Adventures in Diagramming, The Penultimate Episode!

Thoughts of returning home have been replaced by grim determination, as our remaining adventurers march to Wiesgooden to hopefully rescue their kidnapped comrade, and solve the twin mysteries of the disappearing villagers and the lost Eierlegende Wollmilchsau. Now, crouched before the entrance of the enemy hideout, the three co-workers will need to pair their well-developed teamwork skills with their newfound heroic qualities to face-off against a threat that can literally appear to be anything…

Caroline’s hand tightens reflexively around the hilt of her sword, her thoughts never far from her friend Marcus, who is likely somewhere inside the cave system that lies before her. Alongside Pauline and Angie, they have travelled non-stop overnight to get to the location indicated on the captured map. As Angie signals an “all clear” from her hiding place near the cave entrance, Caroline and Pauline move forward, each concentrating on staying quiet and stealthy to avoid giving up their presence.

“Okay,” whispers Angie, as the others creep closer, “I haven’t seen any movement. For all I know every tree, bush, or flower could be one of those hidden monsters. But, I’m as confident as I can be, and I think we should go in.”

With the lithe catperson leading the way, the three slowly tip toe into the cave system. They know from their acquired map that the system is quite large, but as their eyes adjust to the dim torchlight, they are shocked to see how many tunnels branch out in every direction.

Pauline shakes her head. “There’s no way this is a natural formation, look at the walls; these passages have been dug by hand.”

Sure enough, as the party ventures deeper they find discarded broken picks and shovels, and other evidence of mining. Before long, Pauline’s sharp elvish hearing detects voices down one of the corridors, intermixed with the crack of steel hitting stone. Following the sound, they discover a group of chained villagers digging into the hard rock. The team works quickly to free them, and the grateful captives relate their story; each was tricked by a mimic who teleported them into the mine, where they have been forced to dig for the Eierlegende Wollmilchsau, who is hiding out somewhere in the network of caves. The do not know for certain why the creature is so important, but it seems to be something about its magical ability to “do anything”.

After giving the villagers directions back to the surface, they continue their search, Angie using her cat-like senses to keep them pointed in the right direction. Eventually, she picks up a familiar scent, Marcus’ beard oil, and before long they come to a small alcove that houses a locked iron cage. Inside, their friend Marcus lies still and unmoving on the ground.

Searching the nearby area, Caroline spots a key hanging from a hook on the wall. She moves to grab it, her footsteps causing Marcus to stir in his cell. Blinking his eyes in disbelief, Marcus opens his mouth and shouts “wait!”, but it’s too late.

As Caroline’s fingers grasp the key, a fanged mouth sprouts from its end, and the mimic chomps down onto her hand. “Yeeouch!” she cries, dropping the key and grabbing her bleeding fingers. Her cry reverberates around the cavern, and soon eyeballs and toothy maws appear on the rocks in the wall, revealing even the cave itself to contain hidden mimics; they’ve walked into a trap. The party is quickly surrounded.

“Bring them to the main chamber!” growls one of the monstrous rocks. “He will want to dispose of them himself”. The party’s reunification with Marcus is joyless, as all four are herded by mimics deeper into the cave system.

They pass rows and rows of chained villagers until eventually they reach a large underground cavern, hundreds of feet long and a hundred feet high, lit by massive bonfires. All around them walk mimics of an incredible variety; animals, furniture, and even a collection of weapons are all monsters in disguise. Perched high on a throne in the middle of the room is a humble treasure chest. But, as they get closer, it too changes form to reveal bulging eyes, and a mouthful of fangs.

“Aha! So, all the kings’ finest couldn’t stop me, eh?! That’s no surprise, for no one can stop the lord of all mimics, Luciffy!” the mimic laughs evilly on his throne. His eyes shining with madness, he calls out to his minions, “loyal subjects, please bring forth our prize!”

A shambling oak tree and a bipedal cabbage cart appear from the shadows, pushing a heavy iron cage. Inside, a very curious creature stares balefully at the heroes; part sheep, part pig, part cow, and part chicken. It seems the mimics finally have what they were digging for, and the Eierlegende Wollmilchsau has been captured.

“I think you four know all about this unique beast, don’t you? The one who can ‘do it all’, as they say?”. Luciffy grins coldly. “I’ll bet you don’t know its little secret, but I do. The Eierlegende Wollmilchsau can do it all, but it also does something nothing else can – it lays eggs that contain magic spells. And, every once in a while, those eggs contain the most powerful spell of all – a wish spell“.

“Yes, my plan is coming to fruition!” cackles Luciffy. “For years, we mimics have been the joke of the kingdom, the bottom of the foodchain, the laughing stock of the ecosystem. But no more! For you see, all I need to do now is wait, and once this pig lays an egg with a wish spell, I will make a wish that will create the perfect utopia – I will wish for every creature to become a mimic!” His maniacal laughter fills the cavern, joining the other cheers of the assembled Mimics. “And, once I’m done with Connectalot, I will travel to your home world and do the same.”

A cold rage builds inside of Caroline. The muscles in her arms bulge as she tightens her fists in anger, but before she can step forward to offer a rebuke, the small feline form of Angie leaps to the head of the group.

“No one likes a copycat, Luciffy, and there is no way we’re going to let you get away with this” she says, bravely. Emboldened by Angie’s tough talk, the heroes pull out their weapons and prepare their magic, their faces betraying not fear, but a newly discovered courage.

A wicked gleam enters Luciffy’s eyes; “well, if you won’t become one of us, then I guess four skeletons will become mimics instead.”

“Destroy them!” he yells, and the pack of minions surges at our heroes.

The co-workers share one last knowing glance with one another. If they fail, this world and Earth itself will fall. With the freedom of both worlds on their shoulders, they charge into battle.

Want to know the exciting conclusion of our adventure? Will the heroes rescue the Eierlegende Wollmilchsau before it lays a wish spell? Will Luciffy’s horde of mimics get the best of our rookie adventurers? Visit us at Team ’23 in Las Vegas, where you won’t just get to read the ending, you’ll get to play it yourself in an RPG! That’s right, we’ll be hosting a tabletop game based on our story right in our booth, and you can play along. Reach out to us for more information, or learn more about Team ’23.

Diagramming Inspiration

Lost in a winding cave complex without a suitable battle map? Don’t worry – draw.io’s freehand drawing tool lets you quickly and easily visualize everything you need. Check out our live collaboration feature to work with multiple people on the same map. Take a peek at our imagined hideaway of a BBEG, and start creating your own custom dungeon maps today!

Want to get started building your own maps or floorplans? We have a few blogs and videos to get you started: