ED
Ed, like all
embedded characters, was as thin as a drawing
on a piece of paper. He seemed to be a very old man, tall and straight,
with
bushy eyebrows and piercing eyes. He carried a stout, almost
two-dimensional
hardwood staff in one hand and was dressed in a garment of shining
cloth of
curious workmanship, a long gray cloak, a tall pointed blue hat, a
silver scarf
covered by his long, gray beard, and on his feet a pair of admirable
black
boots. In his other hand was a scroll of paper.
Ed was one of
Morgrom’s work, carving him on the rock wall
of
a coal mine connected to the
Dungeon of Zork. For unknown reasons,
Morgrom the Essence of Evil
placed the scroll for the Second Secret of
Redthirst in Ed’s hand, then
the
Essence of Evil took the embedded character’s form as a model.
Soon after, upon discovering the embedded character,
Mirakles of the Elastic Tendon pried Ed loose from his place of
imprisonment. Upon
acquiring
his father’s scroll, Mirakles permitted Ed to venture with
him and
his companions,
Glorian of the Knowledge and
Spike the Protector. These
would
be the best times that Ed had ever had, and he was grateful to them all
for
letting him accompany them.
While Ed proved to be a warm, friendly,
courageous
companion, he was incredibly silent, the others almost neglecting his
presence
at times. Ed saved the party from a seemingly infininte supply of
zombies by chanting a spell. For the enchantment gave the embedded
character control over their will, and he ordered the zombies back to
work to finish the bank renovations before the deadline. The embedded
character demonstrated extreme selflessness, sacrificing the patch of
flint
that made
up his left knee in exchange for a permanent limp, to provide a means
of
igniting a fire to fuel a hot-air balloon. This gift would spell out
his doom.
Although he had an inordinate fear of heights, stemming from his fear
of
falling in general, the tumble with his companions down the flight of
stairs
that join the second and third levels of the Dungeon ended with the
embedded
character in a small pile of stone shards and rock dust.
In remembrance of his good humor, Mirakles took the remains
of Ed with him and after his quest was complete in the Dungeon, laid
him to
rest in a place of honor in the realm of the
Sunless Grotto.
| SOURCE(S): The Zork Chronicles |