First Campaign Story

## Story

Beginnings

Queen Anopra was ordered by Shuise via her father, The King's orders, to go out and search for a group of retainers to guard her. He knew he would soon fall to his miraculous illness and wanted his daughter to be well-protected. So, during the extravagant Festival of Selûne, Goddess of the Moon, Shuise took her out into her glorious city of Kandella. After running into a few peculiar characters while enjoying the festivities - a man named Darrow with a baby dragon named Dragonite and a buxom blonde woman calling herself Serena - they went to the ever-popular Arena to scope out potential retainers. There, they saw many duels throughout the night, but two specific instances stood out to them. One duel was between a strange man the announcer declared as Achilles and the man they'd seen before, Darrow, with his dragon. The other was between a man named Gareth and a steam woman named Phoebe who had a strange stoic man named Nic with her, who would turn out to be a Stone Golem, and a peculiar magic bow. After going back home to the palace, Anopra was sure who she'd call on the next day. Phoebe, Darrow, and Achilles were all called on by soldiers of the kingdom. Once the group had arrived in the meeting room - along with a redheaded woman named Cynthia who had entered with Phoebe, who ensured her of the woman's abilities - Shuise asked them the ultimate question: Would they like to be the retainers of the Queen? Of course, they all accepted, but he told them that they must go on a quest to prove their loyalty and strength. He sent them to the Tomb of Kagaami to retrieve an ancient treasure of Kandella's that had been lost long ago. With them he also sent Krieg, the Retainer of Anopra's sick father, to ensure that they told the truth about their journey.

### Tomb of Kagaami

Shortly after departing Kandella, the group of five ran into their first battle as a team - a Cyclops, which they quickly dispatched with ease. The group also learned that Cynthia had an imp companion named Druzil, who, according to Darrow's decree, they would attack anytime they saw him, which Cynthia was fine with. Later on the journey, they ran into a Couatl and an Azer. They started to fight the pair, but Darrow realized that these creatures they were fighting were goodly, so he forced the group to stop the battle. Darrow quickly apologized, and asked if there was anything they could do to repay the duo for their misdeeds. The Couatl introduced himself as Tim and his Azer friend was named Verbrenn. The group had nothing that could repay the duo, so the good-natured Tim asked to be told stories of their travels.

The next morning, the heroes departed from their newfound friends, back on the path to the Tomb of Kagaami. Guarding the entrance to the Tomb, however was a Fire Giant and his pet Hell Hound. The group quickly dispatched the duo and delved into the Tomb. Once inside, they decided to split off into three groups, with Cynthia accompanying Krieg, Achilles accompanying Phoebe, and Darrow going alone with Dragonite. Achilles and Phoebe, after defeating a Bone Naga and a Guardian Naga, found the treasure Shuise spoke of - the Brazier of Commanding Fire Elementals. Darrow and Dragonite dispatched a Bone Devil before continuing forward to find a corridor filled with burning ivy. They saw a person however, in the midst of the ivy. Darrow ran in, grabbing the man - a Tiefling - and bringing him back into the center of the tomb. After Phoebe and Achilles came back, the Tiefling soon awoke. After asked who he was, he responded that he couldn't remember anything except for his name, which was Aladix. Before having any time to chat however, they heard a war cry from Krieg and rushed to see what was going on.

When they got there, they found Krieg and Cynthia next to Verbrenn and Tim, engaged with a Genie from the Element of Fire - an Efreeti. After a thankfully short battle, mostly thanks to Tim and Verbrenn, they defeated the being. As Verbrenn informed them that he had felt something calling him to this place, Darrow noticed a treasure chest at the other side of the room, glowing bright red. As he opened it, a red ball of energy flew out of it and into the sword he had taken from the Fire Giant, imbuing it with the Element of Fire. They also found a stash of magical cloaks, and each took one.

As the Knight's Guard went to leave the tomb, they ran into a fat, old man wearing robes and a much more intimidating bald Goliath man. The fat man introduced himself as Lord Tavaati Huangse Diren IV and the other man as his personal retainer, Vimak Dragonslayer Gathakanathi. He claimed that the Knight's Guard was carrying treasure that rightfully belonged to the opposing nation of Kandella. Krieg intimidated the man, and he begrudgingly left empty-handed, his quiet bodyguard following.

The group departed, once again, from Tim and Verbrenn, with hopes that they may some day meet again. They uneventfully returned to Kandella where Anopra gladly hired all of them as her Retainers, even the amnesiac Aladix. All of a sudden, disaster struck! The King was dying! While none of the group besides Krieg had known him, they could all sense that something in the kingdom had deeply changed.

### Cave of Kimyona

A few months later, Shuise called on the group once more. After they had all gathered in the meeting room, Shuise alone - for Anopra was notably absent - told them that he had another mission for them to embark on. The kingdom's wares had not arrived on time and he was worried that their merchant ship had been intercepted by pirates. He also subtly disclosed that another ancient piece of treasure was amongst this specific shipment, the Bowl of Controlling Water Elementals, and then sent them off to the coastal cove of Kimyona. On the journey there, they ran into an Air Elemental. Krieg, attempting to finish off the beast, jumped off of his griffon and slashed at it. The attack barely had any effect and Krieg began to plummet - but not for long, as he landed on something soft. The group was in shock - Krieg had landed upon a gigantic bird with a 200 foot wingspan - a Roc! After quickly dispatching the air elemental, Aladix had an insane idea. He jumped upon the Roc and started speaking soothingly to it, attempting to tame it. He managed to get the rest of the group to assist him, and somehow, they succeeded!

Now riding a Roc, as they let their griffons go to live freely, the Knight's Guard continued to fly directly towards Kimyona. However, storm clouds were rolling in, and the Roc got struck by lightning! The Roc was, thankully, mostly undamaged, but Phoebe fell off from the shaking, plummeting to the ground far below. The group had no time to mourn, however - they had a mission to complete.

Once they made it to their destination, they immediately began to check out the coast. Not long after, they found a washed up ship. After investigating it, they found that it was a pirate ship - and it was completely bereft of any life. Krieg, however, searching the holding cells, did find something - a Sea Hag. After she began shouting at him in a shrieking, shrill voice, he ran away. Darrow came in and quickly dispatched her. After disembarking the ship, they decided to check out a nearby cave, dubbed the Cave of Kimyona. After entering the very wet cave, they encountered a Water Weird which they quickly defeated thanks to Aladix's expertise in controlling water. They soon came to another split path, though, and decided to split up. Aladix and Cynthia went to the right, Achilles and Krieg went forward, and Darrow once again went with Dragonite to the left. Nic, who had still been following the group despite Phoebe's absence, fell deeper into the water due to being too heavy to swim.

