The Tales of Krimson Mask

The Tales of Krimson Mask is a collection of promos written by Krimson Mask.

Jack and the Beanstalk
Once upon a time, in "A Land, Far, Far Away", there lived a poor young boy named Jack Spriggins who lived with his widowed Mother. One day, Mother sent Jack to market so he could sell their cow in order to make ends meet. As Jack was on his way through the forest, he was approached by a Stranger who offered him four "magical beans" in exchange for his cow. Thrilled at the prospect of owning magic beans, Jack made the deal. When he returned back home, his mother grew upset. She threw three of the four beans out of the window and sent Jack to bed without dinner (Jack kept the fourth bean with him in a pouch). Overnight, the seeds grew into a gigantic beanstalk. It reached so far into the heavens, the top went completely out of sight.

Jack climbed the plant and arrived in a land high up in the clouds with a castle in the distance. Upon arriving at the top, Jack was again greeted by the mysterious Stranger. The man told Jack that the giant who lived inside the castle was named Blunderbore, and he had killed Jack's father in order to ransack all of his families' riches. Before disappearing, the Stranger told Jack to enter the castle and claim what was rightfully his.

When Jack broke into the giant's castle, Blunderbore quickly sensed a human was near and uttered, "Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he 'live, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread."

Fortunately, Jack was saved by the giant's wife and he escaped from the palace with some gold coins. Back home, the boy and his Mother celebrated their newfound fortune. But their luck did not last, and Jack climbed the beanstalk once more. This time he stole a hen which laid golden eggs and again was saved by the giant's wife. He went down the beanstalk and showed the chicken to his Mother, and the two lived happily on the riches from the hen's eggs.

Eventually, Jack's curiousity got the best of him and he decided to climb the beanstalk a third time. This time, he stole a singing Magical Harp that played by itself. The instrument did not appreciate being stolen and called out to Blunderbore for help. The giant chased Jack down the beanstalk, but luckily the boy got to the ground before the giant did. Jack grabbed an axe and chopped down the beanstalk. The giant fell to the earth, hitting the ground so hard that the beanstalk split apart. With the giant dead, Jack and his Mother were safe and were sure to prosper with their newfound riches.

And they lived happily ever after...or so that’s how the story had been told.

The Tall Tales Turn Tragic
After Blunderbore had crashed to the ground, a mighty tremor shook the earth and a fearful groan was heard. Jack ran to the crater where Blunderbore’s body was sure to be. When Jack arrived however, the body of the giant was imprinted in the ground, but Blunderbore was no where to be found.

When Jack returned home to warn everyone, he was surprised to see that numerous royal officers had surrounded his cottage and seized The Golden Harp, the golden hen, and all his gold. Again, Jack was greeted by the Stranger, but this time the mysterious man had royal authority from King Midas to arrest Jack for theft, burglary, and attempted murder. As was later found out, the Stranger took the Golden Harp and gave it to King Midas. The soothing songs of the Golden Harp were able to temporarily subdue the King's cursed Midas Touch. Forever grateful, King Midas told the Stranger that he could own anything he desired. Rather than choose gold, the Stranger requested ownership in the Sword of Damocles.

Jack and his Mother were arrested and imprisoned in a dungeon with a twenty-year sentence. Because he was young and strong, Jack was ordered to labor for the kingdom. He was taken out of the prison’s walls and given an axe, forced to cut wood every day of his innocent verdict. He would never see his Mother again. From that point on, he vowed revenge on the Stranger for his deception and betrayal. Jack rarely talked again.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf
After serving his sentence, Jack Spriggins had grown into a muscular man with impressive strength and embarked on a new life. Thanks to his numerous years in the great outdoors, Jack had become an efficient woodcutter and had excelled as a great hunter. One night while Jack was asleep, the Big Bad Wolf invaded his tent and stole many of his belongings, including the little pouch that contained his last magic bean. When Jack awoke the next morning, he set out to track the footprints of the hairy robber.

