The Adventure Storyboards In the most recent challenge, Community Members were asked to create an adventure storyboard using 6 screenshots placed in any order.
And the winners are:
First Place: Second Place: - Lonewulfeus
- Aspepex_Agarwaen
Here are the first place stories:
My name is Whirbuzz Written by Community Member Rozzi (aka Trebla of the Seventh Hammer)  | My name is Whirbuzz. I'm a steamwork. Well, I'm not really a steamwork. What I mean is: I wasn't always this way. Meldrath's twisted mind has destroyed more things that you can imagine. This is my story. |
 | Long ago I was a child of Veeshan named Pilder. Sent forth from the temple of Skyshrine in pursuit of information regarding the disappearance of Kerafyrm after he was released by the second generation, I traveled the corners of Norrath. From lush jungle to barren wasteland I searched, finally to come to the Dragonscale Hills. Here I learned that Kerafyrm's guardians, including the former High Priest of Veeshan, Kildrukaun, had created a temple for him to rest and regain his power. Though I was able to see the temple, it remained sealed and I could not enter it. |
 | Not wishing to return to Lord Yelinak a failure, I continued to search the area for clues as to the nature of the temple (which I learned was dubbed Crystallos). I discovered that Erollisi Marr had placed a terrible curse nearby and left the Dragonscale Hills to investigate the Bloodmoon Orcs. Though they appeared harmless at first, I quickly ascertained that these Orcs were not to be trifled with. Angering them caused a hulk-like transformation and my first encounter ended in swift retreat. |
While nursing my wounds in the Loping Plains, a Dwarf Priest by the name of Draffer came upon me. A follower of Erollisi Marr himself, he also was searching for the meaning of the curse behind the Bloodmoon. In exchange for my help invading the Keep, he agreed to help me research Crystallos. Together we stood up to the Bloodmoon and he was able to discover an ancient power known as the Soulbleeder was the true cause. Using a fragment of Erollisi's power he was manipulating all life surrounding the Hills of Shade. Though we managed to slay his mortal form, his power could still be felt and I believe the threat he poses is not over. In his possession, however, were clockwork schematics, including a schematic for a Resonance Barrier from Meldrath, who we dragonkin long believed dead. The Barrier could well be the explanation I sought for Crystallos's inaccessibility. |
 | The Dwarf kept his promise, in so much as he cared to do so. No sooner was he confident again in the Queen of Love than he returned to her temple to worship her. Dwarves will be Dwarves. He did, however, provide me with a contact in the Wayfarer's Brotherhood who he claimed would help me seek out Meldrath. The Brotherhood were more of a troupe of clowns than adventurers though. Once I discovered Meldrath's flying fortress: Mechanotus (the Wayfarer's kept digging, insisting he'd be underground) they allowed a small band of their members to accompany me in case there was danger. |
Let it be known: Meldrath's powers had grown beyond what our greatest sages had ever imagined. And yet, the stupidity of these Wayfarers dwarfed even that. Wishing to enter Mechanotus undetected, I was forced to fly the three of them up one by one. As I arrived with the Dark Elf (who's name is of no consequence), I discovered that the others had slain the first gnome they saw claiming that they had defeated Meldrath. "Now that that's done, we leave you to your business Pilder." And with that, they teleported away and I thankfully never saw them again. |
 | Alone now in Meldrath's flying monstrosity, I quickly discovered he was aiding the powerful Kerafyrm. This was surely all that could be expected of me. But my curiosity got the best of me, and my thirst for knowledge lead me into one of his floating towers that I have since learned is called Zeka. Meldrath became aware of my presence by the aforementioned acts by the Wayfarer's Brotherhood and had instructed his minions to trap me. Allowing me easy access into the steamroom that held Zeka aloft, I suddenly sensed great danger. |
 | TRAPPED! I was carefully maneuvered into an air duct, thanking my luck I was unscathed, but this turned out to be intentional. You may now know that Meldrath does more than build machines, he experiments on life. While many of his creations are mindless automatons, the vast majority were once sentient creatures. He extracts the essences of living things, in a sense, trapping our souls in machines. Though we have free will, it is creatively limited. It's too painful to recount exactly what happened to me, but take this warning. |
If you ever fear you may be trapped by Meldrath or any of us, his creations, death is by far the better option. |
| My name is Whirbuzz. I'm a steamwork. |
The Darkness Cometh Written by Community Member Gnomereaper Ye be asking of the one they call the Reaper eh?
*settles back into his easy chair and sips his dwarven ale*
Hmm..
*strokes his smoky grey beard"
*takes another sip of ale*
Fine, ye be old enough to know the truth o' what happens to ye when yer number's up.