Darrow and Dragonite, after defeating another lowly demon, ran into something peculiar - a Shield Guardian. Darrow knew that Shield Guardians can be controlled only by someone with a specific red amulet. He held off the Shield Guardian, which was guarding a door, while Dragonite burrowed underneath. Dragonite found, behind the door, a host of tied up prisoners - merchants and pirates alike! There was clearly something strange going on, but there was a battle to fight now. As the prisoners bust open the door, they saw Darrow get knocked out by the Shield Guardian. One prisoner, though, a red-skinned man in a white robe came up and healed him. Darrow, Dragonite, and the mystery man defeated the Shield Guardian as the prisoners retreated. Aladix and Cynthia, meanwhile, had a difficult underwater battle with a Water Elemental, which left both of them badly damaged. Continuing forward, they heard a voice talking to themselves about having to "work with those disgusting hags." Coming around the corner, they stood face to face with an Oni, a tall blue humanoid monster. He immediately cast a Cone of Cold, almost killing both of his adversaries. Aladaix, having none of it, cast Geas, controlling the monster. They soon ran into a Marid, a genie from the Elemental Plane of Water, guarding a chest that was glowing bright blue. In the midst of their battle, the Marid threw his trident at Aladix, and then flew forward and cast a spell - sending the Oni to the Elemental Plane of Water, never to be seen again. After dispatching the genie, Aladix snatched its trident and went to the chest. As he opened it, a blue ball of energy flew out of it and into the trident, imbuing it with the Element of Water. Achilles and Krieg fought a variety of beasts as their path led them straight upwards. Soon, they came through an opening into the sky. It was still violently storming, and it was even worse when they were so high up. They were on a large round platform, and at the other side of the platform stood a monstrous lightning beast known as a Behir. It was guarding a chest, they noticed, which stood bright against the dark of night. Their battle with the beast was great indeed. As the beast was on its last legs, it violently struck Krieg with lightning, knocking him out. Achilles finished off the beast and resuscitated Krieg. Krieg, feeling drawn to the chest, popped it open. A bright yellow ball of energy came out and flew into his bone axe, imbuing it with the Element of Lightning. Inside the chest was an extra bonus, as well - the Censer of Controlling Air Elementals! Nic, after plummeting for a good while, soon began walking up the inclined beach ahead of him. After quite a time of walking, he came out of the water and heard a voice muterring, complaining about "Osoroshi forcing me to work with that terrible Oni." Nic came around to see a Green Hag. After a very one-sided battle, with Nic not being hit once, the green had pulled out a Hag Eye - a magical item used to talk to other hags in a Hag Coven - and called for Osoroshi's assistance. Nic cut her down before she could continue, and then continued down the corridor to find a door. Opening it, he found two unconscious men tied up. He quickly freed them and one awoke and slapped him in the face. After Nic esnured him that he was friendly and that they needn't fight, the man introduced himself as Diath Greyclaw. The other man soon woke up as well, asking what the other two were doing and where they were. They explained to him the situation and he introduced himself as Icarus.

Phoebe, meanwhile, had survived her fall off the Roc, barely. Laying collapsed in the middle of the woods, she began being assaulted by horrible nightmares of her companions turning against her. Soon, though, she awoke and found herself on a table in a wooden cabin. There was a beautiful woman with a large red amulet standing over her, who introduced herself as Subarashi. Subarashi told her that she had taken her to the cabin and patched her up, but that the majority of Phoebe's wounds were internal, so she was making her a healing potion. Phoebe, after making some pleasant conversation with the good-looking woman, sent her consciousness into Nic as he was fighting the green hag and heard the green hag call for Osoroshi on the Hag Eye. Phoebe immediately went back into her consciousness and saw Subarashi upstairs, pulling out the other Hag Eye! Still wounded, she rushed up the stairs and went to snatch the magical item. Subarashi noticed though, defeating her attempt - and revealed herself as a Night Hag named Osoroshi! She shot a Ray of Enfeeblement at Phoebe, which she swiftly dodged, leaving one part of the wooden wall decayed. Osoroshi then went at clawing Phoebe physically, which she repeatedly dodged whilst still retaliating. Phoebe ran to get her bow and, with an arrow notched, attempted to get Osoroshi to surrender. Osoroshi, seeing that she was fighting a losing battle and decided to join Phoebe's side. Nic, Icarus, and Diath continued on through the caves, searching for an exit. After another turn, they finally saw sunlight! Diath, excited, ran forward, but was quickly surprised when a Remorhaz busted out of the ground in front of him. As the three began to fight the monstrous beast, they heard a loud barking. From the entrance to the cave, Diath's dog, Lavernicus, came in to help the trio defeat the Remorhaz. After a mildly difficult battle, the group took a few moments to rest when more figures came from the cave entrance - Phoebe and Osoroshi. After explaining to Icarus and Diath who they were, they told them that Osoroshi was taking Phoebe to her stash of magical items. With the newfound trio now in tow, Phoebe and Osoroshi continued forward.

Darrow, Dragonite, and the red-skinned man escorted all of the captives outside. Some escaped to Kimyona and the rest escaped on the pirate ship. The red-skinned man asked if Darrow would like assistance in finding his friends, which he gladly accepted. All of a sudden, a Horned Devil flew down from the sky! Cadmael summoned a radiant being to assist them in battle - and what showed up was Tim! While the four were battling the fiend, a new ally entered the fray - a woman named Ignifer! After defeating the Devil, she explained that she had started to head to Kimyona with some of the others when she realized that the ship might have treasure on it, so she returned, only to find that the ship had already departed. She decided to help the heroes, though, and decided that she should come with them since she had nothing better to do. She also asked the red-skinned man what his name was, to which he replied that it was Cadmael. They went back into the caves and ran into Achilles and Krieg, so the group went to go meet up with Aladix and Cynthia. Aladix and Cynthia, meanwhile, were about to head back when one of the walls near them opened up and Phoebe's group came in. After explaining the situation to them, Osoroshi opened another one of the walls, and behind that laid a few magical items, including the Bowl of Controlling Water Elementals and a collar that would allow Lavernicus to transform into a Hell Hound. Darrow's group entered the room, then, and Darrow, seeing that there was an evil hag, went to strike her down. Frightened and surprised, Osoroshi teleported to the Feywild, accidentally bringing along Phoebe, who grabbed her shoulder. Cadmael then looked at Aladix, surprised by his presence. Aladix explained that he had no idea who Cadmael was due to being an amnesiac, so Cadmael told him of his past. Aladix had apparently been a high ranking Mingsheng general and had betrayed Mingsheng in a major battle against Gorga. The group then left, with Cadmael sending Tim away and then departing himself.

The Knight's Guard, with their newfound allies, Diath, Lavernicus, Icarus, and Ignifer, returned to Kandella on their Roc. Icarus explained that she was once a Gorgan soldier, but, sensing that there was a natural unbalance inbetween Kandella and Mingsheng, had left to go to Kandella. Diath told the group that he was a citizen of a village named Inu that had been destroyed by an evil warlock so he had come to live in Kandella, where he had found blacksmithing work under the local blacksmith, Kusshoku, who every member of the Knight's Guard had already met except for Cynthia.

Once they returned to Kandella, they were warmly greeted by Queen Anopra, Shuise, Royal Gardener Forsythe, Royal Animal Tamer - and Aladix's new girlfriend - Teima, and newly appointed Royal Blacksmith Kusshoku. Icarus, Ignifer and Diath introduce themselves to everyone and Diath, after learning of Kusshoku's recent appointment, deduced that he was now the Royal Blacksmith's Apprentice. After the jolly greeting, the group gave Shuise their mission report and departed.

Over the next month and a half, Icarus ended up saving a high ranking General, General Ippan, from death, earning him a high standing in the Kandellan military. Queen Anopra also sent out a call for auditions for a Royal Bard, which Ignifer ended up winning.

