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The Punishment for Hubris, Book 3
MarieC90
What Nemiisae did not realize was that the portal had only been closed to prevent their leaving. The portal within the Verge to this new land was still open to anyone who could discover it. And discovered it was. The Dwarves were first to uncover the portal into the Verge, as the first group to find it mined into the cavern it had been hidden in. Seeing the messages left behind by Nemiisae, they sent one dwarf ahead to try and locate the portal inside the Verge. He returned shortly, proclaiming the glory of the land as he saw reflected in the portal's visage! Mountains topped with snow, caverns lined with diamonds, gold, as far as the eye could see! It was right there, a short walk away! A world of their own, which they could run as they like, without having to share it with anyone! The Dwarves quickly made the decision to venture to the Verge and then to the portal leading to the new land. Greedily, they decided they had to prevent others from discovering this mystical, resource rich land . Using their Dwarven ingenuity, they collapsed the tunnel they had mined , though not before fetching their clans to come with. They quickly manuevered through the Verge, locating the portal to the new land and passing through without hesitation. And again, another group had fallen for the trap. The portal was closed behind them, so there was no place left to go but forward. They ventured into the land, ready to settle it and hoping to thrive. But within the next half of a millenium, they had all perished to the cursed land and it's terrors...creatures or otherwise. All they left behind was skeletons, of their homes and of themselves. :: Above ground, as the tunnel to the cavern shifted and collapsed, a huge crevice formed in the landsc It had not been there the day before and as a group of Human merchants passed the area they began to wonder what had caused such a crevice. One of them suggested it may have been a tomb, full of riches. Eager to investigate, the Humans spent the next month digging down into the ground, following the slant of the crevice and eventually discovering the cavern which housed the portal to the Verge. The Humans too spied the message from Nemiisae had left behind, promising them the land free from Iblees' curse, free for the taking! Their short lifespans would be gone and they could be immortal like their cousins! The marchants quickly climbed back to the surface, cutting down the branches of nearby trees to cover the entrance to the cavern. They all travelled back to their homes, to fetch their families and supplies in order to settle this new land. They came back less than a week later, descending into the Cavern, through the Verge portal, and finally through the portal to the new world. But they too fell into the trap. The Portal was closed behind them and they had no place left to go but forward. They ventured out to settle these new lands with their families. But within the next half of a millanium, the majority of them had perished to the cursed land and it's terrors. They were not made immortal as they had hoped, but rather had even shorter lifespans than usual. They became inbred, sick, ill, and in the end all they left behind were the shadows of their selves, a slow, stupid race incapable of complex thought and cursed by maladies and deformities.