Fading of the World

Fading of the World

Prologue:

When the World we live in was young it was called Eden. Eden knew only peace and happiness until the creation of the humans and the First War shattered it into two pieces. Centuries passed and the world had a new name. Its name became the Lands of Myth. When the human lord King Victor the First sank the continent of Domaria and nearly destroyed the rest of the land the Wanderer, the ever omniscient protector of the World stepped in and saved all life.
Centuries passed and the world had a new name, it became called Medea. Medea thrived despite the constant warfare. The Wanderer created for the great champion David the Crown and Sword of Medea which contained all the Wanderer's mystic powers. With the Crown and the Sword David united and ruled Medea for many years in piece. Then one day his advisor betrayed him and killed him. As legend states once the Crown and the Sword fell from his grasp they shattered into two pieces each. For a long time the Moonswell and Lyonheart dynasties fought eachother, one seeking to take the other's piece of the Crown and Sword. In the end the last of both families Elycia Moonswell and Victor Lionheart united the Crown and the Sword. Their passion for eachother and power consumed the land in a flood of bloodshed. The couple managed to destroy all of the world's magic, but the Wanderer sacrificed himself and magic returned to the world once again. When Elycia and Victor were consumed by their own powers and by the tragedy they inflicted they perished and Medea was torn apart into several continents and islands.
For a while the world had no name. The survivors of what has been called the Calamity began to rebuild. Animosity towards the human race reached its peak, and what few humans survived the Calamity of Medea being torn apart were eradicated by the other races of the world. Anarchy reigned for a decade until a group of adventurers banded together and found the Fountain of Magic and restored the Wanderer to life. The Wanderer helped end the period of anarchy and helped the mortal races rebuild. Then one day, as he was apt to do he disappeared.

A Century has passed
Today the world goes by no name, it is simply the World. Suffering and death have become common in the World. It all began with one frail bodied elf. His name before his rise to power was Kel'Atheal. Today he is feared as the Emperor Moribidus. Even before he had his great power Moribidus had uncommonly strong natural powers. He spent his days amusing himself with torturing animals and causing mischief. His own people the Blue Elves exiled him from their island when they discovered his crimes. Alone Kel'Atheal wandered the world, his heart becoming more bitter in his solitude. Then one day Kel'Atheal ceased being who he was. Perhaps a design of fate, or a simple coincidence, Kel'Atheal was living in a swamp alone. He was out foraging for food when into his hands came destiny. In a great bog buried for a century Kel'Atheal uncovered the long lost Sword of Medea. At once the Sword's immense powers corrupted his all ready tainted soul. He discarded his old name and his old identity and he became Moribidus. The Sword of Medea, its name long forgotten by now he rechristened Blackblade, for the moment he laid his hand upon its hilt the blade immediately smoked and turned pitch as the night sky.

Moribidus' rise to power was quick. He returned first to the island that had been his home. Ruthlessly he murdered all his people and he sank the island beneath the waves. Realizing he had great powers, Moribidus spent the next year silently searching the World. He knew the only rival to his powers would be the protector of the World, the Wanderer himself. All though he, like everyone else was unaware of exactly what the Wanderer was, he spent the whole year researching everything about the figure that he could. Through his research he discovered the true powers of the Sword of Medea, and the true nature of the Sword, that it made him as powerful as the Wanderer. Unprecedented, Moribidus found his rival's only weakness, a feat which no one before had accomplished.

On the seventh night of the seventh month Moribidus' laid his trap. Attacking the largest continent and the largest army in the world, the Alliance, comprised of orcs, dwarves, elves of all kinds, gnomes, and many other minor races Moribidus' mericlessly destroyed their grand army single-handedly and proceeded to destroy their cities. After destroying the Alliance Moribidus' threatened its surviving citizens with total destruction of the planet. This was the bait he set and as he predicted the Wanderer took it. Before the pair could duel Moribidus sprang his trap. Upon seeing the Wanderer he struck the Blackblade into the ground and all the World trembled violently. Volcanoes erupted, tidal waves crashed into the coasts, buildings toppled.

"If you make even one slight movement I shall rip this World apart!" he screamed defiantly at the Wanderer.

"Why do you wait?" The Wanderer questioned quite calmly despite the chaos around him.

"I want to make a deal with you." Moribidus smiled evilly. "This is the deal. You will bind yourself in chains that even you cannot break or escape from. You will give me your powers. If you do not accept or if you try to stop me, I shall destroy this world completely and utterly.right now. If you accept my deal I shall let the world exist."

"Hmm, and how can you gurantee that you will not go back on your word once I am bound?" The Wanderer's normally gleeful expression hardened.

"Once you have transferred your powers to me you shall be chained to the Sword. You may keep guard of it for all eternity to ensure no one can ever destroy the planet. This is your only choice to save the world old man." Moribidus mocked the Wanderer.

"Very well, I can see that I have no choice. However, there is one power of mine that I cannot give you. It is the power of prophecy. I foretell that one day a Human shall return. That human will carry your doom and shall undo your might." The Wanderer prophesied and faster than even Moribidus could see he leapt forward, grabbed hold of the Blackblade and in a flash disappeared seemingly. Inspected the blade Moribidus could see the addition of a large diamond in the hilt. Inside the diamond a miniature Wanderer stood looking back at him, shaking his head with sorrow. A rush of power like an upward gust sent Moribidus into the air and his all ready immense powers doubled.

Twenty years later....

With his unfathomable power Moribidus coerced or conquered every kingdom and major population center on the World. Not even the smallest island is untouched. He reigns over the world as Emperor Moribidus. Most half-human hybrid sentients have been rounded up in a campaign of genocide. There are still some who resist, but they live in the wilds and are hunted down by the the dark lord's army. Fear permeates society. The World is once again unified, but it is plunged into darkness. The protector of the World is imprisoned under the grasp of Moribidus. Who can save the planet? Who can free the Wanderer? Who can bring back the humans? Who can defeat the terrible Emperor Moribidus?

The Story Begins

In the little town of Kalin a Tuvore man is jolted awake. Tuvores are a race of sea-green skinned people. They are similar to orcs, goblins, and trolls in genetic make-up, although Tuvores are much more elven in appearance than their racial cousins. This Tuvore's name is Adonis. He jumps out of his bed and runs to the sound of the pounding on his front door. Opening the door Adonis is confronted by three uniformed members of the Black Hoods. The Black Hoods are Emperor Moribidus' secret police.

"Routine inspection civillian, please vacate while we search." The lizardlike leader of the the three hisses.

"Another inspection? This is the third time this week! Do you have to do this so early in the morning?" Adonis grumbles.

"Hold your tongue civillian or I will refer you to the Northern Director for dissent!" the lizardman snaps his fingers under Adonis' nose and enters his house.

Adonis stands outside muttering darkly under his breath. The Sun is just coming up and the sky is painted pink and orange at its rise. Dew still fresh on the ground greets the rising Sun. Adonis stretches and leans against the small picket fence infront of his house. Now and then a great crash comes from inside his house making him jump and begin muttering again. It sounds like the Black Hoods are ripping the place apart, which they are. Just as Adonis' last nerve is about to fire off a piercing cry is heard down the street.

"What are you doing! You can't take him, he's my only son!" A golden elf woman is clutching the robes of Black Hood in front of her house.

Two more Black Hoods emerge from the neighbor's houses dragging her son between them. The boy's face is badly bruised and a nasty gash runs down the side of his face. The chief Black Hood kicks the mother hard in the stomachand she crumples to the ground sobbing uncontrollablyclutching at his robes. The three Black Robes inside Adonis' house emerge, saying nothing to Adonis and walking over to their colleagues.

"This boy has been found in possession of banned propaganda!" One of the Black Robes produces a book of basic magic.

"Please, it's just a guide to household spells, its nothing dangerous. He was jsut trying to learn some magic to help us, out. I swear there is nothing dangerous." The mother pleads bowing to the feet of the Black Robe in charge.

"All magic is dangerous. You know the law, no one is permitted to learn magic without approval of the Emperor or your local king. Do you have a license from your local king for this spell tome?" The lizardman Black Robe looks menacingly at the woman.

"I-I no, I don't have a license. Its jsut spells to make crops grow, to cook food, to create water. I didn't think it would be illegal, please don't take my son away." She wails and tears pour down her face.

"Men, grab her as well. I don't have all day to waste. We must return to Blackrock Keep immediately." the chief Black Robe orders. The woman's cries stop and she becomes flustered and confused, protesting her captors.

"What have I done?" She cries but a resounding smack from the lizardman silences her. The Black Robes drag her and her son to a wooden cart. They chain their arms and legs and shove them into the wagon. Closing the door the captives disappear from view and the cart begins to drive out of the town.

Adonis stands out there for a moment looking at the scene he just witnessed. He walks forward slowly to his neighbor's house. He catches of glimpse of the torn up inside before he locks and shuts the door.

"I should have never lent that boy that book." he mutters under his breath to himself. Walking back into his own house he finds the place similarly dishevelled. On his bookshelf only one book, a biography of Emperor Moribidus is left undisturbed.

"Heh, I knew they'd never look in there." Talking to himself, Adonis takes the book off the shelf and opens it to reveal not a biography, but a concealed tome of complex magic. "I guess I had better get out of here things are beginning to get rough they caught me off guard today."

For the remainder of the morning hours Adonis makes himself a breakfast, packs his clothes and as much food as he can carry. He puts his secret magic tome in his pack. Slinging the load over his shoulder he takes one last look at his messy home. He lockst he door and shuts it. Whistling while he walks, he strays away from the road and into the forest so as to best avoid the patrols that frequent the highways of the World. Where he is going, he does not know. Either way, things are rough for a mage these days.

(Ah the dreaded double post, forgive me patches! I think if I show off the evilness of Moribidus though that I have in mind ya'll might be more keen to join to defeat him. Well without further ado, let's see why I put this in the Mature Section.)

Far away in the land of Kruel....

A terrible black stone fortress stands amidst the sullen plains. All roads lead to it over the barren stripped hills that surround the city of Kruel. Here is Emperor Moribidus' chief stronghold. The land here was once a bountiful and fruitful sunny grassland. Its sweeping green hills and amber fields of crop are all gone now. Sick with pollution and death the very landscape gray and muddy now. Even the weather is forlorn. Moribidus by his great powers keeps the sky a permanant steely cloudy gray. The wind howls fiercely and coldly from the north. Dreary winding roads leading to all the cities on this largest of the continents lead here. Caravans of slaves and prisoners go in. Black Robes and agents of the Emperor and his foulest monsters and generals move out.

A lightning bolt pierces the sky and strikes down whatever may it find when the Emperor is angry deep inside his fortress or even far away in the distant lands. It always finds a mark and it is indiscriminate in its choice. Today there is not much traffic going out, the Emperor is in a foul mood. Deep inside his palace of gold in a pale blue magical light he holds court with his advisors.

Upon a throne of slaves he sits, a leaving weeping mass of weak slaves of all the worlds races piled upon eachother and cruelly heldt ogether with him magic. Their protests cannot be heard, he has removed their tongues and their voiceboxes. Even his own generals cringe at this and the Emperor is well aware, he does it because it forces them to look upon his terrible face instead at the suffering beneath him.

Blue elves were a race that did not look too different than the race of humans. The only exception being a fair blue skin, pointy ears, and a slightly taller stature on average. The elven eyes of all the elvish races posses a almost magical quality and iris is often more than one color. What was Kel'Atheal cannot be seen in the Emperor. Dark grey and rough is his skin. Once blue, green, and red eyes are now one single shocking blue. Kel'Atheal was a normal looking blue elf, Moribidus stature has increased and he towers over the other races menacingly. On his head is a crown made by himself, it is a jagged icy black thing with one massive ruby in its middle.

"BARTOK!" his once fair elvish voice is a high harsh whip. "See to it that General Maximus is punished immediately. He clearly has been taken sway by propaganda and must be re-educated."

"Yes my lord." A wide bulky warthogish looking man named Bartok, the Emperor's chamber guard bows and walks over to a man in armor on one knee before the emperor.

"Wait, my lord, please/ All I am saying is that instead of massacring Hosea, we might simply take their people and use them as fodder to fight the Resistance! My lord I have always served you, I simply want what is best for your army my lord." General Maximus a stalwart looking goblin pleads though even he knows his pleas are of no avail.

"The Resistance! Who can resist me Maximus? And you say you don't need re-education. There is no Resistance, only a group of wannabes attacking mediocre agents who can't perform a simple job right BARTOK! Take him away!" Moribidus flicks his long crooked fingered wrist silencing Maximus until he is gone from his sight.

"Your Highness Duke Marlboro requests an audience on the subject of a possible shipment of grain his city of Couth in the south." The emperor's Speaker, a ratlike sentient of a race called the Rodians anounces.

"Tell him to starve, who else do we have to grant an audience to Eeskwire?" The bored Emperor pulls the Blackblade from its hilt and looks at it absent mindedly in a bored fashion.

"We have Agent Crokus here with a report on the recent crackdown on Kalin. I believe he has brought back some illegal contraband he confiscated." EEskwire grins slyly hoping he might get some of the junk the Emperor might permit him to have.

"Hmm, very well let's see what he has." Moribidus puts the sword away. A miniature Wanderer is seen for a flash of a second sleeping inside the massive diamond on its hilt.

Swinging open the massive doors made of skulls open and a hooded Black Robe cheif bows before the emperor and lowers his hood as is custom. He is an Amphid. A froglike people that come in many different colors and varieties. Agent Krokus is more toadlike and is an earthy tone of greens and brown.

"My lord, we successfully detained six dissidents, including two practicing illegal magic out a basic magic tome which was confiscated and destroyed. The town elder also had several magical artifacts that may be of some interest to you." Krokus bowed again and through the great skull gates the lizardman Black Hood agent walked in and unwrapped a large blanket on which several curious object rested. "Thank you Agent Locke, that will be all" Krokus dismissed the lizardman. "As you see here my lord the most intriguing object is this spear. I am not sure what it does but the town elder confessed under torture that it was the Spear of Racka Fleetfoot."

"Let me see that." Moribidus opened his palm and the spear flew into his grasp and he examined it. After a few moments he snaped it like a twig and cast it aside. "No this is a fake. Do you actually have any artifacts Krokus or have you brought me children's toys again?"

"Well look at this here my lord. It is a magical cape that can make anyone invisible!" Krokus threw the silvery cape around himself and disappeared. He reappeared in a burst of flame screaming before he extinguished in smoke, the invisible cloak incinierated.

"Why would I care about invisibility cloaks Krokus? Emperor Moribidus does not have to hide from shit. If you wanted to be a jester instead of a Black Robe Agent I can have that arranged." Moribidus laughed a little at Krokus pain before making his snide remark.

"N-no my lord, I wish to be a Black Robe I will do my job better my lord, I promise you. I do have something curious here though. I can sense its magic. To be hoenst with his highness I even tried it on out o curiosity, it so pulled me. Yet it has no apparant powers that I could see." Krokus withdrew a small simple shiny ring and held it in front of the Emperor. A sharp snoring sounds echoes around the chamber and Krokus flinches.

"Hmm, what have we here?" Moribidus snatches the ring and looks at it nonchalantly before setting it on weeping catlike Felinid that was his armrest. "Hmm, nothing special. Go now Krokus. I expect better of you or I shall make you into one of my clowns. Be gone!" With a chillign shout Krokus violently flies out of the room slamming open the skull gateand skidding down the entrance of the palace out of sight.

Eeskwire slowly sinks into the shadows and out of the hall. Outside the wind comes to a still, the Emperor's mood has uplifted. He pulls the Blackblade from its scabbard and holds it up so that the diamond is facing him. The little Wanderer is standing up looking at him.

"Ah, my good friend, it seems something about this ring woke up from your little nap I see." Moribidus genuinely laughs.

"Yes, I know what it really is that you have there Kel'Atheal." The voice of the Wanderer echoes outside his prison's wall.

"I figured that much you sapheaded fool. It must be important, but I can detect no real purpose for it either like Krokus." Moribidus responded waspishly to hearing his former name.

"It is........ A wedding ring of course!" The Wanderer hearty and joyful laughter rang through the dreadful scene. The slaves frozen in anguish on the throne heard it all. The Wanderer's voice was often the only respite they had in enduring their short and terrifying lives.

"All right then, be coy old man! I caught you slipping though, I know you do not easily wake from your sleep, there is something important about this ring." Moribidus grinned evilly at the Wanderer's small stony expression before it broke into a smile.

"You know Kel'Atheal you can't make Krokus into a court jester. That is my job. You should listen to Maximus as well, he is much wiser than you are in military affairs." The Wanderer's voice floated amusingly around the Emperor's steaming ears.

"Maximus is incompetant, I will have him purged immediately, thanks for the advice old man perhaps I shall let you watch. And how many times must I tell you to stop calling me Kel'Atheal, he is dead there is only Moribidus now!" The Emperor shaked the sword violently, but the Wanderer stayed unmoved inside the diamond. Five bolts of lightning and thunder rocked the land all round his dark city.

"Awww, you'll always be little Kel'Atheal to me." The Wanderer mocked a friendly voice.

"That's it your going to the Moon for a few hours!" Moribidus snapped his finger and in a pop of smoke the sword disappeared from the World. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "I swear, I should have made him agree to never speak when I imprisoned him."

A few awkward minutes of silenced passed by before Eeskwire slinked back into the court accompanied by a tall ogre. Ogres are an orangish tan people, usually big and fat and bearded, even the ogre women. Ogres have either one or two horns depending on their age. This ogre had one horn, indicating he was still young.

"My lord, Captain Gaunt has some news that might please you my Emperor." Eeskire smiled rather greedily, he had no doubt arranged a cut of whatever evil gift this small ranking Captain had.

"Oh, and what does a lowly Captain think he can bribe his way into my presence with? It had best be good, you head is on the line." The Emperor said poisonously.

"My lord, I am from the Isle of Gur. With the assistance of your army I have sailed the world and gathered a hearty stock of slaves from all around the world for you. No one has a better stock than I do you lord, and to prove it, I wish to present you with a sample if you will of ten of the most beautiful women iin the world for your pleasure." The ogre smiled devilishly and bowed. He clapped his hand and in walked ten terrified and shaking, but beautiful women of different races. Grasping a tall gorgeous golden elf woman my the elbow he thrust her forward before the emperor like a common object. "This one here was a princess of the city of Dalarov."

"Hmm, Eeskwire, give the Captain a promotion to Admiral and another ship. I shall accept your gift Admiral Gaunt, finally someone with some sense. Now be gone leave me with my new pet." The dark lord dismissed the ogre and grabbed the golden elf princess by the jaw squeezing her face. His slimy black tongue ran up her face and she shuddered and tears flowed that she tried to hold back. "Why do you cry, are you not satisfied to be your Emperor's consort?" He snickered snakelike and she wept even harder. The bony fignered hand in an imperceptible flash slapped hard across her face silencing her. "Look at me!" Moribidus screamed and in a shock she looked right into his piercing crystal blue eyes. Her own purple, redish green eyes widened in horror and in a flash she clutched her face and fell to the ground as Moribidus plucked her beautiful eyes out of her head.

(I'm sorry Patches, but I got the writing bug! Have mercy on this poor soul.)

A fell breeze swept through the town of Basqe.....

Three Black Hoods and a Black Robe agent walk into the center of town as the sun is coming up in this part of the World. The Black Robes are the more elite members of the secret police and when one shows up accompanied by the underlings it can never be a good sign for a town. Basqe is a coast town not far from the large port city of Pearl. It is mostly a peaceful fishing village, and the Emperor rarely bothers it as it is relatively unknown.

