Mask Of Evil - Times Of Darkness

MASK OF EVIL: TIMES OF DARKNESS Prologue It is morning in the Imperial palace of Briskeby. Emperor Logan the Bald of Davonkeep suddenly sits up in his bed. The leader of the imperial guard shakes him, yelling, ”My liege, we must flee! My men will stall the enemy for as long as they can stand, but the rebels are vastly superior in numbers! We must get you to the safety of the Light Woods as soon as possible! Come, it is for your own good!” As the emperor flees out the emergency tunnels towards the forests, his men at the palace are brutally slaughtered, one by one. Nobody can withstand an army of disgruntled townsfolk, supported by dark elves, ogres and trolls for long. Meanwhile, a party of humans and elves dressed in blue, white and gold enters the throne room. Their leader walks up to the throne, and as he turns around, his men have already set fire to the white and silver banners in the palace, hoisting the colours of this army of darkness. The leader shouts: ”Behold my glory! A new reign has begun! A dark era is commencing! In a few days, the whole world will know of my coming!” Chapter 1: Derion’s quest By TVPR

As Derion walked in through the massive doors of the great hall, he wondered what his mission would be. Having spent the last 5 years of his 20 year long life as a mercenary, a soldier of fortune, he knew that he had to expect anything. He had accepted and completed missions of all kinds, ranging from rescuing a barons dear pet donkey from the local butcher, through kidnapping the daughter of a rich dwarven slaver, up to assassinating a count and bringing his ears back as proof. It turned out that this would be a rather tough mission. The wealthy, old man that turned out to be his new employer, wanted him to get a ring. ”The signet ring this man wears, grants him the title of Duke. I want you to get it for me, as it has belonged to my family for generations. See that crest over there? It’s engraved on the ring. That’s how you’ll recognize it. This so-called duke stole my ring nearly a decade ago, but nobody has ever been man enough to accept this simple mission: GET ME MY FAMILY’S SIGNET RING BACK! By the way, this bandit lives in Ranjar up on Continent.” Derion accepted the mission, and as usual he got half the payment up front. He headed out for the local arms dealer, to upgrade his weaponry. After buying himself some new, enhanced armour, sharpening his sword, and repairing his shield, he started travelling towards Ranjar. He was proud of his sword. And with good reason. When his father died, his sword was passed on to the then 12 year old Derion. Myrion -the name of the sword- had been passed down from father to son for centuries. A dwarf called Myrius had smithed it nearly a millenia ago. It was

made from cold Vandisium, hardened with acid made from ogre blood and goblin sweat, and smithed with a hammer as old as the world itself by the greatest blacksmith ever. Some say that he was still alive, hiding in the caverns and tunnels below Muun Raklinn. After his forefather won Myrion from a dwarven king during a furious battle, it had passed down all the time, father to son. When the young Derion got it, his cousins were outrageous! They did everything they could to convince the old ones that they had more use for Myrion than this child. However, after Derion decapitated one of them, they backed off, all of them. This child had true warrior blood running through his veins. Wandering off towards the harbour, Derion started thinking about his mission. How should he do it? Should he choose to steal the ring in a stealthy manner, or should he cut the nobleman’s hand off? He decided he’d have to give it some more thought. Aboard the ship, he just ate and slept. One night, right after he fell asleep, he woke up. Some sounds had wakened him. Derion, warrior at heart, was always weary to strange sounds. He got up, and left his cabin. Just in time to see pirates boarding the ship. The crew didn’t hinder them, they helped the pirates! Derion saw the captain, however, and a few of his men getting thrown overboard. They didn’t look very alive to him. Intinctively reaching for his sword, he discovered he had left it in his cabin, hidden under the berth. Instead of turning around, he decided to take a few of the pirates on in hand-to-hand combat first. Simply for practice. He approached the three pirates guarding the sloop they came with slowly, without a sound. Once he got close enough, he jumped up in the air, and whirled around, kicking the eyeballs out of one pirate’s skull. The two others turned towards him, but before they even had time to grasp the fact that someone had just beaten the crap out of their friend, Derion had placed his hands firmly around each man’s mouth, disallowing them to scream. He pressed his thumbs up with extreme power, pushing the nosebone of each man into their brains, killing them on the spot. He ran quietly back to his cabin, got his equipment, and slowly went through the cabin door, confirming that there was no pirate left on board that could see him. Jumping into the sloop, he found several trunks of gold down there. They could come in handy when he reached land. So he loosened the pirate vessel from the large ship he had travelled in so far, and set course for Ultima, the second largest city in the empire. Only surpassed by Davonkeep in size, Ultima was a power centre of dimensions. And a trading center as well. It was rather easy to find as well, even from the sea. Derion knew that they had rounded the northern tip of Dartook after three days, so he couldn’t be far away from there now. He just had to keep sailing eastwards, and he’d reach shore. Then it was just to go south until he spotted the city of Ultima. After four days of sailing, Derion had finally gotten to his point of destination. He went ashore in Ultima, exchanged the trunks of gold bars for coins, and sold the sloop as well. He was a much richer man now than before he set out from Sadra. Still, he had to complete his mission. Mercenaries who accepted a mission, but didn’t complete it, tended to be assassinated themselves rather quickly. After upgrading his equipment even more by buying himself some healing potions, magic books (he had promised himself for months now that he would learn some basic spells), he headed out again. In the eastern parts of Ultima, he boarded another ship, and went straight for Continent. He went ashore right in the middle of nowhere, and started walking eastwards. There was no sign of life anywhere in the deserted wastelands. However, as soon as he reached the lightly forested

areas west of Rilgor, things started happening. Birds were singing all around him, and a flock of deers were grazing nearby. Suddenly, the deers started running like hell, and all the birds took to flight. Fearing for oncoming enemies, Derion immediately pulled out Myrion. He placed it in its sheath again quickly, when he saw the reason the animals fled. A stunningly beautiful elf came walking out of the forest, towards him. She was rather clumsy, for a wood elf anyway. But who cared about something like that when she was so gorgeous! Derion had never seen such a body before, and actually started drooling. He became his regular self again as soon as she got closer. ”Whoa... I mean... What... who... when, why, uh.... who are you?” he said. ”Hmm... and you?” ”My name is Derion. I’m a mercenary. Now please, tell me who you are, and I won’t have to hurt you.” ”Hah, so you think you could, do you? I can see how you’re looking at me, you could never harm me, now could you?” ”Well...” he replied, his voice shaking with wanton, ”no... But please, at least tell me your name” ”Hmm... I like you, Derion. My name is Nocturna. As you can see, I’m an elf. And I’m so fed up with living in the forests that I’m desperate to get away. Could I join you, wherever it is you’re going? I know how to fight, so don’t worry about that.” ”Of course!!! I mean... if you promise you won’t be a burden. I have a tough journey ahead of me.” ”Sure thing, cutie... I won’t be a burden... I promise you that!” Derion wanted this woman, Nocturna. she was as if taken out of a dream. He wasn’t sure if it was a good dream or a nightmare, but he didn’t care. He just knew that for the moment, he had only one wish. And that very night, his wish came true... Every day after that, Nocturna excused herself and went out into the bushes, telling Derion to stay put. The second time, he tried to follow her. That only resulted in him nearly getting himself killed, as she bashed towards him with a dagger. Luckily, he managed to draw Myrion, and simply cut the dagger in two. She said that she thought he was a rogue, and she just tried to defend himself. That was anyway the last time he tried following her. After a week or so with walking trough the woods, Derion met a couple of wanderers. Nocturna was accidently out on one of her ”trips” at the time. They introduced themself as father and daughter. His name was Veiroth, and he was a mage. His daughter, Elana, was a cleric. At least she claimed to be, even though her father made it clear she was still in the learning phase. She was by the way fantastically good looking. Not like Nocturna, who had a lusty look and a gorgeous body. No, Elana was more cute than gorgeous. She was much like the complete opposite of Nocturna. She had long, blond hair, while Nocturna’s was short, and raven black. Where Nocturna had the most stunning body he had ever seen, (and showed it!) he couldn’t determine how Elana’s was. She was wearing something of a cross-breed of a dress and a toga. Not like a robe, but anyway, it looked great on her. Come to think of it, most clothes would. It was white, with silver braces, and made him think of the imperial banner. ”Where are you from?”, Derion wondered ”We come from Davonkeep. After count Wilhelm seized power, life in the capital had been a living hell.”, Veiroth replied. His daughter looked down, trying to hide a sad look on her face. ”What?! Where’s the emperor??”

