Legend of Grimrock: Destiny’s Chance. (Part 4)

I am not most.

I typically hate being right.

This is because I have a very sarcastic sense of the world around me. I typically believe if things can go wrong, that merely means they will go wrong – usually sooner rather than later.

My voice was nearly raw from shouting. “By Tyrell’s Blade! Back! Go back! There’s a giant slug in this room! Back!”

Even as we slowly made our way backwards, swinging our torches back and forth in front of the giant creatures, I heard Silvertan’s lisping voice behind me, “That’s actually a giant snail. Snails carry coiled shells on their backs, while slugs do not.”

I turned towards Silvertan, my eyes burning holes through him (though not literally, despite every bone in my body wishing I could). “Really? Now is the time to give me a run down between snails and slugs? This couldn’t wait until, you know, never?”

Taren quickly pulled the rusty gate down, as we backed out of the room, leaving the slithering giant snails to circle within the room, the disgusting sound of the mucus being spread on the floor as they slithered about.

I wiped the sweat from my brow, and went down to my knees. “By the Satarien Mages, how did those things get to be so big?”

Blaz’tik was leaning near the downed, rusted iron gate. “Just as you –tic!- said.” He turned his insectoid head towards the rest of us. “Magic. I can feel it –tic!- coursing through them.”

“Someone did that to those things?” I asked, shaking my head. “Who would want giant slugs –“ I saw Silvertan about to correct me again, “Or giant snails – whatever they are – leaving their mucus all over the inside of Mount Grimrock?”

“Was not –tic!- that someone changed them –tic!-,” Blaz’tik explained. “It’s that –tic!- Mount Grimrock has –tic!- changed them. It would seem the –tic!- magic that flows through –tic!- Mount Grimrock has changed the very –tic!- food that these snails feed upon.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, not entirely understanding. I have never liked magic. Never trusted it. Where did it come from? How did it work? I’d much rather have a blade in my hand. I can see it. I can control it. I can touch it. I know what it does. It does what I want it to, when I want it to. Magic seemed too… chaotic.

“The –tic!- moss,” Blaz’tik continued to explain. “It grows within –tic!- Grimrock. The entire mountain is –tic!- flowing with magic. Since the moss grows from Grimrock’s stone –tic!- it has been altered, down to its genetic level –tic!- so that the snails that feed upon it –tic!- are also being changed. Many –tic!- generations, these were probably –tic!- ordinary snails. Over time, as the fed upon the –tic!- moss within Grimrock, each generation grew more –tic!- powerful, more ‘tainted’ if you will –tic!- by the magic coursing through Mount Grimrock.”

“That,” I said, throwing my arms in the air, “is absolutely wonderful. Let me guess, if there’s rats in here, they may have fed on the snails, and over generations, we might be running into giant rats down here?”

“Honestly, -tic!-,” Blaz’tik answered, “it would not surprise me if that is exactly the case.”

“You’re a very comforting individual, did you know that?” I sighed.

“A good thing –tic!- that you said you were not worried earlier, yes?”

I don’t know if I was just imagining things, but I could swear the insectoid smiled at me.

As impossible as that sounded.