It is written in the Book of Tyr:
“After the Creation, the cruel god Moloch rebelled
against the authority of Marduk the Creator.
Moloch stole from Marduk the most powerful of all
the artifacts of the gods, the Amulet of Yendor,
and he hid it in the dark cavities of Gehennom, the
Under World, where he now lurks, and bides his time.”
These words resounded in the mind of the newly trained Stripling, heralded from birth as the instrument of Tyr. Before her lay the long-forgotten stone doorway leading into the Dungeons of Doom. She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, and took the first step.
Well. Tried to, at least. Before her foot reached the floor a brown blur streaked past her, knocking her to the ground. She sprung back up, weapon at the ready, only to be faced with- a dog? Just a puppy, feasting on the fresh corpse of a goblin. The puppy looked up at the valkyrie with wide eyes, its fur matted with blood and its head cocked. The valkyrie smiled. “Vicious,” she murmured as the puppy bounded over to her, eating a tripe ration straight from her hands. And so it was the valkyrie entered the Dungeons of Doom with a new friend - a vicious puppy, by both name and nature.
And so Vicious and the valkyrie wandered the dank corridors. They found a complete set of bronze plate mail, lying discarded on the ground - seemingly unguarded, apart from a strange magical field which caused Vicious to reappear on the other side of the room. They found a pickaxe buried under a pile of gold, a small liquid-filled vial lying beside it. And then they came across a large room, empty aside from a large, ornate descending staircase and a scrap of parchment on the floor next to it.
The valkyrie picked up the paper. She had never properly learned to read, though she had picked up a few words from her wise grandmother. “K-ker.. kernod wel-” was as far as she got, before the paper burst into flames in her fingers, a firey tower engulfing her for all of two seconds before dissipating. Luckily she was unharmed (aside from losing her eyebrows), though her wooden shield was blackened and smouldering in her hands. After composing herself she whistled for Vicious and the two of them set off into the inky blackness that lay down the stairs.
(Well, there it is.. comments, criticism and gushing approval all welcome =D)