”Well, some say he was killed during the battle, others claim he reached the Light Woods, and took shelter with the Light elves of Cantuin. I don’t know, there are many rumours” Elana spoke up: ”I think he’s safe. The imperial guard would never allow for him to die. They would rather die themselves!” Veiroth looked hard at her. ”You know who attacked the palace? Dark elves! Trolls and ogres! Not just the rebels of Davonkeep, it was a whole army of dark forces as well! You really think anything could stand long against such opposition?” Derion took pity on Elana, and spoke to her defense ”Now, now... you never know, for all we know, the palace may be full of secret tunnels. It’s not at all impossible that the emperor got away.” Veiroth calmed down a bit. ”You’re right. I’m just upset. Our family has always served the emperor faithfully, even the evil ones. But this Wilhelm persona... he’s just more evil than anything I’ve ever encountered before!” When Nocturna returned, she was introduced to the two humans. She learned that they would join them on their travels, but she didn’t seem to be really happy about it. Veiroth and Elana didn’t seem to enjoy Nocturna’s company either. Two days later, while Nocturna left them for the woods, Veiroth spoke to Derion. ”Derion, that woman is evil. She is evil all the way down to the bone. Her soul is completely dark. She does not have good intentions. I know it, I can feel it!” ”Please, my friend”, Derion said, ”she’s as harmless as a little bird!” ”A little vulture, in that case! My daughter is following her right now, she will soon return, and tell us what she has discovered.” ”NO! She mustn’t! It’s dangerous! She could get herself killed! You must...” He was interrupted by Elana placing a warm hand on his shoulder. She spoke with her usual, soft voice, only this time, she sounded more than terrified! ”You won’t believe this, Derion. Father. This witch... she went out in the forests, found a clearing and sat down. It was like she was sleeping... suddenly, out of nowhere, a crow appeared. Then a raven, and all of the sudden, she was sitting in the middle of an ocean of dark birds. She spoke to them, I tell you. She spoke to these birds! Then, they took to the wings. She said something that seemed like a prayer, and fell behind as if in a trance, shaking and drooling!” ”I told you so, Derion. My friend, we must kill her! Before she kills us!” ”Kill her? Please... it can’t be that bad...” Elana spoke. ”Derion, I know you care for her, I understand that she has seduced you. No wooden elf I know dresses in such a challenging way. She is darkness, Derion. Darkness. Unless we take action, we will all be destroyed by her. It is but a matter of time. Listen to me, Derion!” ”Very well. But if it turns out you are wrong, I will never forgive you. I will never see you again. Do you understand?!” ”Very well. I knew you would understand. Young ones, we must make a plan!” The next day, just as Nocturna was going to leave for the woods, Derion stopped her. While he was talking to her, Elana snuck up and stole the daggers she carried in her belt. Unfortunately, Nocturna noticed. She whirled around, kicking Elana several meters through the air. She was unarmed now, though, but still she was a good melee fighter. Even before he had the chance to draw Myrion, Nocturna turned around again and with a hard fist she knocked the stuffing out of Derion. Now, that only Veiroth was standing up, she called upon dark arcane magic. Black

lightning bolts struck the fields, and she laughed an evil laughter. Veiroth, however, had already charged a powerful fireball, which he unleashed upon Nocturna’s failed lightning attack. She fell backwards, half unconscious, still saying out evil spells. Elana had just gotten to her feet again, and stumbled towards her. She took one of Nocturna’s own black daggers and stabbed her in the chest. The poisoned blade instantly killed the dark witch, who finally stopped squirming. She was dead. The thought of her tempting looks and in a sexy way beautiful body came to Derion’s mind...He felt dizzy not only because of the punch he recieved that broke his nose. He felt guilty. After Elana spoke a few words to Derion, calming him down, they searched her clothing. The three friends found a note when searching the body. The message was obvious: someone was waiting for them in Ranjar. Waiting for them, to kill them. So instead of going to Ranjar, they set course straight north. They were only a few days’ marches away from Midtown. Derion decided to abandon his mission, at least for a while. The empire was in a condition of chaos now, and his employer would have a hard time finding him on Continent. If he was at all alive, that was. They had met travellers on the road bearing rumours that all nobles and the likes had been imprisoned or executed by Wilhelm the Wicked. He was all over the empire, it seemed sometimes as if he had the ability to be two places at the same time. No man would be spared for the news that Wilhelm was the new ruler. Even though some people on the remote islands had rioted, they were quickly put to silence. Derion, however, had other things on his mind. He had started to open his eyes more and more for Elana. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem too interested in him... she had, however, made him start reading those magic books he had bought!

Chapter 2: The chaos within Midtown By ViperE

”PHEW! What’s that smell?” After 14 tiring days of journey, not to mention heart-stopping days of Derion watching Elana trying to learn and use her clerical spells, the party reached the apparently smelly wharves of Midtown. ”I believe it’s the fish, Derion” said Verioth.

