Dark Quest 1997

The World Comes to an End

 It was 12 o'clock pm, on the Day of Freedom, The 32nd Day of the month
of the Dark Shades, Year 257.  A mage of great power set out on an evil task
to create an object that harnessed power greater than any mortal ever believed
possible.
  The mage needed to collect and build the item within three days and could
not do it alone.  He spent one day devising a solution that could not possibly
fail.  To solve his problems, he set his sights on the small port town of
Bal Harbor.
  Even though Bal Harbor was a small town, it was the home of many of the most
powerful mercenaries still alive.  The mercenaries in that town were known to
do anything for a good prize.  The citizens of Bal Harbor were especially
fond of artifacts which hold strong magical abilities.
  Knowing this, the dark mage created some of the most sought after items in
the world, to lure the mortals into helping him.  The plan worked perfectly.
The mortals were so stunned by the power of the items they were finding, that
they never even thought twice about helping the evil mage.
  The tasks the mage needed to complete were tremendous.  He first needed to
collect eighteen items spread out across the world.  He knew the general
location of each, and passed this information on to the group of mercenaries.
  The combined power of his recruited group of mortals turned out to be just
enough to collect his items.  The death toll on the group was tremendous, but
they had enough magical power to overcome it and succeed.
  Exactly what the dark mage had counted on.

  One thing the dark mage had not counted on was the small statue that stood in
the middle of Bal Harbor.  The citizens of Bal Harbor had long forgotten where
it came from, but always felt a sense of peace while standing near it.  The
fountain always yielded water, even during times of horrible drought.  The
strange fountain was given to them as a gift of peace by a powerful mage.
A mage that wore white robes, and always stood for goodness and peace.
That mage died many years ago, and had been long forgotten by most, but his
power still remained within the granite structure of the fountain.  It was
his last good deed to the world.  The good mage always feared that an evil
mage would some day rebuild the artifact.  The fountain was designed to
prevent the final stages of assembling the evil artifact.  When necessary,
the fountain would transform into a great golem guardian.

  While the dark mage had his group completing his evil deeds, he noticed a
strange magical power begin to emerge from the fountain, and the fountain's
shape was slowly changing.  The dark mage immediately recognized the guardian
and feared for his life.  He knew that the timing would be close.  He feared
that the guardian would emerge before all components were collected, so he
called his forces back to assist him. He equipped each member of the group with
the most powerful weapon in the land, the prized Specularem.  He then sent them
to destroy the only thing that stood between him, and his artifact of mass
destruction.
  Once again, his plan succeeded.  After destroying the last hope of goodness
left in the land, the fate of the world had been sealed.  All that was left
was to retrieve the final two items, and assemble them into the artifact.

  The artifact, henceforth known as the Armageddon Clock, was a magical time
bomb designed to destroy the world.  Immediately upon activation, the evil
released by the clock started killing everything in the world.  It chimed on
the hour, and when it chimed it would yank the soul from a living being in
the world.  The clock chimed twenty-four times, and then exploded with
such a great force that it destroyed almost everything.

  By 12 o'clock pm, on the Day of the Dead, The 36th Day of the month
of the Dark Shades, Year 257, it was all over.