Urkling's Book

The Urkling's Book is an item and location in Midnight Evil. It acts as the prison for the Urklings.

Description
The Urkling's Book is an old and weathered tome of indeterminate age and with no title or author on the cover or spine. The book was used by The Author to trap the eponymous Urklings after they began killing and eating the children of the Unnamed Village, as the Urklings are unable to be killed themselves. The book was then hidden, but eventually found its way into the hands of William Crinkle who began to read the book and released the Urklings from their prison. The only way to return the Urklings to their book is by reading the book in its entirety from start to finish. The book contains seven chapters plus a prologue.

Story
The book details the story of the Unnamed Village after it was unknowingly founded in the midst of the Urkling's territory. After children begin to go missing, only to be found partially devoured, the villagers initially suspect that wolves were the culprits. It is only revealed that the Urklings were to blame after the Author and a boy named Collin, whose sister was the first victim of the gremlins, managed to trap one in a jar. The village attempted to kill the captured Urkling to find that for all they could inflict damage on the creature they could not kill it.

The village attempts to find a way to destroy the Urkling to no avail, learning that they cannot be killed and will even multiple if dismembered. This prompts the Author to reach out to his deceased grandmother for assistance as they share ancestry with ancient Druids. His grandmother visits in a dream and tells the Author that the only way to stop the killing spree of the Urklings is to trap them forever, as they cannot be killed. This requires a sacrifice which the Author begrudgingly agrees to. The ritual is a success and the Urklings are trapped within the Urkling's Book, only able to escape if the book is ever opened by a child.

William Crinkle finds the book in his attic after he is awoken by a loud noise, the book appearing in a chest that he had never seen before. The only way to return the Urklings to the book is by reading the whole thing cover to cover, which William does while defending himself from the now released and very hungry Urklings. Upon trying to return the book to the chest he found it in, he discovers the attic to be empty, and instead buries the book in his backyard in the hopes that it would never be recovered.

Gameplay
The gameplay of the book will vary slightly depending on whether the player has chosen to use their microphone or the narration option. If using the microphone, the player needs to read each line of the book out loud which will then turn that line purple and will allow the following line to be read. If the narration mode is turned on, the book will instead by read by an unknown voice and each line will only turn purple once the voice has been allowed to complete that line. Regardless of the mode being used, every line in the given chapter must be read in order for the game to proceed. The book can only be read while the player is directly looking down at it, and progress on the active line will revert if the player looks up from the book or pauses mid-sentence. While reading the book, any active Urklings will attempt to attack the player and can only be repelled by moving the crosshair over their heads to drive them off. Doing so will reset the current line in the book, so completing the line before looking around the room will keep the current progress. Dying at any point will cause the player to begin at the start of that chapter, but will not revert any progress made on chapters that have already been completed.

If the player looks up from the book too frequently they will begin to Panic. This will cause the screen to be covered by a red vignette, a heartbeat will play, and the center of the screen will become blurry. It is not possible to read the lines in the book while the player is panicked, however the status ends after only a couple of seconds.

Preface
"Long before the first humans stood upright and took their place in the world, there was a beautiful land that was ruled by what many would come to call the Fae. These ancient beings were worshipped by Mankind but they were also feared. Humans were right to be afraid, for there were many different creatures that lived in the darkness, watching us, waiting." "Most were harmless enough, amusing themselves by causing mischief and playing pranks on humans that crossed their paths. However, some had more sinister intentions. The Urkling, for example, have developed a liking for the taste of human children. These monsters are small, unnaturally fast and impossible to kill." "It was an unlucky tragedy for my people that decided to build our village here, right in the middle of the Urklings' territory. We have lost so many of our children over this past year. There aren't enough tears in this world to weep for their loss." "Thankfully though, my grandmother taught me well in the ways of my Druid ancestors. I may not be able to kill the little beasts, but I was able to work out a spell that binds them to this book. I can only hide it and pray that it never falls into the hands of a child." "If you are reading this, know that I'm truly sorry for the demons that have now been passed on to you. Opening the book will have awakened them and I'm sure they will be ravenously hungry." "Once the book is opened you must read it out loud from beginning to end in order to return them to their magical prison. Be watchful, they only attack if you don't see them coming. Most importantly, once you finish this booking keep it hidden so that no one ever opens it again."

Chapter 1
"Little Maggie O' Brian was the first. The children had been playing in Hogan's Forest when they all heard a noise. Sensing no danger because there were so many of them, twelve children in all decided to investigate the source of the strange sound." "As they all searched high and low, they soon realized that Maggie was missing. Frantically they began searching for their friend. She was a small girl who loved to play hide and seek." "Her big brother Collin insisted that she was probably hiding somewhere safe and giggling to herself as she watched everyone search for her." "The sun sank low in the sky and the forest grew dark. The children, frustrated and panicked, ran back to the village to alert their parents that little Maggie was nowhere to be found. That's when everyone lit torches and spread out through the wood calling her name." "The little girl's mother sobbed desperately as we all inspected every corner of those woods in hopes of finding her. Her brother kept searching, tears streaming down his cheeks." "'I'm her big brother,' he said, rubbing his eyes. I'm supposed to make sure nothing happens to her.'" "'It's not your fault Collin,' I assured him. 'We'll find her soon and she'll be no worse for ware.'" "He nodded, forced a smile, and we all continued looking. The moment I heard him scream I knew he had found her." "Or rather, what was left of her, which wasn't much. We were sure it was Maggie because she had worn her favorite hair bow that day. Her father plucked the pink ribbon from the body and fell to his knees, wailing into the darkness." "Poor Collin tried to tell us then. He said that she had been covered in what he described as little green men." "'They were fat and green-' he stammered, '-with bright glowing eyes. They were biting off bits of skin and flesh.'" "No one believed the lad. We all attributed the horrible ordeal to a hungry wild animal. Of course, what else could it possibly be? Scooping up what remained of little Maggie, the townsfolk set to work preparing for her funeral. We had no idea the horrors that lay ahead." "I thought to myself how strange her wounds looked. I couldn't help but think back to what Collin had said about the little green men. It made me think of the stories my grandmother used to tell me. She said that our Druid ancestors spoke of tiny creatures that lived long ago in the swamps and marshes surrounding our lands. The Urklings, she called them." "There were three tribes, each being their own breed of evil. One tribe, I recall, she said were green and fat. They would lure children away from safety and feast on their flesh." "We didn't live near any swamps, surely the boy's mind was playing tricks on him. Besides, the Urklings weren't real. They couldn't be."

