devices firmly on display, where the large casket of an iron maiden suddenly swung its doors open and supernaturally hurled itself across the room. Sierck avoided the spike within but was unable to evade the large closet all together as its iron weight tripled him up off his feet. He clambered onto his hands and feet in an effort to stand only to find himself cornered as the skeleton warriors ran into the room and blocked all other exits before drawing nearer to him.

….

….

◘ Sad React: Despite being cornered, Sierck decided to make a run for one of the exits only to be slammed back as he collided with one of the skeletons’ shields.

They grew closer brandishing a mix of swords, spears, maces and halberds as Detlef desperately drew his pistol from his pocket. He raised the gun and fired it point-blank at the nearest skeleton’s head. The pistol fired and the skeleton’s skull blew open, taking over half of its dome off with it. Yet this lack of much amounting to a head did little to deter the skeleton which finally shoved the tip of its spear through Detlef’s chest. The playwright died and his vampire lover would never be saved.

….

….

The skeletons charged at their corned prey while Sierck raised his arms and shut his eyes in return, bracing for his death.

But no spear pierced his chest. No blade sliced through his limbs. No mace shattered his bones. Instead, he heard what sounded like the clanging of metal falling to the ground in front of him. He opened his eyes to see the ethereal spirit of Duke Melmon de Quenelles floating atop a pile of broken skeleton warriors. “You still have a chance to leave now, the Master is weakened since the fall of his home but I cannot protect forever if you continue to place yourself in harm’s way.” the Duke pleaded.

“I’m not going anywhere without Genevieve. I promised to save her.”

“I vowed once to save my daughters from his grasp. I beg you, don’t make me forsake another vow by watching you die too.” the Duke asked again.

“If you want me to survive, help me understand what I am in for. You say you came here for your daughters, perhaps start by telling me why they were here in the first place.” Detlef suggested.

“Many, many lifetimes ago I had two wonderful daughters by the names of Colette and Mirabelle. They were the pride of my life who I doted on whenever possible. One showed talents for singing, the other embroidery but both were subject to many suitors. Eventually, they were partnered with a pair of Imperial noblemen, set to join them in holy matrimony in a union that would strengthen my province’s ties to theirs. Alas, my daughters, my sweet, sweet daughters never made it that far. Their carriage was lured off-track into a detour taking them to these foul mountains, a detour they never returned from. When I heard of their disappearance I personally made a vow to my Lady to slay the Enchanter who stole Colette & Mirabelle and bring them home safely. Now your friends tell me I have spent a thousand years wandering this castle, never once having seen my daughters again in all that time. So, you must see why I warn you of delving deeper into this castle. I have searched everywhere through my search and I know better than any other of the torment this place offers. I failed my daughters once. I cannot fail to save you too.”

“The grief you show for your daughters is the precise reason I cannot turn my back now. Please, you know these tunnels better than anyone. Do you know what took her?” Detlef inquired.

“My master claims it is a daemon he lured away from a theatre in Altdorf long ago. He says it disguises itself as doors, particularly trapdoors, in order to deceive its prey into running into its tentacled embrace. The beast has devoured hundreds of bodies across its time here. If your friend is with it, I fear for her continued existence.” the knight fretted.

“Genevieve is much stronger than she looks. If you can tell me where to find the daemon, I’m confident I will find a way to save her.”

“But what of my master?” Duke Melmon reminded Mr. Sierck “I told you before I cannot protect you from him.”

“Perhaps not… but I think you can do better than that. Your lordship, you once came here to slay Drachenfels. Perhaps it’s time you had another go at that…”

___________________________________________________________________

A few moments later the spirit of Duke Melmon de Quenelles floated through a set of walls into a large enclosed space, the largest dungeon within these catacombs, and called out to his master. “Drachenfels! Hear me Enchanter! The curse you have cast upon this place ends tonight! For the last millennium I have sought my children in vain and idly watched as you took soul after soul but no more!”

“AND YOU WOULD STOP ME!” the voice of the Great Enchanter bellowed as the spectral form of Drachenfels entered that same dungeon, dressed in long robes and concealing his face behind his infamous iron mask. “WAS IT NOT YOU MELMON THAT BROUGHT ALL THIS SUFFERING UPON YOUR HOUSE?”

“It was your hand that stole innocents from the villages and towns of these mountains and cast them your infernal purgatory, sorcerer. Your hand that robbed Colette & Mirabelle’s innocence.”