The four malignant henchmen stop in the town square and ring the town bell furiously. It does not take very long for the people to congregate. Before the Emperor the bells in towns were of course warnings of danger, or alarm of oncoming natural disasters. Since Moribidus became Emperor of the World all cities, towns, and small villages, even farms have yearly drills to assemble at the sound of the bell as a sign that the Black Robes summon them. Penalty for failure to show up is death naturally, and there are always more Black Robes and Black Hoods in your town than you see when they visit.

The Black Robe ceased the clang of this bell. Unceremoniously he removed his hood and exposed his face. This is something only the most trully heartless of the Black Robes do. He is Rhythian, not only a Black Robe but also one of the most veteran members of the Black Hand, the Emperor's personal assassins. Rhythian is a Cerator. The Cerators have the head of a rhinocerus complete with the deadly horn. They have bodies of men and the waist and legs of a bear. Known for their ferocity this race makes up a good bit of the Emperors' finest combat troops.

"People of Basqe your glorious Emperor knows that your town is harboring a terrorist member of the Resistance. This is a small town, and I too was from a small town. Hand over these traitors now to us and we will pass your peaceful town by." Rhythian's voice magically magnified.

The crowd looked uneasy and Rhythian used some of his magic which only the Black Hand elite are peritted to use. Rhythian was skilled in mental magics and he used his powers to spread a great fear like an aura emanating from his body. Most of the crowd quiverred, and even the brave and willful looked uneasy.

Then a woman in the crowd yelled, "It is Mathias the baker!"

"Yes, and I am positive his wife has helped him too" another voice joined in.

"They are friends with the Patchkovs, surely they are accomplices as well." a woman's voice chimedi n.

"The mayor too, I saw him Mariah Patchkov, Mathias and his wife practicing magic one night in the forest." A rather wealthy looking hunter steps forward and declares.

"Yes the mayor must be the leader, he always acts funny" An elderly woman nodded.

"Take the mayor and Mathias and the Patchkovs good sirs. Our town is humble and loyal to the Emperor, I beg you don't harm us, we will work harder for him. " A young minotaur boy bursts into tears making his way to the front of the crowd and bows in shame at Rhythians feet.

"Get up young boy, you will make a good soldier one day I am sure. You have just redeemed your whole town, be glad. All right men grab them, let's go." Rhythian commanded and patted the youngest on the head avoiding his small horn stubs. At once the plain clothes officers including the wealthy looking hunter apprehended the accused, chained them, and put them away in their wagon.

"Master, why did you spare the town?" a young Black Hood asks Rhythian. He is his apprentice, an imp named Spiros.

"You see Spiros, that was not the point of our trip. There are not terrorists in Basqe, they are all in the west and the south. We came to get the Mayor he has been getting too popular with the people. You know how the Emperor hates anyone being more talked about than he is. Jones, Srijnaz, Welcher simply instigated the crowd until we could accuse the Mayor. Now we have got our contract fulfilled and put the fear of Moribidus into them."

Adonis enters the town of Respa....

The Sun had vanished and it was now night in Adonis' corner of the World. Growing tired and weary he entered the farming village of Respa. Respa was mostly home to about 40 green elf and dark elf families spread out on farming plots with a small town center where they gathered at night to socialize. All though trouble did wander in now and then, this little farming community was hardly ever anyone's concern. Which made it a perfect place for the Resistance to use as a safe haven.

Adonis approached the Inn where the locals gathered. He spoke to the bartender and gave him the password. He slipped out of sight and into a secret room under the establishment. Inside the clandestine room a small meeting was taking place. A golden elf woman named Kathael, a dwarf named Murdin, and an orc named Grayborn congregated.

"Well met Adonis, we learned that Kalin was going to be searched and thought we might see you soon." Kathael said lightly with a touch of humor. She was quite beautiful. An elegant youthful face, a bronzed complexion moreso than most Golden Elves. Her large round eyes were Yellow Blue Green. Her long blonde hair flowed in waves off her head. and it seemed starlight glistened in its strands.

"Yes I had a close call with some Black Hoods I was afraid they might take the Tome." Adonis slung his pack on the floor and laid his staff aside and retrieved the book disguised in the Emperor Moribidus Biography.

"Have you had any luck deciphering it?" The older orc Grayborn questioned.

"None at all, this thing is compeltely beyond me. How have efforts with the Resistance gone?" Adonis handed the book to Murdin whom eagerly opened it up and looked at the complex symbols and language describing rather complex magic.

"We managed to intercept a few novice Black Hands transporting a cargo of slaves five days ago. That is how we got the dispatches about searching Kalin. The Black Hand we interrogated gave us some rather interesting information as well." Kathael informed him and left him hanging. When Adonis just looked at her waiting for her to go on she continued. "Apparantly His Royal Pain in the Ass isn't content with just his powers. He is looking for or trying to build some sort of weapon. Whatever it is the Black Robes themselves have been involved in the far east in Pearl trying to assemble the pieces or whatever it is they are up to."

"So how do we get to Pearl?" Adonis asked at once

"Adonis, Pearl is far to the East, the only way there is by boat and the nearest port is Typhoon. We could probably get smuggled aboard a ship there, but getting into the East would be near impossible. The Resistance doesn't have anyone in the East and restriction on travel in the ports is so high that it be impossible to get in." Grayborn butted in.

"Well we can't just let Moribidus get another tool. We have to do something" Adonis countered.

"Adonis, we will have our chance, but we can't fight the Emperor on his terms,it is no good to waste our lives so easily. Anyways, I had some important orders for you specifically and was going to go to Kalin tomorrow to see you. The Fox himself has requested to meet with you and Kathael." Grayborn's voice dropped almost to a hush.

"The Fox!" Murdin said loudly in excitement.

"Shh, Murdin keep it down. Yes the Fox himself is going to meet with you this is a great honor Adonis. I am not sure what he wants because we have to keep things secret, but I am sure it is very important. " Grayborn smiled and patted the two on the back.

"Where do we meet him?" Kathael asked with a gleam of suspicion in her face. The Fox is the leader of the Resistance and nobody knows who he or she is. Not even Moribidus or his best agents have been able to track down the Fox. Even though some common folk know of the Resistance which the Emperor denies even exists, dismissing it as simply a band of criminals, None of the folks even know of the Fox or his infamous anonymous nickname. Initiates into the Resistance first learn that he is the master of the Reisstance and the Black Hand is aware of this as they have some spies within the Resistance. Only the most trusted members of the Resistance ever get to meet The Fox.

"Kathael you will meet the Fox at his den under the stars and the moon inside the tree. You are high ranking enough to know where this is, take Adonis with you. Murdin and I shall be going on to Kalin tomorrow to set a trap for Krokus. That slimey little git knows he didn't get all the Artifacts from our cache. I am sure and we will have to move it to a safer place. He escaped from me once, and I hope to get him this time unprepared." Grayborn laughed darkly "Well, let's get some mead and some rest and set out in the morning."

(Patches you deserve a humanitarian award or some shit for not purging me Stalin-style for quadruple-posting.)

Back in Kalin Mid-day...

After a decent trek to Kalin Grayborn the orc and Murdin the dwarf reach the outskirts of Kalin. To be utterly safe the two agree to walk into town at different intervals and from different paths. Grayborn nods to Murdin and sets out immediately across an open field towards the road. Making his way stealthily throught the outskirt of the forest around Kalin, Murdin takes his time and studies the landscape. Sitting under an ancient weathered pine he retrieves a roll from his pack and eagerly devours it. Drinking from his leather waterbag he gets up wipes his face and sets towards the town.

The two meet up in the house nect to Adonis' cottage. For a few minutes the two men silently search the home to see what damage the Black Robes and Hoods might have done since its last use and what things may be missing or planted there. To their surprise besides the living room the place was relatively untouched. Deeming the area to be safe Grayborn stepped on a switch in the floor revealing a hidden room. Inside was a chest and he withdrew a magical key for it. He opened the chest and removed several magical artifacts that it didn't seem the chest should be able to hold. Such as two swords and a shiny breastplate of armor. Grayborn put it all this back into the chest, except one of the swords which he took for the journey and picked up the chest itself. It immediately shrank to the palm of his hand and he put it in Murdin's pack. Waiting a few minutes and checking out the window the two left the house, locked the door and began walking towards the forest again.

Just when they reached the outskirts of the town ten Black Hoods and the Black Robe Krokus, whom threw his hood off with an evil toad grin materialized out of thin air. Grayborn managed to draw his weapons an ancestral war axe with no real magical powers and the sword which glowed a fiery red. Poor Murdin froze in spot quite literally into a block of solid ice and was killed just slow enough to watch Grayborn's fall.

"I thank you for the new invisibility cloaks rebel." Krokus snickered

"How did you know?" Grayborn put bluntly staring coldly at Krokus.

"When we searched the house it seemed a little too clean. I found your secret room but could not open that fabulous chest I saw inside. I do hope there is something nice inside." Krokus croaked a hearty laugh. "We've been watching the house ever since. When I saw you in particular waltz into town I knew my efforts would be fruitful."

"I should have killed you last winter you cowardly bastard!" Grayborn leapt forth but it was to no real avail. Eleven various spells hit him at once and their combined effect tore his body to tatters. Murdin was left frozen to death. A grim monument to Krokus' dominance of this sector, and the Emperor's icy grasp over everyone's life.

"Damnit you morons! You totally obliterated him! I told you to let me kill the orc myself. Now all that magic equipment he had is gone! The Emperor is going to dress me up like a clown and fucking do the same thing to me unless we find some treasure!" Krokus screams angrily at his men, unaware that the bulk of the treasure remains in Murdins frozen pack. However the key and the sword of fire are no more.




At the Same Time in the outskirts of the city of Babylon on the edge of the land of Kruel....

Cadence of echoing drums darkly beat against the steely sky. A light, cold, and misty rain falls from the perpetual clouds. Black Hoods stand around a fair sized mob of commoners. Everybody has been taken out of their homes and businesses to witness today's execution. Even the children put aside their studies on the Emperor's philosophies to witness the death of a traitor.

A judge of the people stands atop a platform in front of the crowd. The goblin prisoner in a tattered tan tunic is dragged forth with his hands tightly bound in rope. Two Black Robes beside him bend him down on a chopping block. Drums fall silent at once and the air is totally still, for a brief moment the mist lets up. Mist returns and the judge opens a parchment and begins to speak.

"Maximus Germanicus Caesarius you have brought here today to be met with the justice of the citizens of world for your atrocities and crimes against our perfect and peaceful society. You have comitted the crimes of murder, kidnapping, robbery, hooliganism, disobeying the chain of command, desertion from the army, treason, and conspiracy to murderer his royal Highness Emperor Moribidus the Great. For your crimes the penalty is death by the hands of the people. May Moribidus take pity on your poor soul and know that his people are loyal." The judge put down the paper. A good bit of the crowd cheered, many clapped. The smarmy little gnome judge even gave a bow and a smiled before he walked to the side of the platform.

Out walked the executioner. Another Black Robe wielding a large glowing axe that had the power to absorb the strength of those it killed. It would have a feast if it bit into a warrior as strong as Maximus Caesarius. Just as the Black Robe raised the dread blade three arrows struck him in the chest. The crowd gasped the other two dumb founded Black Robes on the platform looked around. A four-armed knight in steel armor leapt on the platform and deftly impaled one of them with a spear held by his upper two arms. The survivng Black Robe blasted magical lightning at him, but he raised a shining shield in his lower left hand and the bolt deflected into the crowd. Everyone panicked and began running causing great confusion. Two more knights leapt on stage. One an archer fitted in leather, he looked kind of like a dog an is of a race called the Anubites. The other a woman red elf with green hair and gold, silver, greenish eyes clad in a chainmail corset.

Cutting the ropes off of Maximus and hopping on some steeds provided by two sympathetic members of the army the four high-tailed it out of Babylon with a few spells blasting past them. Their steeds had the bodies of horses and the heads of tigers, they are called Equifines. Our four had stollen the best equifines in the garrison and were soon out of harms way in no time.

They kept riding hard and riding south for hours before they stopped to talk and celebrate and rest for a moment. The four-armed knight removed his helmet to reveal his red complexion. He was bald as are all the men of his race. Taila is the name of his people and they basically look like humans except they are red, they have four arms, and their average height is seven feet tall.

"My lord we will all be wanted men now. Surely the Emperor himself will try to kill you now." The Taila knight bowed before Maximus.

"Rise Telador. You are my knight no longer, but my equal. I doubt the Emperor will waste his time searching for me when he has far more evil schemes planned for this World. He will certainly not look for you though if you do not follow me." Maximus declared.

"General Maximus I swore an oath of Knighthood to you, do not release me from my Knighthood. I have fought in many close battles against the Resistance alongside you. I will fight against even the Emperor himself by your side."

"And you saved my life in battle. I will not leave my lord." The Anubite archer was busy whittling a few new arrow shafts while the party was camped.

"You will need your sword back. You were wise to entrust it to me before your audience with the Emperor. As your sword-bearer I will follow you as well to the death. I wonder though, might it be possible for use to join the Resistance?" The woman asked as he handed Maximus a steely green katana.

"I thank you all for your sentiments. Seth, you have just repaid me saving your life by saving mine, you should not feel obligated to serve me anymore. And you Jasmine, you have never failed to deliver to me the Greenblade of my father. If you three follow me, do not follow me as a lord. I am no longer a General. I am now a Knight with no Emperor, no king, no general to serve under. I doubt very much the Resistance would accept us as allies after all the bloodshed we have wrought on people in the name of the insane despot. However, we don't have much more of a hope now that we are outlaws of the State. Let us go south as fast as we can to the town of Timber. It is the farthest place in the land away from the Emperor's grasp. Perhaps if we show the town our worth we may gain some of their respect back." The four took their last swills of water, hopped on their mounts, and blazed off away into the horizon.

Tisias looked earnestly over the shop counter at his customer, a sheepish-looking, well-dressed orcish man in his forties.

"Well, for your problem, I'd say you need the Balsam extract, maybe the goat weed decoctate." His tone was hushed, and they both leaned in close.

"I'll take both." The orc pushed a satchel of coins onto the counter. Tisias opened the pouch, looked inside, confirmed that the coins were all silver, and accepted the whole package. The orc gaped at him. "But I wasn't expecting that much, just for that!"

Tisias just shook his head. "If you want the rest of your 'crops' to 'bear fruit,' then I'm pretty sure you'll pay. The ingredients for this stuff aren't cheap, especially with the tariffs." Another well-dressed customer walked by, and Tisias stopped to let him go past. "We can go with only the one, and that will save some, but I can't guarantee results."

The orc shook his head. "Fine, fine. Just do what you have to do."

Tisias nodded and shook his hand. "We'll have you ready to go in no time." He turned back, rummaged in a cabinet, retrieved two small bottles, and wrote down a series of instructions on a parchment. The orc took them and walked out without a word.

"Next?"

In a small town...

A Black Hood walks down the street and into a bustling alchemy shop as a stream of patrons exit the building. The Black Hood stands menacingly out front until everyone leaves. The humming town dies down as everyone lays low inside their homes. After a few moment of silence he walks into the store looking around rather cautiously for a feared Black Hood.

Inside Tisias the shopkeeper looks up eagerly expecting more customers and his expression instantly falters seeing the midnight cloaked guest before him. The Black Hood lowers his hood exposing himself as an Avian. Avians are the most common of the bird-race people which are dominant in this land. The Avians typically have a cockateel crest and come in a variety of colors. This Black Hood Avian was red with green striped plumage running down his neck. His name is Brutus.

Unlike their racial cousins like the Strigid, Ostrach, and Kiwi that have special bone and feathers to act as fingers the Avian evolved separate humanoid arms and their wings are attached to their backs. Their feet have five sharply taloned toes as well unlike the 3 fore toes and one hind toe that is common amongst Bird People. The Avians were some of Moribidus' first supporters as they naturally feel racially superior to the minority races of Bird People around them. This racial pride was somewhat mixed in Brutus as he did not know exactly what to make of Tisias, unaware of his racial heritage at all. He appeared to be also of the reptilian race the hated and feared enemies of the Bird People as a whole that they had fought in the early chaos after the shattering of Medea.

"I see that your business is doing well, do you have your proper permits on you?" Brutus stated coldly and matter of factly.

"Yes of course, you ask me this everytime surely you would remember this by now." Tisias said wryly producing the papers.

"Enough lip out of you peasant. These papers are in order, you are lucky to have Moribidus' blessing. I am here because the Emperor has introduced a new, er, tax. All businesses must pay 10% of their income to the local magistrate by the end of the month. Failure to comply will result in imprisonment." Brutus handed over a royal decree sealed and signed by Moribidus himself. The decrees were then magically multiplied and distributed often throughout the land with various whims of Moribidus' will.

Brutus' business was not concluded however and he then shiftily walked to the door and locked it from the inside. He paced about the store investigating various objects, potions, and equipment. Some things that he liked he blatantly pocketted in front of Tisias. To add insult to injury to the silent Tisias, standing there dumb-founded and enraged, Brutus then grabbed two potions off the shelf. Of course the most expensive ones in the store. Potions that painstakingly had taken Tisias weeks to complete. One an invisibility potion that he had to get special clearance for just to experiment with making, the other a potion that made you twice your height for a whole day that had ingredients that Tisias had to litterally smuggle in because they were illegal.

"These potions here are illegal contraband I am going to have to confiscate these. I like you, I'll let you off lightly with a fine this time, but if you're caught again you will go to the Tribunal." Brutus sneered with his threat. The Tribunal was a small region wide court that basically held show trials. It was controlled by the top Avian Black Robes and allowed to exist by Moribidus to keep the Avian's loyalty and because the end result is the defendent ends up in one of Moribidus' death camps or is executed anyways.

"I have a permit to make those potions! They are legal by Moribidus' name!" Tisias voice raised wings shaking and fluffing in anger as he produced the proper documents.

"I don't think you understand stupid peasant and I'll forgive you this once for your ignorance. This document says you may make these potions. It does not say you can sell them though. So I'll tell you again. Pay the fine and surrender the contraband or you can go plead your case before the Tribunal. They will not be as lenient as I am." Brutus had all ready stashed the two potions in his pockets as well. He stared at Tisias until the Strigid could take no more and looked away in silent outrage. nodding in approval he helped himself to the money drawer full of gold and silver coins.

Each coin front and back bore the image of the Emperor. One of Moribidus' first acts upon gaining absolute power was to magically transform all coins in the world to bear his image. Brutus naturally had no intention of collecting this fine for the Emperor, but rather for himself, and being somewhat sympathetic despite his hard demeanor he had no intention of reporting Tisias, but merely to shake him down for bribes. He took half of Tisias' money and pocketted it and exitted the store trudging off low key to avoid being seen by his own fellow agents until he could safely stash his loot.

In a vast desert on the Eastern Continent....

The sky is black in the desert. The wind is howling madly. Emperor Moribidus is near. He is out on one of his rare excursions. Today he is enjoying the suffering in Camp 22. Camp 22 is in the middle of the desert far from anything. Prisoners are forced on a death march through the desert. To the survivors their new home is a work camp. This camp is mostly for Minor repeat offenders who are given the illusion that they will one day be free after so many years of their sentence. In reality they are overworked in the hot desert day and into the chilling night digging through the everlasting flow of sand until they die of overwork and starvation.

"So I understand there is a problem Commandant?" Moribidus asks a one-eyed Anubite in grey military uniform.

