MLTNO P1- "Not Ready To Die"

"Not Ready To Die" is the first Part of "Miracula Luxia: The Noble One". It was released on 11.09.2020.
== Plot ==
After helping the Olgai council defeat its enemies and ensuring the safety of Avernum as a nation, Jared Kaos- the brave hero and savior of the land, has managed to leave no threats behind. Pacifying the evil Lord Farrar, defeating the remnants of the evil Slithzerikai and clearing any other rogue elements, he has managed to achieve the peace he longed for so long.
At first, it looks like Avernum is safe. At last.
However, some of the nation's enemies are not content with staying dead after they are killed. Instead, they find ways to get up again and cause havoc. Until the whole nation's worth of residents is defeated.
The story begins with the awakening of a very evil person who was killed decades ago by Jared's grandfather- Lethal, along with a small group of Empire adventurers. This person is known as Dorikas- sworn leader of the mighty Darkside Loyalists who has done a lot to harm both Avernum, the new Empire, as well as the whole world.
Defeated by the brave heroes, he was buried somewhere very far away, in the hopes that the innocent residents of Avernum will never see him (Or his group) ever again.
Little do they know what is going to happen very soon...
== Story ==
Somewhere in the Abyss, far, far away from any settlement, lies the grave of Dorikas, undisturbed by anyone.
The gravestone reads:
"Here lies Dorikas- mighty leader of the revolution that is the Darkside Loyalists. 
On the rock below, more words are carefully etched on the stone:
"He fought well to make his dream come true- to bring the Empire back to its old ways. He did not succeed and died a hero. But we will not give up! We will succeed in making the Avernite worms bow to us!"
"Rest in Peace, great one. You shall be remembered."
The date of his death seems to be around one or two decades ago.
Even though the area seems quiet, something is rumbling nearby. It is as if something... or someone... is trying to get out.
Moments later, a hand appears from below the grave. Soon, a second one appears as well.
A few seconds later, a dirty and unshaven man drags himself out of the grave. It... it cannot be.
Dorikas cleans the dirt on his clothes and looks around.
"So. This is where they buried me."- He says, his voice choked with disgust- "Filthy worms."
He sees something on the ground near him and picks it up. It is a piece of cloth.
He looks ahead and sees a trail of faint blood leading to the south of where he is.
"Or maybe I'm not right. Maybe my men were the ones who dragged me here and buried me, away from danger."- He says to himself- "If so, they've probably gotten in trouble while gettin' here. Or after."
He looks at the trail.
"It's faint. It ain't recent, but something tells me that whoever left it behind was running away from someone. Abyss worms perhaps?"
Reluctantly, Dorikas decides to see where it goes.
"Okay then."- He says- "You got me. Let's see where this is going to go."
"But before I begin my hunt... "- He adds and grabs something from his grave. It is his trusty sword that was buried along with him as a sign of honor- "I will take my beloved blade. The mighty weapon that helped me slay a lot of those worms."
He stares ahead and grins.
"And it looks like it will help me once again."
He looks back at his grave for a second and sighs.
"If it wasn't for that wild magic in the area, I wouldn't be alive right now."- He says to himself- "That magic kept my soul intact and helped my body rest."
He looks at the nearby city of Bargha.
"It looks like those fools don't suspect a thing! Or, at least, not yet."
"And I think it's better this way. I'll give 'em a surprise later."- He says to himself and walks in the direction where the blood trail continues.
Eventually, it ends near a crumbling fortress.
Dorikas looks around, but doesn't see anyone. Deciding that it is a huge waste of his time, he decides to leave.
As he does, however, he hears the sound of someone drawing their bow and aiming it at him. When he turns around, he sees a full platoon of bandit soldiers looking at him, weapons drawn.
"Alright, scumbag. That's far enough."- One of them says- "You invaded our land and now you will pay for that!"
Dorikas holds his hands in the air and smiles.
"Calm down, folks."- He says- "I am just a lowly traveler who went too far into the darkness. I promise to leave you alone and not tell anyone about your location. Just let me live."
