Disclaimer: Gothic, the game, has been created by Piranha Bytes Software. Therefore, this text is not to be used for any commercial purposes! You are obliged to have fun reading it...

Note: The story has been devided into tomes and chapters, for better understanding of the storyline. The tomes and chapters that are missing are not likely to be added.

Special thanks to:
Piranha Bytes' team, who made this story possible,
Jaz, who made this story readable and
Srchbayne, who provided me with essential support.

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Fragment from Tome X
A Few Torn Pages

…I'm badly hurt, and I'm cold. This wasn't such a good idea, after all. What's the banishment of the barrier good for, when I'm stuck in this dark, sinister cave? I wish I could say I'm happy for all the other convicts that got away, but I just can't…

…I'm running out of hope, ink and distinctively - oxygen. I sense the end is near. The end of what… I don't know the answer. Is it excitement, rage, agony? What is this feeling that's overwhelming my body? Or, can it be… Am I scared of death?

…I've almost reconciled myself with my fate. There's nothing much I can do, except for reading this journal by the light glow of the portal…

Tome VII
Chapter I: The Inevitable

It was Diego standing by the rocks. Was I happy to see him there, then - just as I had been happy to see him about three months before, when I was first thrown into this place... Actually that's when I first got to "meet" Bullit. I couldn't guess what had happened to him, after what Milten told me. But the worst did pop to my mind.
Shaken by the very thought of it, I faltered a couple of times on my way to Diego. That must be how he spotted me. He started walking in my direction. Strange thing is, as I remember it, he didn't look as though he was worried at all. He bore the same look as always. He was the first to speak.
- You've talked to Milten, haven't you - not really expecting me to answer; as it was quite obvious by the expression on my face.
Short silence set in, after which he continued.
- I sensed it coming when I was invited to a meeting at the castle. I tried to warn the mages... Corristo was ready to listen, but the others - sigh - they just wouldn't. It was too late, anyway. At that point Bartholo entered the temple with a couple of guards and… The sight wasn't nice at all.
- What did you do? - I finally said something
- Well, there wasn't much I could do. As soon as Bartholo saw me, he knew what I was doing there. He is a bit dumb, but he certainly isn't slow. So he punched me right on the head. Despite what I've done, I was only driven out of the camp. Gomez just didn't have what it takes to kill somebody who had saved his life. I must say I'm glad…
I was thinking of asking him about that, but he passed me.
- We shall not talk about that now.
It seemed like he had finished.
- I wasn't the only one to oppose Gomez's little plan - he continued after all - As I was dragged to face my punishment, I saw a couple of guards fighting their way out of the camp. Your friend was among them…
- Bullit is alive! - I interrupted him hastily - You mean, he managed to get out?
- Well, I wouldn't know that. Anything could have happened in the meantime.
This wasn't much of a comfort, but it gave me some hope.
- Listen. There's something else you should know... - He continued, but I stopped paying attention. I just wasn't in a state in which I could bear any more bad news. Even today, I'm not really sure what was it that he wanted to say, as I never got to meet Diego again after that.
I noticed Pacho, a guard at the road to the orcland. It seems that he had observed us for some time. When he discerned me watching him, he clasped his crossbow, but that was it. Not that it mattered anyway. I was so depressed at the moment that I probably wouldn't even try to do anything about it.
Diego's somewhat different voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
- Go now! You have to warn Lee as soon as possible!
At first, I wasn't able to comprehend why the sudden change of voice, so I glanced at his eyes. His look was somehow different. It revealed he wasn't even sure himself whether the raid could be prevented. This was the first time I saw Diego clearly showing his feelings, though he tried so hard to hide them. Nevertheless, I rushed my way towards the new camp.