### Mountain of Certain Death

Another month afterwards, it has slipped into the beginning of the next year. Shuise sends them on another quest - this time to the Mountain of Certain Death for the Stone of Commanding Earth Elementals. Diath had also decided to come along with the group to see how they fought so he could make them nice armour and he had insisted that Icarus come as well, since he had helped Diath escaped from the Cave of Kimyona. Shuise also insisted that they bring along Ignifer, to test how trustworthy she was. So, the group of nine departed on their Roc for the southwest.

As they landed, Darrow recalled a tale of this mountain and how a fabled dragon lived inside. They found a cave opening and delved inside. The group soon came to a split pathway, with three different passages, and they decided to split up. Cynthia, Phoebe, and Ignifer decided to go left; Achilles, Darrow, and Krieg went straight; which left Aladix, Diath, and Icarus to go right. Cynthia, Phoebe, and Ignifer, after going down a narrow dark path, came into a large room and were surprised to see a White Dragon, already engaged in a battle with another creature. As the trio started to assist, they realized that the creature was someone they already knew - it was Tim! After Ignifer slayed the dragon by animating her coins, Tim explained why he was in the caverns. Apparently, when Tim was sent back to his camp after the events at the Cave of Kimyona, Verbrenn had disappeared. Tim searched everywhere around their campsite, but couldn't find him anywhere, eventually deciding to continue on to their original destination of the Mountain of Certain Death to look for minerals, thinking that's where Verbrenn may have left to. Diath, Icarus, and Aladix, meanwhile, had run into a monstrous Beholder on their path. It was a difficult and taxing battle, with rays flying from the Beholder while water and fire soared from Aladix and Lavernicus. Icarus cast spells from the back, while Diath stabbed the beast in its giant bulging eye. But, all at once, disaster struck - time seemed to slow down as one of the Beholder's rays flew at Diath, surprising him, striking him directly. He disintegrated instantly. Lavernicus howled in rage, blowing more furious flames than he ever had before, overwhelming the Beholder and killing the beast. The remaining three took a moment of silence to take in the unforeseen death of their blacksmith companion. Lavernicus snatched an important item of Diath's - his brother, Jirard's, monocle from the ashes. Just then, a wave of necrotic energy flowed through the caverns. Tim was surprised as he was swiped from the air by the now-reincarnated White Dragon's tail. Phoebe, acting quickly, set an Arcane Mine upon one of her arrows and notched it, sending it flying and blowing up one of the dragon's wings. After the group felled the dragon once more, they pressed forward, despite being very injured. They soon came into a smaller room, with a large treasure chest at the end. There was only one problem - in between them and the treasure was a Young Red Dragon. Phoebe, thinking up a scheme on the spot, gave Cynthia an order and had Nic go behind the Dragon to the chest. Phoebe cast a spell to blind the Dragon while Phoebe surrounded it with a stone wall. Nic picked up the chest, and the four adventurers dashed off with their treasure, which seemed to be the Stone of Commanding Earth Elementals that they had been looking for. At the same time, Lavernicus, Aladix, and Icarus had just started leaving when the Beholder came back to life as a Death Tyrant. The two spellcasters, ensuring that there would be no other needless injuries, set up a Flame Wall and a Wall of Thorns to hide behind. Lavernicus, thinking otherwise, leaped over the walls, tearing at the undead monster. As the faithful hound attacked the beast, another undead creature was forming. Before Lavernicus knew it, a Revenant was assisting him in fighting the Death Tyrant - his master! After defeating the monstrosity, though, the Revenant fell, its short existence also ended. Icarus and Aladix, having seen none of this, were very confused when their walls disappeared. Before they could register much, though, another beast approached - an Aboleth. Aladix, already tired of fighting, simply used Geas on the primordial creature, not knowing that it would grow to be a long time assistant.

In the center route, Achilles, Darrow, and Krieg were blowing through their competition. Even after it trapped Krieg in a wall of ice, they still easily defeated an Ice Devil, taking its spear. At the end of their path, they came across four figures. As they approached, one of these figures transformed into a great fiend - a Yochlol, a handmaiden of the Goddess of Spiders, Lolth. The powerhouses quickly defeated the demon, before it even had a chance to retaliate. Afterwards, they introduced themselves to the three others that had been there. They introduced themselves as Ahmad, Oskar, and Kathleen. They were apparently a trio of homeless treasure hunters who had came into these caverns searching for riches. Finding nothing down their path, the group started to head back to the center of the cavern. Eventually, all three groups converged back at the center, with many questions to ask one another and a treasure to show. Before any questions could be asked though, the caverns started shaking as something large came charging towards them. In an instant, an enormous and frightening Dracolich stood before them. Darrow told the trio of treasure hunters to stay back - an arduous battle lay before them. As the rest of the Knight's Guard began fighting the beast with the help of Tim, Aladix dashed off, back to an underground lake they had found, so to do a large attack on the monster. While the Dracolich was drastically outnumbered, the battle was quite a challenge to the heroes due to the creature's immense strength. In the midst of the battle, the dragon breathed a great breath of flames hitting many, including the already wounded Tim, knocking him out cold. Seeing the unconscious celestial, the Dracolich took its chance and clawed at Tim, instantly killing him. Right afterwards, a great flash of light came from behind the ruinous beast, and through that column of light came a figure well-known to the group. "I am Diath, Chosen of Ares! Prepare to die!" It seemed their friend had been revived in some way! Soon, with the new help, they had gotten the beast upon its last legs. They knew, however, that if they killed the lich without first destroying the object that held its soul - its phylactery - it would just come back to life. Achilles, thinking on his feet, transported the creature to the Feywild, where it would burn to death. Since it and its phylactery were no longer on the same plane, the soul had no way of getting to the Dracolich to reincarnate it.

Just then, Aladix rode back in with a giant wave, prepared to finish the beast, only to sadly realize that they had just defeated it. All of a sudden, Ahmad called his name and the trio surrounded him excitedly, saying things like, "We never thought we'd see you again!" Aladix pushed them away, though, and explained that, though they seemed familiar, he had no memories. The trio were taken aback, and Kathleen began to explain their past. Apparently, they had been an inseparable group for many years - an inseparable group of five. Ahmad, Oskar, Aladix, Kathleen, and Samarah were the closest pals. Aladix was the hardest worker of them and worked his way up to be a general in the Mingsheng military. One day, though, Samarah was falsely accused of treason, with basically no evidence, and "disappeared". It was obvious to all of them that she had been taken and killed. Kathleen had been taken next. Her cruel captors had stabbed out both of her eyes, making her permanently and unquestionably blind. Ever since then, she had learned magic to be able to perceive as much as possible. Ahmad and Oskar broke her out, though, and left to Gorga. They attempted to get Aladix to come with them, but he was too worried about what Gorga may due to turncoat Mingshengers and so he refused. That was the last time the three of them had seen him.

Diath took Jirard's monocle back from Lavernicus, then explained what had happened to him after he had died to the Beholder. After his soul went into the Revenant that helped kill the Death Tyrant, before it could do anything else, it was snatched up. Before he knew it, a God stood before him - Ares. Ares explained to him that Diath was too important for a future event to die right then, so Ares claimed him as his chosen, gave him new armour and weapons, and then sent him back down to the Material Plane. His new knife was imbued with the Element of Acid, and he gave Lavernicus and anklet that imbued his breath and teeth with the Element of Poison.

