10-26-2003, 01:57 AM
I meant for this to be a little change of pace from the more humorous works posted so far, but it kind of took a life of it's own (read: got very long and time consuming). So make yourself comfortable before you read it... hopefully it's somewhat enjoyable and not just hokey!
TRISTRAM GOTHIC
An eerie fog engulfed the path
In darkness and despair.
While distant thunder roared with wrath,
A cold wind froze the air.
It was a gloomy night...
A wand'ring Hero buckled down
And trudged into the haze.
He hoped to go to his home town
And relive simpler days.
But something was not right.
A stale breeze filled the Hero's breath
With horrifying smell:
The gruesome stench of rotting death
And sulfur ash from Hell!
His face turned clammy white.
The Hero made it to town square
Right at the break of dawn.
He found the barkeep Ogden there,
But all his friends were gone.
Some dead. Some fled in fright.
There yet remained a ragtag crew:
Young Wirt the amputee
And Farnham, broken hero who
Gets drunk in misery.
More signs of Tristram's blight.
The healer Pepin, Cain the sage,
The burly blacksmith Gris.
Sweet Gillian, Garda (weak with age),
And Adria the wiz.
The only folks in sight.
They told the Hero a grim tale
About their kidnapped prince.
Their rescue efforts all didst fail.
They had not seen him since.
The Hero heard their plight.
They told about a monstrous beast.
The Butcher was its name.
It hunted prey to fix a feast,
But humans were it's game!
An evil apetite!
They told about their noble King.
A madness plagued his head.
He swore a dying curse to bring
Him back as an undead.
A lich of towering height!
These tales all had a common tie
Beneath the house of prayer.
The Hero chose to help out by
Investigating there.
He vowed to join the fight.
The church gleamed red with blood and fire:
Demonic sacrifice.
The chants and howls of demons dire
Would chill your bones like ice!
A most unholy site.
The Hero leaped into the fray
And slaughtered demon rats.
He hacked and slashed and bashed his way
Through skeletons and bats.
He fought with skill and might.
He found the Butcher's blood and gore:
A beast ten time's his size!
He trapped the fiend behind a door,
Put arrows through it's eyes!
Good thing the door was tight!
The grating sound of creaking bone:
The undead King is here!
He rises from his casket throne
And calls the Hero near.
A funeral invite.
The King looked tough with mithril blade
And massive battle crown.
The Hero swung his mace and made
The bony King fall down.
May his soul find the light!
The Hero's work was not yet done.
The demons grew in force.
Before the war was declared won,
He had to find their source.
He wasn't finished, quite.
In damp, dark catacombs and caves,
The battle grew in scale.
Large acid beasts attacked in waves.
The Hero's skin turned pale.
He feared the mongrels' bite!
He killed them all, went deeper down,
And gave a primal yell.
His smile flipped into a frown.
He'd reached the gates to Hell!
Our Hero was uptight!
The heat of brimstone scalding red
And stench of sulfur fume,
The demon knights brought back from dead
To bring the world it's doom:
The Devil's dream delight!
In Hell there was an altar slab
To which a boy was tied.
A bishop used a kris to stab
The boy until he died.
A warped satanic rite!
"You are too late to save the child!"
The bishop's final line.
It caused the Hero to go wild
And tear apart his spine!
Betrayer slain in spite!
And now before the Hero's eyes
A pentagram appeared:
A sign of where Diablo lies,
The Devil whom all feared!
Or so the prophets write.
Beyond the seal the Hero fought
Diablo's elite guard:
A demon lord in armor wrought
From steel, in brimstone charred.
The hero beat the knight!
All quake in fear! Diablo's near!
The Lord of Terror wakes!
Explosions scorch the atmosphere
With every step he takes!
Satanic dynamite!
The Hero stayed his shaking hand
And prayed to make it through.
He bravely swung his broadsword and
It sliced his foe in two!
Diablo he didst smite!
Diablo's soul in stone of red
The source of all this sin.
The Hero thrust it in his head
To trap the Beast within!
He thought he'd be alright.
The town began to celebrate
Their victory that day.
Their Hero could not concentrate.
He had to slip away!
An isolation flight.
