The Journal of an Overlord, Volume 2

Here lies the story thus far...

* The Journal of an Overlord, Volume 1

## The Return Home

Ril woke up in his bed. Just as usual, he washed his face, drank a special blend of tea meant to help his magic flow better and did his morning routine.

After that he went to the dining hall for breakfast where everyone greeted him. Ril was, after all, the best Dungeon Keeper anyone could ask for. Beloved by not only his minions as a both their boss and their best friend, but also by the many kingdoms outside of his Dungeon as well. The other Dungeon Keepers did not dare to make an enemy out of him and even the Fear Goddess respected and cherished him as the greatest, coolest and manliest champion she could ask for - even offering to hand him his Soul back simply on the grounds of how awesome Ril was.

It was hard being that loved.

### - Waking up to reality:

No.

No. Wait.

What was hard was the ground.

Ril woke up, his body dragged by his foot as Ogin wordlessly pulled the Dungeon Keeper out of his garden despite Ril clawing the ground in desperation.

Could he not get even a nights rest? Was that too much to ask for?

Earlier, the monolithic task of the Vorlorn Exodus was completed. Ril had, thanks to the heroic effort of all those involved, and with a timely save on the part of his comrades, managed to see through the transport of the Vorlorn race to their world.

But truly, the universe loved to kick him while he was down.

While it was expected that the Vorlorn would need some time to adjust to their new surroundings it was out of his calculations that they would all develop fever like symptoms merely by being exposed to a much more Mana-rich environment. The plan to split up the Renegades and the Conclave and taking only one group with them was canceled and it took the better part of a day to slowly evacuate the entire groggy blue civilization back to the Dungeon.

All the while Ril, who had been thoroughly exhausted and bleeding in several places, had to spearhead this endeavor. This was in addition exchanging information with his comrades about what happened in his absence and just how they managed to arrive at the Portal where the Vorlorn were coming through.

Henry Mason, Hongshir, Princess Alicia, the Fairy sisters Carmila and Anise, and Jaquen (aka. Percival Miller) had been searching for another Portal that was not blockaded so they could make their way back to Albion. It was during their travel between Portals that they got word that something strange was going on in a certain layer of the Underworld.

Henry could not leave well enough alone and (being far too curious for his own good) asked the group to investigate.

But, as it turned out, his interest turned to a hunch and then turned to a jackpot. Seeing the flags their were bearing carried a hastily scribbled logo representing "The forces of Dungeon Keeper Merlin" (along with some other heraldry added around it that he did not recognize), he dived into the Portal (against the advice of everyone around him) found himself aiding an unknown race in their battle for survival - reuniting with Ril Veius.

To make matters even more complicated Herveus, who had been made aware that Henry was in the Underworld and could not make it back without assistance (the Mist preventing the warlocks from being able to *Call* them back via Magic) took Xiphos, Horny and some troops with him and managed to find away trough the blockades set around some of the Portals leading to Albion, eventually reaching the same location as the rest of The Party.

The rest is, for the sake of our group, history.

Soon, elated that the worst is finally over. The party realized that now they still had to deal with:

* A new island and race of intelligent Demonic Beasts that appeared in the Mist (The Minotaurans) and the Hydra they had brought to the Dungeon.
* The fact that, in the confusion following the closing of the Portal of the Vororn Underworld layer, the duo of Soloaveli's minions (Jaquen the infiltrator and Chio the ninja) vanished into thin air.
* That they now had nearly two thousand Vorlorn immigrants to settle somewhere (and to solve their Pylon-related food crisis).
* The fact that Henry and Hongshir had made contact with Shining Concord Empire.

And to all this the Keeper thought:

"*......why can it never be easy?*"

### - Aftermath of the Portal Fiasco:

While Ril was being dragged through the Dungeon by Ogin, he had sometime to reflect on recent events...

When he returned to the Dungeon, Herveus immediately went to speak with Thomas Garl and find out what has happened in his absence. Garl informed Herveus that there was a enemy group stationed outside the exit of the dungeon's portal. Hearing this Herveus quickly gathers a large force, including the Horned Reaper and Xiphos, and heads through the portal to meet the enemy force. Upon exiting the portal Herveus approached the largest of the encampments, that bore the banner of Keeper Sooloavelli.

A group lead by a death knight came to meet with Herveus. The death knight came bearing a message for Keeper Merlin from Keeper Sooloavelli "Return my minions and I will withdraw from your lands" followed by "If you do not comply there will be consequences." Herveus responds with "if you remain near the portals there will be consequences." After this Herveus notices that Sooloavelli's minions will not block their path, he returns to Garl and Informs him that the portal is safe to move through. Thomas Garl moves through the portal with some warlocks and, after sometime, locates Henry Mason.

Ril is awoken from his reminiscence by a dip in the uneven floor of the dungeon. Ril shouts "Ogin! Let me go I can walk for me self!" Ogin complies and then walks off. Ril stands, dusts himself off, then continues through the Dungeon on foot. While he walks Ril returns to his recollections....

With the Party reunited and the Vorlon in desperate need of aid Ril sends Hongshir to Garl to gather intelligence, setup transport, secure safe passage for the Vorlon.

Henry and Herveus, with Carmila and Anise, set off to return Princess Alicia to her family. After reaching Iron Briar Princess Alicia expressed fear that her father would yell at her. When they reached the royal manor the guards nearly tripped over themselves running to get the Prince. What happened next could only be described as a Heartwarming family reunion. Followed by a box of Garl Co. brand fried chicken with which Henry gave with the kind advice of "please enjoy dinner with your family." The Prince thanked Herveus for staying true to his word and returning with Princess Alicia. After returning to the Dungeon Henry gathers Count Shambles and Ogin and sets off to meet with the forces of Sooloavelli. Herveus joins Hongshir in securing safe passage for the Vorlon.

Upon exiting the portal, Henry immediately noticed two things: Sooloavelli's minions were breaking camp and there was a group led by a Death Knight approaching him. Henry introduced himself and informed the Deathknight that Keeper Merlin was busy with something and would not be able to meet with him for sometime. Henry continued by stating that he would like to talk to Keeper Sooloavelli in place of Keeper Merlin. The Death Knight responds with "My master does not take kindly to such insults." Henry simply states that "If he won't meet with minions then he will just have to wait." After a few minutes of conversation confirming that a meeting will be held at a later date, Henry and the Death knight part with some classic underworlder farewells and return to their respective duties...

Ril is once again knocked out of his thoughts, literally, as he smacks into his office door. After opening the door, Ril goes straight to his desk and absent mindedly starts working. In a few minutes Ril returns to his musings...

Moments after giving everyone their tasks Ril takes a breath then notices something is off. He thought that the horned shadow behind him was Horny, but Horny is in front of him. Ril turns to see a tall Minotaur he had apparently forgotten about. After a round of formal introductions, Ril and Xiphos have a pleasant conversation while waiting for news on progress of the plan. Sometime later, all the preparations had been made and the plan was kicked into action as a huge parade of carts and unknown creatures, bearing the banner of Keeper Merlin, marched through the Underworld.

Ril came back to reality once more when he realized that he had somehow finished all of his work. After calling a minion in to deliver the papers to Melissa, Ril notices the time and gets ready for bed.

As Ril climbs into bed he can't help but smile a little, after all tomorrow is going to be a big day.

### - Change:

A new day dawned, the party was brought together so that Ril could quickly offer Xiphos a minion contract as the new head of the animal department which he cautiously accepts. Ril then teleports Xiphos along with Herveus to the animal pens so that Herveus could show Xiphos around the facilities (a tour in which Xiphos meets Micheal and nemesis) and give him a quick induction before leaving the Minotauran to his own devices. It was not long before Xiphos found some excitement, after asking a group of minions if they'd heard of the new department head and hearing their ridicule he makes an orc eat shit and in record time trains the wargs to go fetch him before revealing his new position and demanding they get back to work.

Meanwhile...

Henry requested a small chat with Ril in the relaxing environment of his garden, once there, however, Ril turned to come face to face with the cold glint of Henry's crimson eyes, the boy knew from experience this meant business and felt himself begin to stiffen up. And then Henry spoke, "In terms of my contract for the new year: I must re-negotiate some of the details with you, more specifically... I won't be signing any minion contracts." the words rang deep in Ril's ears. "Why Henry?" he asked, feeling bewildered and more than a little bit betrayed. "I've grown to have ambitions of bringing the people of The Underworld and The Light Nations together, and to that end, I've decided it wise to become "a man who works with a keeper" rather than one who works for a keeper," Henry responded calmly and plainly. "But there must be another way of going about this Henry!" Ril almost begging, holding back a tide of emotion, "This is what I decided I need to do." and so Ril did what he always did when he couldn't hold it inside anymore, he recoiled, vanishing and leaving Henry alone in his garden.

It took Henry some time to find a way out of the garden, at least without Ril to teleport him. Not that he was in any rush, he knew the boy would need time to stabilize. When he eventually made it to Ril's room he took it slow, opening the door and looked in at the boy, wrapped in his blanket like a cacoon. "I may no longer be your minion but, and pay attention Ril, because I don't say this often but, I will fulfill my promise to you, I will always be there when you need me and I will still do jobs for you, not as a minion but as a friend." Ril shyly lifted his head up "You promise?" he asked still calming down. "If I break this promise you can have my right eye." Henry replied, "I'll hold you to that."

With that situation dealt with Henry went on to pitch the Somnium Project to Ril who agreed to it. After calming down Henry and Ril meet back with Herveus so they could all get ready for the end of year celebrations which went well were fun, Ril even gave a fare-well speech to the minions about to leave the dungeon.

Truely it would have been the perfect night if not for an incident where Gilgamesh got Ril really drunk. Ril went on to flirt with inanimate objects feels and start causing havoc with keeper hand. Henry walked over to Nurgle and reaching out his hand asked "Got anything that can put people to sleep?" "Here" Nurgle handing the Mason a small vial. Henry quickly styled his hair to look more feminine and using his cape as a makeshift dress he handed his trousers to a nearby half-elf girl before making his way over to Ril, "Hey there button, I've had my eyes on you for a long time now, why don't you show me your room?" All Henry got in response were a few nods before Ril started making his way out of the room. As Henry put his pants back on he was approached by Valna, "You know, for a man you look wonderful in a dress." She said making an advance on the Mason. "Oh?, Hm, well thank you for the compliment. Now, if you don't mind I'll probably be busy for the rest of the night." Replied Henry, before following after Ril and leaving behind a rejected Valna.

After putting Ril to sleep Henry made his way to the training hall to meet Herveus as they had agreed upon earlier that night and explained to the skeleton his growing ambitions. Wriggling his fingers he then asked Herveus to punch him, the skeleton threw the punch the scrawny wizard attempted to quickly pull his cape around and harden it into a shield but neither his reflexes nor his casting was fast enough. Knocked flat he expressed his desire to learn to defend himself through dodges and quicker casting. Herveus happily agreed to help, before presenting Henry with the prototype for the crash gun. asking for Henry's aid in completing it. Henry, confessing he would normally refuse immediately gave the skeleton a chance to convince him eventually and reluctantly agrees. The next few hours are spent training.

The next day....

Ril Veius awakens in his room he turns to see Henry sitting next to his bed reading a book "Argh. mah head. Henry what happened last night?" the wizard calmly closed his book and turned to the boy before saying: "You owe me a raise, that's what happened."

The day went on and the party said goodbye to the minions whose contracts were not being renewed and then began to set up in the meeting room before realising, they had not seen Hongshir that day and so they scryed for his location... He was walking out of the dungeon, Ril was confused and teleported the warrior into the meeting, only to be informed that he had decided he was no longer needed here and he was leaving to wander the world once more. This was crushing for Ril, but after some reassurance, the party said goodbye to the wandering warrior of the Zenshuken school... Hongshir.

After this there are few pre-meeting discussions, Where reports are gone over, Henry reveals what happened with the Oracle, Ril gets annoyed as is standard... And as the conversation draws to a close, they discover a letter inviting the party to an event by the royal family.

### - Meeting Keeper Sooloavelli:

The meeting began by going over the research that progressed over the last few months such as the Golem Mk1 finishing touches, Gem Farming progressing slowly, and Sirra's Garden research producing a Room Blueprint for a Garden Room. After which the usual meeting began going over weekly duties, new projects, and paperwork.

After the meeting concluding with just Xiphos, Herveus, and Ril remaining, Herveus brought up that Xiphos and Minotaurans were never told about the evils of Dungeon Keepers. So Herveus had a sit-down with Xiphos to talk about the horrors that dungeon keepers commit to the world and the fact that Keeper Merlin is associated with such people. Xiphos took it well though with the understanding that Merlin doesn't seem to be anything like those rumors and horrors.

