I had originally intended to post the story solely to my tumblr, but I've decided it'd be cool and probably much easier for other people who are interested in RUNE to see it on the community page on itch so they too can follow along with Shade's journey if they want. So without much ado, here's the first chapter of "Shade Corvo's Quest".
Chapter 1 - Resurrection.
In which Shade Corvo dies, is resurrected, and gets her ass kicked.
The first thing she remembered upon awakening was a burning sensation on her breast, right at her heart. She tore her shirt open and saw a Rune was engraved there. She knew this Rune. It was her personal good luck charm - the Fate’s Hunter Rune. She wore a bone amulet with an identical Rune carved into it. She took that amulet out now to examine it and gave a wry grin. So, she had become an Engraved. She carved the Rune into the ground at her feet, and buckled her longsword on her hip and retrieved her sling. That meant she could get her revenge of the Crimson Duke. But she took a moment to contemplate where she would go. Her men were gone probably. If they had survived the Crimson Duke, then they were probably scattered to the four winds across the Grim Coast. Nothing to be done for that. She considered her options about her next move. There was a coastal village to the west she could go to. It was probably abandoned, but maybe she could find something to loot there. Alternatively, she could go to the forest that loomed eeriely to the north. Eventually, she decided to take her chances and head to the village.
Shade arrived at the remains of the Village of Tiresh. It was, as expected clearly abandoned, though she noticed that there were some fresh tracks indicating that there were some recent visitors of the humanoid kind. The place was as quiet as a grave. She decided to SEARCH the town’s ruins. And discovered a Healing Vial. She tucked it away in her belt pouch. It may come in handy later. Then she took a moment to examine the home she found herself in. She did not find any corpses, and found many valuables still in place waiting for their owner’s return. Not finding the corpses was not unusual, as there was a necromancer prowling about murdering people for their bodies. Bodies just laying about were probably just free game for the bastard. But, she did LEARN something. The dust here had recently been disturbed by somebody dragging something heavy – possibly a body – to a cellar door. Shade tried the cellar door and found it was locked. She’d need to find the key, since she didn’t have the tools or skills to pick it herself.
She considered her options from here. While she would love to loot the houses of all their silverware and jewelry, she doubted she’d find a buyer anywhere here on the Grim Coast. And she wasn’t certain she could leave the Coast yet herself. She would have to leave it. She did take what unrotten food she found though, as she wasn’t sure if she still needed to eat or not. Shade didn’t want to find out if she would starve to death the hard way. She could go back to the safety of her Sigil to the south west. It would be wise, with night falling soon. Or she could forge ahead to that ominous forest to the east. She wasn’t certain what she’d find there in the night though. She could also make her way to a solitary structure to the north and seek shelter there. Maybe she’d find something interesting there as well. There was also the Keep to consider; it was not too far away on a hill. She could challenge the Rune Lord now and put an end to the Ruined King. It would be a mercy. She didn’t think she was prepared for that, however and so that left one of the other three options. Eventually, she decided to go to the building on the east coast. Night fell as she made her way to the structure.
In the fading light of dusk, Shade recognized the solitary structure on the craggy coast. It was a boat house, lit by a single candle in the window. A howl of the wolf reminded her of why she came here and she hurried on inside. She DELVED within the Boat House, hoping to find the boat intact. What she was greeted with instead was a spectral boatman chained to the boat. They leaned on an oar and beckoned her to come closer. Shade could see they were a figure shrouded in long, pale cloak and they looked at her with eyes that reminded her of brightly burning blue flames.
“I can take thee to the island to the north of here,” they whispered. Their voice was like cracking ice and as ethereal as smoke. “However, I can only do so by the light of the stars. If thou wouldst wish to travel betwixt here and there, it will have to be at night.”
Shade contemplates the boatman’s words for a moment and then nods. “I’ll think about it. Do you require payment for this service?”
“Thou art Engraved,” came that voice, hissing and cracking. “What payment I could take from thee, it is not thine to give anymore.” They reached a gloved hand and gently poked Shade’s chest, where the Rune was burnt on her chest. “Instead, I ask of thee a boon. Swear that thou shalt slay the Ruined King and claim his Rune.”
Shade nodded. “I, Shade Corvo, swear it will be done,” she said. There was nothing in the oath saying she had to do it immediately, just that she would have to kill him and claim his rune eventually.
“The pact is sealed then,” the spectral figure said. “If thou wisht to travel now, we may. Or thou can stay here a little longer.” Shade considered her options.
She could return to Tiresh to the south, that eeriely stillness could be inviting, or she could travel to the Keep. She could also take a ride on the boat and investigate that ominious fire across the channel. Her restless feet eventually made the decision for her, and she climbed into the boat to investigate the fire across the channel. The boatman looked to the stars as she stepped in and he nodded before paddling across the dead still channel.
