The story begins...

Once upon a time, in a land named Garthern, there lived
a benevolent king by the name of Edward. King Edward
ruled the land fairly and orderly for many years accompanied
by his faithful assistant, Deerg the Wizard. Deerg was very
wise in the ways of alchemy and sorcery, and protected
Garthern from many outside foes. Everything was complacent
throughout the realm until one unfortunate night when evil
thoughts overtook Deerg's mind.

Deerg figured that with his magical powers and might, he
could overthrow Edward and rule Garthern himself with
an iron fist. While gathering his evil horde of turncoats,
Deerg poisoned the King's gruel and began his plot to
take over. Unfortunately for Deerg, he didn't calculate the
resistance of the loyal members of Edward's army. Led
by the brave knight Sir Mark Wolfe, the legion of good
met Deerg and his evil followers.

A great battle ensued as Wolfe and Deerg confronted each
other in the midst of war. Mark lunged at Deerg with his
sword, plunging it deep into the chest of the evil wizard.
As he took another look at the fallen wizard, Mark realized
it was an illusion and he had actually killed one of his own
soldiers.  Spinning around, Mark had just enough time to
see Deerg wave his staff as he fell to the ground
unconscious.

Light began to pour through Mark's eyes as he awoke from
his deep slumber.  Sensing that he was in an unfamiliar
place, he sprang to his feet and scanned the environment
around him. After close scrutiny, Mark noticed he was in a
small room with a door in front and to the right of him. No
lantern or candle was visible, yet the room almost glowed
with an unnatural light.  Glancing down, Mark noticed a
small, silver key lying by his feet. As he bent down and
touched it, an echo filled his subconscious as Edward's
voice was heard: "Sir Mark Wolfe, if you are to prove your
worth as a knight, you must fight your way through these
Rooms of the Abyss. Only with the magic and items found
in here can you defeat Deerg after you escape. You must
save Garthern and avenge my murder. Good Luck...". The
voice faded and Mark was left standing alone, clutching the
silver key in his hand. His mind raced as he paced the room,
searching his thoughts for a course of action.  Finally, Mark
tightened his grip on the key, glanced upwards toward the
heavens, and slowly began to make his way to the large,
wooden door that loomed in front of him...