Chapter II: Forlorn Hope

The truth is I had a teleportation rune in my possession at the time, which I could have used. But it was only later on that I've realized it.
Anyway, while I was under way, I spotted a couple of scavengers. I didn't feel endangered, but still pulled my bow and notched an arrow, just in case. The position I found myself in inevitably reminded me of something I shouldn't have thought of, as it would only make me feel worse. It reminded me of our hunting days…
He had taught me everything I know about hunting. We were quite a team, Bullit and I... We would catch a couple of pieces in the evening, make a small campfire and get our tummies full. And then we would keep lying on the grass the whole night, watching the stars and occasional barrier effects. It's peculiar that I don't remember us talking much but I have always felt like I knew him very well.
A tear slowly ran down my cheek. I put my weapon away and continued walking. As I passed by those scavengers, they remained calm. Perhaps because it was early in the morning, or perhaps because they sensed I had no bad intentions, I don't know why… I'm just glad I didn't have to fight them, right there, right then.
My despair increased as I went further.
Then I saw a pair of old camp guys, guarding another way to orcland. In one swift moment despair turned into rage. I reached for my Executor, already running and shouting, and swooped down on them. I kicked one of them, unprepared, in the chest. As I was swinging my sword in the other guy's direction I heard a sharp sound, not knowing what it was right away. The guy managed to dodge my first blow, and he kept blocking all other incoming hits. He was so confused he didn't know what else to do. But all of a sudden, as he seemed to have seen something I hadn't, his face changed rapidly and he yelled:
- You bastard! You've killed him… Now you shall die!
He then made a couple of impressive counterattacks. I managed to avoid all but one. After I blocked the last of his swings, I did a quick spin thrusting the Executor into his abdomen. As he was falling to the ground, an angry, interrogative look covered his face. He must have felt surprised, used and betrayed at the same time. After all, I was one of his guys. I turned to look for the first one, only to find him dead, neck broken.
Memories started to go through my mind again. This time I remembered when I first became a guard; when I entered the barracks and spotted him there. As soon as he had spotted me, we had both pulled our swords out and started to fight. And it had been some fight indeed. It seemed then it had lasted only a couple of moments, but, as I had realized later, it took us about an hour until none of us could swing his sword any more. We had both been devastated by the fact that we couldn't beat the other. After that... It's all history: I managed to forgive him, and we became quite close friends.
- Actually, he was the only close friend I had... Or have had. He is probably dead now. My fault, no doubt… - I thought to myself.
The sword went off my hands onto a rock making a characteristic noise. That was the sound that pooled all the pain of the moment, spreading throughout the surrounding region, as would the scream I intended to make, but didn't.
I threw myself on my knees, and did nothing for some time. But intense pain forced me to roll to my side. It was then when I noticed that I was injured. Although it was just a surface wound on the upper part of my left leg, I was bleeding heavily. Physical pain was nothing compared to my internal struggle, but I felt like I should do something about it.
- Cavalorn's hut - were my exact thoughts.
But something most far-out took place during next few minutes…

