By: Erin “Stellara” Oakley
Hail, Norrathians! Realizing I needed to get a bit stronger, I decided to venture to one of my favorite old hunting grounds: The Overthere.
It’s nighttime when I arrive, and the flat plains spread out under the stars, punctuated by old ruins and crawling with strange beasts like walking cacti, sabertooth tigers, and cockatrices.
The sarnaks look like someone took an iksar and pulled, resulting in stretched out beaky weirdos. (In truth, they’re the product of the magical combination of dragon and iksar, hence their strange appearance.) Still, they’re not so funny looking in numbers: when your merc runs away, it’s probably a bad sign.
You wouldn’t think rhinos would be so stealthy, but they keep sneaking up on me like giant grey ninjas.
After gaining a few levels and some decent coin, I decide I’m up for a challenge. Time to visit Lower Guk! According to legend, Guk was once a troll city (hence the poetic name) that was invaded by frogloks, who managed to drive out the trolls by force of sheer numbers.
However, as all internet denizens know, messing with trolls isn’t always a good idea. A powerful troll shaman cursed the city, calling upon the dark god Innoruuk to punish the frogloks by killing them and re-animating the dead as bloodthirsty zombies.
The surviving frogloks decided that the best course of action was to move up to the higher levels of the city and just try to pretend that their undead brethren weren’t shambling around in the basement, and that’s how things stand today. Curious to see if the rumors are true, I make my way toward the lower levels, admiring the cheerful wall art:
I guess they hired a different decorator halfway through the project:
The walls of Lower Guk literally drip with moisture, which collects in pools and streams throughout the halls.
The tales are true! The zombified frogloks roam like refugees from a biology class, but like most things, they’re flammable enough.
I soon find myself hopelessly lost in the tangle of Lower Guk, my blank map taunting me with its uselessness. I find a dead end: literally, since it’s packed full of skeletons. These guys don’t look like frogloks, but Innoruuk seems like the kind of guy to throw in a few other types of creepy crawlies just for fun. I turn to go, but apparently I turn just a bit too close.
Oops.
Looks like I’ll fit right in now!
Till next time,
Stellara