They then took some time to mourn Tim, and Darrow took his body to give him a proper burial. Phoebe then brought out the Stone of Commanding Earth Elementals - but all of a sudden, it seemed to be completely non-magical! Apparently, the stone had indeed been the Dracolich's phylactery, and not the treasure they had been searching for. Aladix asked his Aboleth about it, and the creature explained that a group of very strong people had been in the caverns only a short while ago and almost certainly taken something with them.

The group summoned their Roc and flew back to Kandella. As they approached the Kingdom, it seemed unnaturally lifeless. Deciding to scope out the scene, the Knight's Guard landed and, departing from Ahmad, Oskar and Kathleen, went right up to Queen Anopra and Shuise.

Upon entering the war room, they immediately noticed that Queen Anopra looked disheveled and worried. She greeted the group, but wasted no time in informing them of the situation. Apparently, as soon as they had left for the Mountain of Certain Death, Mingsheng had attacked on multiple fronts - Mingsheng had started a war.

### War of Mingsheng

Aladix and Diath immediately asked about Teima and Kusshoku. Anopra, thinking through all the information that she had been given all at once, told them that they had both went to Kimyona to assist their militia. Before anyone could get a word in edgewise, the two dashed off to find their companions. Anopra then told the rest of the group that they were also being attacked near the Tomb of Kagaami, and they were badly losing. Achilles volunteered to go with Icarus, due to Achilles' being able to get there fast via teleportation and Icarus being a healer. Cynthia and Phoebe volunteered to cut off their supplies and everyone set off to their destination, with Darrow and Krieg staying in the castle to protect Anopra.

Darrow, Krieg, Shuise, and Anopra began to talk of battle tactics. Anopra was obviously distressed and very scatterbrained, so Darrow and Shuise told her to sit back and allow them to take care of this. Shuise told them of how they were woefully unprepared for the attacks, and that Mingsheng had many more men than them. There was also a line directly from Mingsheng to Kandella that the enemies hadn't sent soldiers through yet, which was very confusing. The three were making very little progress in their battle strategy, to say the least. Before any conclusions could be met at all, though, a runner came to tell them that Mingsheng soldiers had snuck through the lines and were approaching the castle! Krieg, Darrow, and Dragonite got prepared to fight, leaving Shuise to protect Anopra.

#### The Kimyonan Militia vs. Mingsheng Forces

Diath and Aladix arrived at Kimyona in record time. Seeing the battle raging on, Diath left Lavernicus to help the Kimyonan forces. They then continued on to find Kimyona itself, where they quickly found Teima. She explained that she had just come from the battlefield and was helping the wounded. Diath asked where Kusshoku was and Teima explained that he had gone forward to assist the fighting soldiers. Diath rushed off and Aladix decided that he would go straight for the enemy general. After Teima gave him good wishes, he ran off with the utmost speed. Diath passed the battle entirely, ending up at a wooden shack that, unbeknownst to him, used to belong to Osoroshi. He walked in to find a black Dragonborn cooking a meal. The Dragonborn, after Diath told him he was a new soldier, said that he was the Royal Chef, Balasar, and was here to cook for the soldiers. Diath took some food as the two continued to talk. Balasar took another look at him, though, and said that his armour seemed a bit different from the normal Mingsheng garb. Diath, now realizing that Balasar was Mingsheng's Royal Chef and not Kandella's, tried to bluff his way through the conversation.

It didn't take long, though, before he said something wrong and Balasar realized the truth. As Diath attempted to sneakily stab the chef, he turned around, parrying the blow with his frying pan. Diath, in response, set the shack on fire to distract the man. That plan failed, though, as Balasar cast a spell through his frying pan, bashing Diath in the head with a Fireball. The blacksmith called for Lavernicus and then stabbed Balasar, knocking his frying pan out of his hands as the flames spread throughout the shack. Balasar then cast another spell, though, making Diath confused and stationary. He then lifted up his cooking knives with magic, slashing at the helpless fighter. All of a sudden, a Hellhound burst through the flaming wall! Lavernicus breathed his fiery breath on Balasar, setting the chef on his last legs. Balasar cast another spell, shooting a familiar light green ray at the immobile Diath - a ray of disintegration. Lavernicus, recognizing the ray, bowled Diath over, simultaneously knocking him out of the way and knocking him out of his magical stupor. Diath then went to attack the bloodied chef, his magical knife whirling about. Balasar realized that he couldn't win. He said to himself that he couldn't leave his family like this, and began to run away. Diath, realizing that the man had a family, let him go, and even tossed him his frying pan as he left and the two shared a knowing gaze as they separated. Before Diath left the shack, however, something caught his eye - a large red amulet. He decided to take it before leaving.

Aladix, meanwhile, had found the enemy general in the woods, an Aqueous named Iparu. Aladix once again left the battle immediately to find the nearest water source and left his Aboleth to fight the general. After the Aboleth had taken much damage, it fled to Aladix, who had been preparing a large attack. Iparu gave chase, eventually coming to Aladix's ambush, and getting swept into the ocean, surrounded by dangerous creatures. Aladix, knowing that Iparu was now sleeping with the fishes, got prepared to leave when he saw a familiar Pegasus flying towards him. Teima flew down, with Ahmad and Oskar with her, saying that they had come to help, but they seem to have been too late. She told Aladix that the militia had lost the battle and many of the men were recuperating at town.

While Aladix was being told of the devastation that was wrought on the battlefield, Diath saw it. As he walked through the field of slain soldiers, he noticed one that was very familiar to him - it was Kusshoku! As Diath came to him, he realized his master was bleeding badly. Kusshoku opened his eyes and began to talk of his death and his will. Diath told him to save his strength and put him upon Lavernicus, setting off back to Kimyona to find a healer. Upon returning to Kimyona, men were rushing about healing wounded soldiers, talking to their families - it was chaotic. Diath called for help for Kusshoku and turned around to see a figure - a Shield Guardian, rusted and scorched, had come to Diath's call. He looked at the amulet he had picked up in the shack and recalled how Darrow had defeated a Shield Guardian on their first journey to Kimyona many months before. He named the Shield Guardian "SG" and had it carry Kusshoku as they looked for a cleric. Just then, Teima's Pegasus landed and, after Diath explained the situation, Aladix healed the blacksmith as best as he could. The entire group then departed back to Kandella.

#### Kandellan Forces near the Tomb of Kagaami vs. Mingsheng Forces

Achilles and Icarus appeared above the ongoing battle. The first thing they did was find the Kandellan General in charge of the forces, who turned out to be General Ippan, whom Icarus had saved from dying only a couple months beforehand. He told the two that their forces were being squashed and that the enemies' men kept being healed rather quickly. In response to this, Achilles teleported to the enemy general, an old, frightening Amazonian woman named Andromeda who was a gladiator when she was young. He grabbed her and then teleported back to General Ippan. She struggled and hit him with her magical hammer, claiming that he was dishonourable. Because of this, he set her down and challenged her to a duel. She accepted and then he flew her into the center of the battlefield, telling both sides to stop fighting. He told them that they would settle this battle with the duel between their generals. Both sides, too afraid of their generals to say no, accepted. Andromeda then requested that he transport them to an arena, so that she would feel at home if this would be her final battle. He accepted and the two disappeared. Mere moments after, a man came out from the woods on the Mingsheng side. It was Cadmael, who had apparently been healing the enemy soldiers. He was outraged that the two forces had stopped fighting and he commanded his men to start battling again. Icarus, not allowing it, stepped up to battle the red-skinned man. Cadmael immediately cast Harm, his most powerful spell, greatly damaging the druid. Icarus then turned into an elephant and attempted to squash the cleric. He deftly dodged out of the way, though. "I must finish this quickly." Cadmael stated, and then banished Icarus to his home plane of the Feywild, never to be heard from by the heroes again. He once again told his troops to attack, while he departed from the battlefield.