After days of searching, Jack overheard boisterous snoring close by. He followed the origin of the snores when he came across a log cabin. He looked inside and saw the napping Big Bad Wolf dressed in a Grandmother’s floral nightgown. Jack carefully slipped inside the home and raised his axe over the Wolf’s belly. Just when he was about to lower it, it occurred to him that a Grandmother might be inside and could still be saved. Ever so quietly, Jack took a scissors and snipped open the belly. A little girl dressed in a cap of velvet red sprang out of the stomach along with the Grandmother. The hunter and little girl quickly gathered large stones to fill inside the Wolf’s belly so when the beast awoke and tried to run away, he collapsed and quickly died. With the the Big Bad Wolf dead, Spriggins took his trusty axe and severed the Wolf’s head.

After the Grandmother had recomposed herself, she pleaded with Spriggins that he protect her darling Little Red Riding Hood for the rest of his life in exchange for an unknown favor. The hunter agreed. As time passed on, Little Red blossomed into a red-hot beautiful woman. Hoping to devour her luscious body, the predators of the forest preyed after her. Unfortunately for them, Spriggins’ hunting abilities proved valuable. The hunter stalked behind any predator that came close to the girl and he would quickly slaughter them if they got too close. His slaying abilities became known throughout the kingdom for his habit of decimating beasts with his savage brawling attacks and impressive axe-wielding. His slaying trademark always ended with him drawing blood from the beast’s head to cause profuse bleeding and would pour the crimson blood on his face in a twisted ritual. Because of his fetish for facial blood, the hunter donned a dark red mask and would eventually take on the name Krimson Mask. Despite their difference in age and appearance, Krimson Mask and Little Red would forever be inseparable and developed a father/daughter-like bond.

The Monster Metamorphosis
The folktales of Krimson Mask and Little Red Riding Hood became the stuff of legend. It seemed like everyone had a story on how the courageous Krimson Mask had saved a village from the hands of a foul-odored giant, a repulsive-looking ogre, or even a fire-breathing dragon. But the success of the two would eventually come to an end when tragedy would strike.

One day, while Krimson Mask and Little Red were travelling on the road, a pack of Big Bad Wolves ambushed the popular pair. The Wolfpack attacked Krimson Mask and tried to mutilate his masked face. With her protector subdued, and herself being surrounded by several Big Bad Wolves, Little Red Riding Hood was defenseless for the first time since the traumatic experience from several years before at Grandmother’s house. All Little Red remembered is hearing the voice of an unknown man before she lost consciousness.

What happened next is a mystery. Little Red could not remember what occurred. All they knew was that they found themselves in a completely new world that was nothing like there own. Due to the encounter with the Wolves, Krimson Mask’s face had been completely disfigured. His eyes and tongue were ripped out while his eyelids and lips were sewn shut. But even without his sight and voice, Mask’s other senses enhanced, developing a radar-like sixth sense. Afterwards, he has acted in a calculated, serial-killer type that only wanted to make people bleed for his hideous condition. As for Little Red, she no longer resembled the sweet innocent girl she had always been. The horrors and tragedies of her life have forced her mind to shatter, making her insanely demented in an extra-extroverted way. She believed the unknown man she heard was the person who had orchestrated the attack on them.

One night in a blind rage, Krimson Mask viciously murdered a man who tried to take advantage of Little Red. But the real story of interest was the newspaper article that the man was carrying. The story contained details about some of the paranormal performers of the Psychotic Wrestling Alliance (PWA). The article also mentioned how the General Manager of one of the PWA's brands was vacationing in a nearby town. Little Red believed that all her answers to their unknown past would be linked to the PWA. With Little Red acting as the eyes and mouth for Krimson Mask, the two embarked on a journey to extract information and blood. Only they could be the authors of this twisted fairytale gone horribly wrong.

Collection

 * Once Upon a Time...
 * A Night to Dismember
 * Hide & Seek
 * PMS
 * Dear Dieary
 * Altered Reality
 * Godfather Death
 * The Midas Plague
 * Recipe for Catastrophe