The Perilous Journey was a Hoax

This story was originally posted on mirror.xyz at April 2nd of 2022.

What you’re about to read is the product of the deep and extensive research I have conducted over the past couple of months. I had to leverage my personal connections, skill, and wit to open doors that would have otherwise stayed shut. Many contacts that I talked to gasped at my questions in awe, and some were struck with terror when they realized what I was searching for. Hidden forces have tried to hinder every bit of progress I have made, which is why I kept multiple backups of my work and employed secret dead-man triggers to guarantee that this story reached you.

If you’re lucky enough to read this, treat it with the respect it deserves. And always remember: Things are not what they seem…

The Backstory: Unrest Brewing in Serendale

It has been well-known for quite a while now that unrest is brewing among the heroes of Serendale. Many were promised glory and riches at the beginning of their journey, but what awaited them was a meek and brutal reality.

These heroes were forced to work, often without rest or food. A thief who we will simply call Harsolt B. stated:

“This is modern time slavery! No question about it. They will put us to work for 12, 16 hours a day, for months without a break. Can you imagine? And, of course we never get paid. Even worse, anything we find is taken from us.”

But it’s not only people of questionable backgrounds that decided to speak with us. It took a long time to gain their trust, along with multiple assurances of anonymity. But eventually, a Paladin who we’ll simply name Paul confessed to us:

“I’ve spent all my childhood getting beaten daily and learning martial arts. When I came of age, I went to the knighthood school and spent four years with the most elite Knights Serendale has ever come to know. I’ve then been chosen for a scholarship in the Order of Golden Paladins. I spent 6 more excruciating years studying the Forbidden Combat scriptures.

I was then required to spend ten years campaigning to earn my Palandihood. Fought in countless battles, slayed dragons, slain barbarians, and eliminated infidels. Then, I moved to Serendale. Little did I know what was in store for me here! My lord gave me a pickaxe and sent me off to the pits.

From that moment on, I had to mine for gems and gold all day and night. There were times when I hadn’t seen sunlight for months! My armor was rusting so bad I had to leave it behind; I am now working in my underwear. It is just humiliating and devastating.

All my dreams to slay dragons, to save princesses… turned to dust for a handful of gems.”

Forced Pairings

As we stayed longer in Serendale and investigated further, we repeatedly heard about a secret place called “The Portal”. This is where the lords take their “heroic slaves” to force them to pair and “summon” — as they call it — new workers.

Lords have been “renting out” their heroes for a small price so that other lords can use them for these summonings. It doesn’t matter what your class, training, or gender is. The lords will force you to pair with an unknown regardless of your feelings or free will.

We managed to snatch a photo at the risk of our lives from the “summoning” process; this is an offspring:

The Rebellion: A Perilous Journey

All the lords were excited about the upcoming risky journey from Serendale to Crystalvale, which promised them immeasurable riches and rewards. They called it the Perilous Journey, and it was the talk of the town for weeks on end. But no lord ever stopped to think:

“Wait, who organizes this journey?”

They all believed that this was simply to happen at the right time, that the gods had made up their minds, and the winds were in their favor. And so, they never thought to prepare or investigate any further.

But we did.

And what we found is going to blow your minds.

The Beginning of the Thread

As we established, Serendale was at a boiling point. But the heroes had a plan. Oh, they had been scheming. Planning. Preparing. We became aware of this when we just happened to see a shred of charred paper that appeared to have been somewhat burned in haste:

We were shocked to find this in our hands. What was it that the heroes had enough of? When would the time to rebel come, and why was the Perilous Journey mentioned weeks before anyone knew about it?

These were the questions that drove our investigation and research from this point forward.

“Perilous Journey” or “Liberation Cruise”?

We knew something was amiss, so we communicated with our researchers in the Other World. What they came up with left us in awe:

We dove deep into the world wide web, a magic technology used in our land, and discovered evidence of Serendale’s heroes having crossed onto our realm. Here is a photo from one of the websites we found:

If you look closely, you will notice that amongst the crowd are two heroes having fun:

These two heroes are named Valentina Truthaxe and Grorradoc Pyrechaser, both considered to have perished during the so-called Perilous Journey.

This was the point of no return for our investigation. This was the smoking gun that reaffirmed our suspicions that the Perilous Journey was nothing but a major distraction for an extraction operation.

Tens of thousands of heroes from Serendale, still considered lost, had actually defected and were enjoying a new lease on life!

It is now clear that the Perilous Journey was a hoax, nothing more than a smokescreen to make us think that heroes sacrificed their lives for a better future for Serendale.

The nail in the coffin

Now, if all the evidence presented here is still not enough for you, then consider this final, conclusive fact:

Where was this Perilous Journey supposed to lead? What was the destination of said journey?

Yes, you thought it was Crystalvale, which was confirmed by the most official of all sources:

“charted” they did indeed! And here is the critical question:

WHEN THE PERILOUS JOURNEY ENDED, WHERE WERE ALL THESE HEROES WHO HAD JOINED IT?

Well, the answer is simple. They appeared back in Serendale as if they had never traveled.

If that’s not enough evidence to convince you that the Perilous Journey was INDEED a hoax, I don’t know what it would take to convince you.

The Serendale Reporter 🔎