Chapter III: Unexpected Development

I saw a couple of guards getting closer from the direction of the north gate. I was surprised to see them at first, but I presumed that it was the noise of battle that attracted their attention. There couldn't have been a worse moment, as I also spotted a couple of orc warriors, which were probably just curious about the fuss, coming from my left. I got up carefully, trying not to renew the wound on my leg, which had appeased some moments ago.
It wasn't long before the guards realized what had happened, so they started running towards me, pulling their swords out. At the exact moment the orcs noticed my presence, and started to come my way, too. There are no words to describe the fear I felt as the bloodthirsty orcs and guards were running towards me. And before I knew I was running towards Cavalorn's hut, the injury being the last thought on my mind.
I heard the terrible cries of battle behind me. As I drew further away, the sound did, too. I was relieved by this. But only to see a soldier in a red outfit, aiming his crossbow, a dozen meters in front of me. The blood dashed through my veins once again. He fired away while I was slowing down. Fortunately, the bolt went right besides me.
I was ready to draw my sword at that point, but the man, who seemed to be a guard, wasn't reloading his crossbow. I was suspicious about this, so I turned around hastily. I was relieved to see a dead orc. He must have been following me…
Anyway, I turned to face the man, who had helped me, when it came to me it was Scorpio.
- Scorpio, what are you doing out here? - I was curious.
- You could show a bit more gratitude to a person who has just saved your life… - he mumbled - That orc had his krush pakh right on top of your head, you know…
- How can I ever repay you?
- Well, You could fetch me a beer…my throat is as sorrow as a glowing blade.
I sat down on a bench, opposite him, starting to poke through my backpack. I found a teleportation rune, but gave it no heed then. Finally, I discovered a strong beer, and tossed it over to him. I watched him bolting it.
- You know I'm grateful, Scorpio. - I added.
- Yeah, yeah, I know…- he started mumbling again, but I interrupted him.
- Now, seriously, what are you doing outside the camp? Is there some kind of trouble? - I was pretending not to know.
He then began to tell the story at large, so I wasn't listening, but when he started bringing emotions to it, I got interested …
- I was against that despicable scheme of Gomez's - he paused for quite a while, clearly thinking something over - I don't think anybody in the room wanted to go along with it, except for Raven.
He sighed, and then continued.
- Diego wasn't at the meeting. I'm sure he could have done something to stop them if he were there…- he paused once again, obviously thinking about some other possible developments of the story - Anyway, as the preparations were underway, me and some other guards tried to convince Gomez to change his mind in the last moment. He then started shouting something about traitors and turncoats, and then began to swing his sword around the room. A couple of guys, who couldn't stand his crap any more, and myself, left the camp.
- After all these years, you... You just left?
- Don't let you be fooled, boy! This wasn't the first stupid thing Gomez tried to pull in the camp. I remember him banishing the only mage eager enough to get us out of here - He was more than mad and I was more than sorry to have asked - I can't even remember his name…
He seemed anxious to remember it, but it ended with that.
- After all, Gomez didn't let us go as easily as you might think. Almost every one of us got injured while trying to fight our way out of the camp. - He said at last.