Henry, after the meeting, made his way to Avalon to speak with Dietlinde about doing the construction of his Somnium Project. When Henry got there, Deitlinde was a bit shaken looking worried at a Blueprint she is carrying. Henry asks what is wrong and Dietlinde responds with her worries of whether or not what she is doing the right thing with her construction of Avalon. Henry eases her feelings on the matter and begins talking about his Somnium Project. She agrees to help if he sorts out all of the workforce and payment. He accepts the conditions and heads off to send his request/scouting orders to Cess.

After The Party's morning routines, Merlin decided it was high time to thank Keeper Midori for her information about Sooloavelli's invasion. So Merlin gathered The Party and began contact with Midori and proceeded to Thank her and say that he will contact her again if he was in need of her services. Then began preparations for the meeting with Sooloavelli.

The Party meets Keeper Sooloavelli on neutral ground: The ruins of Melissandra's auction house, now partially buried under a frozen over lake. Keeper Merlin swiftly got rid of the explosive charges that [flanked?] the direct path from the hill, with the portal, to the wooden platform where the other Keeper was already waiting with his bodyguards.

Sooloavelli appeared from Jaqen's possessed form and the negotiations began. With the negotiations being important Ril left Henry in charge of the negotiating. Henry read the hearts of the group and realized the Sooloavelli is being fully cooperative and willing to negotiate a non-violent solution. So Henry negotiated that if Soolavelli will retract his forces from Albion and tell the priests to retreat we give him all of our prisoners in our care with the neutral understanding treaty of nonhostility, he agreed to the terms.

The meeting ends in agreement and Henry checks up on how Jaqen's mental state is, which is progressing smoothly. On their way back the party found a basket waiting for them on a blanket right in front of the portal. In it was 3 pralines, the same amount Ril gave Chio during their adventure. He took the pralines and left some {rice snacks?} Henry left a note, in response to seeing a tracking spell on the basket, saying "Nice Try."

### - Getting to know Avalon:

All the remaining personal was moved to the new dungeon over at Avalon and settled in for winter. Herveus gave Xiphos a tour through all the different floors and layers of the dungeon until they were interrupted by the unnatural sound echoing through the hallways that marked the beginning of the service to the fear goddess. Xiphos followed the sermon held by priestess Amala, listened when she told about the past and future glory of the Dark Goddess and even received a vision of kingdoms built on and defeated by fear.

After the service the young priestess informed Keeper Merlin, who also attended, that his chosen patron wished that he worked on his reputation. Many of the minions did not fear him enough. So Merlin scheduled the next "sparring session" with Red to take place in the public plaza on the surface. Collateral damage to the surrounding buildings reminded any minion watching just how powerful their Keeper was and earned him a lot of respect.

### - The Winter Solstice:

With the beginning of the **Winter Solstice**,a week long period on Albion where the sky turns dark and no sunlight can pierce the Mist, Keeper Merlin cautioned all his minions to retreat to the first underground layer of Avalon as the surface would be fraught with peril and malicious Spirits. Detailing the nature of these Spirits and what they could do to the unprepared frightened the minions so much that Ril unintentionally earned a "good work!"-note from Amala.

The only one who ignored the warning was Henry Mason who stubbornly remained in his abode on the surface. Soon enough, the haunting started and Henry, always the playful sort, attempted to repay in kind.

Thus began the event known as the **First Avalon Prank War**.

## Meeting Falya

It was while most of the people were holed up bellow ground that The Party received an invitation to visit Grand Necromancer Falya, daughter of Keeper Moslyeas and the person who raised Herveus as a Death Knight, in her own abode at the night of the peak of the winter solstice. The location was a former temple of The Light, surrounded by a graveyard and rebuilt to suit its new purpose. Statues of gargoyles and angels stood amongst the tomb stones.

When Keeper Merlin used the door knocker on the front door, its demonic looking face itself answered and invited them in. In the dark hall, torches flared up to lead them to the first underground chamber. An active Magic Circle glowed green in the center of the room, but the throne, placed in the location where an altar would usually be, was empty.

After a short while, the Spectre **Patricia** appeared through a wall and informed The Party that her mistress excuses herself. Something urgent came up and required her full attention. When Herveus asked for a chair for Merlin, she left to order a couple of skeletons to heave a throne-like piece of furniture down the stairs. They were accompanied by a zombie butler in a suit that offered beverages to the guests.

Merlin then took a closer look at the Magic Circle to find that it was currently used to channel vast amounts of mana to an even lower level of the building. The magical energy amassed there could completely disintegrate the entire building they were in and the surrounding graveyard if released. While Merlin struggled to retain his composure, Xiphos, completely unawares, took a sip from the wine that was offered.

He quite liked it.

Suddenly a stretched-out howl echoed from below. The butler immediately went to investigate, but left the door to the stairwell down open. Colorful flashes reflected from the walls, accompanied by harsh shadows. Explosions, shouts, eldritch invocations and all the other sounds of a battle could be heard. Another loud boom, and a cloud of bust welled up the stairs. Out of the could staggered a partially burned zombie butler, moaning and gaping like a fish, waving his remaining arm before he broke down and remained motionless on the ground.

Finally, The Party decided to act. But while Merlin would have preferred to leave, Herveus was determined to investigate (and, after firmly putting his arm on Merlin and then dragging him along, he shared some of his determination with him). When they reached the lower level, they saw Falya engaging in a magic duel against a robed skeleton that was clearly floating in mid-air. Her opponent was dressed in the rags of expensive robes and wielding a long staff decorated with an ornate snake winding around its length and biting into the crystal ball at its top. He stood in the air above the center of a Magic Circle – the twin of the one directly above. The room was wrecked, furniture knocked over and the walls scorched and cracked.

Xiphos charged at the skeleton, but ran into a solid wall of magic flaring up from the circle. Fayla, while keeping a close eye on her opponent, called out to Herveus in a voice too collected and calm given the circumstances: "Break your bond."

And Herveus, without any hesitation, gathered his will and broke the minion bond with Merlin.

### - The Battle With The Death Priest:

Bolts fire and blasts of multicolored energy leapt from the serpentine staff of the skeleton, shattering stone and melting chunks off of the walls.

The enemy was formidable. A Master of Magic that specialized in destruction. Arcs of power seemed to poor down with no end in sight.

"A Death Priest." - Merlin realized, murmuring to himself.

Death Priests. The highest church officials of Crowned Death, Dark God of All Things Undead. Second in authority only to Crowned Death's **Cardinal.** Why such a person would be here, trying to take the life of Falya, is something they were unaware of but one thing was certainly clear - The Party had gotten involved in something far over their heads.

The Priest turned his head towards the new arrivals and warned them.

"This does not concern you."

"Leave."

Any sane group would turn tail and leave. To stand between a Death Priest and what they wanted is to deny the wishes of the Dark God whose wishes they acted on. To make an enemy of them is to turn one of the darkest powers of the known World into an enemy.

So of course, The Party did not hesitate to support their boneheaded comrade who had jumped forward to shield the girl he had raised (and who had *raised* him).

The Death Priest struggled to keep his staff in his hands, its wight increasing as a result of Henry's Wizardry to a point where if with both arms it became difficult to grip the arcane tool. All the while the Undead reeled backwards within the magical circle as the echoing howl of the Grim Hound summoned by Merlin sent a jolt of pain down to the core of his being.

"**Do not presume to tell me what to do.**"

The battle that followed was not one of beating down an opponent - but was one of gaining time. Falya needed time to rewrite the magic array on the ground that surrounded the robed skeleton and he was not going to hand it to her.

Herveus shielded his creator with his own body and weapon against countless blasts of power. All the while Falya used him as the focus for whatever spellwork she was in the middle of doing.

Henry assisted from the other side. He alone managed to glimpse at Falya's intentions and, with a focus that bordered the limits of what is possible for a Human, began to rewrite the magical glyph-cipher that made up the array.

Xiphos and Merlin on the other hand, were preoccupied with aiding then comrades in a different way. The Death Priest had used a large scale spell to wrestle control over all of Falya's undead that were above them. Soon enough, and avalanche of skeletons and zombies hammered at the impromptu barricade that Xiphos had set up. Even with the support of Merlin's magic the barricade barely held together against the onslaught of the horde of undead combined with the Death Priest's rays of black energy that twisted and rotted everything they came into contact with.

The Party barely managed to hold on - until the roof came down.

With a crash and an earthshaking roar a massive skeletal beast - an Undead Dragon - came in while smashing the ceiling of the basement like it was a dried up pastry. Shards of stone came poring down and, if it were not for Xiphos' lighting like reflexes, Henry would have ended crushed beneath the rubble.

But now the door stood unsupported. Undead burst forth adding onto the chaos as the Party struggled to keep up.

Herveus could not move his feet. The fact he was still conscious was, onto itself, a miracle. Falya had been using him as a conduit for an amount of mana that would cause most to be reeling in agony but Herveus the Reilient stood, defending his creator from rubble and from the attacks of the(now brainwashed) Patricia while firmly stating:

"**It barely even itches!**"

His comrades did not allow themselves to fall behind such a display. Merlin held back the innumerable weapon swinging skeletons at the door while Xiphos stood between the Dragon and the barrier - confronting the monster with his **bare hands.**

But the crux of the matter came down to Falya and Henry. In all of this chaos the two did not allow their attention to waver for a second and, inches away from defeat, managed to grasp victory.

The magic array changed color and began to glow blindingly with its intensity. The Death Priest could only howl in rage as his body, as well as a good portion of the building, broke down and was incinerated in the resulting pillar of energy that exploded from the circle on the ground.

When the energy calmed all that remained of him was small bits and pieces of his burning robe, floating down like snowflakes and his staff, which had been sent flying to the corner of the room when the blast hit.

The battle was over.

### - The "Alliance Talks" With The Grand Necromancer:

Well, one battle anyway.

The battle was so fierce that it was easy to forget that, in the first place, The Party had arrived here in order to discus detail about an alliance.

In some ways - Ril preferred the battle.

Falya was not exactly a "chatty sort". One could not even go as far as to call her a "talking sort". The Grand Necromancer who sat across from them, Particia (now sane after Falya regained control over the undead in the building) at her side, in the half blasted open to the night sky dining room was the type of person who seemed to hate "the overuse of words".

What this meant was that Falya much rather preferred to keep any responses at the levels of nods and small gestures. The type of person who compresses any complex statement she is supposed to say into a single, curt, one word reply.

Were it not for Patricia serving as a translator the conversation might not have managed to get anywhere for the entire night.

Falya had refused to explain the purpose behind her ritual and ended that topic then and there. Merlin ten shifted the topic to them joining the same side and offered her a Minion Contract - only to have it light up in purple flame without even being read.

Herveus and Henry did state beforehand that Falya was unlikely to to join them as a Minion but not even bothering to read the details of employment was something that may have gotten under Merlin's skin **just a wee bit**.

It had been a long time since Ril had been quite so upset (and behaved so passive-aggressively so openly) at someone. On Patricia's demand to "change the topic" Merlin responded to, right then and there, had a Minion Contract over to Herveus and tell him to sign it to become a minion again.

"*When goat meets goat - then comes the butting of heads.*" - an old Albion proverb.

Seeing that the conversation began to take a bad turn, Herveus and Henry proceeded to try and smooth things over. They urged for a compromise. They spoke of the benefits of an alliance with a zeal that seemed to dunk Merlin's head in some much needed cold water.

Then Falya asked about Herveus. Most of her questions did. Something Merlin picked up on and responded to with his mouth before his mind could fully process the words coming from his mouth.

"Herveus is **mine.**"

It was like someone had struck an invisible wall in the room and shattered it with a warhammer. The statement was short but the implications were many. Some back and forth occurred but soon enough both Falya and Merlin were starring dead at Herveus and waiting for his response.

Herveus was caught in the crossfire like a child whose parents were fighting over him. Telling him to choose who he likes best.

Herveus chose both.

He stated, clearly and with pride, that both parties meant a lot to him. Falya was his "creator" their bond was not one that could ever be broken. Merlin was the person he chose to stand by and help. He would abandon neither. He would give up neither.

That was the kind of person Herveus was.

When faced with that, what option was there then to put their arguments aside? The talks began to resemble civility for the first time and both sides came to an agreement to continue negotiations next time. In regards to the aid they provided during the defense from the Death Priest, Falya did offer them a sizable coffer of gold as a reward for their assistance - but Merlin refused. Stating that he would not do something in quite such bad taste as to receive a reward for a battle they chose to involve themselves in on their own.

This un-Dungeon Keeper like response nearly made Patricia's head spin in surprise.