Diablo's master plans complete
As Hero wanders east.
His mind and soul suffer defeat.
He turns into the Beast!
Another gloomy night...
TRISTRAM GOTHIC
An eerie fog engulfed the path
In darkness and despair.
While distant thunder roared with wrath,
A cold wind froze the air.
It was a gloomy night...
A wand'ring Hero buckled down
And trudged into the haze.
He hoped to go to his home town
And relive simpler days.
But something was not right.
A stale breeze filled the Hero's breath
With horrifying smell:
The gruesome stench of rotting death
And sulfur ash from Hell!
His face turned clammy white.
The Hero made it to town square
Right at the break of dawn.
He found the barkeep Ogden there,
But all his friends were gone.
Some dead. Some fled in fright.
There yet remained a ragtag crew:
Young Wirt the amputee
And Farnham, broken hero who
Gets drunk in misery.
More signs of Tristram's blight.
The healer Pepin, Cain the sage,
The burly blacksmith Gris.
Sweet Gillian, Garda (weak with age),
And Adria the wiz.
The only folks in sight.
They told the Hero a grim tale
About their kidnapped prince.
Their rescue efforts all didst fail.
They had not seen him since.
The Hero heard their plight.
They told about a monstrous beast.
The Butcher was its name.
It hunted prey to fix a feast,
But humans were it's game!
An evil apetite!
They told about their noble King.
A madness plagued his head.
He swore a dying curse to bring
Him back as an undead.
A lich of towering height!
These tales all had a common tie
Beneath the house of prayer.
The Hero chose to help out by
Investigating there.
He vowed to join the fight.
The church gleamed red with blood and fire:
Demonic sacrifice.
The chants and howls of demons dire
Would chill your bones like ice!
A most unholy site.
The Hero leaped into the fray
And slaughtered demon rats.
He hacked and slashed and bashed his way
Through skeletons and bats.
He fought with skill and might.
He found the Butcher's blood and gore:
A beast ten time's his size!
He trapped the fiend behind a door,
Put arrows through it's eyes!
Good thing the door was tight!
The grating sound of creaking bone:
The undead King is here!
He rises from his casket throne
And calls the Hero near.
A funeral invite.
The King looked tough with mithril blade
And massive battle crown.
The Hero swung his mace and made
The bony King fall down.
May his soul find the light!
The Hero's work was not yet done.
The demons grew in force.
Before the war was declared won,
He had to find their source.
He wasn't finished, quite.
In damp, dark catacombs and caves,
The battle grew in scale.
Large acid beasts attacked in waves.
The Hero's skin turned pale.
He feared the mongrels' bite!
He killed them all, went deeper down,
And gave a primal yell.
His smile flipped into a frown.
He'd reached the gates to Hell!
Our Hero was uptight!
The heat of brimstone scalding red
And stench of sulfur fume,
The demon knights brought back from dead
To bring the world it's doom:
The Devil's dream delight!
In Hell there was an altar slab
To which a boy was tied.
A bishop used a kris to stab
The boy until he died.
A warped satanic rite!
"You are too late to save the child!"
The bishop's final line.
It caused the Hero to go wild
And tear apart his spine!
Betrayer slain in spite!
And now before the Hero's eyes
A pentagram appeared:
A sign of where Diablo lies,
The Devil whom all feared!
Or so the prophets write.
Beyond the seal the Hero fought
Diablo's elite guard:
A demon lord in armor wrought
From steel, in brimstone charred.
The hero beat the knight!
All quake in fear! Diablo's near!
The Lord of Terror wakes!
Explosions scorch the atmosphere
With every step he takes!
Satanic dynamite!
The Hero stayed his shaking hand
And prayed to make it through.
He bravely swung his broadsword and
It sliced his foe in two!
Diablo he didst smite!
Diablo's soul in stone of red
The source of all this sin.
The Hero thrust it in his head
To trap the Beast within!
He thought he'd be alright.
The town began to celebrate
Their victory that day.
Their Hero could not concentrate.
He had to slip away!
An isolation flight.
Diablo's master plans complete
As Hero wanders east.
His mind and soul suffer defeat.
He turns into the Beast!
Another gloomy night...