Write about a secret laboratory in your world. Why must it stay hidden and what is being developed there?

The Lymix Research Lab

Philip Lorens, Investigator/Reporter

Olyn Free City Gossiper

January 15, 1123

On the eastern side of the Pasimen Sea sets the Free City of Folmore. This large bustling metropolis is the mecca of most trade in Torains's Southwest Hemisphere, due to its location on the Folmore Straight. The one mile wide and ten mile long straight is the fastest route from the Pasimen Sea to the White Ocean, and the Folmore Council controls this major bottleneck. The moderate climate along with the city's location has promoted Folmore as the largest and most famous city in this young world.

Folmore City was founded by Richard Folmore in 437 N.E. Folmore was a veteran from the 1st War of the Emerald Kingdoms and through a series of legendary events found himself in the service of the Grand Wizard Lymix. It is documented that Richard helped and protected the powerful spell caster erect the largest structure in all of torain, The Lymix Tower. The great Wizard's home quickly grew into Torain's first school for spell casters, and today is the world's most celebrated school of magic. After the tower was completed, Richard Folmore formed the Mystic Guard.

The Mystic Guard was created as a highly trained group of slave swordsmen sworn into the protection of the Tower and the High Wizards that control it. The Guard today is primary made up of prisoners or criminals on the run from other nations. Today's MG is made up of willing slaves, make the cut, swear the oath, bound yourself to the tower, and your past life is erased. The only thing it will cost you is service to the Tower for the rest of your life. It is rumored that these men are fed mutating potions and equip magic infused weapons and armor. One thing is for certain, the entire city was built around the Mystic Guard. The men need houses, food, clothes and boom! The city builds up to the inhabitants demands.

It would seem that the city of unsavory soldiers, Thieves Guilds, Assassin Guilds, underworld vice, and headquartered to over four dozen different mercenary companies has a darker secret still. For the last few years a rumor started circulate through the halls of the Tower and the streets of the Southside Slums. Bright lights and strange noises emitting from the Tower in the middle of the night were merely the beginning of this strange tale. Reports of Guardsmen going insane on their night post. Strange creatures spotted in the ringed forest that surrounds the tower. Lymix Tower has stood for almost 700 years and nothing like this strange phenomenon has occurred until resent years. All of these unexplained happenings have left the local authorities and residents scratching their heads.

Until Now!

About 3 months ago (late October 1122) a young girl washed up on the shore of the Comarty Coast, well what was left of her. A small Elven Fishing village on the White Ocean, just south of the Folmore straight found a young naked human female washed up on their beach. The young light skinned girl was dehydrated and badly bloodied. Evidence of torture and strange runes covered her body. A few of her bones were broken. All of her hair had fell out, leaving her completely bald from head to toe. The elven clerics acted as quick as they could, but they couldn't save the young girl's life, as she died a few hours later in their care. The story she told before the creator called her home was both terrifying and dark, leaving everyone that heard her story in shock.

According to the healers and witnesses, the young girl spent the last hours of her life explaining her situation as well as giving us a dire warning. She told the witnesses that she was taken as a young orphan from the streets of Folmore to Lymix Tower, rather should I say under the Tower. The dying girl went to talk of a large underground facility that reached deep under the Tower, deeper than she thought possible. A facility for the Wizards and students to conduct forbidden experiments. Dark experiments on everything, including the living and the dead.

The witnesses admit that they didn't believe the girl at first, but once she was pressed for details, the story got even more terrifying. Someone asked her how to get to this underground facility, a tactic used by healers to keep their patient talking, to keep her alert. This was a simple question, but the answer was not. Through hard fought breaths, the dying girl done her best to answer what questions she could.

She was lead to the basement of the Lymix Tower. A trip that seemed to take forever, according to her. Once she reached the bottom level she was lead to special platform, a large metal floor square with runes carved in its surface. Once on the platform, one of the robed figures waved their hands and spoke some strange words, the platform started to descend. After hours of descend the platform stopped in a large chamber with multiple hallways running in different directions. The walls and ceiling were covered in shinny metal with runes and other designs etched into its surface. The girl went on to describe different rooms and chambers, but every room had the same shinny metal and etched designs, even the room she was kept in. The girl was asked what did her captures looked liked and all she would say they looked like Wizards. She was asked what they did to her, and she would say is pain.

Witnesses say the girl was obviously traumatized and in pain, asking anymore questions would only speed up the process. The girl died 6 hours after they pulled her from the shore. The Eleven Elders prepared the body in the way of their customs and buried her body in a soft spot of ground and planted an oak sapling on top of her mount. The classic Elf burial, using death to nourish life.

Officials from both the Folmore Council and the Congress of Lymix have denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the brain can imagine power things when facing death. This statement and attitude towards these claims, has done nothing to exclude the Tower from any guilt or squashed any rumors. Instead, gas has been thrown on the fire, as multiple voices has came out to question the Tower.

Representives from nations along the Pasimen Sea have called these recent actuations into question. This new situation is fueling an already highly volatile arrangement into increasing distrust from the Dwarven Kingdom Ronimead (the exporter of fine jews and metals), The Orc Alliance (Exporter of chemicals and high quality building materials), The Union of Emerald Kingdoms (the exporter of the best and most sought after food and food ingredients in all of Torian), who all depend on the straight of Folmore to transport their goods. This on top of the latest tax increase passage through the straight has all the increasing markings of a possible conflict in the region, so much so, that the Orc Alliance just bought 6 new Crystal Powered Battleships from Ronimead, and the Emerald Kingdoms that border the Pasimen have bought a number of high quality Marble and Granite shipments and currently underway of reinforcing all coastal cities, forts, and harbors. This increasing tension has many in Torain, side eyeing this area of the planet has a possible flash point.

If the powers of Folmore and Lymix are indeed running a secret underground laboratory and practicing unethical rituals they will have every cause to keep it secret. Most of Torain doesn't trust spell casters, a discovery of unethical research will drive that point in further.