Achilles and Andromeda decided that they should go all out. Achilles ripped off his eyepatch - and transformed into his Oozaru form, becoming a giant ape. Andromeda pressed on fearlessly, though, rushing forward and slamming his kneecap with her Soul Hammer. He pushed her away, though, with his fierce attacks. She went for a ranged assault, then, throwing her magical buckler at him repeatedly, as it kept flying back to her hand. Achilles, though, was even stronger at a range, attacking her with a barrage of beams. He then rushed forward, going on the offensive, kicking up so much sand that when it finally cleared, Andromeda seemed to have just disappeared.

Achilles then transported back to the battlefield to find them just as they were, not fighting. General Ippan explained what had happened while he was gone, that Mingsheng's men had too much respect for Andromeda to disobey her orders and follow Cadmael's. Both sides departed from the battlefield begrudgingly, and Achilles rushed back to Kandella.

#### Cutting off Mingsheng Supplies

Once Phoebe and Cynthia landed on the outskirts of Mingsheng, they separated, with Phoebe going for an armoury and Cynthia going to burn crops. As Phoebe entered the armoury, she noticed two other people there as well, a child wearing fancy clothes with red hair and wings, and a bulky man in poor clothes. Upon seeing Phoebe, the girl, named Alizabeth, told the larger man that she would deal with the intruder. The man accepted this and left the two. After they insulted each other's appearance, Phoebe had Nic swing at her. Alizabeth dodged, hopping into the air, and pulled out two scimitars. She shouted their names, Rillifane and Sehanine, which caused one to light on fire and the other to be drenched in shadow. The girl flitted through the air, agilely flipping around Phoebe, slashing her with the scimitars. After Nic slashing her and Phoebe shooting arrows from Durandal a few times, though, Alizabeth was wounded enough to where she ran away, revealing that she was the Princess of Mingsheng! Before Phoebe departed, she looked through the armoury to find magical items. She ended up finding a strange liquid - and the real Stone of Commanding Earth Elementals!

Meanwhile, after burning some fields, Cynthia came face to face with the man that had left Alizabeth. After revealing he already knew who Cynthia was, he introduced himself as Op the Mystic. As Cynthia prepared to attack him, she heard the synonymous cry of Druzil, "Nyah! My mistress!" She told him to leave and went to kick him but before she could do anything, he mentioned someone named Ratas'ta. After getting rid of Druzil, Op revealed that he knew who Ratas'ta was, a Pit Fiend lord. Cynthia then, upset, threw a fireball at the man, which seared off his shirt - revealing that he was made of steel! He revealed that he was what you might call a metal golem, created by Queen Hisana of Mingsheng and her departed mother. He then lifted up Cynthia with his mind and slammed her into the ground. Cynthia continued her assault, though, until Op was sizzling and burning. On his last legs, he grew a large magical cybernetic claw to defeat her with, which she swiftly dodged. After defeating him, she left his robotic remains next to the burning field.

#### Kandella's Remaining Soldiers vs. Mingsheng's Ambush Unit

The little soldiers that remained in Kandella joined Darrow and Krieg to match the Mingsheng soldiers. Darrow and Krieg split up to two different sides of the battlefield to command the soldiers when Darrow saw someone hurtling towards him. Before he knew it, he was face to face with a person he knew - it was Verbrenn! The Azer immediately started accusing Darrow of doing nothing for Tim, and just letting him die. Darrow, wasting no time in defending himself, pointed out that there was nothing he could have done. He told Verbrenn that he should know better than to turn on his back on his allies, and that if he continued on this course, Darrow would have no choice but to kill him. Verbrenn, after thinking for a moment, put away his hammer, seeing that Darrow was correct. He admitted, though, that the Knight's Guard were no longer his only allies, and he swiftly departed. Krieg, meanwhile, had come upon a familiar Goliath man, Vimak Dragonslayer Gathakanathi. Vimak challenged him to a battle, saying that he loved to fight strong opponents and Krieg seemed to fit the bill. Their battle was a short one, as they were both so strong that a few blows would fell either one of them. Krieg threw his lightning axe, and then ran up, slashing at the Goliath as it reappeared in his hands. Vimak replied with one great slash from his greatsword, Hell Reaver, before quickly switching to his dual swords, Check and Mate. Krieg responded with rage, tearing through his opponent, who seemed to completely disappear.

Darrow and Krieg reunited, and saw that their men were crushing their competition, with many thanks to Kathleen's semi-powerful magic. Darrow, wanting to finish the battle quickly, summoned the Roc to sweep through the enemy forces and the two started back to the castle.

At the same time, Ignifer was walking around the castle, for Shuise didn't trust her enough to send her out to battle. Just then, though, she heard a rustling from the woods near her. She went over to find a dying soldier who told her that the vault was being attacked. She rushed off to see if she could handle the attackers by herself. Once there, Ignifer cautiously walked in, seeing nobody at all. All of a sudden, she heard a voice from the shadows that seemed to know her. She turned around to see a snake woman who introduced herself as Shimin Ho'oku'u. She whispered things to Ignifer, promising her riches and power if she joined her side. She asked why Ignifer was even working with Kandella when she could be doing something with much better rewards. Ignifer replied by trying to convince Shimin to work with the Kingdom. Shimin was skeptical at first, but then seemed to accept and followed Ignifer.

Ignifer took her to the castle and had her wait outside the door to Queen Anopra's room. Ignifer came in to find Anopra, by herself, seeming no less distressed than she was previously. She asked where Shuise had gone, but Anopra said that she didn't know. Ignifer explained the situation to her and told Anopra that she would need to open the door while Ignifer used her magical Portable Hole to trap Shimin. As Anopra opened the door, Shimin was waiting outside, prepared to capture the Queen, but seeing the Hole, she teleported away. After the ordeal, Ignifer turned to Anopra and asked what they were going to do now, to which the Queen said she had no idea. Ignifer grabbed Anopra by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "You have to be strong right now! *You* are the Queen! This is what you have to do! Now, what are we going to do - *Queen* Anopra?" Anopra, shocked, replied after a moment, "We... We are going to *win this war!*"

#### Knight's Guard vs. Mingsheng Marauders

Anopra immediately sent a runner to ask for reinforcements from the allied island nation of Versillias. Shuise returned to the War Room, then. He asked what he had missed, and Ignifer bluntly explained the situation to him. She got up in his face, confronting him and asking where he had went. He avoided the question, though, pressing on with the matter of Shimin. Just then, Aladix, Diath, and Teima came into the room, followed shortly after by Krieg and Darrow, Achilles, and then Cynthia and Phoebe. As soon as Diath came into the room with SG, he gave the Shield Guardian's amulet to Anopra to protect herself. After everyone shared what had happened on their respective journeys, the group departed, as it was getting late and a night's rest would do them well.