Chapter IV: Incredible Pain

- Fight your way out… - It didn't really come to me as a surprise, as Diego and Milten had already hinted at that, but I wanted to believe it wasn't the case. I stopped pretending - What do you mean?
- As I said, he didn't like the idea of our departure. Not while he was planning to raid the new mine, at least… - he frowned - He was short of men as it was. So he ordered that we were contained at all cost. It was a wrong decision, though…
I was all ears.
- Chaos erupted all over the castle at that point. You didn't know who was shooting at whom. - It could be clearly seen he had been traumatized by the event, as he became lost in thoughts once again, but he snapped out of it very soon - Anyway, few of us got out alive…
I was horror-struck, only thinking about one thing:
- Tell me you saw Bullit leave!
- Yes, but… - I waited, but he didn't continue.
I knew he was only protecting me, but still, the suspense I was being kept in frustrated me. I grabbed him by the collar and shook him crudely. Having seen this, Cavalorn made his way towards us. He knew what needed to be done, so he continued the story
- He did get out alive, but he got heavily injured in the fight… He was shot. Right here. - He was pointing at his shoulder. I knew exactly what consequences that kind of injury brought with it. He also had a sympathetic expression on his face… it seemed to me he only wanted to postpone the moment when he had to tell me.
- What are you holding back, Calavorn? - I shouted, letting Scorpio off. I looked right at his eyes, but reverted his own towards Scorpio for a minute - Where is he?
Unpleasant silence has set in.
- Scatty took him to the water mages… - he revealed at last. - But…
I had no time to lose, so I grabbed the rune from the top of my backpack, as it was the first thing I saw. And I started enunciating the words that were engraved. Some unknown-to-me blue light encompassed my whole body, and I could almost sense a strange energy flowing through my spine. At least that's how it felt. That was the first time I actually used a teleportation rune.
The image before my eyes halted, and then started to blur, turning itself into darkness.
- Don't go... For your own sake, don't go! - I heard echoes of someone's words.
I spent a whole eternity in blackness, as it seemed to me then. But it was the very next moment I found myself besides Saturas.
I had a lot of time to think. But there was nothing but Bullit's well being that mattered to me then. So I agonized myself trying to figure out what happened with him. I couldn't help devising stuff up, in order to make me feel better…
Some more memories passed through my mind; like that one time when we were in the swamp camp, stealing together. This wasn't an ordinary guard's assignment, but Bullit insisted it would be exciting. It sure was… We were discovered and we had to run for our lives, literally. I don't remember many situations when I was so scared for my life, as I was while those rampageous templars were on us. It was his artifice that saved us from almost certain death… That's probably why I feel so bad I wasn't around to help him when he needed it…
A sudden, intense feeling of qualm made me throw all of my thoughts aside for a moment. I was blinded by light and I could feel my lungs expanding once again. Some time passed before I managed to retrieve my sight I was recuperated.
I spotted Saturas standing right besides me. He didn't look surprised at all, like I expected him to be. After all, I was supposed to give the rune to the fire mages. So, I guess he already knew. And that must have meant Scatty had made it.
- If the sorrow expression on your face means you wanted to warn us of the attack, you need not to worry. - He started - One of the guards already did. They never attacked though…
- Where is he? - I managed to sound out, still feeling rather dizzy.
- Scatty? He is right below at the camp fire, feasting with the… - He slowed down, and then stopped, noticing my face wasn't changing, not a bit. Then he continued with a completely different, almost sympathetic voice - Oh, I'm sorry, lad. There was nothing we could do for him.
I could hear the distinctive sound of rain coming from the small hatch that represented the only entrance to the room.
- Go see him at Lee's. - He added.
So I went. But I didn't muster the fortitude to go in. I sat on the road in front of Lee's cave instead. Tears started pouring from my eyes. I didn't really understand why, as I had prepared myself for this from the very beginning… There was no actual trigger for this utter sadness; I went through most of our pleasant memories on my way here.
But there I was, sitting on a cold rock, having a little storm of my own within…
I wasn't ready to accept the fact I had been forlorn in this place once again, though I have resigned with it long before I've befriended with Bullit. Our friendship helped me to function within the barrier despite my true nature of a libertarian.
For the first time after a couple of months I felt like I had to get away from here. But there's something else I need to take care of first…

Chapter V: Devious Plan

There was absolutely no one awake in the vicinity. Those damn guards at the gate should have definitely been, but it was easier this way, I guess. It was the small hours. I was silently progressing over the valley, besides that old demolished hut. I looked for a suitable spot to climb my way over the old camp's walls. One of the diggershad told me the old tower damaged the outer wall severely, when it had collapsed. It had been not long before I found a place where I could have climbed in and out easily and swiftly.
There were no guards at the wall, and Jackal was nowhere to be seen. It almost seemed too easy. I was slowly moving towards the campfire.
- Hey, Whistler, stop sneaking around… - someone said, but it sounded more like shouting in that undisturbed silence. I looked around for any freshly arisen people. There weren't any. So I turned around to see who was addressing me.
- I told you I wouldn't sell you that sword! Now, get lost!
It was Fisk. And he was drunk. He must have been in order to confuse me with Whistler. I wasn't sure whether that was good or bad, but I decided to play along with it. I didn't want to get the whole camp alarmed… I stopped sneaking and started walking towards "my" hut, pretending to be disgruntled. I stayed close for some time, until Fisk had gone to sleep. Then I continued my little adventure as planned. I returned to the campfire, checking up on Fisk. Then I climbed on top of his hut, without making a sound. I walked over the hatch in the wall and climbed through it.
I found myself in a small empty room, which has had a despicable smell, and was all moldy. Nevertheless, I approached the only door in the room and started to pick the lock. This was something I had learned when I was still a shadow. I had no problems with the lock, and the door was open a minute later.
I was blinded for a moment by a strange blue light source. When my sight was restored, I ran into the room closing the door behind me. The room was full of ore.
Thousands of ore nuggets… Hundreds of thousands of ore nuggets…I wasn't impressed by the amount. It meant nothing to me. I was impressed by the attractive magical glow the pile produced.
But I was fascinated and furious at the same time.
There I was, standing by the very material that caused all of my miseries; all of my suffering. Or was it human greed, the wish to dominate and his natural sense for destruction?
The rage was storming within me, and it gave me more energy to continue. On the outside, though, it didn't show. I proceeded even more carefully than before.
I unlocked the final door and found myself in the castle yard. The castle gate, which was now closed, immediately came to my attention, and the yard being this empty was just not usual, not even for this part of the night. I could freely say that the castle looked deserted. There even weren't any guards in front of the ore barons' building. Nor were some in the hall, nor upstairs. So I went right for Gomez's throne. But the great room was empty, no candles lit, no torches burning. It was almost spooky. Not to mention odd…