The meeting at an end for now, Merlin stood and decided to take his leave, but Henry and Herveus wanted to stay for "a bit longer" to discuss some private matters. Xiphos, done with his bottle of delicious vintage Malbolge wine thats name he made sure to remember, and Merlin disappeared into thin air with the characteristic *"plop"* of Keeper Teleportation.

So Falya and Henry could have their talk.

Henry was very interested in Falya and, in a move fairly out of character for him, stated it quite outright. For him, this was the first time he had seen a person that was unreadable.

Not hard to read mind you - **unreadable**.

Falya had emotions deep down, he was sure of it, but nearly nothing ever bubbled up to the surface. For Henry, to whom people were a open book of tells and ques, such a thing caused in him a sense of wonder. He did not even notice that he had almost full opened his usually squinted eyes.

But there was another reason for his interest. Henry had been the only person to catch a glimpse of what Falya really intended. Even Herveus, one of the people with who had the deepest relationship with Falya, did not know the details of how she made him.

But Henry got a peek. Trough the complex array that he examined that said so much about the character of the person who made it. Trough the slight movements and shivers in the mana that coursed trough the glyphs.

Trough the arcane methods that she used that all pointed towards there being far more to Herveus then there was to most Death Knights.

But Falya did not speak to him of it even after he brought up his guesses. But she would not soon forget "one of the few people to ever come close to understanding her Magic."

The one-sided conversation slowly wound to a close, Henry decided to give Herveus and Falya the privacy they had not shared for so long. He would wait for his companion in the lobby bellow.

### - Meeting In The Moonlight:

Herveus followed Falya, who did not even need to gesture or speak for him to understand her intention, down to the basement where they had their battle with the Death Priest.

Ten years. It had been ten years since the broken Herveus, defeated and tortured, was brought to Falya and given (un)life anew.

*"She was so small back then"* - Herveus thought to himself as he looked upon Falya doing some work to readjust the spell array. He had watched her grow up - raised her even - in place of her mother who was busy ruling her dark domain. His feeling towards her were nothing short of that of a father looking upon his child.

It was funny, in a way. All it took for Herveus to "settle down" was him dieing. His hollow head now thought about so much more then just his country and and his duty as a knight. The heart he no longer had in his chest now felt such complex emotions about his existence, about how he wanted to protect his former comrades, the daughters of Moslyeas and the people he stands by now.

Falya gestured for him to enter the circle. It was not like last time, there was no pain. The mana gently moved trough him. She was taking extra care this time most likely. She must have felt bad about the rushed job she needed to do before.

They stood like that, in the light of the Moons. Herveus had lost track of for how long.

"Done."

With that short word the power inside Herveus unwound and the glow of the circle at their feet dimmed. He turned to face Falya.

"I chose to help him. To see trough what he wishes."

"..."

"But should you ever need me - I will come running."

"..."

He reaffirmed his resolve. Should Falya had wanted she could have easily used her Magic to bind Herveus to her. To keep him at her side.

But she chose to respect his wishes. The little girl he met so long ago had grown up so much...

"I will be seeing you soon Falya. Till next time." - Herveus said as he began walking to meet Henry upstairs.

He did not turn around. He did not see the small change in facial expression on the young woman behind him. The smile that she never shown to her family. To her closest aids. To any of her other creations.

A faint smile that glimmered in the moonlight that was shining in trough the hole above them.

A smile for Herveus only.

"........take care."

### - The Shortest Exhange:

"How do I compete with that?" - said Ril, still wearing his Merlin outfit while walking with Xiphos to the next Portal.

"Pardon me Lord Merlin? Compete with what?" - said the Minotauran, picking up the sad tone of Ril's voice. Compared to Xiphos the young man was small, but for some reason he felt especially small, fragile even, right now.

"She cares for him. I could tell. Should she ask, would he chose to stay with me over her? She could give him happiness....

................what is it that that I have given him?"

"..."

"....That, Lord Merlin, is a question that only **you** can answer. "

### - King Albrecht:

After returning to the Dungeon from Falya's abode Ril, once again, hunkered down in his office, boarding up his room for the rest of the week, all the while Henry finished his prank war with the Spirits, ending things on friendly terms with a number of them. Herveus went to check with the Information Department, curious as to why a Death Priest was sent after Falya. There, Cess handed him a notice that had begun to circulate the Underworld shortly before the Party went to meet with her, which placed a bounty on her head and branded a heretic to the church of Crowned Death.

Xiphos approached Ril in his office and asked to be taken home in order to report back the the elders. Ril, superstitious man that he is, initially refuses to do it during the Winter Solstice but though caves in once Xiphos got sulky. After covering Xiphos and their chariot in superstitious charms and nonsensical paints and twigs, they are approached by a confused Herveus, though Ril does what he can to leave and avoid Herveus' gaze a soon as possible (as he had not come to terms on how to face him after mouthing off like that in front of Falya and him).

They arrive on Minos without issue and talk with the Elders, Xiphos introduces Merlin and shares his experiences with the outside old so far, explaining that Merlin could help them get in touch with the other people in the Mist, Merlin occasionally throwing in words of his own and providing an odd demonstration or two to support Xiphos' words. Doril, of course, strives to make this as difficult for Xiphos and Merlin as possible. After hearing all of the point made by both sides the Minotauran Elders went discuss amongst themselves, putting off their official verdict till the next day.

Xiphos spends most of the day after that catching up with old man Dionysus and eventually has Merlin meet the **Guilded Griffon**.

The next day a decision was made and a teleportation pad was set up, with Doril positioned as its guard.

Once the Winter Solstice was over The Party prepared for their meeting with the King of Albion, with Henry arriving ahead of the rest of the group in order to establish his new image of working with not for Merlin. He spends some time discussing things with the King and Prince Arutha while they await Merlin. Giving his opinions on Merlin and the outside world.

Meanwhile...

Ril and Herveus meet Court Wizard Dumat in a waiting room on their way to meet the King. He confronts them with his suspicions that Merlin is not who he says he is, even providing evidence to back up his claim. Merlin goes on to deny the Court Wizard an explanation, stating that if he wanted to share his personal history he would have done so by now. Having prepared himself beforehand for this kind of inquiry (with a some help from Jacker and Count Shambles) Merlin tells Dumat a little story they speak of in the south of Albion called "A Tale of a Nail".

"*Once, long ago, an Orkney messenger was tasked with delivering a very important message. The blacksmith shoeing his horse noticed the soldier was in a great rush and tried to ready his horse as fast as possible but, lo an behold, he was one nail short to complete his work.*

*The messenger could not wait for the blacksmith to craft a new nail and hastily rode his horse to his destination.*

*Here is where it begun.*

*For the want of a nail - the horseshoe was lost.*

*For the want of a horseshoe - the horse was lost.*

*For the want of a horse - the rider was lost.*

*For the want of a rider - the message was lost.*

*For the want of a message - the battle was lost.*

*For the want of a battle - the castle was lost.*

*For the want of a castle - the border was lost.*

*For the want of a border - the capital was lost.*

*For the want of a capital - the King was lost.*

*And for the want of a King - the Kingdom was lost.*

*And so this tale shall tell - how Orkney fell for the lack of a single nail.*"

Merlin then proceeded to pull from his cloak a single, thoroughly rusted and worn, horseshoe nail (a well crafted fake of course, courtesy of the Count doing his Magic on a nail the former blacksmith had prepared.)

The Court Wizard was none the wiser though and was left in his chair, speechless. They called for Merlin and Herveus to, finally, meet with the monarch of Albion.

Upon entering the study in which and sitting down across from the King Albrecht and his younger brother, Arutha, the discussion escalates quickly, with Arutha and The King pointing out Merlin's offences against the country and how he is causing unrest among the Albion population and expressing a want for more control over their contact with the outside, without having to go through Merlin.

Merlin meanwhile does his best to deflect these accusations and explain why giving them what they want is not so easy but goes a but unfortunately does so in a manner that makes him appear arrogant.

The near-explosive situation is diffused however (thanks to a great effort made by the rest of The Party). Arutha proposes a political play to swing public opinion around by portraying Merlin as the villain. By officially declaring war on the Dungeon Keeper, Albion also get a leg up in their future relationship with the League of Good Nations (while working side by side with The Party in secret).

The Party sees the merits in this plan and, sacrificing the reputation they had build up so far for the future of the island, agree to Arutha's idea. Ending the meeting with a promise of future cooperation.

After the meeting concludes, Henry takes a detour to meet with a member of the Silver Dragon Clan to ask for a new location within the mist where he can found the Somnium institute. The Clan will discuss the matter.

Ril performs the familiar ritual on the plant he named Nimue.

### - Preparing the Winter Fakery:

Merlin calls in a meeting with his highest ranking minions to discuss ideas for what he calls the "Winter Fake-Out": The political play that will turn Keeper Merlin into a villain in the public eye. Some propose the ever popular: "Let's finally start to conquer this island!" but Merlin would have none of that. Too sudden, too unrefined and contradicting is previous actions on several level that nobody who thought twice about it would actually fall for that ploy. Also, what would he do if he actually "won"?

"The King was pretty angry with us for what we already did. So why don't we simply do more of that?", Herveus suggests. There was the still unresolved topic of some Dark Priests who supposedly roamed freely on Albion and who hadn't reacted to Merlin's promise of a pardon and safe passage off the island. If Merlin's agents would be a bit less subtle in their search for the missing priests, it might not only increase their chances, but also create enough of a fuss that the king would be forces to officially declare Merlin persona non grata and banish him from the kingdom. In the following confusion Merlin would then "kidnap" a priest of The Light so he could perform his services on Avalon from then on.

To put the finishing touches on the act, Henry would eventually be presented as a spy loyal to the crown and a hero who risked life and more to uncover that "evil wizards" schemes. For that service to the kingdom and the crown Henry ideally would be rewarded with the requisitioned holdings of the Garl Company.

Now all that was left was to sell that plan to the other parties involved, namely the King, the Silver Dragons and, to a degree, The Light.

### - Herveus goes praying:

Soon after the meeting, Herveus wearing his shining armor travles to Evercalm to visit the temple of the Light. He attracts a lot of attention while walking across the town square and the townsfolk gathers to gawk at the giant in shining plate the likes of it they never have seen before. When he crosses the doorstep, the Death Knight unwittingly triggers the temple's defenses and is blasted by holy energies. Immediately priests and temple guards come running, but they disarm the trap when they recognize Herveus. The former Knight of Avatar Island then walks to the altar to speak his prayers in silence. He reports of Merlin's deal with the Goddess of Fear, of the negotiations with Keeper Sooloavelli and many other things that have transpired since the last time Herveus had prayed. Finally he mentions that Merlin also wishes for a Priest of the Light to travel to Avalon and to consecrate and run a temple here.

Nothing happens. No summons to a plane of white, no unseen entity speaking with a chorus of voices. Only when Herveus stands up to leave does an acolyte approach him to say: "The Light has received your prayer."

### - A Council with Dragons:

The Party travels to a meeting with the Silver Dragons of the Silver Island. They are greeted by Aurora and escorted to the meeting place of the dragons, a paved circle surrounded by pillars, all nestled in a crater near the top of the highest mountain and close to the high shrine to the Spirit of the Mist.

Many topics are discussed and the debate jumps back and forth repeatedly.

The innitial reason for this meating was to report that the migration to Avalon was completed. Still the dragons were skeptical: Didn't he still have many minions operating in the mines of the Garl Company? And what about his guards at the Underworld Portal? At the moment, while he forbade everyone else to use them Keeper Merlin was the only one who had control over such a device. The potential for abuse was enormous and the Silver Dragons didn't like it. Eventually they agreed with the Keeper to assist him with the task of guarding the portal in exchange for better insight and control who uses it and when.

Merling also informed them about Prince Arutha's proposal of a staged war and its desired outcomes. Upon hearing that, Aurora, speaking for a rather moderate and modern faction within the clan, praised its wisdom while others deemed it to risky. One particular dragon went so far to call it dishonorable and shameful. The clan had spent centuries to teach the humans of Albion the meaning of justice and honor and now, not even a year after the first contact with the outside world, their protégé turned to lies and deceit.

And in general all that happend way too fast for his liking. The people of Albion should have slowly been introduced to the harsh reality of the outside world, not overrun like that with another incident every other month. And was it really a coincidence that Keeper Merlin could be found at the core of each one of them? That dragon demanded that Albion returned to the way things were, by force, if neccessary. It took Henry all his ornatory skills to quieten down the roar of debate that folloed these words.

Eventually the Clan acknowledged that it was too late to seek refuge in isolation again. The damage had been done, they said, and things would probably be worse had Merlin not interfered time and again. (Behind his mask, Ril was sweating bullets since it was he who let the first orcs escape and spread the knews about Albion, so technically all of that was indeed his fault.)