"Yes my Lord, it seems our prisoners are dying much too fast for us to replenish. At this rate we beleive our workforce will completely die off in four months. I was thinking my lord that perhaps some new law in this region might be passed to bolster our work pool."

"Hmm, I like your thinking Commandant, go on. What did you have in mind?" Moribidus nodded approvingly to which the Commandant bowed joyfully as the Emperor is known for rarely expressing praise.

"I was thinking we might begin a program to register the Canocephalus and the Houndoors. You see many people often confuse them with the Anubites, but we have wolf heads. These mutants because of their ill breeding with humans in the past have developped jackal and dog heads. There are not many of them anyhow and they are a minority in these lands. The majority of people will not miss them, and they are a troublesome and thieving lot my lord. Once we create a registry of them we could then detain them as is needed to increase our efforts my Lord." The Anubite Commandant laid out his plan.

"Yes do that Commandant, I like your thinking, you shall recieve a promotion I need a new guard captain at Camp 5 on the mainland. Issue your edict and then pack your bags and prepare to be relocated immediately to the land of Kruel General Skar" Moribidus extended his crooked grey hand adorned with glittering gemed rings. The newly appointed General Skar kissed the rings and left to write the edicts.

Around the camp the slaves of many various races from the region but few of the Canine Headed People were in the camp. There was one however and his name was Aziz. Aziz lay dying of heat stroke and starvation and overwork near a bit of skeletally thin people digging with their hands into the sand. Behind them stood guards, some carried canes to beat the prisoners others simply used their hands or basic magic to sadistically punish the slaves. Aziz had endured five bad canings. Today the Commandant who was now a General had zapped him with too strong of a bolt. He heard everything that the Emperor had said. He knew he was going to die and he spoke up loud enough with the last of his strength for Moribidus to hear.

"First you came for the half humans and I did not speak because we Canine Heads are not half humans. Then you came for the Elves, and I did not speak up because I was not an elf. Now you are turning the Canine Heads against eachother." The Canocephalus spat on the ground "Curse your evil Moribidus!" He stared on ahead into the distance past the magicaly fencing of barbed wire. Off into the endless desert his eyes peered forever.

"Hahaha,don't worry little fool, the Anubites will have their day as well." Moribidus bent down and whisperred sinisterly. His expression changed to confusion and then rage as he saw that Aziz had died and obviously not heard his witty remark. "Well damnit I wanted to blast him into the Afterlife and he goes and dies on me!"

Moribidus growls and then he looks up at the nearby crew of workers who have stopped digging to watch the Emperor's ungraceful moment of defeat. His glance catches their's and they all instantly flinch. Flick of the wrist and a sand-tornado whips up into the air and just as the lightest of them is lifted into the air the Emperor's arm drops. The dust devil turns into a spire of jagged shards of unbreakable glass. Gaunt bodies are savagely impaled and sliced alive. Five lucky ones lay cut up a bleeding to death in the sand. The rest scream and moan in agony. Few die quickly. The worst off will take days to die. A new gruesome feature to Camp 22

The winder brushed the sand through the desert city not too far from Camp 22, attacking the adobe walls of the residential homes. Black Hoods and Black Robes scattered through the city in their search for the renegade Canocephalus, Abasi Chol’kaju and his uniform. Abasi kept leaned back in the shadows of a back alley with his men behind him. He watched as Black Hood Anubites ran past. He looked towards his men and gave a signal. Nodding and following his lead, they climbed up the adobe brick walls and up upon the roofs of one of the many houses, wary of the shingles. Running and jumping from roof to roof, the Canocephalus and fellow members of the Resistance followed suit.

A building with a larger wall blocked their path and cast a shadow over them and huddled in a corner as more of the secret police scouted the area. After checking to see if it were safe to advance when they left, the members pooled their hands together and tossed Abasi up on the roof of the larger building and repeated this action with other members while Abasi and others helped each one up. This building, fortunately, was pressed against a cliff wall, so it gave them some cover while they prepared their evacuation. None too long previously, an order was given to the Emperor’s troops to mass murder Abasi’s own kind, and their time here was soon over. Thankfully, he managed to steal some valuable information before initiating their retreat.

“What will be our next course of action?” An orc murmured, carefully eying his environment.

“Easy Redeye,” Abasi murmured back, “eagerness must be tempered with caution.”

The orc nodded.

“On the other side of this cliff is the sea, and Skar’s very own ship is due to be making port—“

An Avian piped up, guessing Abasi’s train of thought. “—and that is where we will be making our escape? We’ll commandeer the ship and—“

“No.” Abasi interrupted. “I will go.”

“What?” Redeye grumbled. His defiance was supported with the glare of a golden elf woman.

“For some reason, they are supplying the central continent with a supply of dead carcasses of the natives, of my own kind. It will be easy for me to sneak on aboard; I need all of you to stay here and keep a reconnaissance and watch the area. As soon as I make it to Timber, I’ll send a ferry to come back here for all of you. You are to report the situation of this side of the world.”

“I don’t think you have the power to give these orders under—“

“This is under the direct command of the Fox himself.”

There was no more defiance to be heard, and no more arguments on the credibility of Abasi’s leadership.

“You may follow me yet for a while, but once I am smuggle myself in, I fear we must depart.”

“Sir, yes sir!” the group said.

The troop made it over the side of the cliff and slid their way down the sandy walls that made a bowl around the basin and onto the beaches, quickly sneaking their way behind some storage facilities. Abasi pressed hid back to the wall and quickly made a turn around a corner to meet face to face with the back of a Black Hood. Abasi’s heart skipped for just a moment in surprise and ducked down to avoid a dagger lunging for his face. He made a quick jab towards his assailant’s ribs, and the Black Hood let out a cry that was quickly silenced as Abasi’s mace met the side of the Hood’s head, against the adobe material of the building, cracking the skull wide open having blood ooze between the multiple cracks. Ignoring the gruesome seen that was dragged behind the building and buried beneath the sand, the infiltrated a building full of crates and boxes. One of the containers was a large open tub of dead bodies, namely Canocephalus. Abasi turned to his troop and sighed in grievance.

“This is where I take my leave from the bravest damn warriors the Resistance has ever known.”

“Farewell, Abasi.” Redeye nodded. “Make sure you bring that fucking boat here. I’ve had enough of this heat.”

Without further word from the platoon, Abasi made sure to conceal his weapons to the best of his ability and made a dive towards container of bodies, hiding his weapons amongst the dead before pretending to take his place among them. The trip would no doubt be long, smelly, and rather itchy with all of these damn horse flies around. He felt the crate get lifted from the ground, and the smell of the salted air soon managed to overwhelm even the rot of his own kind.

Days later in the city of Timber....

Kathael leads Adonis down the busy streets of Timber. Timber is on the central continent, but is the furthest city from Kruel. Even though the Black Robes are well aware of its use as a Resistance base, the Emperor pays little attention to the city. Being a vital crossroads throughout the central continent has kept Timber from being levelled into the ground. The high number of Black Robe murders also keeps the agents' activities to a minimum. For its part Timber is really the last bastion of a normal city on this continent.

The pair stop infront of a weathered but popular tavern. Perhaps the most popular tavern on the continent. Drinking Den is its simple name, and it is always packed with patrons, travellers, Resistance members, and undercover Black Hoods. The Drinking Den has a great wooden sign with a Moon and seven stars carved into it. Kathael stops for a moment and looks at the sign approvingly. She waits as a group of four masked travellers enter before she begins to push the door open. Before she can enter the bar though a tap on her shoulder makes her jump slightly.

"Abasi! I thought you were abroad!" Kathael says in astonishment turning to see Abasi behind her.

"I was, but we'll have time to talk about that later, let's go inside." Abasi smiles a toothy grin and holds the door open for Kathael and Adonis.

Inside the Drinking Den thick smoke hangs in the air. Drinks are flowing like a river into the cups of thirtsy patrons. A lusty lizardwoman is giving an orc a lapdance. Three dwarves walk into the bar after a hard shift in the mines outside the city. An elf waitress smacks a goblin hard in the face for pinching her butt. Tonight there is a bard jamming on his guitar singing songs, let us listen in on one:

"Long ago there was king
He ruled the humans
And everyone singed
He united the gems
And created the Sword
But the people were doomed when King Victor got bored

He defeated dark Malice
He built a great palace
He brought peace to the land
But there was something at hand

He found what he sought
The Fountain of Magic
When he touched it the world turned tragic
The Lands of Myth sunk below the sea
And the Second Age ended instantly"

General applause broke out as the Bard finished his song holding the last word "isntantly" for a minute. The bard bowed, took a drink and began playing another song. Kathael, Adonis, and Abasi approached the barkeeper. Kathael handed the overweight orc a scrap of paper and he nodded and handed her a key. In the back of the bar the group of four masked travellers watched as they trio slipped into a room.

Once inside the room Abasi helped Kathael push a rather heavy wardrobe away revealing a flight of stairs leading down under the establishment. The three proceeded down the dark unlit passage cautiously trying not to stumble down the steep short stone steps. Eventually reaching the bottom they could see light poking out of the cracks of a weathered wooden door. They opened the door and enterred a large well lit room. Inside were four cloak clad Resistance guards. Sitting on a chair was a large dwarf petting a small pet fox.

"Commander." Kathael and Abasi said unanimously and bowed. Adonis slightly perplexed looked at them then at the dwarf and then bowed hastily, blushing with some embarassment.

"Rise Kathael and Abasi/" The voice boomed without the dwarf's lips moving. This confused Adonis some more. Then to his suprise the pet fox jumped out of the unmoving dwarf's lap and began to talk. "Abasi, I did not expect you to return so soon."

"I did not expect it either commander, but I have important news. Moribidus has appointed that foul Commandant Skar as his new general. Skar is an anubite and has a particular grudge agaisnt my people and has ordered a fullscale genocide of the Canocephalus. I figured my security would be compromised. I brought back the city layout plans of Pearl, but I was unable to infiltrate the city. Whatever Moribidus is builing there he is keeping it super secret and locked down." Abasi produced the layout map of Pearl for the talking fox.

"This is great news Abasi, and you were right to leave with this new ethnic cleansing occuring in that part of the World. " The Fox bit down on the paper and dragged it over to the stony dwarf that made his first movement and picked up the paper.

"I smuggled myself aboard Skar's ship, he is in Kruel now. I noticed something quite odd and could come up with no explanation for it. The Emperor is having corpses transported to him. I could only assume it is for dark magic. At any rate I was able to jump overboard once I saw the coast and thanks to a kindly trader managed to hitch a ride with his caravan here." Abasi finished.

"Yes, I have heard reports of the transport of dead bodies to Kruel. Whatever Moribidus' is up to I...." The Fox was cut off by the sound of many footsteps coming their way.

The four guards, Adonis, Abasi, and Kathael turned around on the spot hands on their weapons. The expressionless dwarf stayed ever exepressionless. Then a slight soft knock came on the door they all were staring at.

"Please do not harm us, we have come to talk!" A deep strong manly voice came from the other side of the door. Slowly it creaked open and the three of the four masked strangers slowly walked in and put their weapons on the ground.

"Who are you?" Abasi eyed them suspiciously.

"I am Sir Maximus Germanicus Caesarius, once a genral of Moribidus, now a Knight with no master. These are my comrades Sir Telador and Lady Jasmine. We have one other comrade upstairs guarding your secret entrance, his name is Sir Seth." Maximus bowed low.

"I have heard of you! General Maximus the one responsible for trapping and killing so many of our brothers! Let's kill him now!" Abasi snarled.

"Wait Abasi! Much has changed since you went abroad. I have heard that General Maximus was executed for treason." The Fox looked over everyone and jumped into the unmoving dwarf's lap again. Immediately the dwarf leapt out of his seat carrying the Fox over to them.

"The Emperor is claiming that the execution was successful, but in reality my brave knights here helped me to escape. I admit I have killed many members of the Resistance. It was my duty as a General to fight this war with them. The Emperor does not even acknowledge the Resistance or the war we are fighting with them. He does not care what happens to his own army. I am his servant no longer. If you will kill me you may do so without a struggle from me. I just ask that you let my brothers' in arms go freely, they have only ever followed orders and are not responsible for the death of any of your people." Maximus bowed low again at the feet of the dwarf and Fox.

"You have much honor Sir Maximus. I suppose war is war...." The Fox began.

"But he killed many of our people my Commander. Surely we cannot just let him walk away unpunished" Abasi blurted out.

"Enough Abasi. It is not Maximus' fault for fighting us. Emperor Moribidus has turned everyone against eachother and he is the one to blame for every death. If we let Maximus live and serve us then perhaps others within Moribidus' own ranks may defect in time. Our only hope of ending the terror that has ruled this World for 20 years is to be united." The Fox allowed Maximus to rise. "You will serve us Maximus, but you will start off as a lowly soldier, for a General you shall never be again. I shall put you under the command of Abasi here."

"Yes my lord." Maximus, Jasmine, and Telador bowed in unison.

"Please do not call me "my lord." That is what Moribidus expects of his people. You may simply call me Commander. Now please wait for us upstairs as I brief your new general."

The three knights went back upstairs to Seth to inform him of their good fortune. They stood around the room guarding it from intruders. Maximus said very little but his face showed excitement and glee. Telador began polishing his magical shield. Jasmine and Seth began talking.

Back in the basement the Fox laid out the new plans for our heroes.

"Adonis, you are also a new member of our Resistance. I would like to see the tome that I hear you are carrying." The Fox turned to Adonis and Adonis handed the old tome to the expressionless dwarf who snatched it so fast out of his hands that he jumped. "Oh don't worry about him Adonis. He's not a real dwarf, simply a magical puppet of mine."

"I'm sorry, but I am very confused. How can a Fox talk? I have never heard of an animal talking ithe tongue of sentients or casting magic." Adonis blurted out.

"Adonis! He's the leader of the Resistance show more respect!" Kathael said dismayed.

"No no Kathael, the boy is wise to ask questions. Much that is magic cannot be trusted in these troubled times." The Fox said solemnly, "I will tell you my story, but first the tome."

"The Fox sat for a few minute in one arm of the life-sized dwarf puppet reading the vexing old tome. Abasi, Kathael, and Adonis remained silent. It seemed to them that the mystery of the tome might finally be solved when the dwarf puppet closed the book and handed it back to Adonis. Adonis recieved the book and looked eagerly back at the Fox.

"I cannot read it. I can see that is what you are hoping for. No the language is too old for me to decipher despite my own old age. However, the tome does confirm some things for me. If you look on the inside front cover you can see the imprint of a talon and three feathers. That is the mark of Euxodus. Euxodus was a scholar during and after the Medea Era. After Medea was broken, Euxodus wandered the world writing down much by way of history, magic, and alchemy. He is responsible for much of the texts and knowledge we have of that long lost time." The Fox explained.

"So perhaps Euxodus might be able to tell us what this book is about?" Abasi said brightly.

"No, Euxodus died decades ago, the last survivor of the Medea Era. However rumor has it that he was buried within the secret Necropolis of Medea. A haunted underground complex where all the tombs of those that survived the cataclysm of the shattering of Medea are interred. No one has ever been able to find the Necropolis because of an ancient spell put on it after Euxodus was buried there. However, I have learned that your torc is no ordinary object Abasi. Apparantly there were four such torcs like yours that were created to open the Necropolis. What happened to the other three, I do not know, but legend says that only one is needed to open the secret entrance. The Necropolis lays somewhere on the West Continent. I have secured you all a ship at the port city of Typhoon. You are to go by ship to the West Continent and seek out the Necropolis. Inside there is suppose to be a great cache of magical equipment that the Cause badly needs. The tomb of Euxodus may contain a way to decipher your tome Adonis. Most importantly of all, and do not repeat this to our newcomers upstairs. Legend says that before Queen Elycia committed suicide she tore the Crown of Medea into two pieces and cast them at opposite ends of the Earth. It is said half of the Crown lays within the Necropolis, found by some long dead hero that survived the period of anarchy after the Medea Era. I cannot state how important it is that we find that piece of the Crown. It is said the Crown was just as powerful as the Blackblade that Moribidus wields. He cannot be allowed to gain yet another artifact of that magnitude."

"Yes Commander" Absi and Kathael bowed.

"Wait, you still did not explain how a Fox can talk or do magic." Adonis blurted out. Kathael made an annoyed sound and Abasi clapped his hand over his face.

"You are a sharp one Adonis, you will be a valuable asset to the Resistance. Men please excuse us." The Fox smiled as his body guards left the room and joined the knights upstairs. "Well I am not really a fox. That is to say I am a fox, but I was not born a fox. Kathael and Abasi, please forgive me my trusted generals, I should have told you two sooner."

"What is it my Commander?" Kathael's hardened expression broke with worry.

"I am old now, but I have become so caught up in the Resistance that I have even at times forgotten who I was. I do not mean to lie to you all or mislead you. Ah it was many years ago in the time of anarchy. I was born as the oldest of two brothers. I was once a Blue Elf. My name back then, I have not said it so long I nearly forgot it. My name was Kel'Arboreal. My brother was Kel'Atheal. Today you know my brother by a new name, the name of Moribidus." The Fox looked down in shame at the ground as Kathael and Abasi gasped.

"My Commander! Say it is not so! You mean to tell me your brother is the Emperor?!" Abasi's eyes widened in shock and he had to look away from the downcast Fox.

"Yes it is true. I was the one that lead my people to exile my brother when we discovered his sick twisted experiments and hobbies. I should have tried to help him, but instead I exiled him from our land. I regret it every day. I think if only we had tried to help Kel'Atheal instead of banishing him that perhaps he would not have found the Sword. Perhaps he would not have become Moribidus." tears ran down his beady fox eyes.

"You had no way of knowing Commander, do not be hard on yourself." Kathael scratched his chin sympathetically.

"When he became Moribidus the first thing he did was return to our island. He killed every single Blue Elf, even our own mother. I tried to duel him with all my might, but he had become far stronger than I ever could. He turned me into a fox and made me watch as he destroyed our island and sent it to the ocean floor. He let me live forever bound in this form. He used to hunt me with his hell hounds for sport, but one day I escaped and using what little powers I had was able to evade his detection ever since. The brother that I knew died long ago. I feel it is my duty to fight him forever as without me Kel'Atheal would have never become Moribidus." The Fox finished his sad story leaving our heroes there in shock. They said their quiet goodbyes and went back up to the tavern floor.

The four knights celebrated the rest of the night with food and drink. Adonis tried reading his tome, now revealed to be written by Euxodus. He still could make no sense of it. Kathael could not sleep after the Fox's revelation. Abasi was quite tired from sailing for a few days and then walking a solid day and he slept quite easily. The night melted into morning and the group of seven set out before daybreak.

Abasi awoke rather smoothly the next morning, his eyelids fluttering open as dawn’s sunlight broke across the horizon. The soft bed momentarily sugar-coated the beginning of what was no doubt going to be a harsh day. They would have to establish a caravan of sorts on their way to the Typhoon port… or simply go there by foot. A wagon was too vulnerable on the roads nowadays since Moribidus lacks any sort of motivation to establish law enforcement of any kind. Not that it would do any good; the man, if you can even call him that, was beyond corrupt. He was the spawn of demons, the kind you’d only hear about in children’s stories… but here is now, and in his life time. But before his downfall, he vowed that Skar would receive his punishment, by his hand… the past week has been far too hard on him.