”It’s not only that! Look! The whole city is in chaos!” Looking at their entire surrounding, the three could barely see the people and merchants of the city running around since the garbage and litter were scattered all over the pier. ”I say we find an inn to stay for the night before we find ourselves in some dark alley.”, decided Derion. ”I don’t see any other possibility, let’s go.” As they started going through the main streets of the city ”fighting” their way through the crowd, Derion suddenly turned around. ”Where do you think YOU’RE going?” In his hands, Derion lifted an apparently young and short child. ”You weren’t thinking of STEALING the young lady’s purse now, were you?” The young man, frightened by Derion’s strong grip of his neck, stuttered. ”N..N..No...I was just..Y..You see..Well....umm....sorry...I...”. ”Put that boy down, Derion! Can’t you see he is choking?” Elana said suddenly. Derion dragged the boy to a side-street. ”He isn’t choking. He’s just afraid, and he should be.” Derion answered and addressed the boy, ”First, return the lady her purse.” The scared young boy quickly shoved his little hand into his pocket and gave it to Elana. ”Thank you.” Derion loosened his grip on the boy and put him down. ”What is your name, boy?” ”Blan.” ”Alright, Blan. Now, you look like someone familiar with the city. Do you might know some safe place we can spend the night?” It took a few seconds until the boy was back to his senses but then he started to giggle. ”What is so funny?” Derion said with a loud voice. The boy once again was scared a bit and was serious again, ”W..well, you see mister, the only safe place I could direct you to would be a dark alley. If you would put a man with only two silver coins in his purse on the street, I can assure you that when he looks in his purse again he won’t find them there. Nowhere is safe these days in Midtown, you should even be cautious when you sleep at an inn. And all the inns are full because of all the merchants. Merchants come here from all over the continent. We’re famous for our trade!” Said the boy proudly. But the sad look returned to his eyes, ”But that doesn’t make the city any safer.” ”Thank you, Blan, at least now we know with whom we’re dealing in this city. Are you sure you don’t know any inn?” ”DERION! Leave Blan alone! He already told you what he knows and that there isn’t any inn to stay at! We’ll just...” Said Elana but suddenly Blan interrupted her. ”That’s alright, miss. Well, actually I can ask my father if he could help you...But please don’t mention me and your purse!” ”Your father?” Derion wondered. ”Yes. He’s one of the owner of the inns in town. I thought he needed the money. But you’ve got to promise you will not mention the stealing. It’s just that I wanted to have some money for me and my dad so we can survive...” ”Alright. I promise but you better not try that stunt again, Blan, or you might find yourself with a dagger in your heart. My name is Derion, this is Veiroth and his daughter whom you shuold apologize to, Elana.” ”Okay! I apologize and I promise I won’t do such thing again! Come with me, quickly!”

Verioth, Elana and Derion followed the running little boy through side streets as the sun began to set until they reached a house with a sign of an inn on it’s signpost. They entered. The place was filled with people until even the waitresses needed to push their way through the shouting crowd. On one stand there was a juggler and a bard trying to amuse the crowd without much success. The main male crowd was busy looking and whistling at a beautiful waitress who passed once in awhile. ”Thought his father needed the money, eh?” said Derion with a chuckle, ”With a place like this, his father is more than rich.” ”There he is!” Shouted Blan so Derion and his companions could hear him. Blan shoved a few people until he reached a chubby short adult man. ”Father!” ”What is it, Blan? Who are your friends?” Said the man, surprised to see his young boy with two adults and a mighty fine young woman. ”Well father, meet Derion, Veiroth and his daughter, Elana. You three, meet my father, Sedrick.” The whole bunch made acquaintance with each other and then Blan continued. ”Well, I need a favor, father. These three just saved my life”, Blan smiled towards Derion, ”and I promised I’ll find them a place to stay.” ”Well, aren’t you one little trouble-maker? Well, of course. What else can I do for the people who saved my one and only son? Just don’t hang around him much. Wherever he is, there is always trouble.”, Sedrick said with a smile but apparently Blan turned an angry face, ”HEY!” Sedrick continued, ”Well, at the moment I don’t have any vacant rooms but I’m sure someone will leave tonight and you will be the first people to know. Just remain here for tonight.” ”All right. Thank you very much, Sedrick. We really appreciate your help.” Said Elana and Derion simply nodded in agreement like Veiroth. Derion added: ”And we can surely find some rumours about what is going on in an inn. Just what we need. Thanks again.” and the party left to a table nearby leaving Blan with his father. They sat in one of the few empty tables in the end of the room near the barkeeper when they saw a mean looking dwarf rushing into the inn. He sat on a stool near the barkeep. ”Ale, mate!”, it seemed as the dwarf was talking to himself since it was apparent that the barkeep wasn’t listening. However, Derion was. ”I tell ya, this whole cursed city is corrupted!” said the short fellow with a dwarvish accent, ”I was just escapin’ from a cursed mob! I would’ve cut ’em into half, I would! But they were too many! I can’t wait ’till I put my hands on one of them! My sturdy axe would teach them a lesson!”. Derion, hearing the dwarf story stood up and approaced the dwarf, ”I just listened to your story...It seems that your quite familiar with this town.”. The dwarf drew his attention to Derion, ”Nay, mate. I’m new to this damned town just like you.” ”Wait, how do you know I’m new to this town?” demanded Derion. ”Calm down, mate. It’s too obvious. Who would wear his sword out in public when its hilt is made of glitterin’ gold.” ”Sorry, I just wanted to be cautious. Too many strange things happened to me lately.” ”Aye. Cautious is a good thin’. Well, are these two friends of yours? They’re listenin’ to the conversation like they were in it.” ”Yes they are. They accompanied me through my journey here. Who are you then? Tell me your

story. My name is Derion, and these two are Veiroth and Elana.” ”Alright. My nam’ is Bralox. Came from Muun-Raklin, I did. We heard that someone killed one of our dwarves here so I was sent checking it out.” ”Did you say you came from Muun-Raklin? My family sword was smithed there by a dwarf long ago. Observe Myrion!”, Derion pulled Myrion from its sheath and placed it in front of the old dwarf. ”Myrion! ’tis truly the legendary sword? Every dwarf knows about this sword! It was forged by the famous Myrius! It is said that whoever hold this sword will find gold and glory.” ”Well, it passed through my family for generetions but I did find some gold though.”, Derion smiled, ”And I could use some glory.” ”Me too, mate! Here, you wouldn’t want it to be stolen, put it back in it’s sheath.”, and Derion quickly returned Myrion to it’s sheath and called Veiroth and Elana to come closer. ”Well, the three of us could use some help with what is going on through the realm. We know that Logan the Bald lost his throne and some guy named Wilhelm took over the whole breadbasket. Anymore information you can supply?” ”Aye, that lame Wilhelm is good for nuthin’ or so I heard. I was told that he treats the whole people as cattle. Does whatever he wants with them, he does. Heard he is a magician but very strong also for a magician. I hope that Logan would put this pig back to his place and take his throne back. Ever since Wilhelm seized the throne our trade with Davonkeep had gone downhill, it did.” ”Do you know if Logan is alive?”, said Veiroth anxiously. ”Well, heard he was killed while tryin’ to escape. But then again those are only rumours. From what I know about those street urchins, they can invent any rumour and spread it. Those brats.” ”Curses!”, said Veiroth with an angry expression, ”If he is alive, I’m sure we can make the people to follow him and rebel against that evil Wilhelm.” ”We?”, wondered Derion. ”Yes, well me and Elana but we would be glad if you would help us. Like I said, my family supported Logan for years...And a well-trained swordsman would really come in handy...” replied Veiroth, then Bralox interrupted: ”And a well-trained dwarf I believe would also come in handy...” With a surprised expression, the three looked at Bralox, ”Y..Your help would really be appreciated but...why?” ”Well, lad, when I looked into the assassination of our brother dwarf, I found out after talkin’ to alot of people and getting kicked out of many places that the assassin was actually someone from Davonkeep. That’s where I’m going next so I thought I’d join you.”, explained Bralox. ”Fantastic! That would be even better, shorty!” said Derion with a laugh. ”HEY! DON’T EVER CALL ME ”SHORTY”! PEOPLE LOST THEIR HEAD AFTER CALLING ME THAT! WE’RE DWARVES! GOT IT, LAD?” yelled the small fellow. ”Sure, I apologize.” Elana just smiled towards the dwarf and gave Derion a kind of disappointed look. ”Well, I guess I have no other choice but to join you. Like Bralox here said, those who hold Myrion destined for gold and glory...I hope I can find those in Davonkeep.” said Derion. ”Hey let’s go, I see Sedrick signing us. I guess there are rooms available. Now we might need another room.” mentioned Veiroth with a smile.