That left the question how to best protect the Kingdom of Albion from their own curiosity for the outside world? Now Merlin proposed the following: Since King Albrecht was planning to find someone who would form a contract to the Spirit of the Mist so the Kingdom would have the means to send ships and massages through the Mystical Barrier, the Silver Dragon Clan could place one of their own in this key position. That way they could control the flow of everything going in and out of Albion. "Yet even more deceit and conspiracy!" the conservative dragon complained, but could not provide a better solution.

No, the dragons would not place one of their own in that position, but they gave no reason why. Instead they would consult the list of potential candidates they seemingly kept up to date at all times. Now Ril was shocked: "Does that mean you have spied on me my entire life?"

"No, not directly. We only knew that there was one young boy living in the Southern Mountains with a strong affinity for spirits in general and that the Spirit of the Mist deemed him compatible. Once in a while we would check if you were still alive, but little more since it was unlikely anything would ever come of that. Why?"

With mixed feelings, The Party left shortly afterwards.

### - The (Fake) Myth of Merlin:

The time had finally arrived, the pieces put in place. After several days of laborious planing and going back and forth between the Crown and the Silver Dragons (the King was still to be kept unaware of the Dragon's existence) The Party managed to formulate and initiate project "Winter Fakery".

Like a well oiled machine, the Dungeon's minions moved in tandem with the forces on Albion and, as loudly and as obviously as they could without bringing danger to their surroundings, moved to capture the Dark Priests and dismantle their cults.

One was hiding in an abandoned house on the north of the island and was completely outmaneuvered by the forces led by Merlin, Henry Mason and the young squire Argenta. Their combined skills giving their minions and the Silver Dragons the ability to act with lighting speed and drop on top of the hideout before they could have mounted a defense (even managing to capture stragglers that attempted to run away). The Dark Priest was captured and taken into The Party's custody.

Another one of the priests had set up his operations in the manor of a noble, just south of Windholm. Herveus took charge in that operation and gave no quarter to any who were a part of the cult. He captured everyone that had aided the cult, the noble to whom manor belonged to no exception, and slew the Dark Priest when he resisted his capture. Leaving the clean-up to Aurora (who had placed guards affiliated to the clan nearby so they can be "the first responders") Herveus hastily moved to his next, secondary, targets.

The final priest had doubled down in a cave near Eastpoint. And, to make matters hard on Xiphos who was leading the operation there, the information they had recived was wrong. Instead of a priest of the Unraveler of Secrets, the priest here was a worshiper of Isubiar, the Lord of Ruinous Flame.

The Dark Priest wielded his fire with glee and fervor, making entering the cave immensely difficult. Even the assistance of one of the Silver Dragons, who had changed into his true form and bellowed out flames to a point where the cave walls were singed black - was to no avail. The Priest only continued to confidently mock the attackers, even issuing a challenge to their "incompetent and cowardly" leader.

"That was the last straw" - Xiphos decided. Axe in hand, wearing a disguise that made him appear monstrous and intimidating (not wanting his position as ambassador jeopardized he participated unofficially) the stomped down the cave and, angry as a bull seeing red, accepted the offer.

Minutes later Xiphos, singed fur and bitten all over by a Hell Hound the priest had summoned, stood his ground against the odds. His body was sore and, after intentionally and repeatedly blocking all manner of magical flame attacks with the width of his weapon, his axe was slightly malformed and glowing with heat. The priest had boasted "Ha! Do you think that a red hot axe will work better against me? FOOL! I serve the Lord of Flame! I have a resistance to hea...."

*SLASH*

 "huh. Looks like fire works after all."

Xiphos triumphantly walked out of that cave holding the severed head of the priest, neck cauterized black and smelling of burnt flesh, to the awe of the minions who quietly decided to never cross him or complain about anything ever again - ever.

To that, and to the shock and terror of townsfolk who had started gathering at the commotion. Soon the night was filled with panicked voices and a number of guards followed the retreating forces of Merlin deeper into the forest.

It was there that the "true" Winter Faker took place.

Barely managing to stick to the schedule. Merlin, Henry and Herveus all managed to arrive on site just before the soldiers arrived (courtesy of Keeper Teleportation) and begin their, rather theatrical, performance.

Soldiers, led by the local Baron (whom was in fact a member of the Silver Dragon Clan and in on the whole plan) and some dangerously curious onlookers were shocked by the sight of Merlin proclaiming that "he had every right to kill anyone who stood in his way of keeping the peace of Albion", by the threats that, should they interfere, *he would slay them as well*.

All brought to a grand climax as it was reveled that "Henry Mason was a spy for Albion all along and had stolen Merlin's most powerful artifact: The Stick of Yew.". Henry also "revealed" that he had informed the King about Merlin's plans beforehand and that the members of the Royal Guard, the greatest knights of Albion, were here to put a stop to his evil!

"Outplayed by such a cunning plan" Merlin and his minions retreated after a short skirmish and "proclaimed that they would be back one day!".

And so "peace had been restored" to Albion.

Henry Mason was regaled as a hero and was given control of all of the assets that the nation had seized from the Garl Company (as they had all planed).

Xiphos became the official Ambassador of Minos and set up an embassy in Sweetwater.

And the names of Merlin and his vicious subordinates began being used as an "enemy" to scare any who would threaten the peace of the island.

*And they all lived happily ever af................*

Ha! Gotcha there for a minute didn't I? The story does not end here folks!

## The Winter of Preparations

### - This Is The Plan:

While laying low from the Winter Fakery, The Party devotes their newly found free time to mostly in-house projects.

With his newly acquired company and fame, Henry Mason now spends all of his time away from Avalon administering all of his affairs across and around Albion.

Herveus sought to deepen the ties between Keeper Merlin and Falya, learning in the process that Falya had reunited with one of her other sisters.

Not ignoring the giant serpent in the room any longer Xiphos set to the task of taming the Hydra, to which he succeeded with a stroke of indescribable skill forming a bond with the Hydra.

Finally, after several months, the technology behind creating Pylons was completed and the Vorlorn got acclimated to the abundance of mana in this World. With that came the question of of the future of that race. The two factions of the Vorlorn still could not see eye to eye and the tension between put Ril in a position where he had to propose a solution. Total reconciliation was beyond his ability, as the divide between the groups was a result of history that went far too deep, but an agreement was possible. The discussion ended with the Vorlorn Conclave deciding to move to the island of Nakiridaani while the Rebel faction remains in the Dungeon as minions.

During this time research into Vorlorn technology, their psionic arm-blades, bore results as a working reverse-engineered prototype was successfully tested and after refinement would be ready for full production.

Ril makes his usual visit to Granny Hill to tell her how things are going, however when he talks about his flower child Nimue the atmosphere in her cabin grew thick and Granny Hill told Ril that she wanted to meet Nimue, very clearly a "not taking no for an answer" situation.

With a month passed and most work on projects more or less finished, It is time for an officer meeting. Going over the spy reports as usual, Ril stops only momentarily to skim through a report on some group called the Fures Lingue before deciding that a bunch of book thieves are not that important and tossing the report to the side before continuing the meeting. The meeting ends with The Party returning to their posts and work, all the while taking note of the changes Nimue has wrought to the Dungeon.

Merlin called an officer meeting to inform everyone about Zarekos' plans and to discuss plans to stop him. The core idea was to mobilize every friend or foe to attack the Vampiric Emperor and use the resulting chaos as a distraction to smuggle an elite task force right to the center and steal the Corrupted Mantle of the Avatar. Many topics were brought up, including the problem that, if Merlin wished to invade the Avatar Islands with a flying ship, he'd have to solve the Great Problem of Flight first.

The next day Merlin went to meet Falya, the Pale Heretic. She had to abandon her home and hide out in a tiny cabin in the haunted woods in the Underworld, knowing that bounty hunters, Dungeon Keepers and Priests of Crowned Death were looking for her. Keeper Merlin informs her of Zarekos' attempts of apotheosis and his raw plans to gather individuals for a strike force. She listens patiently but then refuses to fight on the front lines. Her abilities would be wasted that way, her servant Patricia argues in her stead. Instead Falya would assist with research and preparation as the leading expert on Undead outside of the Church of Crowned Death. For that she would relocate to Avalon and seek shelter under Merlin's protection, but under no circumstances would she ever become a minion to a keeper.

Before they sealed the deal, she showed Merlin, Herveus and Xiphos the reason why the Church of Crowned Death wanted her dead: Stowed away in the next room was a Death Priest, magically bound and heavily sealed. It is the very same one who attacked her during the winter solstice and whom The Party saw disintegrating into dust. Slightly blushing Falya admitted that this last part was an illusion she had cast to trick them. For the last two and a half month she had studied the Death Priest and what set them apart from other undead.

But there is more: She believes that the Lost Land of Calarine still existed and that it housed the High Temple of Crowned Death, the source of the power of the Battle Staffs of the same name. Destroying the temple would cripple the dark god's power on the material realm. But to locate it, she would need at least another one of the staffs. To her surprise, Merlin had one in his possession he would be willing to lend her.

They all return to Avalon and Falya took residence in one of the many empty houses on the surface while her small army of undead was stored away in a warehouse nearby. Casually Herveus asked her what had happened to her other lieutenants, but she didn't know - both her sisters and her lieutenants had gone their separate ways to avoid pursuit after her mother's dungeon fell. While she was reunited with Virla now the locations of all but one were still beyond her.

All but the location of one Ashod Firestarter, whom was investigating a cult of Crowned Death deep within the Sandarra desert.

An hour later they are together in the new Command Center and use its scrying array to search for Ashod Firestarter. They found the skull mage collapsed into a pile of bones in a dark tunnel somewhere beneath the Sandarra desert. They sent him a Messenge, asking whether he needed help and even suggested to use Calling to get him out of there, but he told them in simple but clear gestures that he wished to be left alone.

Of course The Party would immediately prepare an expedition to save him and bring him back to Avalon.

### - Quetzal The Eccentric Blue Dragon:

However before The Party could go recover Ashod, they had to plot a route trough the Underworld - a task that is always easier said then done.

But this time the roundabout route they took came with a valuable opportunity. If they took one additional detour they would be walking right past the last known residence of a being which was high on their list of potential hires.

This being usually moved in the form of an old man, keen for finding scriptures and knowledge, but was in fact a Blue Dragon. And not just any Blue Dragon but a veteran treasurer of many a Dungeon Keeper, managing to outlive all of his former employers.

His name - **Quetzal**.

When The Party found him after searching in the Underworld City that he frequented he was being mobbed by disgruntled ex-coworkers. It was around that point that Ril began to remember him. Formerly in the employ of Mordred that literally "jumped ship" before the Dungeon Keeper set out for Albion, this dragon was a person who had seen many things over his long career.. He, beating the odds the onlookers placed against him, beat his attackers and left them singed and unconscious. The following chaos was quelled by Herveus and Xiphos, who soon after approached Quetzal and asked him for a proper sit-down.

That was how Quetzal first The Party, and invited them to his home.

What ensued was a strange discussion, Merlin, who had been hiding inside the body of a skeletal fish inside of Herveus' breastplate, hovered before Quetzal and offered him a contract, all the while trying to get his own thoughts in order as every time his foolish former employer was mentioned a mire of mixed feelings would surge up within him. But at the end this contract and all the benefits it entailed was just what Quetzal was waiting for in this place this whole time. He read trough it and without hesitation offered his service.

**Quetzal** **has joined The Party!**

### - Bones and Sand:

Enter and explore the underground ruins, strange writing and pictograms on the walls, traps, find and follow trails, find Ashod Firestarter's body without the head, backtrack, find body killed recently by trap, find deserted campsite with slave pens and the "archaeologist's journal", find sealed door broken open with blood ritual leading to stairs downwards to chamber with 12 stone coffins, yet another sealed door, smears of blood hinting at yet another blood ritual and signs of a fight, trails of blood leading through the closed and (re-)sealed door, exposing door to holy item triggers something, party pulls door open while coffins open and flees into huge hall beyond, slam door shut, claimed territory, find murdered cultists and sacrificed slaves, encounter sphinx.

Encounter Sphinx guarding Ashod's skull, Herveus steps forward, provoking a reaction from Sphinx, "Who are you?", "What do you want?"

Herveus: "I am a knight from Avatar Island" acepted, "I want forgiveness" "From whom?" "Myself" accepted.