Chapter VI: Curse of the Barrier

I knew exactly where to look next, but I stayed put for some time, thinking the whole thing over. I was trying to understand what had happened here. There were no signs of struggle, no blood, no nothing. Nothing to give information away... At least not where I was standing. Then I remembered I didn't really care.
- I came to the old camp with only one goal, and I'm going to accomplish it! - I thought to myself, leaving the room silently.
I climbed upstairs in the same manner, when I heard a most unpleasant noise coming from the northwest corner of the building. I was relieved when I realized it was someone snoring. And there had been only one person who could have snored in such an intense way. It was Thorus. I was more than satisfied with the fact he was asleep. There were no more obstacles in my way, and I went for my goal right through the door on my left: the door to Gomez's room.
I pulled a dagger I prepared for this ocassion; the dagger Wolf sold me for cutting up animals some time ago. I figured it would suit just fine, and started to open the door very carefully. Then I saw him. He was standing by the window, in all his glory.
I hated him for it, and the way he had gained it…
To my consternation the door crunched at that point, in a way that no one upon this earth would be able to ignore. But Gomez didn't move. I was ready to rush him with my weapon in order to avoid an open fight, but he was still tranquilly standing by the window.
- I thought you would come - He spoke to me, absolutely composed.
I was stunned, and some time passed in complete silence. Then he continued…
- It's all gone… They are all gone…
I said nothing.
- You might as well finish the thing you're here for - he added.
Those were the words of a disappointed man.
It all came to me then: How the conflict in the castle had grown into massive discontent throughout the camp. How all of the diggers had left for the other two camps, and most of the shadows and guards, too. I figured that was the reason I hadn't run into anybody on my way there…
- What makes you think I wouldn't? - I asked, still thinking of a reason he had given up so easily. Too many things rushed through my mind then. But, I remember I thought it was a trap for one brief moment, but still didn't care.
- Because I think you're smarter than that, boy. - He suddenly turned around.
I backed away, but with no reason, as he was still standing far away. His face could now be clearly seen. It was a face of a person who had lost everything, except for his life. The face I must have had when I held the cold body of my best friend in my arms.
I felt no sympathy for him. I couldn't…
So I left. Yes, I left him standing by the window, in his torment. I decided it was the worst punishment he could get. I didn't even dignify him with a decent look.
While I was coming down the ladder to the basement, back the way I had come, I heard a piercing scream from just above me. I felt a sense of guilt… for less than a second. And I continued to leave the camp.
It was his decision, after all…
I guess he wasn't worthy the man we all had toadied, the man King Rhobar had feared, and finally, the man who got my friend killed.

Fragment from Tome X
Last Entry

…Rooting through my journal helps me pass the time, and more important, it fulfills me with strange joy, even though it's knit out of sad memories. It helps me overcome the fear; I'm not scared anymore. I'm coming, Bullit, I'm coming.