Chapter 3: Journey for Davonkeep By TVPR

They started on the road to Davonkeep the next day. They could follow the roads now, not having to make their way trough the forest. This made their journey easier, but it made them more exposed to attacks from any enemies as well. It was on the bridge crossing the river Sunstream it happened. A band of mercenaries, both human and trolls, ambushed them. The party was just on the middle of the bridge, when a troop of humans blocked both the enttrances. At the same time, four trolls came over the railing of the bridge. ”Lookie lookie, Boon! A dwarf-guy!” One of them yelled. The troll called Boon replied: ”Yeah! Garf, should we kill him too? He looks funny!” ”What do you think, shorty?”, Garf said, obviously talking to Bralox. Bralox looked as if someone had just driven a spear up his ass. ”Nobody, I say NOBODY calls me ”SHORTY”! Especially no’ a big goof like yerself!!!!!” He grabbed his axe, and whacked the right arm off the big troll. Looking rather suprised at the arm just lying there, Garf was as if paralyzed. But only for a few seconds. He and the other trolls started pounding the friends. It was a fierce battle indeed. Still, with Veiroth casting spells, Bralox slashing with his axe, Derion swinging Myrion, and Elana healing her friends while trying to defend herself with Nocturna’s poisoned daggers, they managed to fend off the trolls. As the last troll fell off the bridge, the humans on the far side of the bridge stormed against our friends. With weapons ready, Derion and his companions finished most of them off in a blast. There were however a few archers left, but they were too far away to do any real damage. They didn’t come any closer either, in fear of these strange people who had just defeated a large party of trained mercenaries. Now Derion ran towards the other end of the bridge, totally catching the humans standing there by suprise. It became a slaughter that would even scare Therak, the god of death and damnation, out of his spiked bone armour. Except for the archers, there were no survivors of the mercenaries who had been waiting for them, guarding the road to Davonkeep. The wounds they had obtained were not too big for Elana and Veiroth to handle, as they combined powers. Finally, the four friends got away from the bridge, and soon, they reached the largest city in the empire. A real jewel of cities. The capital founded by the dwarfen ruler Davon aeons ago. They had reached Davonkeep. Even though he had seen the other major cities in the world before, Derion had never visited Davonkeep. It was really amazing. Its immense size, wealth and population made it attracive both to traders, adventurers, mercenaries, but most of all: criminals. Crime in Davonkeep was so out of control that even the ruthless count Wilhelm had given up on it. However, things were actually turning to the better. The increased number of public executions lately had contributed strongly to this. The first part they came to was the slave market. There were most goblins and dwarves here. The goblins as both slaves and slavers, the dwarves as rich mine-owners and merchants looking for cheap workforce. They stopped for a second to look at an auction. ”Going’a once! Going’a twice! SOLD, to da gentleman on da sixth ro-o-ow!” The goblin slaver cried. ”now for dis’a true stud of a wurkman! Fi-i-inest breed of a golden goblin’se from Ogre

Mountains! Dis’a fi-i-ine wurkah is used to fendin’ off da ogres! Start’n da biddin’ at onley 500 Empereurs!” Bralox immideately shouted up ”550 Emp’ras!” The slaver looked disappointed. ”550 Empereurs from shortey in da back. C’mon peeple, this fi-iine wurkah for only 550? Pleeeeeseh!” The dwarves started mumbling, some of them growled, and walked away. ”650!” yelled some elf in the back Derion grabbed a hold of their dwarven friend before he went berserk on the slave market. They left before the slaver insulted Bralox utterly. One of the goblin slaves running next to his wood elf master bumped into Derion. The elf didn’t notice his little slave was missing, because he was approximately 1,5 meters taller than the goblin. Derion grabbed a hold of the goblin, desperately trying to catch up with his master. ”And why are you in such a hurry, little man? Show me your hands, now!” The goblin was too terrified by the though of what would happen if is master found out he was missing, to care the slightest bit what this big, strong human was babbeling about. ”I said: Show me your hands!” No response. ”You little thief!” Derion cried, lifted the goblin straight up above his head and shouted to him: ”Whatever you stole, give it back now, or I’ll drop you!” Finally, the goblin came to his senses. It took some time, but when he first came around, he REALLY came around. The comical character opened his hands, slammed his eyes wide open, and started screaming like a stuck pig. ”Derion! Release the little creature this instant!” Elana was more than angry with Derion now. She felt a special love for creatures smaller and more fragile than herself. ”Derion! Do it!” Mumbling, he put the little guy down. Finally, he stopped screaming, cleared his throat, and spoke up. ”Yo’e.... yo’e won’t a hurt me?” ”No, little friend, we won’t hurt you” Elana said softly. ”Ah, thenk yo. Noblin gatta ran now. My master is a’ gone!” ”You’re free now. If he comes back for you, we’ll protect you.” ”Thenk yo, fair leddey!” The goblin kneeled down to Elana. ”Yo be new master! Noblin da Goblin is a’ for yer servisse!” With their new... slave in the group, they started walking around Davonkeep. They were searching for the large underground temples. They had used to be inhabited by guilds of dark elves before the fall of emperor Logan. Now, the dark elves had surfaced, and roamed the city spreading terror wherever they went. And with the new ruler’s blessing. Anyway, the light elves were now the outcast ones, and they had taken shelter in these temples. And accidentaly, Noblin’s previous master had symphatized with some of these light elves. He showed the party down into the sewers, and after several hours with a foul stench surrounding them, they reached a grating in the wall. Noblin himself had never gone trough the grate, but had several times stood guard outside it while his master was inside. It was locked. The metal was too tough for even Myrion to cut. Actually, the lock itself was too well protected by stone for Derion to be able to use the sword properly. Suddenly, out of