Xiphos: "I am a Minotaur", "I want to make the world a better place for my people" accepted

Patricia: : "I was a highborn noble, now I'm but a loyal servant" , "I don't want redemption, I want to be with Falya" barely accepted,

Ril: "I am Merlin" denied, "I am Ril" accepted, "I want my soul back!" accepted

Party barely passes tests, mummy awakes, "we will help you help yourself when fighting our enemy", explains parts of ancient history of this place and offers secret to weakness in Crowned Death's method to create undead. Still Sphinx won't release skull, requires persuasion, party tell recent history of Zyreema, Sphinx hands over skull, but to leave mummy demands promisses of secrecy, parting words to Herveus: As Crowned Death puts a bit of himself into every creation made in his name, so did Herveus' creator put a piece of herself into him.

### - Quetzal's Fiery Welcome:

On their way back to the Dungeon The Party picked up Quetzal and returned to Avalon. After teleporting into the Dungeon Quetzal was given a brief tour of the animal pens as well as a mention of Nimue, who turned out to be following him briefly.

Once they had dropped Ashod off with Falya, Herveus and Xiphos went on to catch up with their jobs while Quetzal went to the Treasury to start his own.

Upon arrival at the Treasury, Quetzal met Melissandragorana who seemed almost intimidated by the Blue Dragon's presence. After some brief hazing Melissa sent Quetzal to help out an Orc. Despite knowing the job to be beneath him Quetzal obliged and helped the Orc improve on his work habits and organizational skills nearly halving his necessary work time. As a follow up, Melissa gave Quetzal a job that should have been impossible for him to accomplish but with the help of his new Orc friend Quetzal finished the job twice over.

At this point Melissa was enraged and thought Quetzal was trying to steal her job. In her rage she let loose a mighty breath of fire which turned the carpet in the main hallways to ash. A quick response time from Venna and her crew leads to Quetzal in an interrogation room. Herveus intervenes and brings Quetzal back to the Treasury where he explains that Melissa and Quetzal will be running the Treasury together. Thus began Quetzal's ever constant difficulty that was working in the Treasury.

## Trials in a Southern Land

With the return of the group many projects made headway as all of Avalon prepared for the coming operation.

The soldiers of the island were worked hard until they were properly trained in order to combat Vampires (lots of praise was given to Count Shambles, who put his body on the line for this - even though it did come with a hefty bribe) and the waters surrounding the island were now the dwelling ground of many sea monsters turned minions. Projects only made possible thanks to the expertise of Herveus and Xiphos, respectively.

But and increase in military might was not the only advancement made on Avalon in that month. The coming of March signaled magical advancements the citizens of Avalon could scarcely imagine when Merlin made his first Dungeon. Thomas Garl spearheaded the development and creation of Avalon's first Underworld Portal - developing the means to create these portals and connect them to the greater network solely trough the efforts of Avalon's Magic Research Department and not relying on boons granted by the Dark Gods (a method used by most other Dungeons and Dungeon Keepers). In addition, through great effort (and 20 hour work days) Merlin developed a new kind of Magic Spell based off of Spiritual Realms and loosely based on consecrated land.

He dubbed it: **Domain Magic**.

With this new Magic in hand The Party could start building their flying vessel, but to complete it they have to secure a core for the ship. After some deliberation they decided on their next target.

The Party would go to Wagashi and retrieve the **Raikon-no-Tama.**

### - Trough The Mountain Trails:

Research into the Raikon-no-Tama reveals that many Keepers have rampaged through Wagashi attempting to claim the jewel and that its current location is unknown, however the last confirmed sightings of the jewel were in the northern mountains of Wagashi.

The Party's search area defined and preparations made they set off to the mountains of Wagashi.

Merlin prays then bargains with the local spirits. they reveal that a something or someone called Taruk knows the location of the Raikon-no-Tama and they gave the party a general direction and a charm of some sort that is meant to guide the Party to Taruk.

Traveling in the direction the spirits provided the party reached a fortified outpost inlaid in the mountain side itself. Herveus and Quetzal being the two of the party that look passable as normal agree to try to convince the guards at the outpost to let them pass.

Meanwhile Merlin and Xiphos wait around the bend near the outpost. Merlin decided to sample the local berries and unfortunately for Merlin he confused the mildly poisonous ones for the safe ones. Thankfully he didn't eat too many of them and they would only cause stomach pain and dizziness for about an hour. This left Xiphos to keep watch over Merlin while munching on the safe berries himself.

The guards agree to let Herveus and Quetzal through without really asking too many questions. Along the path to the Monastery they come across villagers under attack by Wyverns. Quickly Herveus and Quetzal rushed to their aid, however the terrain got the better of both of them. Herveus was tripped up by the the loose gravel and Quetzal ran right onto a soft spot on the path. Quetzal found himself in two kinds of trouble: one he was falling into a deep valley and two the Wyverns decided he was an easier target.

Herveus rounded the corner to find that Quetzal was being carried away by Wyverns. Quetzal decided that he would transform once he was out of sight of the outpost and the villagers. With Quetzal out of reach and almost out of sight Herveus decided he better contact Keeper Merlin about what was happening, but unfortunately for him at that time some warriors from the outpost were rushing past and over heard him mention Merlin and Quetzal.

Now out of sight Quetzal transformed into his full glory to punish the wyvern horde that had absconded with him, or so he had planned. Transforming while still within the poisoned claws of the wyverns was a poor choice as their claws ripped into him while his body was changing shape, but now too heavy to carry the wyverns drop him. now free Quetzal turns to face his would be captors.

Herveus quickly found himself in the company of armed guards arresting him for suspected collusion with the dark forces. He was restrained and after a brief conversation on their adherence to the teachings of the light he was escorted back to the outpost for interrogation.

Quetzal's battle with the wyverns was quickly turning on its head as they proved to be more tenacious against a dragon than one would expect. Their poison had started to weigh on Quetzal as the battle progressed and he knew that the wyverns would take too high a toll if it he continued to fight in this state. Finding a suitable lake Quetzal dove as far down as he could go and began to wait for the wyverns to give up their hunt.

Quetzal did not have to wait long as the conditions were right and Keeper Merlin, now recovered from the berry incident, plucked him out of harms way with Keeper hand. Safe from the wyverns Quetzal gained sometime to recover.

Now with most of his minions gathered Keeper Merlin turned his gaze to Herveus.

### - Into the Cave of Trials:

Herveus was set free and decided to wait in front of the monastery until his belongings were returned. But since the sun just set and the way is dangerous enough during daytime, that would take a while. Only after Herveus asked did a monk volunteer to go. But that one hid his identity.

Merlin has found the entrance to a hidden cave under the monastery. He called Quetzal and Xiphos to him and, after some consideration, teleported Herveus in as well, although he didn't have any weapons or other equipment beside his armor on him. Inside that cave Ril sensed the presence of strong spirit magic. Strong enough to remind him of Granny Hill. The cave was illuminated although no lightsource could be found. A bodyless voice warned them that the trial of the Ki Adept lay before them and they should only enter if they thought themselves ready. The rules were as such:

No magic allowed. Enter one at a time. Failure means death. Succeed and become a Ki Master.

The whole Party entered and immediately experienced the effects of the first rule: A mana draining domain effect that made holding and using mana much more difficult. Herveus decided to be the first to tackle the first challenge: A stone elemental formed out of twelve minor spirits each possessing one stone that represented one body part. He knocked stones out of the frame and it would simply reform. He smashed stones and the spirits would possess new ones instead. So Herveus used a technique he had discovered months ago. He channeled his necromantic substitute for live energy into his weapon and hit the elemental with that. Although not strictly a Ki technique, it was similar enough to confuse whoever was the referee in this fight. He hurried through the next door before they could reconsider.

Next was Xiphos. He first tried to talk to the spirits, but only managed to distract them briefly. In the following fight we took a hard beating but stubbornly refused to give up. He remembered the brief lessons about Ki he had with Hongshir months ago. In record time he learned to gather his ki in his fist, but struggled controlling it. He only managed to chip bits out of the elemental which then wouldn't return as the spirits possessing them admitted defeat one after the other. Badly bruised he claimed victory and moved on to the next challenge.

Ril followed a different approach. Before the duel could start he proclaimed not to want to be a ki master and that he solely came to talk with Taruk. Should he be forced to fight, he would use all his magic and hurt or even kill any spirit that opposed him. The elemental was confused and started talking to itself. The spirits it was made of argued whether that was even possible until proposing a compromise: Ril should hit them with one simple Ki attack. He smashed their body with a summoned stone fist instead. The elemental laughed at the irony of that after it had reformed its body again, but wouldn't let that count. They explained that they weren't the referee and didn't have the power to declare Ril the winner. So Ril used brute magic power to break part of the spirit domain and force the closed door open – only to notice the ground beneath him disappear instantly.

### - When Trials End:

Herveus and Xiphos did not have it easy after that either. An elaborate underground maze stretched out endlessly before them, seemingly far larger then the mountain they were in could possibly house.

The first trial was "The Trial of Strength", now they faced the second one - "Trial of The Mind".

Relying only on their own wit they must successfully navigate the labyrinth, lest their remains become warnings for the next to attempt the trial.

Meanwhile Merlin was "urged" to drop in on the Lord of the domain and answer his questions (after a fairly long wait mind you). The result of their conversation determining whether or not the Lord would cooperate with The Party in the search for the Raikon-no-Tama.

If Xiphos and Herveus had their minds tested by this place then, unkowinlgy, the Lord tested Merlin's heart. While Herveus and Xiphos discovered the true layout of the maze Merlin bore witness to a vision of the past - the past of Mordred and the Raikon-no-Tama.

He saw the fierce resistance that the Heroes and warriors of that time made to protect the jewel. He gritted his teeth as he watched parts of the past he had taken into himself from a different perspective and held quiet as the Lord spoke of the many tragedies that followed soon after.

But he stood to the end and, in a confident tone he had rehearsed many times over, forced himself to still ask for the jewel.

Soon after Merlin found himself in a room with Herveus and Xiphos who had, trough their own efforts (and maybe a small hint), just successfully completed the Trial of the Mind and conquered the maze.

The Lord apparently did not have the authority to tell them where the jewel was, so he brought them to a person who did.

**Taruk - The Iron Halo Hero**. Once a foreigner to this land he dedicated himself to its defense and the mastery of Ki. He battled Evil many a time and, some half a decade ago, brought back the Raikon-no-Tama to its rightful place at the cost of his life.

Before The Party stood his grave, at the foot of a great statue in his honor. In his resting place dwelled what was left of his Soul, part of it made into a Holy Spirit due to his deeds in life. The Holy Spirit, who now served as an overseer of the Trial of the Ki Master, spoke to the only one of the group who embraced their teachings. Appearing as a vision in the mind of Xiphos he reveled the true function of the Raikon-no-Tama and the identity of the only one person who could give The Party the jewel.

The Emperor of Wagashi himself.

### - Meeting Old Friends:

On their way out of the cave The Party recognized the person who had their Old Dragon in a choke hold...

Hongshir re-joined the party.

Ril was ambushed by eilite soldiers of Wagashi and escorted to a private audience with the Lord Commander, princess Mei Ling.

Mei Ling knew too much about Merlin, the Scroll of Apotheosis Henry stole and his secret agreements. She supported the League's plans to strike on Zarekos, but she also informs Merlin of the cost: Keepers will strike at the nations while their armies are fighting elsewhere. Thus even winning the war against Zarekos could see the nations of Zyreema falling and the League crumbling.

She offers compromise and the jewel if Merlin comes true, shares the knowledge of flight and finds a solution for the hotsopt crisis that taking the jewel would cause.

### - The Countdown Has Begun:

After the meeting with Princess Mei Ling, the Party returns home and immediately calls a meeting with all officers. Things have mostly gone according to plan in the Keeper's absence. Work on the flying ship is on schedule, but Dietlinde has come up with possible improvements that would require additional resources and time, but make the ship more resistant to harm.

The nightly visions of treacherous promises of lasting peace had spread further and faster. Cess believed that they were sent by Keeper Zarekos to grow his base of followers help him in his Ascension.

Cess further reports that the League of Good Nations is acting much quicker than anticipated and will start an offensive on Avatar Island within a month. On Albion people discuss the kingdom's involvement. Only few argue for staying out of the conflict. The king is willing to send a token force, well aware that they lack to military power to visibly tip the scales. Some nobles on the other hand demand that they go all-in and send every man they a can spare, arguing that if the League commits fully, they should too, and that half-measures will see everybody killed.

The Dungeon Keepers were getting ready for war, but whether they would start their own invasion of Avatar Island or strike the weakened nations of Zyreema was anyone's guess.

Falya had completed her spell formula for Destroy Undead. This spell made use of the knowledge recovered from the Sandara Tomb and a specific weakness in the common workings of Crowned Death's creations. It was an easy to learn and cost efficient spell that would enable even mediocre mages to destroy a dozen skeletons before they need to recover. Falya was willing to have the formula spread under the condition that her name wasn't mentioned and that Merlin swore another oath to protect her from any retribution. After all the people responsible would certainly suffer the wreath of Crowned Death.

