The Ferryman Awaits by John Nevins Fantasy 1985

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About the Story

Firstly, you are Mold, son of Mold, grandson of Mold.

Secondly, if I tell you your former job was infinitely preferable to your present employment and that you were a dung heaper in the prosperous City of Furgle, (The job of dung heaper is not particularly good - no pay, permisson to sleep near the warmth of the dung pits and 5% of all you can salvage from the nearby refuse tips!), you might not be surprised when I tell you that you hold the post of part-time human sacrifice; a job with few prospects.

Thirdly, the year is 3004 in the land of Juh, which is where you are.

Fourthly, you are in the tower of Kluf, surrounded by wasteland and poisoned seas, a haven of evil, populated only by fanatical devil worshippers and savage pirate hoards. The tower is the home of the demon Agrogorggan, brother (well sort of) of Naggrogorga, also a demon. They were originally one creature, Gellnarga. Long, long ago, Gellnarga attacked the land where Kluf now stands. It was ruled then by the elves. As a prophet had predicted that 'Death will never wield his sythe against Gellnarga,', Gellnarga was very sure of himself.

Unfortunately, the elves had been too busy prancing around in the forests to listen to the prophet and so made a magic sword (by capturing a powerful air spirit as it happens, but that's beside the point) to try and kill Gellnarga. Their King rode into battle, the sun gleaming off his golden armour. He hacked Gellnarga in two, but the sword then faded away (as magic swords are wont to do), leaving the two halves, Agrogorggan and Naggrogorga, to rip the poor King limb from limb! They overran the land, butchering the entire population, poisoning the sea and turning the earth into a lifeless waste. When they had finished, Agrogorggan (gready for yet more power) tricked his brother and sent him back to Hell. Naggrogorga was reputedly just a trifle bit miffed at being double-crossed and has ruled there ever since.

Finally, you got into your present predicament after trying to better yourself from your post of dung heaper. You were trying to join The Adventurers' Guild. They seemed quite pleased when you asked about joining. However, to join the Guild you must first go on a quest. They showed you in to their 'meeting hall' to discuss a quest with you. Twenty-two pints of mead later, they finally told you what you had to do to join - kill the demon Agrogorggan!

They had worked out this really great plan of how to do it. They would get you to the tower by selling you as a human sacrifice to the pirates who supplied these to Kluf (they would keep the money for you till you returned). When you got there you would reveal you really weren't a sacrifice, escape, overpower the guards and kill Agrogorggan. It all seemed so logical at the time! Next day you were carried comatose to the docks and sold for a large purse of gold.

After some weeks of sea travel you were dragged screaming from the ship, over desert wastes to a dark temple within the tower of Kluf.

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