nowhere, a fireblast blowed the lock open. Nobody understood what had happened. Except perhaps for Veiroth. The mage was just one big smile. They went in. The channel narrowed in at the end, but they got trough rather easily. They didn’t want to think about how the 2,5 meter tall elf must have struggeled to get trough. They were in a large hallway. It was dark all around them, and not even a ”Light”-spell from Veiroth made it any brighter. They concluded with that strong magical forces controlled everything around them. Suddenly, it was a great white flash of light, and the hallway was bathed in the light from thousands of torches. Before them Derion, Veiroth, Elana, Bralox and Noblin saw an impressive sight. Hundreds of elven soldiers, all dressed in the imperial white and silver colours, with shiny metal armour, helmets and shield were standing. Their silver spears were more than impressive. Another light elf, shorther than the others, and with no armour or weapons, came out of the crowd. He was apparently their leader or something, as all the others bowed their heads when he looked at them. His voice was more like a powerful roar, much more impressive than his figure. ”Who are you, intruders?” ”My name is Derion. These are...” he was interrupted by Veiroth. ”My name is Veiroth the Wrathful, and this is my daughter, Elana! And who are you, dressing in the holy colours of the everlasting palace of Briskeby?” ”Ah, a righteous one. And you have got quite a company with you. A dwarf, a goblin, a human mercenary... and of course your beautiful daughter. Very well, you may enter our temple.” Derion looked as if he had fallen down from a mountain. ”How did you know...” ”That you are a mercenary? Well, you said your name, didn’t you? And I can see you’re carrying the legendary Myrion. You have quite a reputation in the empire allready. And after killing the great evil witch Nocturna, and then defeating Wilhelms hired killers at the Sunstream Bridge, you are not only well known, but also feared amongst the evil. It would be wise to hide for a while. Keep a low profile. Word has it that you have a price on your head. A high one. By the way, my name is Flacson” After a good meal and some sleep, the party sat down and were informed of what had happened in Davonkeep after the fall of the emperor. All the light elves in the city had either seeked shelter in the large underground temples, like this one, or they had fled to the Light Woods. The emperor was alive, but wounded. It would take time to heal him, but he was burning with hate inside. Hate towards the evil that had taken his throne, and was tyrranizing the realms. Flacson spoke. ”We are only a small fraction of the elves still left in town. We are maybe ten thousand all together. It may seem much to you, Derion, but in Davonkeep, ten thousand men could go fully armed trough the core of the city unnoticed. There are just so many people here. To compare, the dark elves were fifteen thousand before the emperor’s fall. Still, they were far from many enough to pose any real threath to him. However, with one and a half million citizens in the back, plus tens of thousands ogres, trolls and dark elves from east on Continent, they suddenly were a force to be reckoned with. I just don’t know why the townsmen and women would rage against Logan. And to help a crook like Wilhelm to power! It just doesn’t make any sense!” They spent some days in the underground temple before heading out again. They had now a quest to fulfill. They had swore to the light elves that they would find an Exalted one. These humanoid creatures were really special. They were the only ones with sufficient knowledge to train

archmages. They had magical powers that surpassed even Veiroth’s wildest imaginations. Nobody knew wheter these Exalted were good or evil. Everything they did, they did for their own inscrutinable purposes. Now it was up to our friends to find one, and convince him to help in the inavoidable battle for the throne. Logan was furious, and he had nearly one hundred thousand light elves, dwarves and other rebels under his command. Wilhelm controlled all the evil forces around the world, and was a powerful mage himself as well as a great swordfighter. Even a child could tell there would be a battle. Logan would do everything to get his throne back, and Wilhelm would do anything to defend it. After granting the disappointed Noblin his freedom, they started travelling towards Rhewind. In this city on the freezing island of Snoo, it was said that there lived one of the Exalted. There were only seven Exalted ones in the world. Derions party did not know which one of the exalted that lived on this island, but he suspected it to be one of the young ones. Chapter 4: The evil of Rhewind... By JoKeR

The party travelled for many days and on the fourth day they came to an old harbour named Tamtike, from there they were going to travel to Rhewind. It seemed as if there were no people in the harbour. The only living things they saw was some hungry dogs and a couple of bums but suddenly they saw a house right by the water, they walked up to the door and knocked gently on it. A old man came and opened the door. ”Turn around while you still can, you fools, there is great evil on Rhewind, really GREAT evil!!!!”, he warned them. They just stood there and looked at the old man with a very weird beard, but after a while Derion spoke: ”We must get to Rhewind and look for one of the Exalted ones. Please help us find a captain, and don't tell us about some evil threats because we have already witnessed enough evil so far. I doubt it that something can terrify us now.” This time it was the old man's turn to look totally shocked but he was soon back to his senses and said: ”Ok, i will take you to the island for 50 emperors, not less and definetely not more......” Veiroth smiled towards the old man and replied: ”I think we have a deal here. Here’s your money.” Right after the man received the gold coins he started to chew on them just to make sure that the gold coins were real. The old man continued. ”Great. We have a deal, but I won't be waiting for you there, even if you plan on returning...Because you won’t return from that awful place. That place contains terrible demons that have already teared this whole harbour apart so don't expect anything. I have warned you.” They looked at each other and they all shared the same thought...That this man was totally insane. Later that very day the old man took them to his boat and told them to wait for him on deck After about an hour or so, the ferry finally reached the island city Rhewind. The old sea-dog let them off the ship quickly and then sailed back to the mainland. Derion and Veiroth looked at the departing ship and wondered, what the heck the man was teriffied of, on

this island. Suddenly Elana yelled: ”Come quickly!!! OVER HERE!!!!!!!!” They ran near her and she pointed at the southwest beach shore. It was full of hundreds of skeletons. Obviously human ones. ”Tha’s awful!!! Skeletons of humans! They’re quite fresh!” Shouted Bralox. Elana, as the weakstomach as she was, turned away and puked when she realized that it was fresh human bones. Veiroth and Derion just stood there watching the ground and had quite an eery feeling themselves. Veiroth tried to brighten the situation, and said with one breath: ”Let's all take it slow, their is no need to be afraid of whatever have killed all these people. What I mean is, if it was alive it would have finished us off directly on the beach, right?” Everyone stared at him the same way they stared at the old man before. Veiroth just laughed and felt kind of silly for his completely hysterical and insane speech just a moment earlier. He personally thought that this beasts, that had slain all these people, was waiting for them in the icy forest. Just waiting for them to make one careless step so it could catch them and kill them in a yell with his strong attack skills. Derion tried to take command and to organize the party. ”We must be very careful if we want to find this Exalted. If he’s survived all his life here, we should at least last fora couple of days. That means that we’ll have more then enough time to find him. Who knows, maybe he can help us slay this beast that are terrorizing the villagers on this island and in that old harbour.” Elana replied with a scared shout: ”What villagers are you talking about Derion, can't you see they are all dead? Don’t you understand?? DEAD!!! I think this Exalted one is dead too and there is no chance that we will survive this horror, even if we do manage to slay that beast. Let me remind you that we have no boat to sail away from this awful island.” Veiroth tried to calm them down. ”Now calm down everybody.” Derion continued: ”As Veiroth said, I think we should all just calm down. I suggest that we head into the forest right away to find this Exalted. Everybody agree?” Everyone nodded. And so, the party headed out of the icy and cold landscape and into the woods. They saw a half rotten sign hanging by a tree. It said: Left: The village, Right: The elders resting place. Veiroth decided that it was best to head for the village because they had been travelling far and might want to get something to eat in the village. They walked for about half an hour or so when they finally managed to reach it. There were only two streets in the village and about six houses on each side. All the houses were deserted. Broken signs and doors were hanging loose and made squeaky noises everytime the wind blew. To the right, there was a big house that must have been a tavern when the village was still alive. They walked up to the tavern and noticed a big claw print that had been etched into the door. They quickly assumed that it must have been a very large creature of somekind that has done this. Bralox told the rest of the party that he was a expert in the etching area and convinced them that this had to be a fake claw print because no animal that he had studied in his youth had this huge claws.