“IT WAS YOUR HAND THAT SOUGHT TO STRIKE ME AND TAKE MY LIFE, KNIGHT! YOU CAME HERE. YOU ATTACKED ME, YOU SHOWED ME I NEEDED SECURITY. IT WAS YOU WHO CAUSED EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED HERE!”

“You took my daughters!”

“I ONLY LONGED FOR SOME COMPANIONSHIP. I HAD BEEN HERE ALONE FOR SO LONG. I ALWAYS INTENDED TO RETURN THEM TO THE WORLD ONCE I GREW BORED OF THEM. INSTEAD, YOU SHOWED ME THAT IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN MY HOME, I NEEDED AN ARMY TO DEFEND IT!”

“You took innocent people and dispatched their souls into oblivion! But tonight I end this curse. Fight me Drachenfels!” the knight demanded, his sword and shield raised into a defensive stance.

“YOU CANNOT INFLICT LAST DAMAGE ONTO ME, SPIRIT. YOUR POWER IS BUT A FRACTION OF MY OWN.”

“Then I see no reason why you shan’t fight me. I know you are not a true man, but perhaps just this once fight me like one!”

….

◘Laugh React: “PERHAPS A FEW CENTURIES WANDERING THESE HALLS WITHOUT A HEAD WILL TEACH YOU SOME HUMILITY!” Drachenfels roared as an immense, two-handed Lochaber axe materialised in his grip.

The Great Enchanter charged forward, swinging the axe overhead as the knight’s shield braced for impact only for the axe to pass straight through it and hack into his shoulder. Duke Melmon answered in kind, thrusting his sword through the sorcerer’s chest where his heart would lie. Despite the appearance of armour and protection, those things clearly meant little as ghosts were concerned for every hit they landed on each other successfully struck where it was supposed to.

Both ghosts yelled in anguish, clearly feeling discomfort from their wounds yet never suffering the mortal effects such wounds ought to inflict. To the contrary, their wounds repaired themselves moments later bringing both to where they had been at the start of the fight. Still, they pressed on. The Enchanter sliced his axe through the Duke’s knee, the knight slit the sorcerer’s throat with his sword. The enchanter hacked his axe into the knight’s neck, the knight responded by side-stepping and stabbing the sorcerer in the back. At one point Drachenfels even tried severing the knight’s head entirely. Both felt pain, both healed and within a minute or two, both looked identical to their original appearance before initiating the fight.

“WHAT NOW, YOUR LORDSHIP? ARE WE TWO IMMORTALS SET TO SPEND ETERNITY LOCKED IN BATTLE UNTIL THE WORLD’S END FINALLY CLAIMS US BOTH?”

“You’re welcome to surrender whenever you wish.” Melmon jested, angering Drachenfels and prompting him to deliver another attack.

And so the duel between the two ghosts went on for another hour, neither working out how to permanently slay their foe before they reset to their original state. Not even beheading them would work!

“Bang!”

The duelling stopped. Drachenfels turned to realise this had all been a trick for while he was here fighting Duke Melmon, Detlef Sierck had successfully lurked through the castle’s catacombs and slain the daemon that was imprisoning Genevieve – the sound of a gunshot from Sierck’s pistol marking the end of a long struggle with the beast after fighting it with one of the skeleton warriors’ swords beforehand. As Sierck freed Diudonne and the two made their escape Drachenfels sought to pursue them only to be held back as Duke Melmon continued to delay him, stabbing the sorcerer’s spirit in the back over and over again.

“ENOUGH! STOP THIS NOW OR FACE MY WRATH FOR ETERNITY!” Drachenfels demanded.

“No, I don’t think I will. You’ve lost, Enchanter. They are free. You can do whatever you like to me once they are gone, but it will never change the fact we beat you together!”

And so Sierck & Diudonne fled the castle together using an unblocked exit from the catacombs the Bretonnian ghost had shown them. The Great Enchanter would never forgive Duke Melmon for this transgression and would surely subject them to untold horrors for millenia to come but at least for now they had something to be proud of.

….

(◘Like React: The same happens as in laugh react except Detlef and Genevieve failed to find an unblocked tunnel to escape by, leading to them eventually being captured and killed by Drachenfels despite apparently beating him before. Whoops!)

….

….

….

(Prelude to Angry, Wow and Love React)

The Great Enchanter stepped forward, seemingly about to attack the Bretonnian knight only to then step back and begin howling with insatiable laughter.

“DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD BE SO EASILY DISTRACTED, MR. SIERCK?!” Drachenfels yelled, half-angry, half-amused.

Detlef Sierck was suddenly struck by electricity where he had been skulking just outside the trapdoor daemon’s chamber as the possessed High Elven mage Caladris made his presence known by leaving the shadows.

Duke Melmon wasn’t sure what to do. He lunged forward with his sword to strike the sorcerer only for the blade to disappear as it was set to pierce the Enchanter’s robes. Furthermore, rather than fighting the knight as Melmon had expected, Drachenfels merely pointed at him and ordered “BEGONE, SPIRIT”, causing the Duke to vanish just as he had before on the winding staircase in the dining room upstairs. Within an instant Drachenfels vanished from this area and reappeared sitting on an ethereal throne in front of Detlef Sierck, who was reeling in pain on the ground from the mage’s lightning bolt.

“PERHAPS I GAVE YOU TOO MUCH CREDIT, MR. SIERCK. I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED YOU TO REALISE BY NOW THAT SIDING AGAINST ME IS A VERY BAD MISTAKE. STILL, YOU DRAW BREATH YET AND ALL FOR HER? FASCINATING.” Drachenfels remarked, pointing in the direction of Genevieve who was still being tortured by the writhing, tentacled daemon in the next room. “TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF MORTAL. I WISH TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THE WORLD I HAVE MISSED.”

“Just destroy me, Drachenfels. Nothing else is within your power now.” Detlef suggested.

“NO MORTAL. IT IS STILL WITHIN MY POWER TO CHOOSE THE MANNER OF YOUF DESTRUCTION. I CAN, SHOULD I SO WISH, KEEP YOU ALIVE FOR CENTURIES MORE WRACKED BY THE MOST EXCRUCIATING TERRORS. SINCE YOUR INTERFERENCE HAS CONDEMNED ME TO SPEND THE NEXT MILLENIUM REBUILDING MY HOME AND MY ARMIES, YOUR SHRIEKS WOULD MAKE AN AMUSING DIVERSION. THE EXTENT OF YOUR SUFFERING HINGES ON WHAT YOU TELL ME NOW.” Drachenfels threatened.

“I’m a playwright. I was hired by Prince Oswald von Konigwald to record his adventure here and write a story about it.”

“AND WHERE DID THIS PRINCE HIRE YOU?”

“Nuln, Capital city of Wissenland, acting Capital of the Empire while Altdorf remains under construction.”

“NAMES MEAN NOTHING TO AN IMMORTAL LIKE I. THEY ARE LIKE WHISPERS ON A BREEZE PAST FROM MOUTH TO MOUTH WITHOUT ANY SENSE FROM WHENCE THEY WERE FIRST UTTERED. WHAT IS THE LOCATION OF THIS CITY?”

“Past the mountains, around 60 miles on a South-East bearing from there.”

“HMMMM….I KNOW THE CITY. I HAVE PLUCKED WANDERERS FROM IT BEFORE. YOU CLAIM TO WRITE STORIES, MR. SIERCK. ARE YOU PARTICULARLY RENOWNED IN NULN?” Detlef refused to answer the Great Enchanter’s question, prompting Caladris to electrocute him again until he acquiesced.

“Not…Not as much as I would like to be…. but known well enough by those in my profession.” Detlef admitted through pained breaths.

“AND YOU ARE TRUSTED?”

“I… I like to think so.”

“Hmmm… THEN PERHAPS YOU MAY BE OF USE YET. I OFFER YOU AN ALLIANCE MORTAL. SERVE ME AND AN EMPIRE MAY BE YOURS.”

“Serve you, Drachenfels? Your name is abominated in every civilised nation the world over.”

“SERVE ME MORTAL!”

“Never!”

The possessed mage blasted yet another bolt of lightning at the playwright, this time stunning him even longer than before. “YOU BELIEVE YOUR INSIGNIFICANT WILL CAN STAND UP TO MY OWN MORTAL? KNEEL!”

“No!” – Sierck was blasted by another electrical charge, finally forcing him onto his knees.

“SUBMIT YOURSELF BEFORE MY SPLENDOUR, MORTAL! NEXT TO ME YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN AN ANT, A FLEA. WORSHIP ME AS IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT YOU GROVELLING INSECT!”