He jumped out of bed, motivated by the dreams of the Empire’s downfall and Skar’s death and dressed himself in his apparel. He latched his mace onto his belt, and his bow and quiver of arrows found their place mounted on his back. He looked over at the dresser and opened one of the drawers, and layed inside was his torc… the torc was passed down through generations of his family, and here it is now, presumably the key to legendary Necropolis? It was a bit much to take in, and it made him wonder where his family had obtained it. He heard fairy tales about his ancestor, but never dreamed of it being true. He never dreamed of even visiting his ancestor’s crypt. He didn’t think he’d actually be there, but… his family had to obtain the torc somehow. Even if it were to protect the under city’s secret.

He looked out the window that adorned his room, and outside waited the gorgeous golden elf Kathael, Adonis, and the four knights he had met last night, which included the dreaded General Maximus… or ex-general now, it seemed. He would’ve objected to having those four foisted onto him, but the Fox was tired enough of his disobedience. He already crossed his boundaries. But if they wanted him to trust ‘em, they’d have to prove it, work for it. Labor never hurt anyone…

Abasi eventually made his way out of the Inn after purchasing a mug of soft mead, low enough in alcohol content, but enough for him to start his day and help him deal with the new lot. He treated Kathael with a smile, but as he turned to face Maximus, all he gave was a grimace. Maximus had most definitely noticed that blatant look of mistrust and disrespect and held his tongue.

“Good morning, Abasi.” Kathael chimed.

Abasi looked at her and nodded and positioned himself to face the four knights. “Alright,” he barked, “do you lot have names, or am I gonna have make some for you?”

Three of the knights simultaneously saluted and stood up straight, looking Abasi in the eye, announcing their names to him.

“Sir Telador!”

“Lady Jasmine!”

“Sir Seth!”

The final one, Maximus slowly pressed his hand against his chest and replied softly, “Sir Maximus Germanicus—“

“Alright, that’s enough.” Abasi snapped.

Maximus gave Abasi a glare, whom simply ignored his aggravation. Kathael, wanting nothing to do with this, seems to have taken a couple steps back next to Adonis who murmured, “Does he normally do this with new recruits?”

“Not typically…” Kathael whispered back.

Abasi looked at the four knights, and his glance met with the Taila.

“You,” Abasi said, “which right hand do you use?”

“Both, sir.” Telador said, who smiled in amusement. Abasi simply blinked.

“Do they know you’re cheating on the both of them?”

“Wh-what?” The knight stammered, unsure of whatever innuendo might have been implied. Jasmine on the sideline was trying to hold in her laughter but found difficulty in doing so. Maximus seemed unamused. Abasi looked at Jasmine. “You find that funny, don’t you?”

Jasmine remained silent.

“Tell me Jasmine, are you any good with that blade of yours, or are you just going to get in the way?”

“I stand by my product, sir.”

“What product?” Abasi asked. In the blink of an eye, Abasi found the flat of her katana pressed the skin of his neck. He remained calm, but looked rather curious as he moved his eyes as far down as he could to get a better look at this blade. “…very well.”

Jasmine took retreated her blade and sheathed it with a smirk garnishing her face. Abasi looked over at Seth, and snarled. He seemed unfazed. “Your kind has been killing my people, Sir Seth. Skar won’t be forgiven.” Abasi growled.

“I deeply apologize.” Seth replied. He sounded sincere.

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you throughout our journey.”

Seth nodded silently and watched as Abasi finally moved to look at Maximus, who stared into his eyes mere inches away. The both of them looked at each other with disdain.

“You have murdered countless citizens and members of the Resistance, give me a single reason why I should trust you.” Abasi said.

“You can’t,” Maximus replied slyly, “and you won’t. I don’t expect you to trust me. I’m not in this for you, sir, I intend to stop that evil bastard, nothing more.”

“I am going to make your life a living hell under my command.” Abasi snarled lowly.

“I served under Emperor Moribidus,” Maximus spat, “give me your best shot.”

Abasi said nothing more and turned away to rejoin Kathael and Adonis and took a deep breath, beginning to relax once more. “Our objective is to make it to the port in Typhoon. Once there, we are to board the Marred Thistle, a ship that shall be setting sail to the Western Continent. And listen closely…” Abasi warned, “you all are to listen to any command that either me or Katheal gives you. No questions, no disobedience. If we tell you to fight, you fight. If we tell you to stop, you stop. If we tell you to run… you run. Am I clear?”

“Yes sir.” The four of them said in unison.

“Then off we go.”

The group set off towards the port set up in Typhoon, with the four knights up ahead and Adonis catching up to meet his new acquaintances (and he took quite a fancy for Jasmine). The landscape rolled by, and the grass was a fresh green, and they were surrounded by gorgeous oaks that was parked next to a riverbank in which salmon swam with the current, and occasionally jumped out. The sky was clear except for one puffy cloud, and songbirds sang a song of merriment, a land more or less untouched by Moribidus’ evil grasp. Abasi and Kathael stood back behind, keeping pace, but far enough behind to be out of earshot.

“What was all that about?” Katheal snapped, “Are you trying to make them hate us?”

“I don’t trust them,” Abasi whispered gravely, “not one bit.”

Back in the town of Basque the bell tolls....

Rhythian the Cerataur Black Hand assassin has returned with a force of 20 Black Hoods and his own apprentice Spiros. Conditioned to assemble at the sound of the bell the townsfolk gathered quickly. In the crowd were some of Abasi's comrades that had escaped and were laying low in Basque, including Redeye the orc.

"Fine townspeople we have recieved word that the terrorist problem has become worse around Respa and we will not be able to defend the village. Last night the neighboring town of Dartmoth was completely massacred by canocephalus extremists I have come to take you all to safety in the city of Pearl where accomodations and housing are all ready being prepared for you. Any canocephalus terrorists will have to be detained immediately and executed." Rhythian ordered and at once the townspeople paused and looked around.

In the crowd near Redeye were three of Abasi's canocephalus comrades. At once the people screamed insults and rage at the three, publicly condeming them. The Black Hoods moved in swiftly, having all ready infiltrated the crowd. Quickly they detained two whom went peacefully, but one would not. He began hurling fireballs at the Black Hoods and the people scattered running for cover and their homes. To his great shame Redeye knew the fight was in vain and used the opportunity to abandon his comrades, slipping away into the wilds in the confusion.

Just as the canocepalus rogue was about to finish off a Black Hood anubite out of no where a flying kick floored him scraping him against the road some twenty feet. The massive ceratur was upon him as he rose. A crushing uppercut sent the canocephalus' head into the air, and as it came down Rhythian gored him from the bottom of the jaw through the skull. The canocephalus fell dead twiching from the shock to the nervous system.

"Only a weak terrorist needs magic. Execute his brethren and ring that bell, we need to get a move on." Rhythian spat on the corpse. The Black Hoods quickly cut the throats of the two canocephalus and reassembled the crowd. "Do you all see what I am saying? This town is not safe, we must evacuate immediately. Take nothing with you. We move out now. We shall provide food for you when we are an hours march of this place."

The group moved out with Rhythian in the lead. Spiros the Red Elf caught up to him and bowed.

"I see, so this time you planted false terrorists in the crowd to make the people trust us more?" Spiros said brightly.

"No Spiros, that was a gift of fate. Or perhaps a curse. It was not intended to happen and it means that there is something afoot. Perhaps all this gossip of the Resistance may not be so far-fetched as the Emperor believes." Rhythian was rather grim and Spiros looked downcast.

"So, General Maximus was not a traitor after all?" Spiros swallowed hard and his mouth went dry.

"This bothers you Spiros?" Rhythian looked at Spiros amused somewhat

"I-I was the one the Emperor ordered to trick him into going to Kruel alone for his execution." Spiros tried to look more resolute.

"Ah, do not let these things worry you Spiros. To be a Black Hand you must not be concerned with how you lead to ones death, but that you are its cause." Rhythian looked back to make sure they were out of earshot before whisperring. "For instance there are no terrorists that we knew of until now. The town of Dartmoth is still untouched and we will be getting them next week. These people will all become test subjects of the Emperor's new weapon in Pearl. I have seen one of them being tested. It is an intriguing tool, but I prefer to fight with my body."

"Doesn't it bother you though Sensei?" Spiros asked genuinely.

"No, it is not our way. Our way is death. I do regret somewhat that I cannot be the direct cause of their deaths, but I must settle for the indirect cause. I do wish the Emperor will recall me after I have trained you. I hope he shall use me to kill a worthy opponent. I know he or she exists out there somewhere. The one who uses his fists. The true honorable enemy..." Rhythian looked off into the distance as if trying to see out into the World the honorable foe he sought to duel with. The train of unwitting prisoners move on to their doom in the experimental camps all throughout the city of Pearl.

Meanwhile on the outskirts of Timber...

Black Hood Locke is searching through the forest silently moving around. Black cloak making the faintest of rustling like he is slithering slowly forward. Forked-tongue darts out now and then to taste the air for the scent of his prey. He has picked up the faint scent of a motley of people. Surely this must be the suspiciously large group of travellers Krokus spotted leaving Timber. Before he begins to quicken his pace a blade materialized in front of his neck.

"Halt!" A dark armored Black Hand shouts breaking the silence. He is a minotaur.

"Holy Moribidus' tell me I am not to be executed Shaqaa!" Locke's heart leaps out of his throat literally as he nearly faints and plays dead but regains his composure swallowing his innards..

"No lizard, your day at the chopping block is not here. Today you are to be promoted to Black Robe. To complete your rite you must get Crokus to appear before the Emperor. His Highness grows tired of that fool making a mockery of our people." Shaqaa the minotaur Black Hand laughed at the frightened Locke.

"Thank you! I mean yes sir, Krokus, I mean Crokus will be delivered ito the Emperor as soon as we catch these rogues that we are tracking." Locke fumbled around.

"You misunderstand Black Robe Locke, and I hope you do not become like your superior. You are to stop what you are doing now and enact the will of the Emperor. The Emperor's will is to torture Crokus himself. Now get to it!" Shaqaa put his sword away, gave Locke a jolt of electricity for motiviation and disappeared.

Set was leaning against the wall of his hut, watching his pupil punch a boulder. Of course, punching the boulder had no real purpose, which he hadn't bothered telling his pupil, but it was good fun. The wooded area around them was well away from any real settlement, the closest being twenty or so miles away, and even farther from the thrice-damned Emperor. He raised one dark gray, nearing black, arm, and walked over to his pupil. "All right, that should be good enough. Now let me show you how a master does it." he smirked, and his pupil backed away from the rock. 

This may be a good time to describe Set an his pupil. Set himself stood almost head taller than most of his own people, putting him at 6'1" in the writer's measurement. He was built like an ox, too; all big muscles and fairly scary-looking. He had the same dark gray, nearing black skin of all dark elves, the same pointed ears that seemed to be a recurring theme amongst all elves, and shoulder-length white hair. His irises were a golden color with flecks of red, which could be a little unsettling to look at for long periods of time. As for clothes, he wore only a dark pair of pants and a worn tan cloak on his shoulders. 

His pupil, on the other hand, was a lean red elf who Set stumbled upon stumbling through the woods years ago. His name was supposedly Drastiel, although Set never really cared if he was lying in that regard. He was company for Set, and the red-tinted, blond-haired, 5'8" elf was kind enough, and more than willing to learn and help out around the hut. 

At this time, Drastiel took a step back, letting Set take his place in front of the boulder and having room to spare. The red elf rolled his eyes, knowing too well the results of this. Set took his stance in front of the boulder, legs spread wide for stability. He stood that way for a few seconds, and then the all too expected result- a single punch with more force than should have been possible, breaking off chunks of the large rock. Drastiel clapped his hands melodramatically as Set stepped back and proceeded to throw a punch at Drastiel, yelling "DODGE!" at his pupil, who was hit square in the face and sent flying, hitting a tree. 

Set laughed, and then turned around, walking back towards the hut. "Take a break, Dras. You've earned it." The red elf grumbled, sitting up an brushing himself off. Their days were almost always like this, where Drastiel would do some pointless task for a few hours, Set would show him how it's done, and then, seemingly randomly, Set would instigate a sparring session. Today's was longer than most. The rest of the day was Drastiel's to walk around the woods and basically do whatever while Set meditated in front of the hut. 

A few hours of that went by before Set opened his eyes and slowly came back down to earth. "Dras, do you hear anything?" 

"No...?" Drastiel replied, walking out from behind the hut. Set shook his head, and pointed to his own ear, and then to the ground. Drastiel rolled his eyes, and leaned down, putting the side of his head to the ground. He closed his eyes, and sat there for a few minutes before they reopened, now looking slightly afraid. "Boots?"

"And armor, and weapons. And a horse" Set responded, standing up. "Get ready for them; they'll be here before sunset. Get ready." He stood up, staring at the hut, while Drastiel ran off to something or other. Set sighed, and twisted his ring, shrinking down by a few inches while his skin turned pale. His muscles lost a lot of their definition, his hair retracted and turned jet-black, while his two upper canines extended. He left his eyes the same, if slightly slanted. When Drastiel came around the edge of the hut, he had to roll his eyes again. "What?"'

"Nothing, Count." Dras replied with a laugh. When Set just raised an eyebrow, not getting the joke, Drastiel sighed. "You look like a vampire, master." he said, bored, and then sat down. Set, however, opted to stand, crossing his now smaller arms in front of his chest. 

It was almost an hour before they arrived, at which point the two elves' ears were beginning to hurt, but it was almost a relief. The leader of the group of six soldiers, a big... What appeared to be an ugly mix of a red elf and an ogre wearing a suit of armor and a cape atop a big black stallion, a large axe at his waist and a shield on his back, dismounted and walked forward. "You two. Care to explain why you're living so far away from everything? The nearest village is pretty damn far away." 

Set just glared at the man. "Get the hell off my property." Drastiel looked at his master in shock, having never actually heard such anger dripping from Set's words. The leader laughed, and drew his axe and shield. 

"I don't think so. In fact... Sig, search that hut." the leader replied, standing back with a smug look on his face. A decent-sized golden elf moved forward, towards Set and Drastiel, who stood in front of the door to the hut. "Move it, you---" the soldier named Sig began to say, only to be cut off by a palm to the breastplate that threw him several feet back. A twist of the ring later, and Set stood back at his usual height, baring his teeth.

"I'll repeat myself one last time. Get. The. Hell. Off. My. PROPERTY." he snarled, taking a fighting stance. The leader stood in wide-eyed shock, and then snapped to. 

"You are under arrest for the illegal practice of- Ack!" the leader started, and then got a kick to the chest from Drastiel. The other four soldiers prepared their weapons... Set stopped, and recounted. Four? There had been five, excluding the leader, who was picking himself up off the ground. Where was the fifth...? A whistling sound passed by Set's head, and then it came to him. 

A grunt of pain later, and he saw Drastiel falling back, time slowing for him as he watched the arrow sink farther into his pupil's chest. Out of his heart. Set roared, and then jumped at a soldier, pummeling his shield in, feeling the arm break behind; he reached forward, grabbing the man's head, and then twisted it until it snapped off. The dark elf bellowed, launching the head at another soldier, who backed off in fear. That one didn't get very far before receiving a foot to the face. 

All the while, while Set slaughtered the soldiers, the fifth stood a ways back, firing arrow after arrow. He was a lean-built dark elf, with white hair going down to his mid-back. This was something of an off day for Hawkeye; it wasn't often that he'd miss this many shots in a row. The kid had been an easy target, with a single arrow that, of course, had found it's mark. But this big dark elf... He moved faster than should have been possible, crushing armor and shields and snapping bones and breaking skulls left and right. Pretty impressive, honestly. But Hawkeye knew that, once Lenor got back on his feet, this guy would go down pretty quickly. 

Lenor, the red elf-ogre, was up now, and charged this insane dark elf with his axe and shield. And then he was on his back in a flurry of movement, his shield less than useless. He got up, protecting his face with his axe, only to feel an upward kick send it spiraling out of his hand; a snap verified that his arm was broken as well. The big half-breed whimpered as he was picked up by Set, who had a fire burning in his eyes. "Your men killed my pupil." Set threw the leader into a tree, which gave a satisfying crack. As Lenor slumped to the ground, on his face, one could see it hadn't been the tree that had been broken. As Set advanced on the broken man, an arrow whizzed towards him... Which he promptly turned around and caught, leaving Hawkeye without any more ammunition and quite impressed. And then the arrow was planted firmly in Lenor's head. 

Set sat down amongst the carnage, facing the direction the arrow had come from. He sat this way for a few minutes, staring, and then sighed. "Are you going to come out on your own, archer, or are you going to make me come looking for you?" he stated his threat, bored. Hawkeye rolled around from behind the tree, his longbow strapped to his back again. The smaller dark elf strolled over, laughing. 

"You... You're a sight for sore eyes, Apollyon, you know." Hawkeye said, amidst his laughter. Set stood up, laughing as well. "I didn't imagine I'd see you out here, Apollyon. You're doing well, aren't you?" Hawkeye didn't flinch as the much larger elf stood up and snapped the archer's right arm. 

"You know why I'm doing this."

"Of course. I'm just sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances."

Set nodded. "I'll make it quick." Hawkeye nodded. "Old friend." And then Set took Hawkeye's head in his hands. One little movement later, and the dark elf archer's body fell to the ground. 


Less than ten minutes later, his hut was filled with dead bodies and burning. Set's head, newly shaved, was covered by his cloak, his back lit up by the bonfire. He never looked back. 

(Heh, the duel between Rhythian and Set will be epic.)

In the Wilderness between Timber and Typhoon at nightfall....

After hours of marching all day with only one break Abasi finally allows the party to stop and make camp for the night. Maximus and Jasmine walk off a short distance to gather some fire wood. When they are out of reach Jasmine lunges unto Maximus locking tightly her dark red lips with Maximus goblin green mouth. He was taken aback at first and then ran his hand through her hair and pulled her tightly to him lifting her off the ground.

"I thought we would never get a moment alone with the canocephalus watching us so closely." Maximus smiled as they broke apart foreheads still together.

"And that young Tuvore has been giving me the stares all day." Jasmine rolled her multi-colored eyes and the two knights embraced again. Maximus right hand ran down her shirt beginning to unbutton it when a loud throat clearing startled the two.

"This is not a pleasure cruise. You two need to get back to the camp now." Abasi stepped out of the shadows where he had been lurking for some time. The two embarrassed lovers retreated together back towards the camp with Abasi's glare following them. Though something about their moment had softened Abasi's attitude towards the two. Picking up the firewood they had failed to collect, Abasi returned to camp.

Telador lit the fire magically with a simple fire spell. The groups roasted some meat and Kathael even began simmerring a stew in a small kettle. Seth the anubite stood on the edge of the camp looking out into the darkness as a sentry. Jasmine and Maximus were sitting apart, but now and then shot a glance at eachother, and then a nervous look towards Abasi who pretended not to notice.

Adonis was leafing through the ancient tome again trying to make sense out of a line:

"Vja jonup et vja Xupfasast csefa"

He could make no sense of the language or even imagine how to begin pronouncing it. After a few more vexing moments he put the book away and ate some of Kathael's stew. It was quite delicious and warming and it cheered up the tired travellers after their long journey. Adonis looked over the sensuous Jasmine who turned her head coldly.

"Telador." Jasmine's expression broke into a friendly smile. "Play us a song."

Telador smiled and withdrew what looked like a double acoustic guitar which he was able to play with both sets of arms. He created an intricate melody before transitioning into popular folk songs of the time and the whole crowd that knew the words joined in the song. They ate and sang long into the night. Seth was the first to fall asleep with his back to a tree. When everyone saw this the drowsiness began to overtake them as well.

As the hours passed by and the night became late and dark most of the group besides Abasi and Maximus fell asleep. Maximus was sitting by the fire near Jasmine watching the light flicker on her face. Abasi looked out into the darkness on alert. Maximus got up and sat down beside him.

