Siege of Somonor - The Trap is Sprung: As his followers turned their weaponry on the force fields, Starbane could just make out the figure of Imotekh through the shimmering barrier of gravitic force, the impassive Phaeron standing mute and proud at the head of a phalanx of Immortals. Starbane saw the Stormlord raise one clenched metallic fist in salute, then the buzzing began. It started as a low drone that rumbled through the stone floor, rising in volume and intensity until it drowned out any other sound. As the noise reached fever pitch, swirling clouds of blood-red Nanoscarabs burst from concealed vents. They swarmed about the intruders, probing armour for any crack that would allow ingress, then burrowing into the warm flesh beneath. Then, as soon as it had begun, the buzzing ceased; the swarm of Nanoscarabs dissipated. The flagstones of the chamber were slick with Eldar blood, and the air thick with the screams of the wounded, but Starbane was grimly jubilant -- Imotekh's trap had been sprung, but the Eldar had endured it. The Farseer looked beyond the force field, a challenge in his eyes as he met Imotekh's gaze once again. In reply, the Stormlord tilted his head slightly to one side -- though his expression was incapable of change, there was something distinctly mocking in his aspect. Then the Flayed Ones attacked.The Flayed Ones dropped out of the darkness, their mad voices keening with bloodlust as their razor-sharp claws slashed and tore at the intruders. In the face of this new threat, the quantum shields were swiftly forgotten, the Eldar gathering into knots of warriors who fought back-to-back against their attackers. It was impossible to say how long the gangrel creatures had lurked in the shadows, clutching to the vaulted ceiling. Perhaps they had been there before the Eldar had entered the chamber, perhaps they had been drawn by the Bloodswarm Scarabs -- it mattered little. Initially, the Flayed Ones wrought great carnage, isolating individual Guardians and Aspect Warriors from their fellows and tearing them limb from shrieking limb. Yet, as the Eldar resistance grew less panicked and the defensive ring grew ever tighter, the tide began to turn. The Flayed Ones attacked again and again, only to be hurled back by the disciplined shuriken fire of Guardians and Aspect Warriors who fought shoulder-to-shoulder and back-to-back. The Flayed Ones attacked once, twice, three times more, then warily circled their prey, searching for an opening.It was only when the Flayed Ones stalled their attack that Imotekh unleashed the final phase of his trap. With a gesture, the Stormlord negated the force field that stood before him, and ordered his undying minions into the fray. The Immortals advanced, firing indiscriminately as they came, uncaring as to whether their shots hit Eldar or Flayed One. For their part, the Flayed Ones were able to escape the threat, twisting aside and melting into the shadows as swiftly as they had come. For the Eldar, gathered in a tight formation to better defend against the melee attacks of the Flayed Ones, the onslaught was devastating -- nearly half their number fell in the first volley, and those that survived were so disoriented that their counterattack did little to stay the implacable Necron advance. By the time Imotekh led a shield wall of his Lychguard into the chamber, the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.Of the Eldar warriors who had entered the tomb on Somonor, only one survived to bring news of the defeat to Craftworld Alaitoc. In the Chamber of Eternal Starlight, Eldorath Starbane stood before the Craftworld's Seer Council and recounted the slaughter in the catacombs. The Farseer told of how Imotekh had spared him whilst all other captives had been swiftly put to death. He told how the Stormlord had severed his right hand to serve as a humiliating reminder of the defeat, and then set him loose. Starbane's words brought great dismay, and the council turned swiftly to plans of vengeance. Their next strike would not fall against Somonor, but at the very heart of the Sautekh Dynasty itself...