….

◘Angry React: Detlef removed his pistol from its pocket in a last ditch effort and fired the gun at Drachenfels only for the bullet to pass through him and for the wound to seal itself up.

“A WASTED SHOT. I EXPECTED BETTER FROM YOU. ELF, TAKE THIS DISAPPOINTMENT AWAY AND CONFINE HIM TO MY TORTURE CHAMBERS. I HAVE SO MANY TOOLS IN STORE FOR HIM.”

….

(Final Prelude to Wow & Love React)
Knowing he couldn’t handle many more of these electrical shocks, Detlef withdrew his pistol and raised it in defiance. Only he didn’t aim it at Drachenfels. Instead, he pointed it at Caladris.

“YOU THINK A GUN GIVES YOU POWER? AS IF I WOULD NOT RAISE HIM INTO UNDEATH AS MY PUPPET.”

“Perhaps you would… but I doubt people would be easily lured by a man with a gunshot-wound to his head!” Detlef cried.

“INSOLENT KNAVE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?”

“I’m not playing by your rules anymore, Enchanter! I’m not here as your prisoner, Drachenfels, but your regulator. Strike me or Genevieve once more and I pull the trigger. I blow his brains out and set your schemes back centuries more!”

Drachenfels thought for a moment, finally stumped after claiming the advantage for so long, before responding. “WHAT ARE YOUR TERMS?”

“A life for a life. You call your beast off and let Genevieve go, I drop the gun and let your serf go about his business.”

“VERY WELL. DROP THE WEAPON AND I SHALL SEE SHE IS RELEASED.”

“No. I will stay here and drop the gun only once I am confident that she has escaped these grounds.”

“AND HOW WOULD YOU ESCAPE, MORTAL?”

“I never said anything about my own escape. You can do what you like to me… but let her go and one day I will see her again on the other side.”

….

◘Love React: “WE HAVE TERMS.” Drachenfels concluded as he waved his arm, instructing the tentacled daemon next-door to let the vampire go.

Genevive clambered to her feet and ran over to Detlef, leaping into a hug. But the playwright stood firm, happy to see her yet maintaining his focus on the pistol aiming at the possessed elven mage.

“We need to go.” Genevieve declared, looking over her shoulder at the masked fiend she’d last seen all those centuries ago in Parravon.

“Not us, just you. I have unfinished business here.” Detlef responded.

Genevieve pleaded for Sierck to follow but try as she did, there simply was no alternative. Drachenfels sat on his throne like a coiled snake, stroking the blade’s edge of his ethereal axe with his pointing finger and just waiting for the moment the gun was lowered so he could pounce.

“This is my penance. My payment, mine to finish. I hope I see you again some day. But for now my journey ends here. Please my Love, the Empire still needs you, so I suggest you run.”

“I can’t.”

“Run Genevieve!” Detlef screamed.

The vampire turned and fled, turning into her bat-form so she could quickly travel larger distances and fit through one of the many cracks and holes lining the ceiling of the catacombs. Once Detlef was confident his beloved was gone, he held up his side of the bargain. Detlef Sierck tossed the pistol aside and Drachenfels lunged forward, striking him down with his Lochaber axe.

As the vampire Genevieve made her way to the surface she began to break down into tears. Her lover was dead and in time Drachenfels would recover his strength thanks in-part to his puppet Caladris. It would be up to her to keep the Empire safe moving forward…but could she really do that alone?

….

◘Wow React: Betrayal!

Just as Detlef was threatening Drachenfels’ elven minion he was suddenly stabbed through the back by none other than Duke Melmon d’ Aquitaine.

Despite Detlef’s hope that he and Melmon could beat Drachenfels together, it transpired the Duke had plans of his own. In return for killing Mr. Sierck, Drachenfels had offered the Duke a chance to leave this place and see his daughters again outside. Detlef Sierck died in the dungeons beneath Castle Drachenfels with Genevieve still trapped by the trapdoor daemon.

Meanwhile, Melmon was returned to life and reunited with Colette & Mirabelle outside the castle’s ruins, a joyous affair for them as after a thousand years of waiting they finally saw the light of day together again.

Nevertheless, even this arrangement had a catch. For after a day travelling back to Bretonnia together via the Grey Mountains’ winding roads, they suddenly began to age rapidly as the years they had been gone caught up with them. Within a few hours the knight and his daughters had turned to dust. Their bodies were never identified.