Veiroth opened the door and everyone walked in. When he was going to shut the door again it just fell off and landed on the floor. Derion and Bralox decided that they could search through the main floor while Elana and Veiroth could search through the second for food and anything else of valuable. And of course, for any survivors. Elana and Veiroth searched all the guest rooms on the second floor but there weren’t even any corpses, even less furniture there Just as if nobody ever been to this village. Derion and Bralox didn't have any luck either. The only thing the found was some old rotten bread that was lying in a wrecked cabinet. Elana and Veiroth went downstairs and they all met up at the main entrance. They told each other of their fruitless search, but then, suddenly, Veiroth said with an excited voice: ”There must be a cellar here somewhere in this house, all houses have one, maybe there is some survivors down there and maybe even some food!” Everyone looked at Veiroth. and then they all split up and started to search for an entrance to a cellar. They looked for about two hours, and finally, they reached the conclusion that there was no cellar in the tavern. They went to the kitchen to share the old bread when suddenly Bralox sat down on a chair. He accidently fell off the chair and landed on an old carpet. Everyone heard a weird noise when he landed on the carpet, it sounded hollow. Bralox stood up and removed it from the floor. Under the carpet was an old wooden door that led right down through the floor. Everyone’s faces shined up when they realized that Bralox had found the cellar entrance. They entered the cold and damp cellar. It was totally dark and the only sound they heard was some kind of scratchy sound as if someone was crawling around on the floor nearby. They explored the cellar after their eyes became set for the darkness , but to lighten things up Elana cast a ”light” spell from her magic book. The scratching sounds came closer and closer and suddenly a huge beast jumped them. It looked like some kind of a huge rat mixed with a lizard. They were all thrown away by it. Veiroth shouted: ”Run! I shall take care of this beast! Run!!!” They went back to a safe distance only to see the beast attacking Veiroth. Veiroth shouted again: ”You shalt DIE, you unholy beast, even if it would be the last thing I would do in my life.” And when those word have strucked his lips the beast injected its huge claws through Veiroths body. Veiroth just smiled. ”You have just made your last mistake!”, he shouted, while mumbling a few, obviously magical words, and suddenly, Veiroth glowed with red for a moment...Elana started crying and yelling: ”NO FATHER NO!!! IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS, SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING, HE IS ABOUT TO SACRIFICE HIS LIFES FOR US, PLEASE FATHER, NO!!!”...and a huge fireball burst from Veiroth’s fingertips. The fireball hit the beast only inches near him and the blast caused both the beast and himself to disappear in the red hot fire. The whole room was lighten up as the fireball had struck the beast and Veiroth. Only ashes were left of the two. However, the fire was about to spread throughout the whole room. Bralox, Derion and Elana looked shocked at the place both the beast and Veiroth stood moments ago. Bralox and Derion both knew that it was too late and both just reached out for Elana’s hand and dragged her out of the burning room. The three escaped from the flames, which spread around the whole tavern.

When Elana replied that she had calmed down she took Derion’s hand and hugged him as she wept. They all stood in a ring and prayed for the safety of Veiroth’s soul. Finally, when it seemed as if they could continue their planned journey, they understood something. They weren’t outside of the tavern at all. They saw that they were in a warm cosy forest and suddenly it striked them. They were back on the mainland. Obviously some magic was involved. Derion guessed that they were in the nothernmost areas of Continent. It was a place where not many people visited because of the tough terrain. When they looked at their surrounding they saw a house that was almost like a little tree house and was covered in strong colors as blue, purple and yellow. Bralox said: ”This doesn't feel right, just think on what happened to Veiroth.....” No one replied to Bralox, they just continued walking because they all thought to themselves that nothing can get any worse than it already is. They had no food or water, and this was their only chance. They knocked on the door and a man that was at the age of thirty or higher opened it. ”Strangers! Here? How can that be? Is it possible YOU have slained the beast that was living in the tunnels?” The man said with a shocked look on his face. ”Yes. We have.” answered Derion with a stable voice but with sad look on his face as he continued: ”We have neither food nor water, and our friend just died all because of this stupid quest on some Exalted guy that doesn't seem to exist.” ”Oh he doesn't exist you say? Well, I am most certain that he exists because you are standing right in front of him, you see. I am Varmont the Exalted”, he said and smiled. He let them in and showed them his guest room where they could get some sleep during the night. After he had put them to bed with some food and water in their rooms, he sat down in his big chair and continued reading his magic book.

Chapter 5: Another Journey Ahead By ViperE

Derion woke up when the sunlight stroke his eyes.

He was in a large and well-furnished room. On the nightstand beside his bed was a burned candle and breakfast. Remembering the last dreadful night, he stood up quickly. In the room, were also all his companions, Bralox and Elana...Well, almost all his companions... Seeing the broad daylight from the windows he woke up his two friends... Everyone, trying to forget the horror of the last day had grim faces...Especially Elana who didn’t speak at all. They readied they’re equipment who was lying beside each of their beds and start to walk towards their meeting with Varmont the Exalted. As they opened the living room door of the tree-house, they found Varmont on his chair again reading from a magic book with golden stripes on it. ”Ah. Good. You woke up.” ”I wish I hadn’t...”, replied Derion with a cold voice. Elana stared at him with sorrowful look. ”That’s what I would like to understand. Tell me your story, young ones. And how you defeated the beast of the tunnels.” ”NAY!”, yelled Bralox, ”I thin’ you owe US some answe’s after all we’f been throug’!” ”Very Well. Ask what you wish. You found me which isn’t such an easy task to accomplish and thus I shall give you the information you seek.”, replied Varmont with a calm voice. ”Firstly, that beast who roamed the tunnel and slew a whole village...What is it? Are YOU responsible for her being there?”, Derion said. ”No. That beast had been there from ancient times. Once, it was a guardian of the magnificent city Rhewind. But after the magician who summoned the beast died, the beast couldn’t live with his loss and thus terrorized the whole island. She still lived there until that very day...You have seen her..and slew her.” ”But why didn’t you or someone else of the Exalted destroy the beast with your powers??”, Derion said angrily, ”Like you said, it killed many people for many years.” ”My powers do not exist just for the likings of the world or it’s people. The great power was given to each one of the exalted in order to fight the ultimate evil only. And....well, I can’t give you any further information. Some secrets are supposed to REMAIN as secrets...” ”You slimes!”, Elana yelled suddenly. Her first squeak the whole day, ”You arrogant fools! People died to protect PEOPLE. My father died! He sacrificed his life in the quest to find you. By the monster you didn’t WANT to kill!” ”You understood me wrong, Elana. Me not killing the beast wasn’t done out of cruelty. It was done to fight stronger monsters and evil in the future. I prefer saving millions of people in the near future then to save thousands of people now.”, said Varmont with a calm voice once more. It seemed that Elana understood... and... agreed. ”Wait. How do you know my name? And you said saving people in the near-future...” ”I know all of your names, Elana, Derion and Bralox...even your father Veiroth. I know many things. As for the saving of people, yes. It will happen soon, if no one will be there to prevent it. I believe you are already involved in this and know what it is about. It is one of Kaardeon, god of evil, greatest creations.”, said Varmont. His calmness disappeared as he said the last sentence. ”And this leads us to our point of being here.”, said Derion, ”There has been a revolt against...”