The next morning, the group reconvened in the war room, excluding Phoebe, who was in the infirmary, but seeing through the eyes of Nic. As they started talking battle strategy, Diath asked a question out of nowhere - why had they been collecting the elemental treasures? Shuise said he would show them, but before he could, they noticed something out the window. It was a great Pit Fiend! Shuise's explanation would have to wait, as the group rushed out to meet the encounter and Phoebe got herself up to the top of Kandella Castle to snipe. As Darrow flew up to attack the beast - his attack went straight through, for the beast was an illusion! All of a sudden, all nine of the Mingsheng generals came out of the trees to battle the group. They explained the differing ways in which each had escaped death, and the battle began.

The battle was short and chaotic. Darrow immediately shouted at Verbrenn for lying to him and turning against his allies once again. Verbrenn responded with anger at himself for being so conflicted and turned away, the flames on his head rearing up. Alizabeth went directly for who seemed to be the least intimidating Cynthia, flipping around her and slashing at her with Rillifane and Sehanine. Dragonite burrowed beneath the enemies, then popped out, breathing his radiant breath upon half of the enemies. Andromeda called for Iparu, who, turning into water, leaped on her shield, which she tossed up at Phoebe with a cry of, "Osmosis!" It missed, though, flying through a window into the War Room, where it almost hit Anopra but was kicked out of the air by Shuise, who proceeded to hold the buckle in place with his foot while stomping on it. Meanwhile, Andromeda was bashing Darrow with her Soul Hammer. Achilles got behind the group, similar to Dragonite, and let loose a great beam. Shimin teleported behind Cynthia, and tried to get her to join her since they were both, apparently, allied with Ratas'ta. After Cynthia told her to shove off, Shimin went to stab at Ignifer with her magical rapier which was imbued with the Element of Death. Ignifer dodged, though, and deftly stole the weapon from the snake woman, which immediately bonded to her. Darrow turned to Andromeda, slashing at her with his greatsword while Phoebe rained down a volley of arrows upon her. Diath charged forward, meeting Balasar head-on,, confronting him as to why he had returned instead of going back to his family. Balasar then revealed that Lord Tavaati had kidnapped his family and was threatening to kill them. Diath convinced him that they would save his wife and daughter after this battle if Balasar didn't continue fighting, and after some coaxing, he agreed. Lavernicus dashed back, doing a similar tactic to Dragonite and Achilles with his breath. Cynthia went forward, throwing a Fireball at Op while Nic slashed at him with his blade hand. Iparu jumped out of the War Room window, thoroughly beat up by Shuise. Aladix turned to him and cast Disintegrate, killing Iparu once and for all.

Ignifer opened up her portable hole, seeing Krieg move. He roughly grabbed Princess Alizabeth, and in one fluid motion, tossed her into the hole. The entire battlefield stopped in its tracks as Op calmly walked forward with his hand raised. "Please. There is no need to harm the princess; I will join your side." Upon seeing the doubt that the Knight's Guard showed, he called to Verbrenn, telling him that they were all on the same side now. Darrow approached Andromeda, to which she responded by dramatically telling him to just finish her off quickly. Darrow then announced a parlay between the two groups, and those that refused would be killed. Vimak shrugged, admitting that he would lose if he continued, and sheathed his weapon. Shimin tried desperately to run, but was grabbed by Dragonite and she started panicking. Cadmael lost his cool, then, shouting and calling the rest of the Mingsheng Marauders traitors before teleporting away. Achilles quickly teleported to him, grabbed him in a crushing grip, and teleported back. Darrow then pulled Verbrenn to the side, telling them that he planned to knock out all of them besides him and Balasar. He then did so, but also left Op awake by Verbrenn's request.

Before they could do anything with the unconscious generals, Diath had Op scry for Balasar's family. Achilles then teleported Diath and Balasar there, grabbed Balasar's wife Laury and his daughter Temika from their cell, and then teleported back. When they reappeared though, Achilles was nowhere to be seen and had disappeared without a trace. Balasar had a heartfelt reunion with his loving family, who had many questions about the situation.

Soon after, the War Room was once again filled. The Knight's Guard, Queen Anopra, and Shuise were meeting with Op and Verbrenn after throwing the rest of the prisoners into the dungeon except for Balasar, who was spending time with his family. Before anything could be said, however, a runner came in, announcing that the reinforcements from Versillias had arrived. Following him was a large orc, who looked quite intelligent and refined. Anopra took a long look at him before asking if he was Zarro. He nodded, revealing that he was under an oath of silence. Anopra and Shuise told the group that Zarro had once been the retainer of Queen Anopra's mother. They had no idea, however, that he was now a general for Versillias. They welcomed him into the meeting.

Op proceeded to tell them everything; he first told them all about every one of the Mingsheng Marauders, but most importantly about Shimin. She had been planning for a decade now to throw the continent into chaos, and then take control of it with the assistance of an evil tiefling warlock named Daku and a Pit Fiend lord named Ratas'ta. She had been convincing Queen Hisana to do things that would lead to an all out war with Kandella, and King Migurushi couldn't bear to tell his wife "no". Apparently, the Queen was grief-stricken mad after the loss of her first husband, daughter, mother, and brother. After the death of her brother, she took in his daughter, Alizabeth, and raised her as her own daughter, so Alizabeth and Op have something of a strange sibling relationship. He also told them of how Lord Tavaati was a mysterious man that nobody knew the history of, but that he was lazy and unassuming. Shuise then decided to show them what they had been collecting the elemental treasures for.

They left Op and Verbrenn under the watch of Dragonite, and then went all the way down into a secret underground room. There was a basin in the middle, in which Shuise mixed the strange liquid Phoebe had found and put in one element of each item: The Brazier of Commanding Fire Elementals, the Bowl of Controlling Water Elementals, the Censer of Controlling Air Elementals, and the Stone of Commanding Earth Elementals. "This is the Basin of Truth." He dipped his head in, and came up with a disappointed look on his face. Anopra cautiously stepped forward and dipped her head in as well. Darrow then asked what she had asked for. Anopra said that she had wanted to see what her mother had looked like, and Shuise replied that that was a personal question and that he was not obliged to answer it. Ignifer got up in his face once again, incredulously accusing him of using the kingdom's recourses and sent the personal retainers of the Queen for *personal reasons*. He responded that the Basin of Truth could be used for many other important things, as Aladix dipped his head into the strange liquid. His memories came rushing back to him, his entire past coming to him. Teima then came in, surprising the group, and Aladix told her everything. She comforted him about the sadness in his past, but quickly, for she had resolved to find something out about herself - her parents. The beast tamer dipped her head into the Basin, and she came back up, her face was wracked with shock. "My parents... are the King and Queen of Mingsheng!"

#### The Final Battle

Teima explained what she had seen in the Basin. Apparently, Queen Hisana's first daughter died of a genetic disease when she was a child. King Migurushi couldn't bear to see his wife get that attached to the child just to have to go through that again, so he drowned the child as soon as she was born. Or he had attempted to, not realizing that the elemental blood in his veins would manifest in his child becoming an Iceheart, allowing her to breathe underwater. The group was shocked at the development, but the more critical thinkers were thinking of what this meant for the war. Krieg also drank some of the liquid in the Basin, revealing that it also doubled as a truth serum.

