By Cameron “Griffin” Huneke
This all started one Thursday evening when a bunch of us were at the militia barracks for practice. Captain Orion gave us the usual shpiel about “The barracks always has 3 doors. If that changes, something is wrong,” then left the room to take care of something. The moment he left, a door began glowing with a blue outline, and being the curious sort, we all decided it was a great idea to go through and check it out. The door took us to a place known as the Fortress of Doors, a place filled with doors leading to all sorts of dimensions – many of which are dangerous.
Inside the Fortress of Doors we met Olivia Bishop, the leader of a group of scientists researching the Fortress of Doors. We also met several of her fellow researchers and the rangers that protect them during our missions in the Fortress. We learned, both through Olivia and first-hand experience, that there were threats that had made their way into the Fortress – the primary threat being the Red, some kind of interdimensional corrupting force that was corrupting anything it could find.
Bishop asked us to help cleanse things that had been corrupted by Red, specifically Waypoints and Objects of Power, or OOPs. Waypoints are Places of Power in the Fortress, which are found and kept safe by the rangers for the researchers to work in. OOPs are objects that have taken on special properties and can have all sorts of powers. However, because of this power, the Red seems to be targeting these things and has corrupted many Waypoints and some OOPs.
Waypoints and OOPs aren’t the only thing the Red can corrupt however, as we found out that many of the creatures of the Red that fought us used to be the rangers that had fought the Red before us.
Another threat we encountered was massive mold colonies. These come in several colors themselves, and the behavior of each mold type is tied to its color. The mold was also a big threat to the Fortress, spreading through the air and infecting people, causing them to want to eat the mold, but with the help of a researcher we developed a “vaccine” that protected us from the mold spores in the air, allowing us to fight back more effectively against the mold without risk of infection.
It's been a few years since the last time any of us were able to enter the Fortress of Doors, and with rumors spreading about red light appearing under doors instead of the signature blue light, I’m worried about the state of the Fortress and the level of corruption from the Red… and infection from the mold, too. And finally, some of us planning on going to the Fortress on Monday received dreams from the Board – some… thing that seems to oversee the Fortress. (or is at least interested in keeping it from being overrun). We received notice of powers from these dreams, and given how much strength they seem to be granting us, I’m gearing up for a hell of a fight. Spatial anomalies, time disruptions, PTSD-inducing conga music, Red-corrupted creatures, Mold monsters, or reality-bending corrupted OOPs, whatever it is, I can only hope we’re prepared enough.
- Squire Griffin Hurana
P.S. if you’re planning on coming, Ryu and I have developed a chant that hopefully should allow us to repel the corrupting effects of the Red. The more people that chant it simultaneously, the more effective it should be, so try to memorize or write this down:
Too late
Too soon
Not soon enough
Chaos compounds and is order again
I drink infinity through a straw
We unbecome the song
Your reason doesn’t rhyme with mine
The answer to fire is more fire
Repeat the word
The name of the sound
It resonates in your house