As Shade and the boatman drew closer to the fire, she could smell the stench of the grave strong on the wind and she wrinkled her nose. She recognized that foul odor. It was the reeking ooze of the Crimson Duke. She remembered smelling it just before her first death. She tightened her grip on her sword and readied herself. She disembarked from the boat and the boatman said to her in that voice like cracked ice and wisps of smoke “Remember, Shade Corvo that I can only take thee between here and the mainland by nighttime. If thou art on the island when dawnbreaks, thou will have to remain here until the moon rises.”
Shade nodded and crouched down, moving stealthily toward the camp. Fortunately, it seemed that the Crimson Duke was not present at the moment. She decided to rifle through his belongings. Her SEARCH revealed two more Health Vials. The bandit stashed those in her belt with the other two and looked around. She noticed that it was soon to be morning, and if she wanted to leave the island tonight it would have to be now. Alternatively, while she was searching the camp, she noticed some notes scribbled on the desk. She could spend some time decoding them and see if she could learn what the Crimson Duke’s next move was, or she could follow a solitary path along the coast and see where it went.
After thinking about it, Shade decided it was better to return to the mainland – she had no idea when the Crimson Duke would return to his camp, and did not care for being stuck on the island for another day. So, she hurried back to the boatman and climbed into the boat. They pushed off, heading back to the Boat House.
The boatman disappeared as soon as the prow of the boat touched the dock. Shade chained the boat up herself and headed outside, where she stumbled into a group of three men. Two of them were clearly mercenaries, armed to the teeth and the third was dressed in frayed brown robes.
“It’s the stars! Don’t you see it? The stars!” The man in the frayed brown robes said to his companions, gesturing feverntly at the fading stars above. The soldiers for hire were clearly uninterested in what he had to say. Shade attempted to sneak away from the three men, but any hope of that was dashed when she stepped on a twig and broke it.
“Say, you gents wouldn’t happen to know where the bathroom is, would you?” she asked trying to avoid a fight.
The zealot frowned and hissed at her, “Get her!”
Shade had no choice but to FIGHT the three of them.
The three men rush at Shade, drawing their weapons. The mercenaries are armed with a hand crossbow and a sword each, while the zealot has nothing but a dagger. The Zealot is the fastest of the three and he gets right in Shade’s face. His allies step up next to him and Shade is taken aback when she realizes she recognizes the face of the zealot – it was Richard Horne, a former member of her band. He uses this distraction to drive a dagger deep into Shade’s shoulder. She takes a step back from him, her back now to the shore. She narrowly avoided one of the soldier’s shortswords as the other takes a swipe at her, nicking her across the ribs. She gasps in pain and runs Richard through with a decisive thrust with her longsword. The man falls to the ground, dead.
“So boys, what do you say now that your client is dead you drop your weapons?” She suggested.
“That sodding idiot wasn’t our client,” one of the mercenaries spat. “He was just another apprentice of the Crimson Duke. Who happens to be our actual client. And he pays us by the corpse.”
Shit, Shade thought. This could go badly. The two men approached her again, ready to attack. She quickly took a stepback and away, letting loose a rock from her sling, which struck the mercenary in the back, stunning him. It was a lucky shot. Her blade crossed against the other mercenary’s and he managed to score a lucky hit. Things weren’t going so great for Shade right about now, and she needed to figure out a way to end this quickly, or else she was going to die again. She stabbed one of the mercs in the gut and wrenched her blade free just in time to dodge back from the final warrior’s attacks. The two of them circle each other warily sizing each other up. Shade could tell he was also on his last legs, and she could probably end him swiftly if she could just get a good strike in. Suddenly, the mercenary lunged at her. She grabbed the blade of his sword and thrust it to the side, throwing him off balance. She felt the blood well up in her palm as she brought her own sword to bear on the mercenary with a triumphant yell as she lopped his head off with a single, mighty stroke of her blade. With that, the fight was over. She searched through the bodies of the dead and didn’t find any gold or weapons that were of value to her. She did discover a note on the Zealot’s body which read “Meet me on the island to finish the hunt.” She could only guess that was written by the Crimson Duke himself. As for what they were hunting, she had no idea. She doubted it was herself. Maybe he was hunting the Lost Knight? It seemed likely, as the Lost Knight was his sworn enemy. She put those thoughts away for now and turned her attention on deciding what to do next. She could either go to the Keep or go back to Tiresh, and from Tiresh back to her Sigil. She doubted she could withstand another fight, so she headed back to Tiresh, and then the Sigil to Rest.