Eventually the Horned Reaper, who had listened to all the convoluted plots and secret treaties, lost his temper. He wouldn't watch his Keeper using such underhanded trickery any longer and would rather rampage than suffer this indignity any longer. Miraculously Keeper Merlin managed to placate the Demon one last time with the promise of great slaughter on the horizon. In less than a month Red could unleash all his frustration and bottled-up bloodlust on the Undead hordes of Zarekos.

As the last topic of the meeting, Merlin was told that the Lantern of the Spirit of the Mist had been glowing for several days by now. Immediately Xiphos, Ogin and Calvin were sent to investigate.

## When Parties Collide

### - Unexpected Guests And Unexpected Cooperation:

On an small volcanic island they spotted a ship from the Wulfsmund Jarldom. In addition to a good dozen of sailors they met a bubbly and naive Fire Giant, a priest of The Light, an Elven druid wearing a green cloak and a fighter with fire red wearing scale armor and an expensive looking sword. After some initial tension the strangers asked for direction to Albion. The fighter, who was called Simon by his companions, mentioned a prophecy once. Xiphos offered to guide them to the shores of the kingdom.

Only when he reported back to Merlin was he made aware of what a problem it would be if the adventurers made it to shore. They had seen Xiphos in the company of a Dark Elf and Ogin who were both known to work for the Keeper. But officially Xiphos was only an ambassador for the Minotaurans and not affiliated with Avalon. If the adventurers spread that knowledge, Xiphos's career as ambassador would end and the diplomatic relations between Albion and Minos would take a heavy blow. It would probably take considerable cooperation between the Dungeon and their associates on Albion to come up with a good cover story.

At the same time, far away on Silver Island, Herveus met with Aurora in hopes to persuade her to mobilize the Glasaf family - nay, the Silver Dragon Clan - to fully mobilize for the upcoming conflict. To his surprise not only did they already decide to fully commit to the battle (contrary to what they had been saying amidst the nobility for some time) but she even gave Herveus the hints he needed so that The Party could discover the location of the long lost Spear of Valor. With this information Herveus could return to Avalon bearing good news only to, at the same time as Ril, discover a shocking turn of events.

### - The Assault of Avalon:

While The Party was were thinking of ways to swindle the strange group of new arrivals they did not anticipate the sheer recklessness of Party (B).

As The Party (B) peered into the mist as their ship followed the Hydra they noticed a small blue flame in the distance. One that, upon more careful inspection, was located in the direction of the unmistakable magical energy of a Dungeon. So of course, after a short and rational discussion, ...

...they changed course and charged straight at it ramming speed.

Nothing could seemingly stop them. They ignored Xiphos' pleas, they shrugged off the Hydra that tried to get in their way and they tore trough the gale that surrounded the island. Even Merlin making the mist thicker and echoing out ominous warnings was not enough to bring a halt to their mad advance.

And so, braking trough the spiraling waterspout, The Party (B) entered the calm waters surrounding Avalon...and were welcomed by countless traps and weapons pointed in their direction.

### -The Assault Continues:

The Party (B) stormed forward maddened by the lust for adventure and a foe worthy of being called such.

They stormed towards the island only halting their advance midway through, peering at the towering mountains and that eldritch flame which dominates the skyline they a tyranical wardenParty (B) hardened their hearts and prepared to make landfall (or well they would except there was a tiiiiinnny issue really it was a minor thing nothing to trouble the heartless gods above over one would almost say it was a non-issue......there really wasn't anywhere to land.....o and also flying scaly things of death were quickly approaching but again minor details).

After a manic running battle which saw Simon jump on the back of a literal death machine with wings and fly off on it (send prayers) The Party (B) finally made landfall at a spot between two cliffsides, anchoring the ship, they set off up the cliff-face. Eitri prepared a ladder to go up the cliff with and as they ascended they were again accosted (damn scoundrels) a group of nasty dark elf archers and orc heavy infantry barred their way swinging close the trap.

Since the way was shut The Party (B) would just have to make their own way (or die I'm sure that rotten Keeper Merlin would like some new shiny skulls) The Elven archer reached out and using her connection with nature trounced her darker skinned cousins (and their ugly boyfriends) whilst peppering them with green javelins (more like mass-impaling them but same difference). The priest of light offered aid to the lovable fire giant as he made a cave for them to seek shelter in.

After what seemed like hours but was only the span of time it takes a spark to fly off the face of struck flint The Party (B) finally was able to hollow out a shelter and keep the arrows off of them. However this left them still trapped and with little time left as a report from the shiny priest suggested that Simon was in trouble (just keep thinking happy thoughts). With no where to go they came to the conclusion to dig deeply and greedily (that always goes well if one needs reminding just think about all those times you dug straight down). Hours later The Party (B) finally made contact with the outter wall of the dungeon, running out of air, wounded, with the forces of darkness and evil waiting for them they hunkered down and prepared to force their way into the beating heart of a dungeon proper. (Send help)

### - In the Control Center:

Herveus arrived in at the Control Center while the "Heroes" were still digging through the down. With the realization of just who was assaulting the dungeon, Herveus began his preparations to greet Keeper Merlin's "Guests".

After finishing with his preparations, Herveus waited within view of the point where the "Heroes" would breach the Dungeon. Keeper Merlin was informed that Nimue was opening the wall for the "Heroes" to enter the Dungeon and a plan formed as he contacted Nimue...

### - Into the Dungeon...?:

Upon reaching the wall, The Party (B) could plainly see that The wall of this Dungeon was like no other they had encountered before, The wall was inlaid with live roots. Oz being the Master Druid was first on everyone's list of people to investigate. Using his power to probe the root structure he discovered that a huge portion of what must be the Dungeon was merged with this Dryad? He had little time to think as the "Dryad" had noticed him and was rapidly moving toward him.

The Party (B) were stunned as a small humanoid head formed out of the roots. After a back and forth about how to get through the wall and deal with the creature without harming it, Oz just asked if "she" could help them get through the wall. A few minutes pass as the "Dryad" thinks before she decides to open the wall. Inside looks to be a castle courtyard with a view of the sky?

With the wall open The Party (B) begin to pass into the Dungeon and into the trap they know is waiting. As soon as the last of them step through the opening It begins to shut behind them. Troy and Eitri move to help keep the passage open while Oz covers their backs watching for an ambush. Nothing Troy and Eitri do manages to stop the wall from closing, they get close but a surge of power from elsewhere forces the wall closed and the sailors are separated from Party (B).

The Party (B) then hear the sound of someone or something walking toward them. Judging from the sound of it and then soon the sight of it, a Man wearing a full suit of Shinning Golden Heavy Plate Armour. The sight of the person wearing the Armour was the first thing that caught their eyes, the second was the Repugnant Necrotic Aura so strong it was visible to the naked eye. This was a Death Knight of considerable power and one that was recognized, by Troy especially...

The Death Knight that had walked out in front of The Party (B) was **Sir Herveus Trueblade****,** an Avatar Island Knight who was MIA, until now.

At a snap of his fingers, scenery around The Party (B) changed. The sky became dark and the castle gates opened to an army of soldiers fielding a Large Horned Reaper.

A brief skirmish proved what they all felt to be the case, The Party (B) was completely outmatched and overpowered. Their only option left, was to surrender.

## As We Ready For War

### - Persuading the Guardians:

Xiphos and Herveus attend to an audience with representatives of the Guardians of the Mist, the Gilded Griffon, a spectral sea captain, a shadowy silhouette attending via scying mirror, a several shapes made of mist. The sea captain was arguing in favor for remaining within the Mist, not because he thought that was the right choice, but because it was necessary to have the discussion and explore all arguments. Eventually Xiphos won everyone over when he explained that keeping the peace on Zyreema and defending allies there would make it much more unlikely for Keepers to invade the mist. The Guardians wouldn't join forces with Keeper Merlin, though. They would choose themselves how, where and when to get involved.

### - Bringing Order to Chaos:

The Party plus Sirra are invited by the Wagashi Empire to the Valley of the Wind where they are greeted by General Bao, Honghir and nearly a hundred highly trained soldiers, wizards, priests and members of the Order of the Juwel, the guardians of the Rikon no Tama. They met near the populated end of the valley and moved to the temple at the far end. The further they walked, the clearer the destruction of the environment became. Ruined towns and villages where to be expected, but the whole area had been hit by sudden discharges of chaotic energies that transformed anything and everything in their vicinity. The result were trees growing feathers instead of leaves, lake water turned into solid crystal, grass made of metal, wildlife turned to stone, air turned liquid but still floating, clouds made solid, and even weirder things. Only a small path winding through the valley had been cleared and the Party was advised not to stray from it. Sira used the time to catch up with her friend Hongshir, much to the amazement of the Wagashians.

At the end of the valley the group passed through the halls of the temple and entered a tunnel lined by wires of adamantine. The effort and cost going into building this must have been astronomical. Eventually they arrived at a vertical shaft. The raw magic flowing up through it was so dense it could be sensed with the naked eye and it pressure was a strain on body and mind. In the center of the shaft, held at the intersection of eight bridges was the precious jewel. Keeper Merlin spent a day analyzing it with Sira's assistance, then spent another one adapting the blueprints of the Hero Heart to incorporate a stronger crystal imitating the Raikon no Tama.

After an important-looking Wizard had approved of Merlin's plans and formulas, preparations were made for its construction as well as two independent summoning rituals. Merlin created the Heart from his own gold, then the Grandmaster of the Order of the Jewel claimed it. A portion of the mana flowing through it was immediately redirected to power the summonings. Merlin summoned the Spirit known as Gannondorf, using a lock of hair from the Elven druid Ozchara as focus. The plant spirit appeared, but not alone. With it standing in the circle was said elf, clearly disoriented. After agreeing to a contract mediated by Merlin, the spirit bound with the Hero Heart and claimed the hotspot and the surrounding area as his domain. In the meantime the priests had successfully called an angel of the order of spirituality, its bright halo nearly blinding the Keeper before the divine being flew up the shaft and disappeared into the sky above.

Their job done The Party took their leave, agreeing that the Jewel be delivered to them once final tests were concluded to make sure the hotspot would remain stable. Sira and Ozchara would stay behind and study the Gannendorf and its influence on the environment until then.

### - The Hearts Of Those About To Leave:

Their return marked their success. They had accomplished their part of the bargain and now all they needed to do was wait for the delivery of the Raikon-no-Tama, as most of the major preparations have already been done by the other minions beforehand.

It was then that it really sunk in - it was finally here. A day they knew would eventually come, but never really grasped the gravity of until it came so close.

Some readied their weapons and armor, reading themselves for a battle and to see ruined lands that they had only heard stories of. Others bid farewell to family and acquaintances, the danger of the journey weighing on their minds and hearts.

The Party made their resolutions.

But so to did others in unexpected places.

Falya chose to accompany The Party, swayed by her feelings for Herveus, who was adamant about finally getting closure on his decade long regret.

The Horned Reaper (of all the creatures within Avalon) bonded with Ril as the two reminisced, the anniversary of Red nearly killing Ril for the first time upon them. As one would expect, the bonding session ended with Horny going on a rampage and nearly killing Ril again.........but also with him remembering some of the past he had long since put behind himself.

Remembering the name that no one had called him by for so long he had almost forgotten it entirely - and then, perhaps on a whim, sharing it with the young mortal in front of him.

## Onward! To Avatar Island!

Supplies – loaded.

Workshop – prepped and stocked.

Sails – set.

Raikon-no-Tama – in place.

Spell scripture – working at full capacity.

The crew of slightly over a dozen people braced themselves for takeoff and launched into the sky at a breakneck speed!

### - Logbook of the Captain, Week I:

Eitri was charged with installing a self destruct mechanism into the ship's Domain Engine and make it in such a way that only a selected few can trigger it. Eitri decided to use a magic that imprints a specific person's Soul for that, unaware and uncaring that this would be problematic in Herveus' case. In the end the imprint was a success, much to the astonishment of most people present. Herveus later asked Ril to help him find an explanation, but the Keeper could only sense the presence of a living soul within Herveus before he was interrupted by Falya. She claimed she urgently needed the Death Knight's assistance and whisked him away, just to forget about him the moment she returned to her studies. She was working on a ritual to boost her new Turn Undead spell to become a multi target spell.

Day six. The ship was flying at low altitude to avoid detection since its camouflage was turned off. The lookout spotted a creature in the water below. The enormous sea serpent was catching up and attacking the ship, but missing the mobile target. On its third attack, Herveus jumped down in a death defying stunt and inflicted enough pain to make the monster look for easier prey. Getting him back on board required some coordinated effort. Immediately Falya was on deck to heal any wounds her champion had suffered, but also to reprimand him for his foolish bravery.