*waves his finger in front of your face*
Ye better get to bed after this last story, I be not listening to crying bout no 'mares and such from ye. She be a fiend, a lady dragon I tell ye.
*jerks his body back into his easy chair almost spilling his ale"
"Fine, fine I'll get to the story... but be warned this is a story of absolute horror… okay okay.. ye see, this death is like worse then Cah'zic Thule 'emself young'n.... my brush with that 'ere death some years ago...
Ah me nostrils can still recall the order of the miles of corpses and that fond aroma of death and rotting flesh we s'owed *hic* in our wake. We route 'em orcs faster than dar Greenmist to 'em scaleh beasts, but ye see lass these orcs were no ordinarah orcs. These beasties have fangs the size uh ..yams, with claws that culd yank a grown durf in half in mili *hic* econd.
Reminds me of zee time of yer Uncle Trumpy tried to..
*You look annoyed*
Fine, fine I'll save it for lattah and more on that she-beasteh.
Then the worst of it 'all, me team be hack 'n slash'n all de way through thar dungeon. We be I guess as 'em uhmans say lass, " we'ze 1337 and pwned 'em *har har*." Then I sees out of the cornah of me eye an ominous lookin lass with a black flowing robe, so I tellz me buds, "Hey, whose that lady with the scyckle? Why is she beckoning.... and why is my grandpappy with 'er?"
*Eyes grow wider and makes a rapid motion with his arms extending towards you, nearly spilling his drink*
Then the scariest thing occuhrs lass, me eyez glaze over with absolute darkness and 'em terrible words came across meh *in a booming voice*..."YOU HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTED."
*You shriek with fear*
*Places his strong, warm hand on your head to calm you and smiles."
Ye see, I tell ye be it a scarah 'un.
Ye see, I never behn "disconnected." I 'eard rumors and en 'uch of the horrors, but never experienced it meself.
*Your eyes widen as he begins to speak in a soft tone and each word is trembling out of your grandfather.*
I tell ye it was a long 'unnel *hic* unnel *hic* tuhnneh EL.. grey and metallic.. I *hic* *takes a sip of his ale,* felt like I was flyin' Not like dat floaty stuff zose castahs be castans lass, real flyinz' up and up and up. I never elt such a feelin in all me life 'umpkin. *Hic* It was luhk the 'and of Brell 'emself was pulln' me up 'n up 'n up to the gloriuhs aftahlife. Then it all stupped..
I just shuhk with intense moshun, and I felt a wurm 'and grab be and haul me sorry flesh up and out onto some mettallic landscahpe. *Hic*
I starred and stared at this aliun wurld lass, it wuz like notting I evah saw 'efore. A garden of twisted, metahliic *hic* shimmering steel flowahs, clang'n oh such a ruckuz of 'eze gnome bot-busy bodies faunin' over eze plahnts lass.
*Your eyes fill with wonder*
Yah lass, it was truhly a sight till I 'aw her. Her eyes glowed like 'em *hic* 'em *hic* emmeralds, her robe cluhng tightlah to her body and swayed in the breeze, and she tapped her fuht and ground her thumb into her scyck *hic* el as it released some black dust into the 'air. She stepped forth, unfolded her cowl from over her face, and just gazed 'at meh like 'yer Granmamma 'eze me drink'un too much. Ah suchah pretty one, but a scarah look 'un 'uhman she was. Meahn one tuh, she asked me wut I was doin in this 'ere place. She just called it "gnume 'eaven."
Eh, I dun't catch much else what else she was sayn'... I was *chuckles to himself* admirin' 'he "scenureh.' But ye know 'em womenz 'o any type on Norr' ahth always yammer too much eh *hic*... especially like yer Gran *hic* mama, lass.
*You nod*
'ell you be doin' dah same wehn ye comeh o' age. *Laughs to himsef* Anyway lass, this girlie was cackling like one o' 'em henz. I just nodded and 'ept admiring 'meh "view" *chuckles to himself*, she finallalah gets irritated at meh like well, ya knuh. *Hic*
*You nod*
Her eyes intensified into glowed a deep, saultry viridian like I 'ez seen in 'em mines beneath uhs lass. So I stopped admiruh 'eh sites finallah asked, "Where I be now, oh great Death?"
She scowled at me and retorted, "Did you even listen to anything I just said to you the last 15 minutes?"
I 'ust went bahk to nodding like I deh with yer Grandmama eh *hic* So I remarked, "I got 'isconnected as they say."
She sighs and whimpers something under her breath, and then *POOF* *he flails his arms at you and your wonderous eyes widen more* as 'shah summonses a clipboard and pen from nuthin! *Sips his mug* The beautiful lass begins, "I don't get it, how could a dwarf be in the wrong place?"