Chapter 2
"Maggie O'Brian's funeral was just what anyone would expect. Everyone did their best to comfort the grieving parents. Collin kept to himself. Everyone assumed it was because he blamed himself. After his sister had been laid to rest, I came to him to ask him how he was doing. He looked up at me, eyes red from either crying, lack of sleep, or a combination of the two and said, 'I really saw them, the little green monsters.'" "My heart ached as I put my arms around the boy. I kept telling myself that seeing his little sister in pieces couldn't have been easy for him. He was just in shock. The stories of the Urklings were only told to scare children into doing what they were told. That was all." "The first thing my grandmother told me about the Urklings was that there were three tribes." "The green ones had round bellies and piercing blue eyes. She said they could be heard if you walked deep in the swamp at night. The would dance around their tiny campfires, which would appear only as tiny flickering lights through the trees. They were the least lethal of the three tribes, but every bit as evil." "The red ones were more temperamental and even faster than their green cousins. They didn't sing or dance around campfires, and their celebrations were a bit more gruesome. They prefer to eat children from the inside out. It was even thought by some that they were only red because they were stained by the blood of their victims. Fiery red bristle-like hairs sprouted from the tops of their head and their glowing yellow eyes seemed cold and calculating." "The Pale Urklings were in another class all together. They had white skind and wild untamed blue hair that flowed out in every direction. The most unsettling thing about them was that they had no eyes at all, yet they somehow were the most keen and efficient killers of the three. Grandmother said that their long wiry hair could somehow sense the presence and locations of children." "There were some things that all three tribes had in common. Urklings preferred to eat after midnight and would only attack if the child didn't make direct eye contact with them. I reassured myself that the O'Brian girl being attack barely after sunset meant that she had to have been the victim of a wild animal attack." "A few of the men in the village came together to hunt down the beast that killed the girl. They came back two days later, carrying the carcass of a large wolf. The whole village breathed a sigh of relief and a big celebration was held. The only one besides myself that remained anxious was Collin. Looking at his face that night, I knew that he believed the creatures that killed Maggie were still out there waiting." "He was right."

Chapter 3
"The next day, Maggie's mother visited her daughter's grave, discovering something that was more than a little strange. The earth on the grave was disturbed as if something had clawed its way out. I couldn't help but remember what Grandmother had said about the Red Urklings. They would burrow inside their victims and eat their way out. Could it be that we brought a whole tribe of them right into the village without even knowing it? The answer would come soon enough." "Jacob McLarin was found torn to shreds in his bed the following morning. Obviously, a wild animal hadn't attacked him inside his own house. Another devastated family and another funeral this soon after Maggie didn't sit well with anyone. The atmosphere became even more tense and uncomfortable. I insisted on inspecting Jacob's remains myself that there was nothing hiding inside." "Collin approached me afterwards, asking what I was looking for. I told him it was nothing, but he knew better." "'You believe me about the monsters, don't you,' his young face was determined as he spoke. 'You're the only one that doesn't look at me like I'm crazy.'" "I swallowed hard started to deniy it. But the words caught in my throat and as much as I tried, I couldn't lie." "'Listen,' I put my hands on his shoulders. 'I don't think you're crazy, but we need to be sure of what we're dealing with before we spark a full blown panic. Tell me exactly what happened.' Collin took a deep breath, working up his nerve." "'It was so dark, but I had a good torch. I called her name over and over, she didn't answer. Then I heard something. It sounded like chewing. I took a few more steps and saw her laying there. All over here were these fat little green monsters. They had mouthfuls of pointy teeth that looked like needles, and massive clawed hands. Just then, a twig snapped under my foot and they all stopped what they were doing and looked right at me. That's when I screamed and they scattered. They were gone before any of the grownups got to me.' His eyes filled with tears at the memory. 'Please, tell me what they are.'" "He was no more than eleven or twelve, having just lost his sister and now his friend. No one had believed him when he tried to tell us before. It couldn't have been easy, but he opened up to me. I felt it only right that I tell him what I knew. We sat together by the bonfire late into the night and I told him all the old stories. Unfortunately, the one thing that my Grandmother hadn't mentioned was how to get rid of them. Looking into the flames I got an idea. I knew that most unholy creatures were repelled by fire." "'Well,' Collin folded his arms. 'We will just have to test what happens to an Urkling when it's on fire.'"