"I wanted to apologize about my conduct earlier. It was grossly unprofessional." Maximus said earnestly, but Abasi just grunted and kept peering into the surronding landscape. Maximus looked at the canocephalus and was about to explain himself further, but seeing that his new commander was in no mood to talk, Maximus got up and walked back over to the fire. He lay his head on the ground and his hand reasted in Jasmine's hand before he fell asleep.




In his dark fortress in the land of Kruel....

"My lord the slaves of Camps 4 and 5 have doubled productivity in the iron mines since my arrival I am pleased to announce. It seems the late General Maximus was too lenient on the whip and failed to properly motivate the wretches." General Skar reported.

"Good General Skar, you serve you Emperor well. I shall have a special task for you soon." Moribidus said rather bored. "You may go now. Eeskwire bring us our next guest."

"Presenting Doctor Gatt." Eeskwire squeaked.

"My Lord." An elderly owl-like Strigid bowed. "I have the latest report on your special project in Pearl. It seems the first three prototypes have been successfully perfected. However, we are running into much trouble with the fourth. It seems we cannot find a way to keep it in the air long enough for it to work without using extreme forms of magic. I was wondering if your Eminence might have some suggestions."

"Yes, I suggest you get back to work and not waste my time with reports of your failure Doctor Gatt. Now get back to Pearl and find a way to keep it in the air long enough for it to work or I will see how long you can stay in the air being dropped off the tallest mountains in the World!" Moribidus shouted angrily and dismissed the scientist.

"Your weapons will be to no avail Kel'Atheal." The Wanderer's ethereal voice floated into the room as the scientist exitted.

"And neither will your words old fool, go back to your slumber." Moribidus grumbled. He pulled on a chain connected to a leash around the eyeless golden elf princess pet he kept forcing her into in his lap. Icy fingers of death running down her slave tunic made her shudder whenever they reached her stomach.

"Kel'Atheal how long will you abuse your only salvation?" The Wanderer's voice broke the Emperor's pleasure.

"My salvation? This blind slave?" Moribidus began laughing and threw the girl violently to the ground and stomped on her face breaking her jaw.

"Don't you feel the presence of new life Kel'Atheal?"The Wanderer's voice softly poured over the golden elf slave's sobs and at his words she wailed miserably.

"N=no, don't tell him." She cried.

"Ahhh, so the slave girl is pregnant. A most interesting turn of events Old Man. Then again you probably knew I would not kill her as she wishes. No, I think we shall see what offspring comes out. Perhaps I should have thought of this sooner. An entire super race that I could create." Moribidus laughed to himself evilly.

"All of your many children will be monsters and failures at birth Kel'Atheal. Your evil knows no bounds. Only the child inside this woman's womb will survive infancy and grow to be normal. He will never know his father, the greatest disgrace in this World's history. He will be born whole because of the love of this woman here who has concieved him from violence and even now would protect him from your wrath with her life." The Wanderer prophesied.

"Oh? And what if I kill her and the putrid fetus inside her now?" Moribidus became very quiet and stared down at the sobbing slave girl.

"If you kill her now you will kill the only heir you will ever have. Your own race's genetics will be gone and remembered only as a fantasy of the past." The Wanderer stated matter of factly.

"Hmm, I see. Well, take her away Bartok, let us see what the child looks like when it is born before I decide whether or not it deserves to live. Now for some entertainment. Would you care to watch tonight old man?" Moribidus smiled evilly as Bartok led the battered elf slave away to the dungeons.

"Your perversions disgust me Kel'Atheal. They display how lust has destroyed all possibility for you to love. I am going to sleep, enjoy the syphillis you contract this evening" The Wanderer sighed and the clear diamond turned a solid jet black.

"I hope you can't soundproof your prison. EESKWIRE! Bring me a goat!"

Tisias swore under his breath. This wasn't the first time he'd gotten the shakedown, and it wouldn't be the last. He couldn't fight back, per se. That would get him screwed over faster than you could say, "Please don't arrest me." However, he would have to be cleverer than the people trying to shake him down. This would take some good hard thinking.

He locked the front door and removed the "open" sign from the window. He'd already gotten some of his more lucrative orders for the day, and his inventory had taken a heavy beating; there wasn't much to be done today, aside from getting to work.

Back in the workshop, he picked out his old alchemy text and started thumbing through it. The book was well-worn, but far from abused; it was Tisias' most prized possession, and he would never dream of treating it badly. When he reached the last page, he noted the vellum facing inside the back cover, which was starting to come loose around the edges. He would have to fix that soon, but not just now; there was other work to do and changes to consider. He needed to stock more low-budget potions and remedies, that was for certain, but he didn't want to turn his shop into some cheap tonic-shiller. Or did he?

Inspiration struck. He would need to make another storage area, possibly a safe, and order a lot more bottles from the glassblower, but he could fairly effectively guard against shoplifters.

So he set to work making a large batch of a ridiculously cheap concoction; it was mostly just non-purified water mixed with a few other unsavory or out-of-date ingredients. The resulting mixture was roughly the same color as most of his real potions, and it could be dyed to match the more unusual stuff. Then he bottled it and labeled it as several bottles of his more expensive normal potions. These new bottles went out on the shelves, and the real inventory went under the counter, to be relocated when he was able to get a real safe. Next time someone tried to shake him down, hopefully the person doing the shaking down wouldn't be aware of the new storage arrangements. Instead of getting a strength buff or an invisibility potion, he would get some random but generally harmless effect, most likely extreme nausea.

That finished, he set about making the rest of the day's scheduled orders: mostly fertilizer for an indigo farmer. These sorts of crops couldn't be left to chance, and the farmer had agreed to pay him partly in dye, which had its own particular uses, including a new tunic or two.

When the order was packed and ready for pickup, he opened a cabinet under his counter, swept a few things out of the way, and climbed through the trapdoor into the basement. The basement also had a normal door, but that went into the main section; this went in to the small extra section, which he had built in secret in exchange for a favor of dubious legality. This is where the really illegal stuff happened, when it did. The magically-inclined ingredients stored in the cellar next to him masked any sort of magical energy that Tisias was capable of generating on his own, and thus he could do whatever he wanted without getting caught. There was some loose-leaf material that had been given to Tisias along with his grandfather's tome (including an unusual torc of unknown purpose), and that had in it a few recipes that Tisias had no idea how to make. In addition to the ingredients, some of which were apocryphal, antiquated, or just plain impossible to get in the current legal situation, these had bizarre diagrams that Tisias didn't particularly understand. He recognized them as some sort of magic flow diagrams; he had learned a minor spell or two from them before, but these were much more complicated. There were several different magic types he had never seen before and didn't know how to make. He did know that the diagrams involved his grandfather's wand somehow, but exactly how? No clue. At the very least, these were meant for someone of a much higher caliber than Tisias, or maybe than anyone currently alive. But if he could only perfect them, then he would have the sort of secret that was supposed to have disappeared from the world long ago.

In any case, this meant the night would be long and probably unproductive. Again. But oh well, you didn't crack the secrets of the universe without banging your head against the wall for a while, right?

(Well, we have to get you moving out of that town somehow and onto the main plot Eo. So apologies in advance for this post.)

In a small town....

A resounding crash could be heard by Tisias as his shop door was blasted off its hinges. Tisias was still down in his secret room and heard the commotion upstairs. The intruders weren't even trying to be quiet. The sounds of jostling feet and the tinker of bottles could be heard. With a sigh he stood out of his chair and was about to leave his secret safe room when the voices upstairs began talking.

"He's not here Brutus." A menacing Horusite growled. Horusites have the bodies of humans and the heads of falcons.

"He was here two days ago when I confiscated the potions." Brutus said with a tone of shock.

"When you stole the potions you mean Brutus." A hissing lizardman said slyly.

"Yes, what exactly did you plan to do with those anyhow Brutus?" The Horusite narrowed his eyes in dislike at Brutus.

"I-I was going to give them to you guys as Moribidus Day presents." Brutus stammered unbelievably.

"Don't play the fool Brutus. You were going to sell them." The Horusite lashed out verbally. "I could execute you on the spot for that crime Brutus."

"Oh, please no Fervoor. It will not happen again I swear it!" Brutus fell to his knees and clasped Fervoor the Horusite's Black Robes.

"Get up you swine!" Fervoor tugged his cloak away from Brutus' grasp. "I will give you one chance to redeem yourself. Find this shopkeeper, he has obviously been brewing illegal potions. Arrest him or execute him when you find him and bring what's left of him to Fort Hornbill. If you don't it shall be your body that we feed to Kraken."

"Brutus, didn't you say something was unusal about this shop keeper?" the lizardman said softly.

"Y-yes Agent Lythe. He was of a peculiar race I had never seen. Surely he is a dirty mixed breed. He looked somewhat Strigid and yet also lizardlike." Brutus said.

"Hmm, quite interesting. In that case I will reward you greatly if you bring him to me alive. I wonder if he is my brother Locke's mistake of a love child." The lizardman named Lythe chuckled a little bit to himself.

The trio of secret police then blasted some of the shelves into splinters causing an outrageous crash of glass bottles. They exitted the shop without bothering to fix the door or even prop it up to look closed. Tisias sat transfixed in his secret panic room. His heart beat in his earholes. The Black Robes were now hunting him. The half strigid immediately began packing up everything he could find useful. Something also began to bother him as the initial shock of having the Emperor's secret police barge into your shop subsided. Who was this Locke that the lizard voice named Lythe had hissed out? Could he really be Tisias father?

At the port of Typhoon...

Another long day of trekking under Abasi's watch was drawing to an end. Our party was now right near the outskirts of Typhoon. The sun was sinking slowly and the sky was delightfully alight with the many hues and colors of the sunset. Smells of salt water and the cry of gulls filled the air. In the distance at the opposite end of the city a small ship anchored in the port, the Marred Thistle, rocked gently with the tide. Everyone passed through the gates of Typhoon without incident.

Then when they were just a little ways down the road Abasi held up a hand and the group halted. They looked at eachother puzzled. Maximus seemed to be nodding in agreement though.

"Does anything seem funny to you?" Abasi said unusually quietly.

"Yes I noticed it too my General. There's nobody around, no sounds or sight of people." Maximus stepped forward.

"This is an ill omen. Let us proceed cautiously." Abasi said and slowly the group stalked down the streets, subconciously moving closer together.

Seconds crept by like hours as the group moved down the eerily quiet streets. What seemed like an entire day, was only roughly ten minutes for them to navigate the empty streets of Typhoon to the harbor. They reached the Mared Thistle, and Seth, who was quite adept with ropes, began to untie the lines keeping the vessel to the docks. It was then that all at once a flurry of spells rocketted out of nowhere towards Abasi's turned back. The canocephalus revolutionary would have been utterly destroyed right then if it weren't for the quick reflexes of Sir Telador. The Taila strongman leapt in front of Abasi coverring him with his magical shield that caused the multitude of spells to ricochet away from the group sending two houses up in flames.

"Get on board quickly!" Abasi yelled out. Seth and Adonis aboard the ship began pulling the anchor up as fast as they could with all their might. Jasmine withdrew two long curved swords, and Maximus threw the Greenblade straight through a Black Hood that materialized two feet away from him. He took the sword back from the impaled body and him and Jasmine charged the Black Hoods to buy the group time. Kathael kept catching a fireball sent by a novice Black Hood and sending it back at him.

Things were getting hairy and more Black Hoods kept pouring out of houses assaulting the group. Part of the ship was all ready on fire and Adonis rushed to put it out with a water spell. Then the terrible Black Hand Shaqaa picked up Jasmine and flung her through the air. With their power's combined Adonis, Kathael, and Abasi caught her magically mid-air and set her down not too gently on the ship's deck. Maximus went into a rage and charged Shaqaa, redirecting an incoming stream of lightning from the minotaur back towards a group of Black Hoods.

"So you are alive General Maximus! I suppose the rumors weren't wrong after all." Shaqaa laughed and pulled out a huge battle axe and charged the goblin knight. The two clashed fairly evenly in melee combat. The anchor was finally lifted out of the sea and Abasi was about to push the boat off before Jasmine grabbed his arm.

"We must wait for Maximus!" Jasmine cried out exasperatedly.

"I can't risk losing the whole crew just for that goblin." Abasi said.

"I will not leave without Maximus." Jasmine crossed her arms resolutely and Telador and Seth agreed.

"Very well." Abasi jumped off the ship himself back onto the harbor's dock. He pulled out his torc and murmured some words. At once a blistering gutteral cry put just about everyone within a 2 mile radius on the ground clutching their ears except for Abasi. He ran over to Maximus who was on the ground, threw him over his shoulders and ran with inhuman strength and speed back up the boat.

By the time Shaqaa and his henchmen got to their feet the Marred Thistle was almost out of the bay. Shaqaa ordered his men to comandeer a smaller vessel nearby and they boarded swiftly and set off after the group right on their tail. The chase was on.

Needless to say, this was about as bad as things could get without Tisias having been concealed. Just fixing up the shop and trying to hide things wasn't going to cut it. He'd have to make a run for it and go somewhere else entirely. But he wouldn't get out without the last word. He waited downstairs until he was sure the Black Hoods had gone, then started preparations. As for the illegal potions, you generally don't go to the trouble of getting illegal ingredients and only make one; he had a second of both on hand that hadn't made it to the shelf yet. Both of those went into his bag, along with a few standard healing potions and a few other random potions for trade. The torc and the loose spell sheets went into the bag; the wand went back into his winningas, looking for all the world like a classy sock knife. Then he emptied anything that was left in the register and as much as he could carry out of the safe. As far as density of value, he didn't plan on going off the grid too far, so money would be best for now.

The last thing he packed was his beloved alchemy book. As he picked it up to put it in the bag, the rear binding chose that moment to fail. A folded up sheet of paper fell out onto the floor. Tisias stared at the paper for a long minute, unsure what it could be or what it meant. One thing was highly probable, though. This was some important secret, if it was hidden like that. Or someone was trying to stiffen the cover on the cheap, his more rational side said. But, these things happened sometimes, his more excitable side said.

His more excitable side picked up the paper and unfolded it. It was a map of a local area, but nowhere near Tisias' town. There were a few towns marked on it, and an X off in the wilderness. The port of Typhoon was clearly visible, so there was at least a starting place...wait, what was he thinking? Going off on some sort of treasure hunt, and who was to say there was even treasure there? No, this was exactly what he needed: going off on some ill-conceived adventure somewhere he only knew, where nobody could find him. He wasn't tied down to the shop, so this really couldn't have come at a better time.

((I'll finish this post later))

(Omg I think we made it to Page 2! Gotta stay true to the FF music theme. I don't imagine this as a particular character's theme, just the tone of the page.))

At Sea between the Central and Southern Continent....

It was deep in the night and the two ships were flying fast across the water and the darkness was illuminated with spells and arrows being exchanged. Telador was running around the rear of the ship doing his best to deflect missile and magic with his fantastic shield With his other set of hands he used a bow and lit the arrows on fire for added effect and sent them at the fast pursuing vessel of Shaqaa and the Black Hoods. Seth and Adonis used what magics they knew primarily in wind, or in Adonis case a steady breeze, to power the sails of the ship. Abasi and Kathael had taken Seth and Maximus' bows and were exchanging fire behind cover of Telador.

Maximus was a top on the crow's nest using his great powers to counter various spells sent by Shaqaa that would have certainly destroyed the Marred Thistle. Shaqaa sent a torrent of lightning bolts down on the ship early in the chase, but Maximus simply redirected them away into the ocean. After that he tried fireballs, streams of fire, and everything he could do to turn the Marred Thistle into the Charred Thistle. Telador and his shield along with Maximus' powers were able to nullify and deflect the inferno. For two hours both Maximus and Shaqaa had refrained using their magic letting those below battle it out as they taunted eachother.

"How can you know all this magic traitor?" Shaqaa's magical voice boomed over the waves.

"You don't become a General for nothing Shaqaa, or is it that you fear the Resistance has taught me some magic you do not possess?" Maximus yelled back.

"Prove it, let one of your lackeys that is not one of your turncoat Knights show us what he's got. I'll let him a free shot. You Black Hood Wrigley, go stand where they can see you and let them shoot their best spell at you!" Shaqaa answered back and not far away the party could see a Black Hood ogre forced to stand in front of them.

"Well what you say, want to pick one of them off?" Maximus yelled down to the others below.

"Is he serious?" Kathael looked at Abasi

"Yea I'm serious Kathael. Shaqaa has a reputation for toying with his own soldiers for amusement. It was a suicide post to be appointed under him." Maximus replied, apparantly the long goblin ears are good at hearing.

Kathael looked at Abasi who shrugged. The Golden Elf revolutionary conjured up an icy speared and hurled it across the water striking the ogre square in the chest, his screams needed no magic to be heard.

"That's all? The Emperor was right, you are just a group of common thieves not even worth our time." Shaqaa's deep laugh rang magically over the cries of his soldier. Under cover of his laugh Shaqaa unseen from the Marred Thistle had a black bow and arrow ready. When he saw Kathael cast her spell he loosed the arrow with deadly precision, nocked another arrow and fired it as well. "And you don't become a Black Hand without being incredibly sly Maximus!" Shaqaa roared just as the arrows came out of the darkness at the crew laughing about taking out a Black Hood. Kathael's mirthful face dropped and became pained as two arrows suddenly found their mark embedded in her chest.

"KATHAEL!" Abasi screamed in rage.

Telador bent down and shielded her as she had fallen to the deck. The Black Hoods were again firing arrow and spell at the Marred Thistle. Jasmine shrieked in rage and began firing arrows two at a time from her and Telador's quivers. The ship slowed down a litle as Adonis ran to the scene his staff in hand.

"This is going to hurt." Abasi declared as he snapped the shafts of the arrows and then quickly pulled them out. Kathael began bleeding profusely and Abasi had to look away. Maximus had come down from the crow's nest looking on. Evil laughter of the minotaur assasin echoed off the sea. Adonis didn't speak but laid the staff on the first wound and closed his eyes. He focused his mind and his magic on the magic contained within his illegal artifact. The end of the staff glowed as if it were an ember on fire. He pulled the staff away revealing golden yellow healed flesh.

"The shock and the blood loss will have drained her, I'll take her down below, she'll need to recooperate." With the second wound healed Adoins slung the staff over his back and picked up Kathael who was going in and out of conciousness. Adonis got her to small bedroom below the deck.

"Thank you Adonis." Kathael murmured as Adnois ran out of the room and back up the stairs to get back to helping power the ship.

Maximus stodd now absolutely facing the enemy like Telador was doing before. With one hand out stretched he was disentegrating arrows and absorbing all the spells coming his way. Telador and Jasmine had went to the front to help Seth power the ship. Abasi was still firing arrows at the opponents enraged more than ever. Visibly two Black Hoods could be seen crumpling over with arrows sticking out of them at odd angles.

"It's time Shaqaa, I have had all the time I need!" Maximus yelled and at once the enemy vessel lurched and stopped moving.

"What are you talking about?!" Shaqaa said a hint of fear in his angry voice.

"All generals are taught how to deflect basic magic and weapons. Each General is specialized in one particular element though. You made a mistake chasing us Shaqaa. My element is water! and now I have drawn up enough energy from the ocean to send you to its depths!" Maximus boldly declared.