”Logan the Bald. Yes. That I know.” Said Varmont. ”I also know that Wilhelm has made the evil creatures come out of their holes and they’re already starting to spread across the land.” ”Yes. But Logan has escaped and is alive. The only support he has is of the light elves, the wood elves and the dwarves I believe. But it would be hard to unite all of them together...Unnoticed.”, said Derion, ”Flacson, Leader of Davonkeep’s Light elves had sent us to find you. We think that you might help us getting rid of the evil that roams Davonkeep.” ”....which means the final battle will soon come...”, mumbled Varmont. ”Final battal’?”, asked Bralox. ”Nevermind. ’tis not in your ability to understand. The state of the world is in the right place for the Exalted to appear. Very well. I will join you. But remember, I will not use my strong powers or spells. Like I said, I need to reserve them for...the right time.” ***************************************************** The group reached the campfires in the night. ”There they are...Well, at least to what Flacson told me...”, said Derion. ”And this is where the light elves guard Logan the Bald?” asked Varmont with curiousity. ”I belief soo”, said Bralox, ”For wha’ other reason would there be so many elves in one damned plac’??” ”Alright. Let’s continue.” said Derion and mentioned for the other members to follow him. They continued their way passing tree by tree and suddenly 6 elves appeared like out of nowhere. ”What business do you have with the elves of the Light woods, strangers?”, the man, who obviously was an elf, asked suspiciously. ”We have business with Logan the Bald. We were sent by Flacson, Leader of the Light Elves of Davonkeep.”, replied Derion with a stern voice. ”Follow me then.” said the elf and started walking towards the campfires with the other elves behind him keeping an eye on the group. They were escorted trough the campfires. When they looked at the campfires from afar it seemed as there were ”only” a few hundreds of elves...But when they got closer, it was obvious that there were more than a few hundreds...A few thousands was more like it. Next, they were led to the only cabin in the area. When they entered the cabin they saw about 25 elves surrounding someone. A ”path” between the elves was created and revealed a tall and bald human sitting on a chair with a stern look on his face. It was Logan the Bald. ”Your majesty, these people claimed they were sent by Leader Flacson and have urgent business with you.”, stated the light elf who led the party. ”Bring them closer and let them speak.”, said Logan with a demanding voice while the entire party looked amazed by their meeting with the former emperor of Tja. Though Varmont, unregularly for what the group heard about the Exalted, was more nervous than before and looked suspicously on all of the people in the room. Derion stepped closer and spoke, ”Your majesty, me and my companions have visited Davonkeep some time ago and were sent on a mission by Flacson, the leader of Davonkeep’s light elves, to a mission in finding an exalted. To his statements, the Exalted are the only ones who can help you

in returning your rightful place as the emperor and to help the entire world in getting rid of the evil that now roams Davonkeep.” ”You speak truth. Flacson has contacted me and told me to expect you, Derion, Elana, Bralox and...Veiroth, I assume?”, asked Logan. Elana stepped closer, ”No. It is not my father, Veiroth. My father died while trying to save us from a horrible beast. The man that stands infront of your majesty now is Varmont the Exalted.” Varmont seemed to be a bit uncomfortable when he was introduced but he quickly stepped forward, ”I am here for your service.” Logan spoke, ”Good. It seems you have found one that can help us save the world from evil...” ”I intend only to help you defeat the evil. Not more.”, said Varmont with his usual calm voice. ”That is all I ask out of you. But before we go out and rush into the open lion’s mouth we should do a bit research about the lion. We need to know about the cursed Wilhelm and his dark elves’s plans.” Derion took the leadership and said, ”Plans? How are we supposed to find out about his plans, your majesty?” ”Well, it is known that the dark elves are now helping Wilhelm but it was also always known that except living under Davonkeep, some of them also live in the dark woods of Dartook and some even live under Dartook.” ”Yes. I have heard about it. Every child has heard horrible stories about the elves of Dartook...And how are we supposed to get in there?? I don’t assume we’ll have so much of a welcome from them...”, asked Derion. ”Well, that is for you to think of...and that’s why Varmont will join you. I only want to know what they are planning...Then we could go and finish off Wilhelm.” Varmont suddenly interrupted, ”Well...ur...erm...I don’t think it is such a good idea...The dark elves are known for their discretion and I don’t think they’ll welcome us too much.” ”But we do not have any option, do we? We need to know what they’re planning to do before we finish them off.”, explained Logan. ”Very well, my liege. I shall get those plans for you.”, said Derion and Elana agreed and continued, ”I will do my best also, my lord. My father and his ancestors have served your family for generation. And so will I.” ”Coun’ me in also!”, yelled Bralox from behind. After the 4 agreed to perform the mission, the sun set and they were given places to stay for the night. Nightmares came to Derion’s head that night... Chapter 6: Sheep in wolves clothing By TVPR

At sunrise, the party was wakened by a mighty yell from close by. Derion and Elana were scared stiff, while Varmont looked around with a confused look in his eyes. Bralox, however, laughed when he saw the others reactions. “Chill duwn, mates! ‘Tis only what you’d call a “wake-up call”! Elves do this every morning, ‘tis an old tradition. They climb some high tree, and start yellin’ like crazey!”