##### - A Grave Secret:

Ril visited Falya in her cabin and suggested that she should tell Herveus that he was carrying her Soul - something Ril realized by piecing together the clues. When she realized that her secret was out, Falya reacted like a cornered animal, terrified and ready to lash out, but with some carefully chosen words Ril managed to diffuse the tension for the moment. That did nothing to stop Ashod when he hurried to his mistresses side and tried to strike a bargain with the keeper and threaten him with mutually assured destruction should he somehow abuse this knowledge to harm her.

### - Road Trip Hijinks:

Our intrepid adventurers continue their advance to Avatar Island to halt the evil machinations being machinated evilly by the vampire lord Zarekos. Passing north of the mainland Zyreema The Party stumble onto a fair few of the fair folk, ice spirits that came to dance, frolic and annoy the party as they try to sleep. Eitri decided tried to dance with them but was a bit sleepy and when Rill ordered him to do something....... he may have tossed an anvil........... but the details remained fuzzy for him as after all that excitement he went right back to sleep.

## The Avatar Island Showdown(ish)

But sea monsters and Spirits were merely some of the threats they had to avoid during their trip. It took them effort and time but, after several weeks of travel, they managed to avoid detection by Good and Evil alike and reach the skies above the now ruined Avatar Island.

### - The Situation of Avatar Island:

The air of the island was Bad and on-board the ship there was no escape from it. No time to dawdle, Ril quickly contacted the Dungeon to get an update on the situation. Learning about the various forces entrenched on the island, Ril and the Party have a meeting to discuss their assault plan.

Options weighed and opinions levied their task was set, Convince all amicable parties on the island to assault their closest dungeon at the same time as all the other forces while The Party attacks the Dungeon where the Mantle is being kept.

With a skillful maneuver The Party achieves its goal and with the united assault underway they set themselves above their target dungeon below the Ruined Capital.

### - Taking the plunge!:

"...and now we jump." OK so that happened.

With Shambles' group still on the ship, The Party and Infiltrator group begin their assault on the Dungeon. Moving earth and cracking the Dungeon walls, Merlin had quite the task set out before him, all the while undead continued to filter in for the attack. The Party protected Merlin while he completed his task.

Entering the Dungeon through the new skylight The Party truly begins the assault on the dungeon. Though the news of an unexpected and unknown group of Warriors assaulting the Dungeon and moving faster than The Party was concerning to say the least. Defeating traps and more undead, curiously only skeletons notes Herveus, The Party breaks through the floor once more into a room adjacent to the heart chamber.

After ordering stealthy members of Infiltration Group to circle around to where the Mantle should be, Merlin began to observe the events in the Heart chamber proper. The group of Warriors that he had heard about were already fighting in with Zarekos and his Minions when the battle suddenly stopped as The Party, especially Keeper Merlin, was called out by Zarekos.

Their perceived cover blown The Infiltration Party entered the room the doors slammed shut behind them as Zarekos continued to Monologue.

In summary: Thank you Keeper Merlin for your help, You are all idiots, You can not stop me and You will die here.

As Zarekos made to leave he was interrupted by a well aimed Garlic smoke bomb and Merlin called forth his Domain Magic to shift the entire Heart chamber room slightly out of regular reality and into his Domain.

### - Battle with Zarekos and Trolls in the Garden:

Zarekos and his vampires find themselves trapped inside Keeper Merlin's domain, together with the Party and a group of heavily armed elite troll warriors. Zarekos attempts to widen the hole in the ground so all his foes drop into the Dark Realm while his side can fly. His plans are interrupted when Merlin strengthens his domain to resemble his magical garden and the hole in the floor is replaced by flowerbeds full of exotic plants.

In the chaotic battle Herveus puts his life at risk taunting the enemies to focus on him while he is already close to collapsing. This causes Falya to panic and lose control over her spell. Having brought that back under control she takes desperate measures and strengthens Herveus' life force at the cost of her own.

Seeing his side losing, Zarekos commands his vampires to regroup and turn invisible. But that advantage is swiftly negated by Xiphos and a tactically placed smoke bomb.

Eitri is also heavily wounded and spends most of the fight summoning a wall around himself.

When the trolls concentrate their attention on Zarekos, Herveus uses his distraction to throw his enchanted axe at the vampire with all his might and splitting him from shoulder to waist. With their master defeated, his minions soon fall to the trolls blows. Herveus then collapses exhausted while Falya shields him from further harm with her body.

But the conflict doesn't immediately end there. The trolls distrust Merlin and his minions. They have lost comrades and are in no shape to defeat The Party and then fight their way back out of Zarekos' dungeon. Instead they tentatively accept the offer of a cease fire, leaving future options open.

### - Trueblade Homecomming:

*"Turn the ship around and head towards the League base"*

All of The Party well aware that without the information Henry could provide their likelihood of finding Zarekos was nigh impossible.

So they turned the ship around and made another decision - to strike while the iron is hot.

The prison in the Dungeon they had just escaped less than a day ago contained a large number of prisoners, amidst which was Tserk, who was caught during their previous getaway. To combine the good with the useful The Party decided to preform a fast and precise strike, breaking out not only their resident tentacle but also a number of Heroes and soldiers that were caught by Zarekos' troops (dealing a significant blow to enemy moral within that Dungeon).

Merlin stayed on the ship and continued flying *Racol* past enemy airspace, while the rest of The Party lead a strike team into the prison. There it fell to Herveus to set up their landing spot and ready their route for infiltration. In order to get close to the Dungeon without being noticed they decided to make use of the many tunnels that lay beneath the former capital, ones that the former military captain was well acquainted with.

But they needed to enter the tunnels first and to do that they had to get their entire landing party onto the ground without being spotted by the innumerable Undead sentinels that littered the landscape. The only to do that was to make use of the one area of the capital that they could possibly lay a claim over that would exceed that of Zarekos.

The former Trueblade mannor.

Herveus was dropped down carefully as to not draw attention to himself and made his way trough, what had been, his home. He walked trough the ruined building, taking care so not to be noticed by the Undead outside. Images of what it used to look like, what this whole city use to look like, seeming like hazy memories. The dining room where he used to eat with his sister, the bedroom where he sprawled out in, tired of the drills his brother put him trough - the door at which he eagerly awaited waited his father's return.

Now ruined.

...but not lost.

Herveus dug trough the wreckage and searched. Everything of value had long since been taken from the manor but the villains missed it - a single piece of fabric, a bed sheet hidden amidst rubble. Herveus dusted it off and looked upon what would be, in essence a mere dusty and worn out rag, with eyes like he had found treasure.

Quietly, carefully he snuck trough his ruined home once more and, in a moment when no one could see him, he hung the sheet out of the window that overlooked the mansions former front door. And in that moment, in a land that had long since been dead, a knight of Avatar Island had raised a flag over the capital.

He had made a silent statement that this land was not a part of an empire of graves - but the home of a Trueblade.

And with that Merlin could call his allies down to him and they could begin their rescue mission.

### - The Soul Surgery:

The was had ended very shortly after they made their sudden entrance. Zarekos' forces were taken by surprise and The Party managed to retrieve the prisoners before they had a chance to mount a full and proper defense.

Now they were angry.

Their Good prisoners were sent to the Mainland via Hongshir's Hero Portal and the thirty-something Dark-kin were now crammed on top of Racol, grumbling about the predicament they found themselves in. Needless to say the ship was not meant to carry that many people and the added weight made avoiding pursuit a veritable nightmare.

Luckily The Party, now rejoined by Tserk who was rescued from the prison, managed to avoid the ghosts, vampires and even the Undead Griffons and Skeletal Dragons and drop of their prisoners in the hands of Sooloavelli, who had made a Dungeon off the coast of Avatar Island. Thanks to him being willing to take in his own men and the extra "bargaining chips" the ship now had the freedom to weave its way to its next destination - the League base at the south-west of Avatar Island.

The battle there was fierce and Zarekos' forces were persistent in their efforts to force the remaining League forces to retreat off of the island before additional reinforcements could be brought via Hero Portals. The tireless army of Undead made little to no pause between their attacks and, should the tide of the battle not change soon, the League forces would lose the front.

This was not a good thing for The Party in more ways than one so making the decision to go aid them (and get the information about the true Zarekos' whereabouts afterwards).

But before that a matter needed their attention - Falya still laid, barely conscious enough to string a simple sentence together. The Magic she used to aid Herveus as they battled the offshoot of Zarekos had taken a heavy toll. Her Soul, the very stuff that made up her essence was within Herveus and only a fraction of it was within Falya herself, serving to anchor her being to her body.

The spell in place to maintain this fractured existence was a complex one and it would take even a master of necromancy an immense amount of time to fully understand it. But one thing was clear even upon short term inspection - Falya's life was slowly going out. The fetters that kept her own fragment of her Soul damaged and falling apart due to the tax she put upon them.

She needed treatment, an environment where she could recover ....and The Party could not give her either at the moment.

Barreling towards a battleground they had mere hours before they, once more, risked their lives. Falya would not be in critical condition any time soon - but what if Ril or Count Shambles perished in the coming battles? What would happen to Falya, to Herveus, if there was none left to treat her?

So a choice was made to prioritize her well-being.

While some prepared their weapons or observed the battlefield others preformed a ritual that would return Falya's Soul, in it's entirety, into her own body - thus renewing her.

### - The Battle at the Shore:

The ritual, fraught with risk as it was, ends in success. Falya once more houses all of her being - but Herveus bears the cost.

The ritual that made the Death Knight who he was relied on the presence of that fragment within him and without it he would be in need of frequent and regular care and adjustment by Falya. Nevertheless Herveus did not doubt or question. Ril told him that in order for Falya to survive it was needed for him to be subjected to a ritual - no question asked.

He complied. The trust in his comrades and Falya more than enough to do whatever it took.

But now he had one more thing he had to do.

He had to face **Bryant the Daring,** or rather the Death Knight that used to be Bryant, his own older brother on the battlefield.

And o, how Herveus prepared for the coming battle...

### - The Undead-Colossi Fall:

Herveus clashed again and yet again with his brother **Bryant the Daring** steel flexed and heaved as the press of battle and feverish exchanges only increased with time yet no matter how **Bryant** tried Herveus was always one step ahead, one second faster, one ounce stronger.

They raged forth even as the **UNDEAD COLOSSUS** shot-put boulders at the Racol and the half-rotted undead dragons unleashed their miasma upon this most trusty of air-ships. The piercing sound of metal carving into metal shrieked outwards even as Merlin zipped by narrowly dodging deathly bots from Zarekos, when Xiphos cleaved undead by the dozens and Ogin was smashing down upon the hordes Herveus was smashing down upon his own brother. But alas the saga of brothers finally came to a close when Herveus whipped out a near perfect strike slaying the griffon ridden upon by **Bryant** and than just a few moments later laid his dearly departed brother to rest with a textbook blow. With one undead colossus down it was time to finish the other one.

The Party rallied while the undead drew back withering against their combined might the start of the show Herveus unleashed the most terrible blow he could muster the air shimmered and cracked as his glaive descended its ruinous power pushed the **UNDEAD COLOSSUS**  already on it's last legs firmly into the right about to die camp. Upon seeing the overwhelming might Zarekos did the one thing he despised most...he retreated...but before he left for good he had his colossus unleash one final blow. Gathering to itself dark eldritch energies the beast underwent a baptism of death magic before collapsing in on itself and then exploding forth with all its might. Necromantic energies coursed through the air arcing this way and that, even as a wave of what can be described only as the pale color of death scorched away everything. Sunshine became shade, trees became dust, and the earth became ash, all that was is no more.

In-front of such thing The Party could only be leaves in a hurricane without shelter their fate is no longer their own....however....there was still one more trick they could play....**THE RACOL!** That magnificent sturdy lass that took them all the way across the world without complaint now presented itself as a timely shield to protect The Party even at the cost of her own life. Even in the grim circumstances however all was not lost as in the darkest hour the sun shines the brightest and even the most prodigious of lucky chances can occur with as the wave expanded outward it was soon brought to an arresting halt the dark spell to overwhelm even the pearly gates of heaven.....sprung a leak....it's wounds acted as a broken levee power rushed out of it causing what would have surley been a death sentence to become a livable, yet still quite harsh, blow and with that The Party is saved and even the Racol survived.

Look out Zarekos for The Party is coming for you and its angry.

## The True Showdown

### - To plot our course while plotting during our course:

And so the Racol reached the Troll's hidden base. It took quite a bit of time to shake of pursuit as Zarekos had decided to pull all the stops to find The Party.

But, thanks to the superb helmsmenship of Tserk and the sheer unpredictableness of Eitri the navigator (many prayers to Fear were made that day) the Racol managed to avoid getting caught or followed to the hideout.