Some flyin' mushine comes rambling un by us, 'an she starts that "luhk" *You contort your face* Yeh, dats the uhn lass... *hic* ye gimme shivers *hic* ye girls must beh born with dat look'in yer eyz lass *chuckles to himself*.
*He reaches his arm out and points abruptly and begins to yell...*
"YOU THERE! STOP YOU INFERNAL CONTRAPTION!" she blurts out as 'is 'ere contraption mianders un by. It just clanks and sputtzhs as it gives meh the once over and suhz tah Death, "Scanners indicate *BEEP BOO BEEP* dwar...f"
She grinds her thumb into her scyckle once again relase 'un small billows of blahk smoke and contorts her purty features into a scowl. Tis 'ere harbinguh 'o souls blurts, "What an astute observation Steamclank_0755832, now why is there a dwarf in this part of the afterlife?!"
Then we immediahtley 'ere sum more clangin' 'round, she had this look of absolute angah I evah saw in such a lass.
*BOOM he yells*
*You jerk back, shaken but not stirred..*
I 'ere some kittah feller say, "Hey Gerrard, guess they don't make 'em like they used to eh?"
She grindz 'at shaft of 'ers agun, and gives a contorted expresshun. Ye could tell she wuz just thr *hic* thr *hic* illed to zee at catman, anuthah 'uhman, and a tere'dahl. Her eyes turned stone cold like em'ralds un she says to the contraptshun, "It was YOUR JOB to make sure these people go to the right afterlife you pathetic machine!" The uhman ranjah steps forth obvious enamouahd by her beauty when she's angrah," Umm miss, where are we?"
She scowled at 'he 'uhman and finally sud *hic*," Enough, I'm just going to send you return to sender.. but first I need a sacrifice.." First tume I saw 'dat lady smile, she grinned like uh she-draguhn let me yah lass. *Hic* *He points sharply at you and begins again*
"Fine, for your incompetitence you stupid machine, I'll just sacrifice you now for the required energy to send these dolts back to life," and winked at me.
She lowered her scickle and out shot a rainbow blast of energee that cunsumed the entire metallick beasteh *hic* Then turhned to us and said in an ominuhs vohce, "I don't know where this spell will land you, but by Nife I'll try to get you back to Norrath."
I *hic" looked at the lass and said, "Thank ye, but wut 'appens to zat beasteh?" She just laughed,gave this ol' dwurf a warm smike, and said, "Well, hopefully Steamclank Mark_0755833 is a tad more adept at placing the dead."
She was a scary one alright, I tell ye but a fair uhn at daht. I asked 'er about why retuhn us to life, and she jus explained that their Customer Service was malfunctionin' in the afterah life and was gunna give us a complimentary ressurectshun. *Chuckes to himsef* At beautiful lass wasn't 'at bad, but she be a scarah one eh?
*You nod*
I gazed at the fair lass one last time, and she said untah us, 'I don't know where this invocation will land you, but Nife's speed where it does. You have our sincerest appologies for the inconvience."
I walked up to dat lass un said, "Before 'weh go lass, this being teh after life un all. Can we 'ave a tour?"
She began to gnarl her face into a contorted, feroshious scowl like yer Grandmama and barked, "No Dante, your not going to be given some grandiose tour!"
"An with a flash 'o light that was as 'right as a un thousund Ro's we appeared in some desuhlate sput. The kitty, ranjah, and I wuz snuck in some far lahnds ye see lass. That place dat she-beastah popped us tah was filled with drakez and draguns and bones.
*You gaze in wonderment*
It tuhk us wit that 'uhman ranjah nearly two dayz to reach Kelethin, to tink if he wusn't 'ere I'd probably be still stuck 'ere with 'at fuhrbahl. *Your grandfather smikes and begins to finish* When I s'aw 'at ol' statue 'o 'he foundah, I nevah saw such a beautiful sight I evah saw, nextah yer Grandmama 'o course. *He winks* Ah, this fine city for an 'ol dorf is like nuthin you evah expect with a near-disconnuct'd experee'ahnce and see 'un that she beastie with the emerald eyes again.
*He hugs you, and you begrudently wander off*
*Out of the corner of your eye, you think you see two emerald eyes staring at you* *You see the emerald eyes come closer and closer to your bedroom door as you try and hide under your covers*
*You hear a cackle*
An eerie, sultry voice fills your ears, "Don't worry little one, he's old but for your sake I'll leave him be for now..."
*The eyes then disappear into the veil of shadows...*
To read other stories that were submitted for this challenge, visit
The Adventure Storyboards thread over on the official EverQuest forums.