Afterwards, the group dropped by the dungeon. Darrow took Vimak's Hell Reaver, and Nic took his dual swords, Check and Mate. Aladix used his aboleth to read the thoughts of Shimin, and, deciding she may be useful, used Geas on her as well. Achilles reappeared then, and, after the group explained to them what he had missed, he went and killed Cadmael, not telling the group of where he had been. He then decided to give away an Ice Spear that he had taken from an Ice Devil in the Mountain of Certain Death, which Zarro requested. Krieg and Ignifer then pulled Cynthia to the side, asking about Ratas'ta. She told them that she was her demon lord and that she had been barely satisfying him with the amount of souls she was corrupting. Cynthia knew that she would be severely punished, but she didn't care, for being Queen Anopra's Retainer was more enjoyable than anything else she had found in her 300 years of being a demon.

The next morning, the group reconvened in the War Room to plan their final assault. Diath and Aladix would be going to the west to fight their personal enemy, the evil warlock Daku. They decided that they would have Cynthia and Achilles ride upon the Roc to cause a distraction whilst Zarro led their soldiers to assault Mingsheng's front wall and Dragonite burrowed into the castle with Phoebe, Ignifer, Darrow, and Krieg.

Diath and Aladix took a quick ride to Kimyona to receive some help to hold off Daku's army of Gargoyles. Aladix sent a call through the water, and what came to the call was two storm giants named Carl and Felicia. They agreed to come along just for fun, and the group set off to Daku's castle. Once there, they left Carl, Felicia, the Aboleth, and an Ankylosaurus Diath had gotten from Teima to fight off the gargoyles as the main squad continued on into the fortress. After ascending to the top of the castle to find Daku, the three confronted him directly. While Daku seemed to not even recognize Diath, he did notice Aladix, and Shimin. After Aladix attempted to convince him to join them, Daku laughed and casted a spell on him. It failed, however, and the battle had begun. Before much could be done, though, all parties involved were shocked with a blast of freezing cold. Aladix turned around to see - the Oni that had been sent away in the Cave of Kimyona. After literally everyone told the Oni he was outmatched, he realized this was true and started to leave, but Aladix offered him to join their side. Seeing as this seemed like the best course of action, the Oni agreed and Daku was facing yet another enemy.

After a difficult fight, Aladix once again attempted to reason with Daku, who once again refused. Diath put away his knife, deciding to make Daku really feel the pain, as he punched the warlock's lights out. He would have finished him off if Aladix didn't stop him, but, after roughing up the warlock, Diath agreed to capturing him. The group then left, riding back towards the battle on Mingsheng.

Meanwhile, Cynthia and Achilles were about to board the Roc when she was dragged through a hole deep into hell, and Achilles swiftly followed. After landing, she realized she was in front of her Pit Fiend master Ratas'ta. He declaring that Cynthia had done enough and that helping to defeat Shimin had been the last straw. He bit Achilles, poisoning him, before going to focus on Cynthia. After bashing her repeatedly, she responded with the greatest fires she had ever summoned. Ratas'ta continued to attack Cynthia until he was suddenly blinded by a bright flash - Achilles had used Solar Flare! The dazed and blinded Pit Fiend threw a fireball, blowing up all three of the combatants. Achilles dashed forward, attacking the demon with a flurry of intense blows. Cynthia, bleeding and on her last legs, went up to the lord and with one final crack of her whip, the great lord was felled. All of a sudden, Cynthia was bathed in a pillar of radiant light. Once the blinding light cleared, there was a new person in her place. She had regained her soul from her previous life, and remembered who she had once been. She was an elf - and her name was Fleore! She realized quickly, though, that she retained her Succubus powers, strangely. Achilles quickly took the two back to the larger battle at hand.

General Zarro, with assistance from General Ippan, led all the troops to attack Mingsheng directly, in a rush! They surprised the forces, meeting them nearly at their wall. It didn't take much to push back and defeat the main group of soldiers. Zarro then went forward into the fort, surrounded by ten elite Versillian soldiers. He began to search the place, and soon ran into a fat, balding, elderly man in a monocle who introduced himself as Lord Tavaati Huangse Diren IV. Zarro responded with his mechanical fish, Pauline, and introduced himself. The old man seemed surprisingly happy to learn of his opponents identity - and then he began to shift. He grew in height by two feet, at least. His size widened, and his clothes ripped off. His skin started to turn blue and he seemed almost fish-like. Most surprising though, was that he grew a tail and two more arms! The strange creature explained that he was a runaway from another universe. He said that he was called a Fengli, and that a prophecy foretold that a rift between the two universes would be opened by ten great heroes - and the only one that was mentioned by name was, "The Great Uniter, Zarro."

Magical weapons appeared in Tavaati's hands as he lunged at the monk. With his four arms, he attacked Zarro multiple times while simultaneously taking out two of his guards. The rest quickly surrounded him, though, excluding an archer, allowing Zarro to get behind him and attack at weak spots. In a flash, Tavaati slashed, stabbed, and punched, taking out all seven of the attacking soldiers. Zarro wasn't finished though, and continued his onslaught. At that point, it became a flurry of blows, as both foes were bloodied. In an instant, though, the battle seemed lost. Tavaati hit Zarro with a fist infused with Ki, knocking him to the ground and stunning him. As Tavaati stood over him, about to claim his victory, his face suddenly flashed with pain. The remaining archer had finished off the man, saving General Zarro's life. The shocked monk stood up, and, through Pauline, asked the bowman what his name was. "Lieutenant Jusha, sir! I am glad that I was able to assist you so!" Zarro patted the man on the shoulder, assuring him that he would get a raise.

Dragonite had come up from the ground in the middle of the castle. Disobeying the plan, Phoebe and Ignifer then split off from Krieg, Darrow, and Nic. Krieg and Darrow went to the top of the castle, correctly assuming that that would be where the Royal Throne Room was. As they barged into the room, there was one man standing there with long white hair in purple armour with a spear. He revealed himself to be King Migurushi, and admitted that if it was a fight they wanted, it was a fight they would get. He attacked the invaders, leaping into the air and coming down with his spear, stabbing into their minds. The athletic fighter was a nuisance, but was defeated rather quickly by Darrow, Krieg and Nic. Knowing what they should do, they took the unconscious fighter to find the queen.

As Phoebe and Ignifer looked for the royals, they saw a man running through a hallway. They called out to him, not realizing there was a woman behind him, causing him to turn around and reveal his identity. "I am Cadmael, Chosen of Ares! Prepare to die!", he announced, revealing that he had been brought back to life by Ares. Behind him was Queen Hisana, who he told to continue running while he dealt with the two women. Queen Hisana told him to step back, though, as she decided she could deal with the intruders herself. The two spent a fair amount of time trying to convince the Queen that Op and Alizabeth had joined their side to no avail. She unleashed a great thunderous sound, deafening the two combatants. Phoebe, thinking quickly, shot a mine at Hisana's feet, blowing a hole in the ground. Ignifer jumped down into the hole, stabbing at the woman with her newly acquired Vampire Rapier. The Queen then balled her fist, which began to shake with extreme ferocity. As she went to deal an incredible, destructive blow upon the bard, Ignifer caught the fist, holding it still and stopping the shaking. The Queen, shellshocked, then had no defense against the pair's next attacks.