The goblin ex-general's body began to glow a light blue. His muscles contracted and he began to shake in what looked like anger as he began channeling all the magic in the ocean. At once the pursuing ship began to be pulled backwards and then it began to move circularly. Ripping open the sea roared as a massive maelstrom opened up sweeping the enemy ship down until it was out of sight. Then his arms snapped skyward at the blink of an eye that caused even Abasi to jump. Gushing upward a spiralling pillar of water blasted up into the sky tossing Black Hoods and wood everywhere. Maximus put his arms down and a massive tsunami began to head towards the Marred Thistle. Maximus swooning, barely able to stand pushed his right hand forward just as the wal of water reached the ship and it fell at his command to a gentle rocking of the ocean.

"Holy smokes!" Abasi said unheard by anyone and ran to Maximus as he collapsed unconcious on the deck. For the second time Abasi slung the knight over his back and laid him to rest and recooperate in the room next to Kathael's. Picking up steam under four magic powers the Marred Thistle sped off into the darkness alone and free of pursuit.

In the Throne Room of the Emperor....

Naked slave girls of many different races were presented to the Emperor by Admiral Gaunt. This ogre was doing quite well for himself and was quickly earning great rewards from Moribidus for his prowess in slave catching. The Emperor clapped at the mass strip dance, accompanied by a few musicians who had been captured and enslaved by Gaunt as well. General applause broke out in the Emperor's court when the show finished.

"Excellent Admiral Gaunt. You will make General in no time, if only you could master some more magic. Eeskwire! Show these meat puppets to my personal chamber. Make yourself useful little rat, and fetch us some of the Shipments from Camp 22 to spice up the night." Moribidus laughed evilly knowing that the only thing that came out of Camp 22 were dead bodies.

"At once my lord!" Eeskwire squeaked happily looking over an orc woman with some interest himself. Regardless of saying, Eeskwire didn't hurry back to his post.

"Your Highness, Black Robe Krokus is here with some artifacts for you!" The warthogish guard Bartok exclaimed.

"Ahhhh, excellent, now for some real entertainment. Show him in Bartok." Moribidus black tongue licked his cracked dry grey lips darkly.

Krokus walked in a little nervous and jumpy. He bowed curtly before Moribidus and said somewhat quietly, "My Lord, I have brought you gifts."

Silence stung the air deafeningly. A gleam of playful insanity was on Moribidus' face as he watched the Amphib eagerly. Krokus averted the gaze of the Emperor, staring down at the small piece of cloth he unfolded revealing an ancient black knife and a curious torc.

"My lord, my underling Locke, despite all his inferiority managed to find this trinket, a torc. I researched this in the Imperial Library and discovered it is one of three extremely valuable objects that can open up the secret Necropolis of Medea." Krokus handed the torc over, his bulging eyes staring at the mass of writhing slaves trapped inside the dark lord's throne.

"Crokus you insufferable fool! Haven't you learned that I am Emperor Moribidus and I do not need keys or magical toys to get where I want? If I gave a shit about the fairytale of the Necropolis I would have all ready gone there. Now this knife you have had better be worth my time or I shall make you my clown right now." Moribidus yelled, but his voice was not filled with anger, but an evil mirth. He crushed the rare torc in his grasp until it was a fine sand.

"This dagger...." Krokus picked up the blade by the handle and instead of handing it into Moribidus' long outstretched fingers he looked it over checking both sides. "This dagger...WILL PROVE THAT I AM NOT YOUR CLOWN!" Krokus let out a deafening croak and slit his own throat.

"WHAT?!" Moribidus screamed his stark blue eyes burning red in fury. Outside lightning bolts rained down Kruel's countryside. Krokus looked at him pointing and laughing blood gushing out of him. Moribidus withdrew the Blackblade and held it up prepared to get the last blow in on Krokus. Clanging to the ground Moribidus clutched his hand screaming in agony as the blade smoked and had burnt his hand. The Wanderer's ethereal laugh in unison with Krokus filled the room.

Krokus the Amphid looked down at Moribidus' legendary blade and saw the Wanderer looking back at him. Krokus laughed for once a joyful laugh not at the situation or even the angry Emperor that he for once made into his clown. His laugh melded with the Wanderer's easing him out of his pain. Krokus closed his eyes and died with the sight of laughter fixed on his face.

"DAMN YOU OLD MAN!!!! YOU'LL BE ON THE MOON ALL WEEK FOR THAT!" Moribidus howled and the Blackblade vanished from the World and all reach. "BARTOK COME HERE IMMEDIATELY!!!!"

Bartok sauntered into the room sheepishly. He was grunting a little in fear and cowered before Moribidus' rage. The Emperor was literally immolated in his fiery temper and stood menacingly aflame. All day and night lightning bolts would fall like rain drops in the land of Kruel

"Y-yes master?" Bartok squealed.

"When you get to the afterlife tell Crokus that I will defile his body in every way imagineable and when I am done I shall consume his flesh, his bones, everything and turn him into shit!" Moribidus yelled and at once the flames leapt off his body and surrounded Bartok. Bartok's piggish squeals of pain echoed off the wals for a few minutes until the fire burnt his body to a crisp leaving the curious smell of fried bacon in the air.

Tisias moved quickly to finish his preparations. He closed the shutters and locked them, and propped the door back up, leaving it ajar, before putting up a post behind the fertilizer and tying a couple sticks to it. From there, he left out the back and stealthily let himself in the back entrance of the butchers' shop a couple doors down. There, he helped himself to several armloads of pork, some assorted bones, and the bin of feathers from plucked chickens, leaving a small sack of gold in its place.

A few hours' effort and an old set of clothes later, Tisias had a dummy that would look more or less like himself, if you squinted and only had a fraction of a second to look at it. Or, more importantly, if you searched the room's charred and blown-up remains, you would find an adequate selection of burned feathers and bones that it might look like he set off the explosion himself.

As a last step, a vial of a very unstable and flammable cocktail went on top of the door.

Tisias' plan was simple, but it required one particular thing: Brutus would have to be watching his shop first thing in the morning, before anyone else got there - as Tisias was certain he would, if his head was at stake. If he wasn't, then hopefully the Black Robes would get there first, and one of them would be on the receiving end of the trap. The first person to go in the door would have to move it; there wasn't enough room to go through normally. That would drop the firestarter, which would land on or close enough to a small trail of fertilizer that led over to the bags in the middle of the floor. The entire front room would go kaboom, hopefully taking with it the person who opened the door and leaving a pair (?) of corpses.

Tisias left out the back door and headed for the docks. He had an old friend he needed to talk to, and adventure to get going on.

All was quiet for the next hour or so, and everyone was exhausted after such a long chase. Everyone had given it their all, and would be rewarded with easy sleep. As for Abasi, he was in medical watching over Kathael and Maximus in case either of them was to awaken, but they were sound. As much as Abasi would be sore to admit, but he was proud of his crew, and the exiles. He no longer looked upon Maximus with disgust, but with acceptance and pride. Feeling slightly honored to have him on board. He heard footsteps clapping against the deck, and Jasmine stuck her head in before fully entering the room. “How is he…?”

“Maximus will be fine,” he declared, “he merely over-exerted himself, a drawback of using magic. I’ve never had an affinity for it myself.”

Jasmine sat down next to Maximus’ bed and held the goblin’s hang, but was careful not to go too far in Abasi’s presence. She thought for a second, and opened her mouth with words at the tip of her tongue, being careful to choose them properly.

“…Have you ever had a loved one, sir?”

Abasi was taken aback by her question and thought carefully. “I have never courted a female if that is what you are asking – I do my best to avoid close relationships in my line of work.”

Jasmine sighed and shook her head. “Then I suppose you’ll never understand…”

Abasi looked appalled by her statement and gave her the hairy eyeballs. “What do you mean, ‘I’ll never understand’?”

“Nothing,” she added quickly, “it was a foolish question to ask. I will be in my quarters, if there are any changes to Maximus’ condition, I would be grateful if you were to inform me.” She walked her way as fast as she could out of medical, leaving Abasi to call out a “Wait!” but it was too late. He sighed and sat back down. What did she mean by, “He’d never understand”? Was he really that detached from everyone else? He looked over at Kathael who slept peacefully in her cot.

Was he?


Dawn crept up on the crew the next day, all having slept except for Abasi, whom was unable after the battle. Ideas of magic crept into his mind, but he quickly rejected them. He didn’t need magic to be strong, and surely he didn’t need the goblin to teach him. He watched as the sun slid above the watery horizon, the entirely ocean appearing to glisten and glitter. The waves that gently washed the boat shimmered. But to think that a large assault ship fell beneath this skin of liquid due to magic, it was tempted. The idea coaxed him, but he kept on reminding himself that there is no strength in parlor tricks. Still… it wouldn’t hurt to learn a few tricks. Nearly everyone was using magic when the ship attacked, and it has all been very effective. Maybe he could ask—

No. No, he cannot, and will not. He will not be seduced; his very name would be slandered. He was once of the most respected members of the Resistance, and every feat he has made was without the influence of magic, and he would strike down General Skar with only his bow and mace. There is no honor in relying on anything else than your own skill, and if his enemies had any sense of honor, than they too shall respect him and honor him if either one of them falls. Now, it was time to check on the patients. He walked into medical and found Maximus sitting up with his back against the wall, and a book prodded in his hands. He looked over and nodded in welcome. Abasi nodded back and took in a deep sigh. He sat on a stool that was in front of Maximus’ bed, and began to speak.

“I would like to apologize, Sir Maximus, for my lack of hospitality during the beginning of our journey. I have come to acknowledge that you are indeed a great asset, and I would be honored to have you until the very end.”

“You start saying that as soon as I sink a warship.”

“It was an incredible feat.” Abasi added.

“I’m still not convinced.” Maximus said unimpressed.

“What can I do to make it up to you?”

Maximus put his book down and rested his chin on his hand, appearing to be in deep thought. His face brightened up and he replied, “How about we get some drinks and play a game of cards some time? I think that should settle it.”

A smirk stretched across Abasi’s face. “Deal.”

Maximus returned the smiled and returned to his book, appearing to be deeply captivated by it. Abasi looked over and had a curious look on his face. “What are you reading?”

“A spell tome.”

“Oh.”

“What?”

“Oh nothing…”

In the mines of Camp 4 on the Central Continent.......

"General Skar!" A dwarf knight bowed to him. "The Black Hand Shaqaa requests an audience!"

"Hmmm, send him in." General Skar looked up from his desk where he was reading numerous prison reports scatterred about.

The dwaf knight bowed and rushed off down the torchlit passages. Ever pounding sounds of picks and hammers could be heard echoing in Camp 4. Intermittently the cracks of whips sounded around the hour like clockwork. After fifteen minutes the dwarf knight showed a battered and roughed up Shaqaa into the office. General Skar stood and Shaqaa bowed a look of disgust on his face.

"Let's walk." Skar indicated to the door and the two proceeded down dimly lit cavernous tunnels. They were all heavily guarded by knights and a few Black Hoods running about.

"I have bad news General. Your predecessor Maximus is still alive." Shaqaa put bluntly.

"Yes I know." General Skar said nonchalantly causing Shaqaa to look up at him puzzled.

"Well he destroyed the ship and an entire crew of Black Hoods. I was only able to escape by flying out of his Oceanic Fury spell. I failed, but both you and I know that we cannot go before the Emperor and tell him that Maximus is alive and has joined the Resistance." Shaqaa bowed his head in shame, but watched Skar out of the corner of his eye seeing his point draw on the furrowed Anubite brow.

"Hmm, you have a good excuse for your failure. What is it you want minotaur?" Skar stopped at the top of a subterranean cliff overlooking a large ore extraction pit. Roughly one hundred dwarves, elves, and gnomes sat chained by the legs to the ground using hammers to break apart rock found by the slave miners deep below. Many were sickly and thin. Skar had cut their rations and introduced Anubite overseers armed with whips to torment them.

"Let me pursue them, give me some men and let me pursue them to the South. I will track them easily." Shaqaa looked up and begged.

"Hmm, a chance to redeem yourself minotaur? Though I cannot go to the Emperor to tell him that you failed to kill Maximus and lost a sqadron of his Black Hoods, I could tell your boss Rhythian of this." General Skar laughed at the shocked look on Shaqaa's face. "Yes I know Rhythian well. We were posted on the East Continent together. Now tell me minotaur, how do you plan to track a band of pirates who are at this moment halfway over the Sea to the Southern Continent?"

"I may have failed my task, but this is where I can help you like nobody can." Shaqaa look at Skar and his face hardened and he smiled slyly. "One of the Traitors that followed Maximus is an agent of mine spying on them for me. They led me to him in the first place. I can also tell you that I have found out that the city of Timber is being used as some sort of Resistance stronghold. Thati s where the Traitors met up with their new friends."

"Ah I see, a mole, how clever of you. Very well Shaqaa I will give you Black Robe Locke and his Black Hoods to take with you on your expedition." General Skar decided after a moment of thinking. He then pulled out a whistle and blew it. On command the Anubite overseers immediately began lashing the slaves for their "hourly motivation" as the General called it.

"Locke? Isn't there any more, er, competant Black Robes?" Shaqaa looked at Skar in disbelief.

"Enough insubordination! The General of the South is Trollus. An incompetant fool, as is all of the race of troll. Do not expect many favors from him. However that idiot Locke's brother Black Robe Lythe is particularly cunning and cruel, as well as skilled at magic. I give you a golden opportunity to enlist him by using his brother and you question my judgement? If you fail me this time Shaqaa I will let Rhythian know. Bring me back Maximus' head or die trying." Skar spat on a slave below and as he looked at Shaqaa. A magical fire gleamed in his eye and the temperature of the damp cavern became stuffy and hot.

"Yes General, I will not fail this time." Shaqaa bowed and took his leave.

On the Southern Continent in a little town at Mid-Day.....

The Sun had come up and the morning was quiet. Morning passed into afternoon with the Sun high in the sky. Across the street from Tisias shop was a quiet house where a family of Ostrach lived. A mother, a father, and two young featherball children. Normally the children played outside, but today the house was quiet. Inside the family was locked inside a bedroom. Black Robes Lythe and Brutus stood in another room watching out a window at Tisias shop waiting for any sign of the the half-Strigid.

As mid-day was passing they decided that they had not properly investigated the premises yesterday. Lythe enterred the bedroom where the family was captive in ropes and gagged. He looked on casually as he pulled out a long knife duplicated it into four and magically sent them through the air to their deadly destinations. Closing the door, Lythe left the house to follow Brutus who was all ready nearly across the street.

Brutus walked up to the damaged door that was somewhat ajar and disheveled from its last encounter with the Black Robes. Brutus raised his fist to pound on the door, which surely would have knocked it clean over. Thinking better of it though he turned his head around nearly 180 degrees. Lythe was walking across the cobblestone street and he turned back and shrilly called out.

"Should we knock?"Brutus cackled like a parrot.

"Just bust it in and let's get in there and find him!" Lythe said as he stepped off the street onto the curb.

Brutus rocked back and then full body charge into the store knocking the door out of his way. For the space of two or three second he looked puzzled at the disheveled store. Some bones and feathers and iingredients scattered all over. At the last second he saw the potion a top the door fall to the ground behind him. Lythe looking up at Brutus just before it broke, his eyes widening in fear as he turned on spot throwing his hands up.

For a few miles the earth shaking blast sounded. Tisias had used a little too much fertilizer, and with all the other concoctions in the place the entire store exploded leaving nothing left of Brutus except cinders. The blast ripped Lythe off the ground and planted him several feet away face down and smoking, the left side of his Black Robes burnt away. Every window in the small town of Cascade was shattered and the people of the town stayed inside the rest of the day in fear.

After twenty minutes Lythe's fingers moved a little. A groan of pain and disoreintation came from his mouth as his body twitched and he came to. He stagged to his feet and nearly fell over, his left leg hardly able to move from weakness. Four huge splinters stuck out of his left knee. He stood on his good leg and looked as his expose, shiny burnt raw arm. He raised his right arm, completely unscathed and still scaly grey, but a little sore from the landing. He raised it gingerly to the stinging burnt side of his face. He could feel the damage. Left eye was swollen shut, but he could still see dimly out of it. Hearing in his left ear was compeltely gone. Feeling his disfigurment sent him into a rage and the fires that were still burning after the explosions roared up ferociously.

"I'LL FIND YOU TISIAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lythe screamed in pain and rage. He screamed in magic and his voice echoed as loudly as the explosion that proceeded it.

On the Southern Continent in the regional capital of Drigg....

A troll clad in a curiously bright red superman cape and costume with a large yellow T on the chest sat on a throne next to an Avian King. The Avian King was Belasarius. He had just been a boy when his father was executed by Moribidus himself. The Emperor placed Belasarius on the throne and made his longest serving General, Trollus the Regent of the South. Trollus was a rather stupid person, but his fondness for irritating people, his disgusting manners, and his long-standing obedience kept him in the Emperor's graces.

The race of troll is related to the races of orc and goblin. Trolls are heavier set and bulkier, and typically a few inches shorter than their racial cousins. Unlike the goblins and orcs which stand fully upright the Trolls are slightly hunched in the back. Brain capacity is also much lower than orcs and goblins, but trolls can still be diabolically clever at times. Physically they are stronger than orcs, and when using their massive forearms to run they can be even quicker than goblins. Most trolls can do very little or no magic, but General Trollus being a General has actually done what none of his race has ever done before and mastered one of the natural elements of magic. Earth is Trollus' elemental speciality.

Young Belasarius, now 23 sat bored on his throne as Trollus held court. The last visitor who came to complain about a lack of water in Desaria was sent away with an order to make his people drink tobasco sauce instead. Trollus sat picking his nose as a rather prominent noble came in and bowed.

"My Lord, I have come from the town of Almaday. I discovered that the Resistance has set up a base of operations in the area, and thought it might be of your concern." The noble bowed again.

"Resistance? What a Resistance? Are you resistings?" Trollus said stupidly digging his fat finger to the knuckle in his large greenish grey nostril.

"Uh the Resistance is the band of rebels at war with the Emperor." The noble looked at the King and the Regent puzzled.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh. Okay zo you're declaring warz on da Emperorz? He not gonna like dat. He not gonna like dat at all." Trollus withdrew a finger covered in boogers and wiped it on the side of Belisarius' blue feathered face. The young puppet king nearly threw up, but held his composure together.

"N-no! That's not what I'm saying at all! I am a loyal servant of the Emperor. I am trying to help you and tell you that the rebels are gathering in Almaday so that you can wipe them out." The noble looked shocked and disgusted at Trollus.

"Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo..... you wantz me to goes to Almway and wipez a boogarz on the Reziztance?" Trollus laughed at the situation like it was one of the funniest things he ever saw.

"Err, yes I guess that's kind of what I was saying. Oh, and it's AlmADAY not AlmWAY." The noble bowed again.

"Ya dat WHUT I saidz, Almonpay. Okay, here bez some boogers, you go wipe dem out on Reziztance." Trollus jumped up and ran quickly at the terrified noble and sneezed all over his face. Trollus stopped and pointed at him and laughing in his low grunting laugh voice. "HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH. I likez dat guy he'z funniez!"

Meanwhile in the city of Dalarov on the Western Continent...
(Its been a while since I've seen Set Apollyon, so I'm going to NPC him and push him towards the storyline.)

In the sunset strewn coast black sails emerge over the horizon speeding for the port of the pristine city of Dalarov. Town bells ring all over the city as watch fires are lit. The black sails belong to Admiral Gaunt's personal fleet of slave traders. All ready he is back breaking his promise not to return if the king of Dalarov handed over his daughter as a slave.

The ogre Admiral and his crew dock and descend their planks swarming the city completely. By now most of the townspeople had assembled in the town square at the sound of the alarm. King Kiros stands at the base of a statue of Ahmed the Great, a Lands of Myth era elven hero, and the ancestor of most the golden elf people.