On solid land (without having to fight for their lives) for the first time since their arrival on Avatar Island The Party took the opportunity to rest for almost three days, ironing out the last portions of the plan to follow and arming themselves as best they were able.

The Party would be joined by The Party (B) and Garda on their assault on Zarekos' Dungeon (aided by their spies on the inside, courtesy of Shambles' flirting and negotiations) while the forces of Good would attach the main temple of the wannabe God.

It was at that moment that an event took place that shook the very world, none were truly aware of its gravity but soon it would be made quite clear that The World will never quite be the same.

**The Party (B) has joined The Party!**

**The Party has evolved into *The Party (Extended)*!!!**

 And with that ***The Party (Extended)*** took flight, dodging pursuit and avoiding detection until they dropped off the Hero of Whispers (who had been called in by our Good forces via a Hero Portal, and whom we needed to transport so that he/she may be the one to open the portal for the army to attack the temple) and reached their destination.

The forth Dungeon of Zarekos..

## The Decent Begins

The Party decends into the depths of Zarekos'  Dungeon. Aided by their convets within the vampiric followers found in the dungeon they teleported into to the sleeping quarters and began their assault. Within momoents the party was discovered and came under fire from all directions.

Through quick action Dungeon Keeper Merlin tore assunder the magic protecting the floor beneath the party's feet and aided by the friendly neighborhood fire giant they drilled into the rock ripping it up and out as the floor finally gave way and they bypassed an entire floor's worth of traps and monsters. Still not where they wanted to be the rinsed and repeated until finally they were on the right floor.

But their presence was not unexpected, a priest of Zarekos was waiting along with a hoard of undead and a fair few vampiric retainers to stiffen the resistance against The Party. Combat begins and immediatley it becomes a grinding slog, the undead won't die a final time, the vampires keeping them in fighting form even against the might of our intrepid group, and the dammable priest is managing to keep morale up.

This stalemate lasts until one of the traitor vampires speaks up and articulatley states that Zarekos was a selfish ner-do-well and would abbandon them the moment he ascends the argument was followed up by Merlin statement that mercy would be granted to all who surrendered and those that didn't would find out what a final death looks like. Once broken the combat comes to a close. Or it would have had Zarekos not intervened showing up in person or perhaps sending another double he arrives sending a humiliating slap to all of his minions before taking center stage to begin an epic showdown.

### - If it bleeds...but this is to much blood!:

After a brief dialogue with Keeper Merlin, Zarekos turned all the other Vampires in the room into puppets with a spell. The Showdown in the Dungeon church resumed with Merlin telling Red to get Zarekos, who responds by creating a Domain within the church. Troy quickly discerns and disseminates that the statues in around the church are the local focus of Zarekos' divine power, that destroying them will cripple his power within the church, and that The Large statue in the middle seems to hold the most power. After an attack on the Large statue is deflected the focus shifts to the smaller surrounding statues.

The fighting continues at a steady pace with statues breaking and skeletons crumpling until Herveus strikes the Priest with a killing blow. After a declaration of undying loyalty to Zarekos the Priest was swallowed by a torrent of blood. From the cocoon of Blood a Second Zarekos steps forth. Matters were made worse when it was observed that the Zarekos Red was fighting was not suffering any permanent damage. The Party-E surmised that while Zarekos' domain of Blood was in intact both Zarekos' would be immortal.

The battle raged as one Zarekos was constantly reinforcing the domain while fending off Red while the other Zarekos attacked anyone that seemed an immediate threat. With 7 out of 11 statues destroyed Zarekos decided that it was time that they defended themselves. With a flourish of blood from the seams of the church all of the remaining statues fill and spring to life. The Large Statue proves to as strong as it looks.

The Large Statue seeks out the one who harmed it's kin and finds Xiphos. With a Quick dodge and kick flip Xiphos lands on the back of the Large Statue. Unfortunately for Xiphos, Eitri wasn't aiming his strike carefully (or he just didn't care) and he hit both the Large Statue and Xiphos with a powerful strike. Thanks to the constant efforts of Keeper Merlin the damage Xiphos suffered was less than that of the Large Statue's.

When it looks like the battle was shifting back into Zarekos' favor, an Extraordinary lance from Troy blasts the Large Statue The statue melts with the force of Troy's divine light and The Blood Domain of Zarekos is Broken.

After clearing out the last of the Animated Statues the unengaged members of The Party-E went to reinforce the Trolls fighting at the rear. With the domain shattered the powerful blow against the second Zarekos keened by Herveus struck true and his form fades in that of the dying Priest once more.

His forces routed and his number up the first Zarekos decides he won't die by Keeper Merlin's hand. He plunges his hand into his chest and pulls out his heart. Spouting curses, both literal and figurative, Zarekos' heart begins to pump far too much blood and as discovered by those close to it the blood is acidic. Avoiding and moving past the newly formed Zarekos Corpse fountain The Party-E moves farther into the Dungeon.

The only thing in between them and the Heart is an Un-dead dragon. With little debate Simon and Red chose to be the ones to distract the dragon while the rest of The Party-E travels past. Upon entering the room the un-dead gold dragon greets Simon by saying "Thank you for bringing my Tooth back to me."

After leaving Simon and Red, The Party (extended) continues down the corridor. Keeper Merlin, Takes the opportunity to speak with Garda about whether or not she still considers working alongside him now knowing that he is after the mantle. Garda responds saying that betraying Merlin now would recklessly get her and her soldiers killed as it was not the right time or place to argue.

### The Dungeon Heart Chamber

After traveling through the long corridor, the party approached the final door between them and the heart chamber. Just as the party was getting ready to bust down the door they had sprung a trap.

Acid had begun dripping down through valves in the ceiling stinging and starting to melt the party. With some quick thinking Keeper Merlin busted the wall to create a supply of dirt as Eitri was starting his spell to clog the valves. And with that the spell was successful as the valves had begun to clog stopping the acid pouring upon them from the ceiling. So the Party returned their attention to the door and with their combined effort buses that door off its hinges leaving nothing standing between them and the heart.

So they entered the chamber seeing it was a narrow but tall room as the beat of the dungeon heart lead their eyes upward as it floated above them. So Keeper Merlin threatens Zarakos to appear before him or face his demise.Zarakos gives in and appears before the party possessing an imp. Merlin speaks his demands to give him the mantle or die by his minion's hands with the count of 5 promising he wouldn't kill him if he did. Not wishing to die then, Zarakos reluctantly holds the mantle out before him.

After Count Shambles confirms it to be the genuine article Herveus takes the mantle only two be hit by a nasty mind control curse that He withstood and warns the other party members of its presence. Garda then smashes the wall in frustration as she was against giving him the deal as they must now respect it and leave him alive even refusing to use Merlin's use of a loophole to break the minion Bond as it was unhonorable and against the Lights wishes. So they just leave Zarekos in his chamber seeing as no one was willing to go through the loophole, taking the mantle with them.

### Confronting the Avatar

Avatar Amadeus has slain the self-proclaimed Emperor Zarekos. The undead forces broke and fled, persued by the trolls. The Avatar, decked in full white armor and wearing his Mantle turned his gaze to the ceiling and announced to the world: "Dungeon Keepers everywhere, tremble, because I have returned!" He then pointed his sword at Keeper Merlin, who was still standing on gore up to the hip. "Fight, for you and I both have to hold up a reputation!"

Picking up on the message hidden within that challenge, Merlin quickly covered the area in mist and blocked out scrying. Now the exhausted Party could parley with the greatest of heroes in privacy. And they conspired to give the world a good show that would see the Party escape with a piece of the Mantle, a couple of hostages and the Juwel of Storms they needed to get the ship flying again. During the negotiations the Avatar's eyes began to glow golden and the Light spoke through him: "If a piece of our Mantle is what you desire for your services, you shall have it. But we advise you: Don't be too disappointed. It hides its secrets well. And it will not help you in your attempts to win your soul back from the Dark Gods. Because if there was a method, we would have told you. But there isn't."

As soon as they broke out of the mist, Herveus, Xephos and the Horned Reaper fought a retreating battle against the Avatar and Ozchara, holding back nothing but still unable to land even one hit. In the confusion Merlin used the Adamantine dagger to cut off a piece of the mantle for later study. In return the Avatar cut off the tip of Rabixtrel's left horn and punched even more dents into the Death Knight's armor. In the meantime Shambles led a warm of vampire bats down the tunnels to abduct Hongshir and the wounded Simon while other minions looted the corpses of Zarekos's officers.

Eitri then fixed the worst damage on the ship to allow lift off until he could install the Jewel the vampire brought him. On his sgnal Merlin, Herveus, Xiphos and the Reaper collapsed the tunnel they were fighting in and retreated back to the ship. The Avatar cleared the tunnel just in time to allow Ozchara to board. But when he jumped himself, Merlin created a pocked domain around him and made him vanish into thin air. That proson only held him for a few seconds, but robbed him of all forward momentum so that, when he returned to the material world in a flash of golden light, he dropped intp the water below. To the world it looked like he was doomed to helplessly watch as the skyvessel disappeared into a white fog.

On the long journey back Eitri pulled some teeth from the golden dragon's skull that was still tightly stuck into the ship's hull, and began experimenting at his forge. Soon he would forge a new Dragon Sword. Simon had to sacrifice the original one in his fight against its maker, jamming it into the dragon's jaw in such a way that it couldn't bite without driving it deeper into its own skull.

## Epilogue

A month later the Party (extended) arrived on Avalon. Their home awaited their return seemingly unchaged and soon business as usual set in, with some small changes: Troy tended to the church on the surface, Ozchara studied the druid-like abilities Xiphos and Merlin had, Eitri started forging in earnest the sword that was supposed to surpass an Arifact of Virtue. Worrysome was that Cecilia was still missing.

But things would not stay quiet for long as news from the wold trickled in.

On Albion political tension was high. Nobles split into factions, threatening to divide the land or even plummit into civil war. There seemed to be no compromise possible on how to deal with Albion's neighbours, the strange Iskai and the demonic Minotaurs. Some voices even accused the King himself of high treason for conspiring with the enemy and keepin secrets from the council of nobles. At the heart of that debate the Masons and the Glasafs faced off against each other, both claiming to only have Albion's best interests in mind.

Zarekos was defeated for good. But when the scrying ban on his high temple was lifted, people recognized that its architecture was virtually identical to that of the Oracle Towers the Shining Concord Empire used. Many questions were asked that the SCE all denied to answer. This created only more suspicion and some hushed voices even raised the quesiton if the SCE used forbidden rituals or even if the Emperor aspired to achive godhood himself.

On Avatar Island, the rightful ruler had soon driven off or defeated every Dungeon Keeper on the continent. Soloavelly had managed to get away with a huge bounty whild many others, like Arachne, were not so lucky. Still the armies of mindless undead shambling around the land, the toxic clouds and the corruption would make that place inhabitable for generations if no decisive measures were taken.

With their task done and the cruisade successful the cruisaders could return to Zyreema. But it wasn't a happy welcome. For every five soldiers who left only two returned. And those bore scars, some seen, but many invisible. It would take long sessions with a priest for them to heal properly, but priests were in high demand. Those who had fallen into Zarekos's trap were affected the worst. They had seen the Dark Realm from within. They had stared a Dark God into the eye. And they had changed for it. Some few had grown stronger for it, but most just suffered a wound to their soul that probalby would never heal.

And their ordeal wasn't even over yet. Many returned to Zyreema only to find their homes destroyed. With the cruisaders gone, the Keepers had seen their chance and made their moves against the Good Nations. Many towns and smaller settlements fell victim to keeper raids or were abandoned preemptively. Refugees now pluged the overcorowded streets of many a city. The economy of Galande, Vonderwald and Summus took a huge blow. It would have been worse if the Guarians of the Mist hadn't interfered.

In all the confusion no one really noticed a small group of independent villains to break into a millentia old ruin, carrying the Tome of Hayle with them.

Far away, hidden in the eternal darkness of deep sea trenches, the High Temple of Crowned Death floated through the icy currents. The city that once had been the pride of great Calarine now moved in eternal silence. In its central chamber, the Aspect of Extiction looked up from an Undead Dungeon Heart. The heretic, Falya, had released a spell that could and would endanger the plans of the Dark God it was a part of. Turn Undead. The means to disrupt the connection between an undead and its source of power. Was it a stroke of luck or had their Grand Plan been seen through? It didn't really matter. They would have to hasten up their schedule. Drastically. They had to strike now, before the spell could spread too far and too many people could master it. As it thought that, four unremarkable skeletons each picked up a Battle Staff and stepped into a one of several rings of fire that appeared on the floor.