Be sure to read the previous chapters for more information on prizes and how the Quest works!
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Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX

Terror has gripped the castle.

The spirits lurk around every corner, hidden in the walls themselves, crawling across the ceilings, dragging clawed fingers down canvas paintings. The Archmage is nowhere to be found, but he is no longer the being most feared.

Harrow is hunting once again.

The thunder has beckoned him, the rain his shield. Emerging from the lake like a specter of death, the looming skeletal beast flickers from view with every burst of lightning. Detective MacLeod stands at the window in the Archmage’s study, and horror lines his face. Then, between one crack of thunder and the next, the each uisge is gone.

And there is a knock at the door.

Malcolm swallows hard before answering.

“Who goes there?”

Silence.

And then…

“Son?”

The voice.. The growling, grumbling voice of his father.

A voice he’s not heard in years. Not since that night.. That stormy night at the loch’s edge.

The door shakes with another knock.

“Let me in, boy,” Malcolm’s father demands.

Malcolm cowers by the window, hands crawling up his chest to his ears.

“Fool boy,” the voice grows in volume, and then the door is crashing, smashed upon from the other side. “LET ME IN!”

The walls are shaking, the floor ripples under the detective’s feet. The glass panes in the window at his back shudder and groan. The door is bowing, creaking, jumping in its frame. It’s cracking-

Then silence.

“You let me die, boy,” Old Man MacLeod whispers, soft and quiet. Heavy, slow. Sad. “You saw the beast at my back, and said nothing….”

Malcolm’s heart races. His fingers are claws over his ears but still his father’s voice cuts through.

“How could you let me die?”

Tears chill Malcolm’s cheeks.

“Because you knew he would stop you.”

The voice has changed. In a breath, the world freezes. The thunder stalls, the heart skips.

The voice is wind through sun-bleached bones. The hiss of scales winding through dead grass. The groan of a ship’s mast in the storm. The creak of taut ropes the second before they snap. The voice is a predator crooning to its prey.

“He knew what you wanted, what you planned for yourself. And worse, he knew you could achieve it.”

Malcolm’s eyes open wide, the ice in the air bringing frigid clarity to his scattered, terrified thoughts.

“Wicked child, cruel beast, the real monster of the moor… MURDERER.”

The blood is mud in his veins, but Malcolm’s face is blank. Cold, unfeeling stone.

“It started with the lost shepherd boy, asking for help at the castle gates….”

Unbidden, the freckled face of an unsuspecting youth rises in Malcolm’s mind. His hair had been fiery red…

“You felt the burn, the desire.. The need for power… You led him down to the water’s edge and held him under….”

Malcolm’s hands flex.

“You thought no one had seen, but I was there.. Watching.. Always watching. I saw it all, I see all.”

The detective’s lip lifts.

“And then there was the girl.. The maid’s daughter who was picking grass under the tree up the hill… She saw it too. What was her name, wicked child?”

Evangeline…. Evangeline Glen. How could she have recognized him after all these years? How could she have known him the moment he arrived?

“She never forgot… And she grew up to take her mother’s place.. The trusted hand of the Dowager Countess herself… Knowing too much, seeing too much, and far too close to someone far too powerful…

“You couldn’t clean up that mess by yourself though, could you? No, no no no… You had help…”

Malcolm moves, rising swiftly and striding towards the door.

“No,” he growls. “Enough of this. You are a beast in the shadows, a specter from my past. But you will not taunt me, you will not threaten me.”

There is silence. Then-

“No,” Harrow hisses, voice silky smooth, sibilant and sinister. “No, I can sense that in you… what is fear after all you’ve seen, all you’ve done?”

A bone-chilling, breath rattling rumble echoes through the room. Harrow is laughing.

“Very well, wicked child…. Then I shall let the fear of others tear you apart.”

All at once, time seems to resume. The thunder shakes the very stone of the castle. With an ear bending BOOM, the storm surges inside. Windows shatter, and the door blasts inward. Malcolm tenses, pulling magic to his hands-

But the hallway is empty.

The wind whistles through the open window.

And Malcolm shakes with fear.

Welcome to the finale of the 2022 edition of my Epic Quest - Darkwater! 

Be sure to read the rulebook!

Here’s how the Epic Quest works: I will host an activity each month that plays into the story being told. You’ll earn small prizes for each activity you complete - like points, HPD, or cash shop items. You’ll also earn XP points, and the player with the most XP points will win the grand prize:
1. A fully coded tabbed layout from me featuring this graphic and
2. Matching animal CSS and
3. A 1-year upgrade

The runner-up will receive:
1. A custom coding slot for simple layout (scrolls or expandables) and
2. A 6-month upgrade

Participate in the Epic Quest activity every month of the year, and you’ll earn a special prize:
1. An official HP achievement and
2. A store pair with 100k points

If you haven't joined yet but would like to, check out the sign-up thread to create your mage! You must have a mage created before you can participate in the activities.

If you have any questions about the quest, prizes, or how it works, don’t hesitate to message me!



Before anything else, YOU MUST CHECK IN TO THIS EVENT. Simply message me saying that you’re available to participate in the Quest. You can check in daily by sending a message each day you’re available, or for the entire week by sending one message stating you’re available all week.

Keep in mind that checking in means you will be online that day and available to participate as frequently as possible. If you check in but fail to participate, you will lose XP and/or the ability to win one of the grand prizes! That said…

Harrow is hunting again. And this time, all your secrets will be revealed.

Like before, you will receive a knock on your door (in the form of a private message from one of my accounts) at random times throughout the week. Unlike before, it will always be Harrow who knocks.

When Harrow knocks, he will do one of two things.

1 - He will give you a piece of information about your character. It can be something you knew, or something you didn’t. However, this information is always true. SAVE THIS INFORMATION. Whenever you receive information, you must respond to Harrow with your CODE WORD.

2 - Harrow will ask you to collect information from another player. To do this, you must respond to this thread with your question directed at that player AND send them a private message requesting their assistance (reminding them to check this thread). You will earn XP for posting your question, regardless of whether or not the player answers it.

You must post your question before 11:59 pm HP time on Friday, December 30th to earn XP for it!

When you are being asked a question, you MUST answer the question TRUTHFULLY and PUBLICLY by responding to this thread. The answer to the question will always be information you have, either in your character information from the very start of the quest or from something Harrow has told you this week.

You must answer your question(s) in this thread by 11:59 pm HP time on Saturday, December 31st to earn XP for them!

Additionally, Harrow will be stalking the halls of Cairnhart Castle. Like last month, keep an eye out for Harrow around HP, either on the Online Players list or in the chat rooms/forums. Send me a screenshot whenever you spot him to earn bonus XP!

PRIZES:
Responding to Harrow’s information with a code word - 2 XP each
Posting Harrow’s question in this thread - 2 XP each
Answering Harrow’s question posted by another player - 2 XP each
Spotting Harrow on HP - 1 XP each

THE EPIC QUEST: DARKWATER CONCLUDES AT 11:59 PM HP TIME ON DECEMBER 31, 2022

Thank you Mango for an incredible 10 months of Epic Quest! I loved participating and I cannot wait to revisit the past with the Side Quests! ♥

Congrats Jaya and Blitz, well done! :D

Well done all!!!
I can only echo everyone else on how wonderful your storytelling is!
Love, love your creativity and keeping us all engaged!

Can't wait to take a step off the main path to do some side quests!

Yay! My goal was to be active for a whole year and doing this thing every month forced me to be online! I am proud that I made my goal of actively participating each month! So even though I didn't get the largest amount of XP, I achieved my goal for this! 

So happy!