"I have returned King Kiros, and I see you are happy to see me." Gaunt laughs at the king's stoic expression.

"I hope you are not here to break our agreement Admiral Gaunt." The King's face hardened.

"Ah, yes, you see we have reached an unfortunate clause in our agreement. Our agreement was that you would hand over your only daughter to me in exchange for never seeing these black sails in your port. Well it turns out you have broken our agreement. I have found out that you have another daughter." Gaunt smiled sinisterly as the people in the crowd began to murmur discontently. "Not only that, but she is a Resistance fighter as well. Yes word travels fast Kiros, you cannot hide from the Emperor."

"What do you want?" King Kiros looked down at the ground in grief.

"I think I am willing to forget about your rebellious daughter in exchange for an annual tribute of five girls a week from your city. A small bargain to save your neck, you should thank me really." Gaunt laughed.

Pirates lunged forward and snatched five beautiful elf maidens out of their screaming parent's arms. The girls wept and reached back to their parent's outstretched arms. The Pirates and Gaunt snickered.

"Can nobody trully help us?" An old woman green elf yelled out and fell to her knees pulling at her hair in grief watching her eldest grand daughter slung over the back of a minotaur pirate.

Just as all of the Pirates and Gaunt turned their back and took a few steps back towards the docks a dark elf ran out of the crowd flooring a scimatar-wielding anubite to the cement face first. Crazed and unarmed the bald-headed fighter swept the bewildered lizardman next to the fallen anubite off his feet. The slave girl in his clutches fell on top of him and got up running back into the crowd. The lizardman tried to stand up, but the dark elf's boots splattered his face into the pavement. The other four slave holding pirates dropped their catch while two other pirates surrounded the captives with swords. The four drew their weapons.

The first was the minotaur who pulled a large warhammer from his back. Swinging downward he crushed the pavement with the hammer. The dark elf martial artists leapt back at the downward blow then ran right up the hammer shaft delivering a dazing headbutt to the minotaur that staggered him. Seeing little yellow birds the minotaur could do little to stop the whirlwind kick broke his jaw and dropped him to the floor unconcious.

Next an orc and a strigid rushed the dark elf each wielding a sword. In the nick of time he saw them. He dropped to the ground on one hand and knee and delivered a ball crushing blow to the orc who dropped his sword and backed off holding his groin trying to catch his breath. With a quick upward slash the strigid managed to slash part of the dark ef's simple clothing away at the shoulder. His miss proved fatal and the dark elf leapt up in his face grabbed his sword wing and turned the weapon around on the Strigid, impaling him on his own blade.

The fourth challenger a more massive ogre than Gaunt stepped forward with two deadly axes in each massive fist. He grinned dhowing broken teeth from various fights. The dark elf grinned as well as the ogre stepped forward. With a gutteral cry the ogre launched forward axes high in the air. The dark elf had snatched a rock though when he groin-kicked the orc. With a fierce pitch the rock busted through the ogre's left eye. Embedded deep into the brain, the ogre fell to the ground twitching violently in his last death throws.

Gaunt unleashed a blast of energy that made a huge crater in the road sending a cloud of dust up into the air. The Admiral and his remaining pirates ran for the boats leaving the four elf girls on the ground aching from the blast, but still free. As the dust settled some of the people clapped and cheered.

"Brave sir, what is your name?" King Kiros stepped forward towards the heavily breathing dark elf.

"I am Set Apollyon." The simple man bowed.

"I thank you for your heroics brave Set. However, I am afraid your actions will cost us dearly. Gaunt will surely return and next time he shall kill us all for what you have done." King Kiros looked downcast.

"Yes I thought that might happen too." Set said rather nonchalantly which unnerved King Kiros. Then he walked over to the minotaur who was returning to conciousness and the orc still holding onto his marbles, unable to move in pain. "You two witnessed this all and I kept you alive for a purpose. Go back to Gaunt and tell him my name is Set Apollyon. Tell him he is nothing but a coward that can only pick on girls. Tell him not to bother coming back, I am coming to the Emperor's own backyard! If he wants to fight a real man let him come fight me!"

"Y-yes I'll tell him everything. We won't come back here, I swear by Moribidus!" The orc squealed in a high pitch pained voice.

"You know what, you two just stay here actually. I will escort you back to Gaunt myself!" Set looked at the two who were in no condition to run even if they wanted to.

"Good Set Apollyon, may I ask you another favor?" The King Kiros spoke up again timidly this time.

"Perhaps. I do not like to agree to something unless I know what it is first." Apollyon responded.

"That nefarious Admiral Gaunt kidnapped my daughter Abagael nearly two weeks ago and took her to the land of Kruel..." King Kiros began.

"Ah, I am sorry but I am not interested in suicide. I might be strong, but I am only one man, and one man cannot take on the land of Kruel alone." Set said apologetically.

"Yes I understand. It's not that. I would never expect anyone to charge straight into the hands of Moribidus. You see, what Gaunt said was not a lie. I do have another daughter, my beautiful little Kathael." The king looked down a mixture of grief and pride on his face. Some of the people gasped and began gossiping. "I did not hide her though as Gaunt alleged. She left on her own will two years a go to join the Resistance. She went off to the city of Timber and that was the last I ever heard of her. Would you find her brave Set Apollyon, or at least find out if she is still alive. I fear Abagael is now dead. Kathael is the only family I have left. I am getting old and would like to see her one last time, or at least know if she is still alive."

"Yes, I was going to go to the Central Continent anyways for this land has become to dangerous for me and my name too well known. I cannot promise to bring your daughter back, but I can give her your message if I find her." Set bowed respectfully.

"Please sir, take this as a token of payment. Kathael will be able to recognize it to know your words are true." King Kiros unbuckled his royal sword from his belt, got on one knee and presented it to Set. "It is the magical Blade of Ahmed. It is imbued with the power of the wind that the great ancient King of All Elves once possessed. It makes its master the fastest swordsman in the World. I do not deserve to carry it any longer, please accept this as a gift. A true elf warrior such as yourself is the only person who might wield it."

"I do not fight with weapons. It is not my way. I shall take the sword of our common ancestor and give it to your daughter if I find her. She and your family are the rightful owners of the Elves' most important artifact. It is a great honor just to be the swordbearer and safe keeper of such a noble weapon. I will defend it with my whole body and life until I can put it in the hands of your daughter." Set Apollyon accepted into his hand one of the rarest and most powerful weapons ever created.

Long ago before the elven races split into many colors they were one race known today as the High Elves. Today there are no more High Elves as their race through intermingling with other races and natural evolution were sundered into many races. The closest genetically to the High Elves are the Golden Elves whom have handed down the Sword of Ahmed through their royal generations. While the Silver Elves being the next most pure race, but very few in number, have kept and handed down the Crown of Egalos, whom was the First High Elf King during the First Era. Of all the ancient elf kings their greatest was Ahmed the Great whom owned one of the Gems of Power which were used at the end of the Lands of Myth era to create the Sword of Medea. Despite the absence of the gem, the Sword of Ahmed still carries with it a sizeable fraction of that long lost ancient power along with the great powers of the ancient High Elf King.

"I think you will still be in danger, so you may use my land in the far north for refuge if you wish. There is only one cabin, but there are enough trees to surely create a makeshift town. The only Black Hoods that knew of the remote area are now dead, so you all should be safe to relocate there." Set tied the sword to his belt and offered his suggestion. He turned around picked up both the minotaur and the orc and slung them over his shoulder, which was amazing considerring the minotaur alone was twice his weight and a foot taller than him. Putting them down not too gently in a little rowbowat he hopped in, karate chopped the taut rope in half, and began rowing with inhuman strength towards to unseen Central Continent away in the darkness of the young starlit night.

Next morning in a classroom in the town of Fafnir in the Northern Continent...

Eager faces of youngsters of the regions races looked up at a surly and stocky dwarf teacher pointing to notes on the blackboard. Today's lesson was on History. Young dwarf, gnome, and children of a race called the Badgerites, whom had the heads, arms, and backs of badgers and wolverines and the front body and legs of humans. Badgerites came in a small spectra looking like north american Badgers, honey badgers, skunks, and wolverines. Their community was kept divided along racial lines within their own race with the honey badger variety of Badgerite considerred superior to the other members of their own race. Skunks were considerred the most inferior and often segregated from the group. Today the skunk variety Badgerite kids were in for a treat though and were allow to be sat grouped together slightly apart from the rest of the student body. All kids of all races were given an equal opportunity to learn about the History of the Emperor.

"Today we celebrate Emperor's Day. Does anyone know the importance of Emperor's Day?" The dwarf teacher beamed at the class.

"Isn't it the day Emperor Moribidus saved the world?" a young honey Badgerite girl raised her hand and said smartly, looking around brightly at her knowledge.

"That's absolutely correct! My what a smart young girl, here have a pick of your favorite candy." The dwarf teacher handed a jar of goodies to the girl who eagerly picked out her preferential sweet.

"Mr. Ironbain. How did the Emperor save the World?" a timid skinny gnome kid with glasses and dark hair in the front row asked.

"That's a good question Harry. Does anyone know the answer for a pick out of the goody basket?" Mr. Ironbain the dwarf teacher lifted up the jar and shook it a lil. Everyone looked around in anticipation to see who'd win the sugary prize. No one was able to answer. "Anyone?"

"My dad told me that the Emperor defeated some sort of monster with his magical sword." A skunk Badgerite kid off to the side of the classroom spoke up.

"Yes, that is true. Long a go there was a terrible monster. A demon in fact, that ruled the world eating boys and girls, killing people, and destroying all the cute animals of the world for his pleasure. People called him the Wanderer. Nobody could defeat the Wanderer. One day the demon Wanderer tried to destroy the World. The sky turned a pitch black and fire began raining onto the World. The Wanderer was about to destroy all life when the sky opened up and a ray of sunshine came piercing through the clouds. Our brave and noble Emperor flew out of the sun and with one chop of his magical sword he cut the Wanderer into two pieces. The most evil monster to ever roam the land was dead and everybody in the world made the great and heroic Emperor their King for Life. This is why we call today Moribidus' Day, because it is the day our couragous dear Leader liberated all the people of the World." Mr. Ironbain finished his epic tale. Some kids talked excitedly, some even clapped.

Mr. Ironbain handed out candy to all the kids in the room except for the skunk Badgerites. Everyone was happy with their small treat and ate it happily talking as the teacher gave them the rest of class time to eat and talk. Even the skunk Bagerites, despite their denial of the sweets were happily talking to one another just happy to be part of the larger group for a change. All except one, the kid who answered the question no one else could answer. A little put off by having his brilliance overlooked and unrewarded he put his head down and sighed looking longingly at the girl honey Badgerite devouring a bar of chocolate.

Afternoon approached with the Sun above the sky on a clear day near the port of Almaday...

Into the port the Marred Thistle slowly sailed in. Gulls cried and circled above. The aqua blue ocean shimmered back the reflection of a crisp day. A warm southerly sind gently blew past. The whole crew was on top deck preparing to make landfall. Kathael was standing near Seth and Adonis as they power the sailat a leisurely pace. Jasmine and Telador were sitting in the middle of the deck. They had been busy all day carving out and fashioning new arrows for the crew, whom had nearly gone through their entire stock day prior. Abasi and Maximus stood at the front of the ship.

"You think Almaday will be safe?" Abasi asked.

"Oh yes, it is a well known Resistance stronghold." Maximus replied.

"Yes, that's what unnerves me a little bit. After what happened in Typhoon I'm not keen to walk into another trap." Abasi scanned the approaching city seaside district with suspicion.

"Ah, I agree I am a bit wary of that as well. However, I don't think we have much to worry about. General Trollus is in charge of Moribidus' forces on this continent. Trollus is, well, he's unique, let's put it that way. He's very stupid though, or else he plays stupid for his own amusement, I never really could tell. At any rate the Black Hoods and Robes know about the Resistance in the South, but because Trollus never really sends any real resources to deal with the problem the Resistance has been able to build up some safe zones that even the Black Robes wil not venture into." Maximus responded getting lost in thought of his last encounters with Trollus.

"I see. Then hopefully we will have a respite from our problems. Heh, this is good news indeed. The Fox actually hasn't committed that many troops to the South. Just some of our bravest soldiers. The Black Hoods and Robes could probably overrun us if they knew how little our numbers here really were." Abasi laughed to himself.

"I don't think it's that. I think the people of Almaday, Ceolanth, Petrov, and the towns im between genuinely support you all. There are many spies within, but the incompetance of Trollus has turned these people to your side. Rightly so I might add." Maximus nodded. "It makes me wonder if maybe Trollus is not incompetant after all and knows that he risks causing a fullscale rebellion if he is as harsh on these cities as he is elsewhere in his ward."

"This Trollus, you said he was a General. What is his element?" Abasi asked curiously, with the hint of a follw-up question in his voice.

"His element is Earth, and I might add that he is quite skilled in that power, though not much else. He particularly abuses his magic to talk to animals and commands some of the Emperor's most foul monsters." Maximus looked away from the bustling docks and at Abasi. "I sense you are interested in the elemental magics."

"I-- well, I just thought it might be useful to know what we're up against." Abasi said coyly and turned away. The Marred Thistle pulled up to the docks and the crew gathered their gear. Throwing ropes down to the docks, undercover members of the Resistance posing as Moribidus' port authority tied them in place. Abasi and Kathael confirmed their high ranking to their comrades and were perimitted to dock and enjoy any provisions the city could offer. The crew determined to split up and hit the town for the remainder of the day. They would meet at a Resistance owned tavern later that night to discuss their next moves.

In the Southern Continent Regional Capital of Drigg as the sun sets below the horizon....

Ripping through time and space right in front of the King and Trollus in the royal court a whirling purple portal appeared. From the portal the Emperor Moribidus pokes his head out. Moribidus turned to look at young Belisarius with an evil grimace. Turning his attention to Trollus he laughed.

"We will no longer need this whelp, you can go ahead and kill him now Trollus." Moribidus cackled at the horrified Prince's face and withdrew his head, the portal disappearing.

Trollus was laughing stupidly at these orders. Just when the portal shut with a wisp of black smoke Belisarius acted. He plucked the heavy crown off his head and smashed it with all his might into Trollus face knocking the Regent and his throne over and two off his large troll teeth out of his mouth. Trollus being an idiot had permitted Belisarius to retain his royal palace guard instead of knights from Moribidus' Army. The Avian guards leapt up and withdrew their weapons as their king stood amidst the five of them.

"King Belisarius, come we must flee immediately." One of the palace guards opened the door and led the King out quickly as Trollus was getting to his feet.

"Hey wutz tha deal? Why you gots to be zo hoztile? W-wut, where da lil king go?" Trollus looked around slightly dazed and confused.

"You shall not kill our King you treacherous stupid dirtskin." One of the Avian guards stepped forward boldly. Dirtskin is a racist term for Orcs, Goblins, and Trolls since they are brown, green, grey, or a mix of the three

"Why you gots to be zo razist?"Trollus started laughing his stupid laugh. "Okay I playz wit you." Trollus surprisingly quick conjured a large boulder and propelled it across the room smashing the challenger into the wall. "Huh Huh Huh Huh Huh Trollus smash 'em good!"

"You bastard! You and all trolls are nothing but monsters!" A spear-wielding guard hurled his weapon with all his might at the guffawing troll.

Trollus stopped laughing and ducked in the nick of the leaving the spear quivering dangerously in the wall. Hard as stone was his expression now as he stood up and roared. In the blink of an eye the spear throwing guard was crushed by one of the large stone bricks that catapulted out of the left wall.

"I toldz you stop being zo razist." Trollus reprimanded the barely visible ooze of blood seeping from the stone. The stone slid into its original place with the gruesome remains of the guards stuck to it. "Huh Huh Huh Trollus smash 'em likez da bug."

The other two guards yelled with rage seeing their close friend so cruelly disfigured. Both with swords dashed the Troll. Suddenly the roofstones began pounding into the floor. The two guards were nimble and roleld and dodged back and forth, left and right, out of the way. Trollus was guffawing even more in amusement.

"Huh Huh Huh itz likez da whacking molez" Trollus cheated at his own game and let three stones fall killing one of the Avians. "HUH!!!! I GOTZ ONEZ!"

Bravely taking his opportuntiy the sole survivng avian guard leapt forth and slashed at Trollus in the middle of his gloating. The slash tore through his bizzare superman costume and made some of his purplish blood leak out in a small cut. Only enraged the General turned to face the guard and grabbed his sword. With his bare hands turning as solid as rock he broke the blade easily and threw it aside.

"For dat Trollus do to you hiz mozt powerfulz spell. Huh Huh Huh lookz atme!" Trollus raise his hand, the guard looked up at the movement and unfortunately glanced at the troll's hideous face and the terrified Avian was turned to stone.

Trollus pointed and laughed at the petrified stone knight. He burped in his stone face., broke off his wings, and finding no more fun in the unresponsive rock he left the room. Trollus wandered around the castle for hours yelling out:
"Where iz you lil Kingz? Comez outz of da hyidingz zo I can kill you"

While Trollus wasted the night searching for Belisarius, the King, his guard, and a loyal Avian knight had escaped and rode out of Drigg. Belisarius still retained his crown and wore it proudly. The Avians who could fly short distances opted to "borrow" a pair of Centigores from the royal stables. Centigores are the fastest land animal. They have the body and head of centipedes, but the many legs are those of a horse. Approximately 12 to 15 feet long and also poisonous they are a rare animal to find, much less tame, but it is custom among certain Avian nobles. Centigores can seat roughly four to five people depending on their size. Belisarius and his guard rode on one Centigore while the knight rode on the other. Being rare, they figured their best bet was to use the animals as a bribe to whoever they might find it in their heart to harbor a King in Exile.



On the high seas between the Western and Central Continent...

Set Apollyon was nearing the pirate ship carrying Admiral Gaunt. His two captives an orc and a minotaur sat unbound but wary after all ready having their asses kicked by the dark elf earlier. The Minotaur now that his headache was going away somewhat was actually in a much fairer mood. The Orc slumped to one side just looked away ashamed and enraged.

"So what's your names?" Set said nonchalantly as he rowed the boat mightily.

"I'm Ngombo." The minotaur pirate responded. The orc glanced at Set and just went back to his stare. "And he's Bluetongue."

"Bluetongue eh? How'd he get a name like that?" Set laughed

"By my tribe's custom we tattoos the tongue when we make our first kill. My name is really Ripsmith, but these simpletons call me Bluetongue." The orc replied harshly showing his darting tongue with a large blue tribal tattoo visible for a moment.

"Well, I guess now they can call you Blueballs!" Set and the minotaur named Ngombo roared with laughter.

"I didn't know what I was up against. You're lucky I went easy on you. I should have just blasted you off your feet with a fire spell or something." The orc named Ripsmith spat into the endless water.

"Hey now no need to get angry, I'm just playing with ya. I left you alive didn't I? So what's the deal with you guys. Why you all serving a cowardly worm like Gaunt? That asshole didn't even try to help you all." Set looked at his two captives seriously.

"What and oppose the Emperor? Are you mad? I have met him before and gone to the palace in Kruel in Gaunt. The Emperor is mad, and even worse he's powerful as hell. I-I-I don't even know if I can describe what I have seen go on in his palace." The hardened orc's expression broke and he looked away with an expression of utter horror.