All of a sudden, Op and Alizabeth showed up from the battle raging outside, revealing that Phoebe and Ignifer were telling the truth. Hisana then became completely passive and gave up. She went up to Op, not accepting that he had turned against her. All of a sudden, she revealed that Op had been her brother when he was alive, but she couldn't have bared to have him know that but not have the memory of it. Op and Alizabeth were both in complete shock at this development, but before they could say anything at all, Darrow, Krieg, and Nic showed up with King Migurushi, and Teima was right at their heels. They told Hisana that Teima was actually her daughter and told her everything. In response to her skepticism, Darrow revealed he had taken a vial of the liquid from the Basin of Truth. After proving to her it was a truth serum, they woke King Migurushi and tricked him into telling Queen Hisana what he had attempted to do to Teima. Darrow had to stop her from attacking Migurushi after he revealed so. Hisana's ring then seemed to fly off for no reason, flying through the wall, surprising everyone, none of whom knew why it had happened.

Cadmael had watched all this in shock from the very end of the corridor. In an instant, he flipped out, seeming to go completely crazy. He kept babbling that they were all traitors and that they had betrayed him and their country. His eyes began to glow white, and he slammed his new magical staff into the ground, causing a gigantic magical explosion.

Everyone's vision flashed white, and when they came to, Diath and Aladix could see the explosion in its full effect. Every single soldier on the battlefield had been turned to stone. It seemed that their magical weapons had protected them from the blast, though. But that was the least of their worries. All nine of the Knight's Guard, Lavernicus, and Dragonite could see from where they were a terrible, monstrous beast. Cadmael had summoned the worst, most destructive beast of legend. Standing now in the debris of Mingsheng's castle was a horrible Tarrasque. Before any one of them could move to the beast, it bent down, crushing Cadmael in its teeth, killing him instantly, and swallowing him.

The group put all of their strengths together to defeat the beast. With all of their legendary items together, including Cynthia's newly acquired Radiant Whip and Zarro's Thunder Ring, they knew they could beat the Tarrasque. Ignifer let her magical song flow, inspiring her allies. Krieg, using his powers from his Cloak of Arachnida, climbed up the leg of the beast, slashing at it repeatedly with his great Lightning Axe. Achilles teleported behind the beast, launching a mighty Spirit Bomb at it. Darrow flew up to the creature, bringing up his Sword of Flames to burn the monster with radiant fire. Phoebe notched an arrow with Durandal, attaching an arcane mine to the end, causing a tremendous explosion. Zarro launched sound waves at the Tarrasque, his fists moving so fast. Cynthia cast a spell, an enormous flaming ball appearing inside the beast. Lavernicus breathed his great breath as Diath leaped into the monstrosity's gaping maw, stabbing it with his Acid Knife the whole time.

The Tarrasque let out a frightening roar, clawing at Krieg and ramming Darrow with its horns. It attacked Nic with its tail, but the golem brought up a magical barrier to protect himself. The monstrous Tarrasque slammed into Dragonite, and the two struggled into a grapple.

Aladix took the opportunity that he saw with the beast occupied with Dragonite. He had been charging up his attack, and with all of his strength and magical power, he launched his Trident, which flew off like a rocket at the monster. It met its mark, landing right between the Tarrasque's horns. It let out one more great roar, but this time, it was one of defeat, for it fell down into the rubble. Darrow quickly cut Diath, luckily alive, out of the creature's stomach. The group reconvened, celebrating their victory, as they all explained what had transpired whilst they were separated.

With the war won, everything fell into place. Anopra allowed the Mingsheng people to keep their homes, except those who had lived in the now-destroyed Mingsheng castle, who she allowed into her own castle. She also allowed Hisana to become her Royal Advisor. These acts caused her to quickly gain the nickname of, "The Benevolent Queen." Aladix lost control of his Geased servants due to Cadmael's explosion, so he killed his Aboleth and recruited Shimin as a fair ally. Darrow asked the Basin of Truth whether he was worthy as a son of Ares, and the answer was a "yes." He continued to stay with Anopra, and a friend of Shuise. Cynthia now had her soul back, and felt truly happy for once in much too long. While Ignifer still couldn't consider the Kingdom a real home, she had found one - her friendship with Cynthia and Phoebe. The trio had formed an unbreakable bond that would transcend life and death. Achilles had finally found out the secrets of his past, and was near to becoming a God of Destruction. Krieg had served his Queen in the most troubling times. Diath had found another home, had gotten revenge, and could now start rebuilding Inu.

But there was still one mystery that had remained unsolved. After the great battle, Teima had seemingly disappeared. Aladix spent the rest of the day searching for her, but could find her nowhere. Had she died? If not, where could she have gone...?

### Epilogue

A few days later, the group awoke as if it was a normal day. However, all of their legendary magical items had lost their magic. They went about their typical business, with Darrow protecting Anopra, without realizing that something was about to go horribly wrong. Suddenly a large hole opened up in the sky with more blue Fenglis falling through. The retainers all gathered to try to get ahold of the situation but it turns out Aladix, Phoebe, Cynthia, and Ignifer had disappaered. Suddenly, Darrow looked up and saw 4 figures flying up towards the hole.

During the previous night, Phoebe snuck into Aladix's room and right when Aladix woke up she touched her ring and cast the 9th level spell that was inside, Imprisonment. The spell trapped Aladix in the earth and he was not allowed out until his beloved was dead, Phoebe took Teima and fled into the night.

Phoebe, Cynthia, Ignifer, and an unconcious Teima were flying towards the hole. Phoebe then explained that she used the elemental powers of the magical items to create this rift between dimensions so that she could be with her family again, after she lost them centuries ago. On the other side of the rift she was delighted to see her old family castle but everything was gloomy and dark. After running inside she saw her father, King Peandro, and 3 shadowy figures. Peandro screamed at Phoebe declaring that he will kill her if she took a step further. Phoebe tried to explain her sitatuation but apparently this shadowy dimension's Phoebe was evil and killed her own mother. Phoebe fled in sorrow and guilt because no matter what dimension she is in, she still killed her own mother and lost her father. Meanwhile, Aladix was freed from his imprisonment due to Teima being in a different dimension and techanically Aladix's curse was broken. He informed everybody of the situation and everybody but Krieg flew up to kill them. Once the party ran into Phoebe and co, Aladix reversed the gravity in the area and made them confess. Cynthia and Ignifer quickly switched sides and left Phoebe to take all the blame. Phoebe then had a trial which she obviously lost where Darrow cut off Phoebe's head and Diath put her body into Nic's furnance. She was reduced to ashes which were put into a jar and thrown off of the Mountain of Uncertain Death by Diath. Nic then lost consciousness and never regained life. Krieg with his newfound intelligence settled down and opened up a restaurant. Darrow and Aladix went on to kill Darrow's father, Ares, and Darrow became the god of war and made Aladix a god with him. Achilles went on to become the new God of Destruction and eventually had a duel with Darrow which devastated the land. Aladix started up a school of magic in Gorga. Cynthia and Ignifer got married and settled down with the past behind them. Diath also settled down with village revenged and got hitched with Balasar's daughter, Teima. They all mostly decided to go their seperate ways and concluded the best adventure any of them will ever have.

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