Throwback Post - Arrival in the Grimmlands

Once upon a time, there was nothing - no light, no sound, no worlds or stars.  There was no way to know how many infinities the nothing lasted for because there was no way to gauge the passage of time.  Only the dark goddess Shar existed and She was content.

Then, one day, the universe began – filled with an infinite array of life, light and sounds and the goddess was wroth.  She sought to unmake everything and return to the primordial nothingness that existed before. The other gods and goddesses rose to oppose Her, both directly and through mortal agents.  One band of these agents did battle with Shar's minions in a hidden temple beneath the city of Tsuragol and put everyone of them to the sword.

Shar swore vengeance, not because She cared for Her followers but because the adventurers failed to cower in awed fear before Her.  The goddess, bound by strictures dictating that She could not directly interfere in the realm of mortals, watched and waited. The adventurers continued their travels and one day, during a storm, took shelter in an abandoned temple dedicated to Talos. Shar drove the storm into a frenzy, feeding it with her magic until the temple exploded.  Shar then turned on the minor god Malazzarr, who had come to investigate the divine disturbance, and stripped him of His power and cast him down to share the mortals' fate.

Unbeknownst to Shar, the adventurers survived, hurled through a rift to the world of Hyboria.  With Malazzarr as their ally, they traveled to the far reaches of the land battling the forces of evil.  Malazzarr rose once more to take His place among the gods and the heroes found a gate to another world in a ruined tower on the Isle of Iron Statues.

When they arrived in this strange, new land, they were tasked by Ningauble, Gossiper of the Gods, to restore the flow of magic to his dying world.  After a daunting quest, the band proved victorious and for their efforts, were awarded access to the Tunnels to Everywhere and Everywhen.  They are just now passing through the Tunnels in hopes of finally returning home to confront the dark goddess Herself and put an end to Her plans to annihilate all of Existence.

The party, led by Shadow and Spewer, emerges from the tunnel high up on a mountainside.  The air is crisp and clean, smelling of fresh air and snow.  Birds flit along the tree tops, downhill from the adventurers.  The sky above is slate gray.  Looming clouds bring the promise of snow.  Pine trees stand firm on the face of the mountain, their needles sharp and green against the backdrop of white on the rocky ground below.

The unmistakable scream of a woman echoes up the slope and cries for help can be heard.