Some of the bandits come closer and inspect him. When they realize who he really is, they gasp and go back to tell their friends.
Suddenly, all of the bandits approach Dorkas.
"Sire! This... this cannot be!"- One of them says- "How is this possible?!"
Dorikas realizes that he is with fellow Darkside Loyalists. He smiles.
"The magic, my friends. The magic!"- He responds- "It kept me alive. And now, I'm here."
The bandits gasp.
"Get in, sir."- Another one of them says- "We have so much to discuss!"
Dorikas nods and enters the fort along with the rest of the bandits.
There, they talk about what happened to him and eventually jump to a very interesting topic.
"Did you know this, sir? Apparently, the heir of the throne in the mighty city of Thais- Devin Pendragon the Second is here among us."
Dorikas raises his eyebrow.
"How come?"- He asks- "Isn't he supposed to be where the king and queen are?"
One of the bandits nods.
"Yeah. But there's the interesting part. The kid came here, dreaming of adventure and wanting to slay enemies. And he's looking for every opportunity to make some money for himself."
Dorikas's eyes widen. He grins.
The bandits realize that their leader has something in mind about this.
"What's your plan, sir? What should we do with him?"- One of them says.
"Should we kill him? Or should we do something else?"- Another asks.
Dorikas nods.
"Normally, I would say that we should just slay this pest."- He responds- "But I think that he will be much more useful to us alive than dead."
He looks at one of the bandits.
"Say, does this place have any money left?"
The bandit nods.
"Yep."- He responds- "We robbed a lot of caravans recently. Our treasury's full right now."
Dorikas grins.
"Excellent!"- He says- "Then we shall begin our grand return in this miserable land!"
He turns to his remaining bandits.
"Remember the legendary sword known as Demonslayer that helped that fool Lethal Kaos and his imperial friends destroy our loyal demon army? Well, I think that it is time for us to take it away from those filthy Avernite worms."
"This night, me and two of my trusted men will write a message to Mr. Pendragon and send it to his most recent location, in the hopes that he will see it. Hopefully, he will get fooled and arrive near the Castle. There, I will tell him to go inside and steal the legendary blade while everybody is sleeping and bring it to us. Of course, I will bribe him to do this dirty work for us."
"And, when he brings us the mighty blade, we will break it and kill the kid afterwards. Sound good?"
The bandits cheer loudly. Dorikas smiles and picks two of the strongest bandits in the group to take with him.
"In the meantime, I expect you to go outside this fort and start recruiting new members in our group. Bribe them, intimidate them, I don't care. Just get them here."
"And don't forget to repair the fort while I'm gone. We need to assert dominance over those worms, not show weakness and be laughed at!"
The rest of the bandits salute him.
"All hail the mighty Dorikas!"- They cheer in unison.
Dorikas smiles and leaves the fort with his two bodyguards.
"This is... perfect. The plan's in motion now!"- He says to himself- "Once I have the Demonslayer, I will make sure that it's never repaired. Ever again! This will break the morale of the Avernites and show them that they're not invulnerable, starting a widespread panic among all of them. Meanwhile, I will quietly watch them from a distance as they frantically run around, like sheep who have lost their shepherd."
He grins and stares at the pommel of his sword.
"And, while they are still panicking, I will allow my bandits to attack their cities. One by one, all of them will fall. And then, I will destroy their precious Castle and kill their beloved King, leaving them weak, scared, deranged and unable to act. Thus, I will finish of the rest of them off, taking 'em down for good."
He stares ahead and grins again.
"No, no. It's too good to be true. I must be dreaming!"- He jokingly says to himself and shrugs. 
Shaking his head, Dorikas and his two bodyguards approach the city of Blosk and camp near its gates, acting like armed travelers who have come to rest.
There, Dorikas writes the message and gives it to one of his bodyguards whom he instructs to deliver the message to Devin.
"And now we wait..."- He says to himself and lays on the ground to rest while the remaining bodyguard watches over him, silently preparing for the final result of his grand plan- meeting Devin near the Castle at night.