"Yea, besides not having an insane death wish like you have dark elf, there is also some perks to the service. For instance Gaunt particularly holds the Emperor's favorite spot for finding some of the hottest women in the whole World. We of course all get our own picks too before we deliver them to the Emperor. Shit I've all ready got 3 wives and a nice manor back in Pearl." Ngombo smiled and nodded. "So what if the Emperor is a lunatic. He's a lazy ass and hardly ever leaves his palace. You have to adapt to the times and learn how to survive I think."

"Yea, it is true you have to adapt. Do you think its right to profit off the slavery of these girls though? Even if you're marrying your capture, whose to say the others or Moribidus is doing the same?" Set inquired further.

"The Emperor doesn't treat the girls better...." Ripsmith looked back and interrupted. "It's horrible what he does to them in his palace. There is no low he cannot sink to. There is no sin he will not commit." The orc shuddered and looked away.

"Yea, I kind of thought it be that way." Set shook his head sadly and looked back to Ngombo.

"I-I don't know what to say. I suppose this is true. I have not actually been to Kruel myself though. I have a family, a large one at that. Maybe you do not understand yet, you look young. I have to keep them safe and bring them wealth. That is my job and my service with Gaunt has kept it that way for years now. Prosperously at that I might add." Ngombo reasoned.

"Ah, but your service can't have done you all that well. What can Gaunt, your wealth, your Emperor do for you now? You are forgetting you have been captured by me because of your service to them." Set said quite sincerely.

The two prisoners looked at eachother and then looked at Set. Both thought the same thing. They were unbound and perhaps in the boat could overtake the dark elf as he had little room to manuever for his tricks. Ripsmith lunged forward suddenly at the dark elf. A resounding crack echoed off the sea as Set struck him unconcious with one swing of an oar.

"Why didn't you act?" Set looked at Ngombo.

"It's not easy to headbutt a minotaur. I know I am no match for you." Ngombo laughed.

"I don't suppose there is any way of talking you into coming and joining the Resistance with me is there?" Set said after he stopped laughing.

"Ah, were I a younger man I would probably be inclined to join your cause even without being taken captive first. If I joined the Resistance word would spread too quickly and my family would be exterminated long before we could save them from Pearl." Ngombo looked down . "Your cause is just, but I cannot risk the life of my family like that. The best I can promise you is to try my best not to kill you should we ever meet again."

"I understand, I will also spare you should we meet again after I have released you. If you ever do manage to evacuate your family from Pearl I am sure the Resistance would take you. Everything must end someday. Someday the Emperor's reign must be over." Set said deeply looking off at the distant lights of Gaunt's ship on the horizon.

"Say now, you never told me your name." Ngombo said after some moments of silence.

"I'm Set. Set Apollyon." The martial smiled and rowed with renewed vigor.

Siku stepped off the dock and back onto the deck of the ship. The night was getting old, and the morning would be getting young before too long. When morning came, he and his crew would be taking their ship back to sea, returning to their home port in the far North to do it all again, bringing back another load of exotic furs and preserved fish.

He nodded the man-at-watch, who responded with a nod and a clearing of his blowhole. The boat was crewed almost entirely by Cetans (or at least that was what the outsiders called them; the word for them in their native language was notoriously hard to pronounce). The Cetans' evolution was a confused one; they started out in the water, as did everything else, then moved onto the land, and back into the water, and back onto the land, before they finally realized they had no idea what they wanted and just built boats. As a whole, they all resembled some sort of cetacean that had gotten hold of a pair of humanoid legs that were a size too short and traded in their flippers for a pair of short arms with big hands. Their tails were short, just going a little bit down below their buttocks before starting their flukes, but their webbed feet and hands made up for the vestigial tail. Siku himself was of the narwhal variety; he was a solid six feet tall, but he was only medium-sized for the species, he had no dorsal fin, and he had an off-center tusk extending eighteen inches or so from his left cheekbone.

The boat itself wasn't terribly big as trading boats went. The Cetans' native land tended to be short on trees due to its latitude, and of course no one had thought of making metal boats yet. It was long and skinny, with a sturdy prow intended for bouncing off the odd piece of ice. Beneath its single mast were the stairs to the lower deck, which Siku climbed down to get first to the crew quarters, which he stepped through quietly, then his own small cabin, which he opened. He jumped backwards and reached for his knife when he saw someone sitting in his chair, looking at his charts, but he quickly relaxed when he realized it was only Tisias. He and Tisias had worked together before for smuggling operations, and Tisias paid better than many of his other smuggling clients.

"Tisias," he said, laughing nervously, "What's the occasion? Not often you come in unannounced and commandeer my things." Not ever, really; they usually met in a tavern or at someone else's stall.

Tisias finally turned around, not having reacted to (or possibly not even noticed) his brush with impalement. "I need a favor, a big one. Bit different than before."

"I thought this was going to be the smuggling deal of a lifetime," Siku said, attempting a weak joke.

"Sadly, no, but now that you bring it up, I won't be asking you for any more of that. My… er…"

Siku leaned forward.

"The magistrate found out about the illegal potions, and I overheard them threatening to kill me while they vandalized my shop, so I may or may not have rigged the front door to explode, and I may or may not be about to book passage to some faraway port, on your boat." Tisias sighed, catching his breath.

"That's a tall order and a big problem. I hope you brought your money?"

"It's in my bag. Name the price."

"Name your port first."

"Almaday seems close enough."

"Almaday?" Siku whistled through his blowhole. "That's far south for you. What would bring you there, if you don't mind my asking?"

Tisias showed him the map that had fallen out of his book. "There's something in the desert there. Something that someone thought was important enough to put on a map and then hide the map." He shrugged. "I've got nothing else going on that I want to be in town for, so now seems like a good time to go find it."

"Treasure?"

"Maybe. Possibly. No idea."

"We'll discuss the fare when we get there. We're leaving early in the morning anyway, so don't be late."

"I've got everything here. I'm ready when you are, just point me to a bunk."


~~~~

Tisias awoke late the next morning, as the sound of a coil of rope falling on the deck above him rumbled through the cabin. He stretched, put his vest, winningas, and belt back on, and walked back up on deck. Even on the deck, Tisias could feel that familiar little tingle of magical ingredients. Those were probably legal ones; he would not have trusted someone unfamiliar with such things to smuggle his most important reagents, and, as always, having the legitimate goods on hand did an excellent job of masking the less-than-legal ones.

Siku approached Tisias from the stern of the ship. "We're nearly there, just another couple of hours," he said.

Tisias nodded his satisfaction. "Good. I'll get off at Almaday and…" A dolphinoid crewmember caught Tisias' attention, and his voice trailed off. "Is he spellcasting?"

Siku nodded. "It's a wind spell; pretty useful a lot of the time. Just cast it into the sail. He's been casting it a few times every hour, not very hard, just enough to give us a boost."

"Would you mind if I borrowed him for a while and learned it?"

"Go right ahead. Miki!" The caster stopped and looked up.

Tisias didn't need any further prompting. He promptly trotted over to the caster, who was slightly shorter than he was. "Hey, would you mind showing me how you're doing that?" he asked.

Miki shook his head. "First thing you need is a wand. I made mine from the bones of a sea monster that killed twenty men, but maybe you could-"

Tisias only let him finish the first sentence before he reached down and produced his knife. By the time Miki quit speaking, the knife had transformed into Tisias' wand.

"No," said Miki, "I will not ask where you got that, because I do not want to know. So, er, there is a few variations on this spell – how strong and long it is. Which one do you want to learn?" His voice was much higher than one would expect for someone of his build and sex, and he had a much thicker accent than Siku did.

"All of them," Tisias replied.

"All?"

"Mother always said magic ran in my family. Come on, let's see how much we can cover. We've only got a few hours."


~~~~~

The boat docked at Port Almaday in the afternoon. Several gulls strafed the boat before realizing that it wasn't a fishing boat, and there was nothing for them there. Tisias was packed by the time they moored, having finished his session with Miki a half-hour before. Tisias was on deck and ready to go, the boat was in position, but the gangplank remained up.

"Why isn't the plank down?" Tisias asked, more curious than anything else. Silu and many of the other ranking crew, Miki included, were nowhere to be seen. They were going to let him off the boat, right?

At just that time, Siku and the other missing crew reappeared from below decks. Each one carried a backpack that at first guess contained leather armor and rations, a round shield, and a six-foot spear, save for Miki, who carried some sort of naginata-like contraption that was only five feet long, with a three foot shaft and a two foot bone "blade" that was probably the same bone from which his wand was made. It probably served some sort of ceremonial or magical purpose.

"We're coming with you," said Siku. "If this is treasure, we want in. Besides, you're going to get yourself killed if you go out there alone. I've seen you. You're a good merchant, but I have my doubts about letting you out in the wild."

Tisias thought it over. He wasn't expecting this sort of treatment, and the Cetans were probably right. Granted, they'd all ask for cuts of the treasure, but then again, if he made it out alive because of them, it was probably worth it. "Well, what are we waiting for, then?"

Next morning as the Sun barely poked above the horizon in Almaday....

Abasi was all ready in an irritable mood. Naturally a morning riser himself he was quite ticked that everyone else had slept in when they had such an important mission. Abasi went through the tavern waking not only his own people, but every guest in the place by banging on a pan with a wooden spoon. Adonis felt flat on his face out of his bed in the shock. Jasmine, whom had snuck up into Maximus' room burned a dark red blush as she and Maximus were startled awake and bumped heads rather roughly. Kathael and Telador were all ready awake having heard the others being woken. Seth was nowhere to be found.

"Where did the anubite go?" Abasi demanded of the tavern keeper, a small gnome.

"The anubite woke just a few minutes before yourself Commander Abasi. He said he was going to buy some supplies and would return shortly." The gnome responded as he was cleaning out mugs for the new day's patrons.

The crew now hastily dressed and ready set out into the streets to find Seth. It did not take very long as the anubite knight was making his way back to the tavern. They intercepted him in the streets with his arms full of groceries. Telador relieves his burden by taking a good share of the food in his top pair of arms. Just as Abasi's early morning temper was fading away and the party was about to depart, the mayor of Almaday, Mayor Silus ran up to him.

"Commander, we have a situation at the docks!" Mayor Silus stopped and gasped for breath, he was an out of shape Ostrach.

"DAMNIT! Fine, you lot go secure us some Podbalor steeds. I will deal with this." Abasi swore some more under his breath and rushed down to the docks.

It did not take very long for Abasi to discover the cause of the commotion. A trading vessel was docked slightly larger than the Marred Thistle. On the docks in front of the vessel a group of Cetans were arguing loudly with the Resistance Dock Officials. The largest, and presumably the leader of the Cetans was so angry steam gushed out of his blowhole.

"What is the problem here?" Abasi looked between the two groups whom stopped arguing.

"These men are trying to tell me I am an agent of Moribidus!" Siku huffed.

"Commander, they have no passports, no connections of any kind to anyone in this town. We have tried to be civil with them and have recieved nothing but belliegerence in return." the Amphid dockworker stubbornly crossed his arms.

"What brings your crew to Almaday?" Abasi turned to the Cetans and inquired.

"We have come to search for treasure." A smaller Cetan piped up.

"Miki you idiot don't tell him!" Siku slapped Miki in the back of the head.

"I.. I mean we just came for the world famous food." Mixi corected himself.

"Ha, so some treasure hunters is what we have here. Pray tell where you planned on finding treasure?" Abasi grinned as his temper broke.

"Argh, all right I suppose we can tell you, it's not like you could find it anyways. We are following a map." Siku now folded his arms.

"Hmmm, and where does this map lead?" Abasi said suspiciously.

"Ahh, our mate Tisias will help us with that. Tisias come here!" Siku smiled and shouted.

"Yes Siku?" Tisias said as he descended the plank from the ship's deck where he had been watching the scene unfold.

"This man here is interested in your map and I don't suppose he'll let us dock until we tell him about it." Riku laughed.

"Oh well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to show him if it will let us keep the ship here." Tisias shrugged and opened his book to expose the map. Abasi stared at the map hard and looked up and down it. Something caught his eye though. On the page adjacent to the map in some small scribbled handwriting he could clearly identify the name Euxodus.

"Euxodus..." Abasi couldn't help but say outloud.

"Did you know him?" Tisias looked up at the canocephalus with an expression of surprise and intrigue.

"No, but I know of him. This is a map of the Necropolis. At least I believe it might be. Me and my crew were just to make our way there, but we do not know the way. Hmm, have you anything like this?" Abasi withdrew his torc and held it up for the Cetans and Tisias.

"Why yes, I have soemthing exactly like that!" Tisias overexcitedly fluffed up his feathers and produced his own identical torc.

"Great, so now this desert rat wants to steal our treasure!" Siku growled.

"No, I am on a mission. My mission is to only retrieve one piece of treasure from the crypt of the heroes of Medea. Just a half of some old molding crown. If you guys wish to accompany us that is the only payment we are seeking. Anything else inside you guys may freely take, and we'll even help transport it." Abasi explained himself.

"Hmmm, I suppose this is a fair agreement. We will agree to your terms. Be careful though, those who break their words become enemies of the Cetan tribes - and more importantly, of me and mine." Siku agreed and warned after some thought.

Abasi allowed the ship to dock in Almaday for the time being. With his new band of explorers he met back up with the original party, all of whom now sat atop Podbalors. Podbalors are a fat toadlike creature with one large hardened shell hump on their back. They weren't particularly fast, but they stored water well and were hardy and enduring makign them ideal desert steeds. The larger group, now resembling a small army bought some more Podbalor steeds for the Cetans and Tisias. The Sun was now fully visible as the rode off towards the desert.

On the Eastern Continent in the Stronghold of Baton Dur.....

The Black Hand Rhythian stood before a group of Black Hoods and Robes. An air of eagerness permeated the room. To Rhythian's left side stood a tall lithe Violet Elf. This silent Violet Elf was the General of the East, and the master of the Wind elemental spells. Her name is Beatrice Pomegrante. It is very rare for women to serve in any high capacity within the Emperor's army. Rumor has it that Beatrice is so cold-hearted she killed her own husband the late General Hector Pomegrante. Moribidus rewarded her domestic devilry by giving her the job of her late husband, and the honor of perhaps being the only woman in the Emperor's service to not be victimized by the evil dictator Moribidus.

"Today marks a special occasion! Today the Order of the Black Hand shall select a new member from your ranks to ascend to the highest office the Black Order can offer. Normally the choice for the covetted position of Black Hand is done privately. However, the General and I have had some disagreement over whom should recieve this honor. We have decided to put on a little exhibition. A duel to the death for this position." Rhythian announced and the crowd began talking excitedly.

"Tybalt! Rise my champion!" The violet skinned Beatrice said shrilly.

"Spiros! Now is your time to prove your honor and your training!" Rhythian roared.

The crowd pushed apart making a circle in the middle of the room. In the midst of the circle stood the young imp Spiros, grinning proudly. Across from him a slightly larger and older Felinid named Tybalt scowled. The Felinids are a furry upright cat people. Tybalt in particular was of the orange tiger variety of Felinid. Spiros raised his fists and was hopping excitedly around, ready to prove his hard training under Rhythian.

"BEGIN!!!" Beatrice shouted.

In the split second after the violet elf announced the fight, Spiros had all ready leapt into the air, and using his batlike wings proppelled himself forward in a stunning flying kick. He floored Tybalt and then backed up. Rhythian had taught him honor, and the imp allowed the Felinid to get back to his feet. Tybalt lunged furiously at the imp and tried to shred him with his claws. Spiros was expecting this and turned to the side, grabbed the outstretched arm, and threw Tybalt over his back. The crowd roared with delight.

Managing to land on his feet this time Tybalt sprung back into action sending haymakers at Spiros' head. The imp ducked the first two punches and then grabbed both of Tybalt's arms by the wrist. Holding tightly to the furry wrists, Spiros jumped up and began kicking the catman in the face with both legs, easily breaking his nose. Releasing the wrists with one final stomp to the skull, Tybalt fell crumpled to the ground.

Spiros rose his arms in victory as the crowd cheered and whistled. Rhythian nodded approvingly with a smile. Just then as Spiros' glance caught Rhythian's proud face, Tybalt lurched upwards and launched several magical arrow out of his palm. Caught by surprise the look of victory on Spiros' face twisted into a pained look of agony. He looked down to see the magical arrows sticking out his chest.

"Sensei...."Spiros looked up as the room grew silent and he stared for a moment into Rhythian's shocked face.

"FINISH HIM NOW!!!" Beatrice shrieked with a hint of delight.

Tybalt clapped his paws together and the magical arrows submerged disappearing into Spiros' body. Wth another clap they exploded out of his neck. Tybalt snorted and laughed pumping his arm into the air. The young imp apprentice Spiros fell to the ground dead.



Back in Timber a little past Mid-Day....

Thick curls of black smoke rose above the treeline. Buildings were on fire and shouts of battle could be heard in Timber. A small melee was underways and panic and confusion clusetered the air. Black Hoods and army soldiers rushed into the town. Spells from Resistance and Black Hoods alike flew furiously back and forth. General Skar surveyed the skirmish surrounded by his anubite body guards. Out of a nearby house an orc burst through the door and came screaming at Skar with his battle hammer high above his head. Skar pointed at the approaching orc and a blast of fire sent the orc writhing and screaming in agony to the ground.

From out of a tavern a dwarf emerged and threw a small hand axe into the skull of a Black Hood caught off guard. The Resistance was putting up a decent fight. Many soldiers lay dying or seriously wounded in the streets. Many innocent people were being butchered in the crossfire, or by the soldiers as they swept each house. The regular soldiers were hardly a match for the Resistance. Many of the lowly soldiers knew very little magic and had to rely on weapons. Their only training was against prisoners and slaves, whereas the Resistance was quite skilled after years of real combat. The Resistance easily dealt with the first wave. Now that the Black Hoods and General Skar himself had joined the fray, things began to look bleak.

General Skar probably could have destroyed this town by himself without much effort. However, he was enjoying himself by catching homes on fire, using his magic to make the flames burn ever hotter. The Fox was at the other side of town trying to organize his men amidst the confusion. The assault had occurred early in the morning catching everyone off guard.

"Commander, the Black Hoods have occupied the town square, we cannot hold out much longer." A goblin ran over to Kel'Arboreal and informed him.

"What about our people? We cannot leave until they are able to evacuate." The Fox replied worriedly.

"There's not going to be much left of them if we don't evacuate soon. Moribidus' troops will soon make it to the tavern." The goblin replied dismayed.

"Very well Lieutenant Dannon. Order the retreat. We must scatter to make it harder for them to track us. Take your group to the city of Gaston. Tell Piquad to take his men to the city of Arolia. I will lead the rest to Typhoon. Go now, I'll buy you some time." The Fox barked his orders.

The goblin led his group to retreat immediately as the Fox's own battalion re-engaged the soldiers pouring out of the square towards them. Piquad, an Amphid, led his group out the north gate and melted into the forest. The Fox muttered some magic into his puppet stuffed dwarf. Then he leapt into the hands of a red elf Resistance fighter and ordered his men to retreat, heading southwest towards Typhoon.

The stuffed dwarf stood with a battle axe poised when Skar's soldiers led by a vanguard of Black Hoods reached the tavern. The dwarf puppet smiled woodenly and the soldiers laughed and mocked it, thinking it to be the last living fighter in the city. One soldier hurled his pike at the artificial dwarf striking it in the dead center of the chest. Unphased the inanimate dwarf looked around at the soldiers who stopped laughing and appeared confused. Then the dwarf initiated its last magical command from Kel'Arboreal and charged straight at the crowd. A few soldiers managed to get some slashes in at the puppet before it self-detonated killing twenty soldiers, one Black Hood, and wounding scores of Moribidus' soldiers.