After recovering from the shock, they had a breakfast worthy an emperor. But then again, it was just an emperor’s table they were eating at. While eating, nobody said a word. They were too concerned about how to become accepted by the dark elves. Some hours later, they all found themselves in the northern parts of the Light Woods. They had been riding some Dushtails, the incredibly fast mounts of the elven people. From there, they boarded a ship, which brought them to Sadra. Derion shivered a bit when they spotted the contours of Sadra in the distance, knowing that no man that hired a mercenary who failed in his mission would be happy until that very merc was dead. Then he remembered that with him, he had a battle-weary dwarf, a powerful Exalted, a beautiful cleric, and himself. And on his left side, he carried Myrion. He suddenly felt much more secure. As they went ashore, a small army destined to finish them off wasn’t expecting them. They were there, but they weren’t expecting anyone. Dead men usually don’t. The island of Sadra was no longer the tropical paradise Derion had left behind. There was no longer any jungle on the island. The huge mansion that had housed his empoyer was gone as well. Instead, the island was bathed in a stench of blood, death and destruction. The jungle lay in ashes, all that was left of the mansion was the massive walls surrounding it. Corpses in different grades of rot were lying all around them. There was no longer any happy, uplifting tunes from the little birds in the air. The vultures were the only birds on the island now. Elana, as usual, turned around and puked, as did Varmont. Derion and Bralox, however, were a bit hardened by what had met them on the shores of Snoo. The party decided after a while to search the ruins of the enormous mansion that used to be there. They had little luck. All they found, was an altar in the middle of the ruins. On it laid a naked skeleton. The bones had allready started to whiten a little, but a black sign was still clearly visible in the forehead of the skull. A tripple W, the sign of Wilhelm the Wicked, was engraved there. Derion suggested that this man, judging from the size and shape of the skeleton an old man, was his former employer. Elana cast a “revive past” spell upon Derion, allowing him to see what had happened. Afterwards, Derion told the others everything. “This man, my former employer, refused to aknowledge Wilhelm as ruler of Tja. As a reaction to this, Wilhelm sent his troops to the islands. The battle was furious, as you all can see from the state of the island itself. In the end, this poor man had been captured. Wilhelm himself made him watch as his entire island was burned to the ground, whereafter he had burned his sign into the mans forehead, undressed him, tied him to this stone altar and sacrificed him to some great evil god. After that, it all got blurry, but there was someone else there as well... I couldn’t quite see his face, but he was obviously VERY old!” “Maybe...” Elana started, “maybe it was one of the Exalted? It’s quite possible, considering how fast Wilhelm has gained power, and how the townsmen turned against Logan. Perhaps he has hired one of the Exalted to aid him in his battle for evil?” Derion shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. What do you think, Varmont?” “Do you really want to know what I think? I think we get away from this place. I think you people think too much. I think we should concentrate on our mission.”

And so they did. They had a plan on how to get over to Dartook. There was no way for a boat to set people ashore on Dartook, unless it docked in the harbour there. As the only boat the party had available was filled with a crew of light elves, that was not an option. Hence, they’d have to find a boat on Sadra, or they’d have to swim. As there clearly was no boats left on this island, they swam. Elana and Bralox stayed behind on Sadra, and with good reason. Elana’s whole appearance was crying out loud “hello, I’m a very nice person”, and Bralox was a dwarf. None of them would fit in among the dark elves. Varmont was the one who made it possible to swim, by casting a spell on himself and Derion, allowing them to swim for miles without getting tired. It was night by the time they got over to Dartook. They went ashore very close to a dark elven encampment, and changed to dark robes as soon as they had reached the woods. The robes hid their head very nice, so noone should see their faces. Or more important, their ears. As elves had very distinct, sharp ears. This alone would have given them away wiithout the robes. The other nice thing with these robes was that it made them look like someone important, so that no dark elf without a great deal of power would dare asking them embarrasing questions like “what are you doing here”, or “why do you want to know that”. The third thing was that with these robes, nobody could see their weapons. Derion carried a short sword (he had left Elana to guard Myrion. He was afraid to give it to Bralox, because he wasn’t sure if the dwarf would let him have the shiny sword back) and a wooden shield, while Varmont carried a magical staff. They reached the encampment near midnight. All the elves were sitting around under the trees, obviously rather bored with the whole situation. Derion went over to one of them, and asked him why they were all lying around, doing nothing useful? He got no response from the elf, who didn’t even look at him. “Do you know at all who I am, soldier?” “Please, sir. I’m not any of your soldiers. I’m just a scout. We all are. After Kingbolt and Wilfred came here, there are no soldiers left on Dartook. You should know that, officer and all.” “Uh... right. Of course. I was just told that one of my legions had made camp in this area, instead of going north. Anyway, why are you all lying around?” “Sir, there’s nothing to do for a scout nowadays. After Wilhelm, Wilfred and Kingbolt took over, they got to know anything they wanted without utilizing us scouts. Now would you please go somewhere else, sir? I’m very busy boring myself to death.” Varmont had gone over to some high-ranking elf and started talking too himm in the meantime. As Derion got closer, Varmont raised his voice, and quickly said to the elf: “Very well then, captain. Thank you for your help. I wish you and your men good luck in this mission of yours.” Derion wondered if he had found out anything, but unfortunately, he hadn’t. “The captain said he and his men were out on a mission to guard the coat so noone could launch a sneak attack on the military camps in the middle of the island. They are giving their soldiers very good training here, I understand. But we have a mission, now don’t we? Let’s get moving! I think we should try to get to the administrative center of this island right away. They surely have some information for us there. Hurry, there is no time to lose! Remember, emperor Logan is counting on us!”

The two reached the city of Dartook the next morning. Adapting to the ways of the dark elves, they located an inn and went to sleep during the day. Most high-ranking dark elves didn’t sleep at night, but in the daytime. As did all dark elves with much spare time. The next evening, they woke up and stepped outside. The city with the same name as the island it was located on was not recognizeable from that very same morning. Then, it was very quiet, with just a few elves walking around in the street. Now, thousands upon thousands of dark elves and evil wood elves were struggling to get to wherever they were going. Varmont led the way, and Derion followed. After some time, they managed to get to a tavern. The “Twitty Snicker” was not as crowded as many other taverns Derion had visited, and definately not as crowded as the other taverns in town had to be. The reason was simple: in this bar, only officers, assassins and other important persons were allowed. The reason Derion and Varmont got in was their robes. And maybe some sorcery on Varmonts behalf, as he whispered some words to the bouncer. They found an empty table, and ordered a drink. Some minutes later, a big brute of an elf came and sat down with them. The elf and Varmont exchanged looks, and Varmont excused himself and left the table. Derion had a long conversation with Blubber, as his name turned out to be. He didn’t get much information he could use, but he was hoping Varmont had more luck, wherever he was now. After an hour or so, Blubber fell asleep. Varmont returned, and asked Derion to come with him. They left the tavern, and went back to the inn. Varmont was very quiet, but it seemed as if he wanted to leave the island as fast as possible. They went back to the place they had walked ashore. Just as they dropped their robes to the ground, some elves stepped out of the forests. They were not dark elves, they skin was too bright. Derion decided that they had to be a band of the many wood elves that had turned to evil, and travelled over to Dartook. Their leader raised his bow against Derion. “I know what you have been doing, and with whom you have spoken! We have been watching you! I despise you for your betrayal! Die, traitors to our worthy cause!” Just as the arrow left the bow, Derion’s shield was up. He was a lousy shooter for a wood elf, as the arrow didn’t even penetrate the wooden shield completely. His friends drew some shiny blades, which they wielded with great confidence. Varmont obviously didn’t like them at all, and with just a single blast from his staff, the whole group was obliverated. Much to Derions relief, as he was certain he wouldn’t have lasted very long with his short sword against these obviously experienced swordfighters. They packed their equipment, and Varmont cast the same spell on them as he did before they left Sadra. Soon, the burned-out island was within sight again. As the first sunrays showed over the horizon, the four travellers were together again. Chapter 7: Varmont’s secret By JoKeR

They summoned the elven ship that had brought them there, and immediately started traveling away from Sadra. During the journey back to Continent, Elana walked up to Derion. She was concerned for Varmont, he had started getting stranger and stranger since they left Sadra. He had

started to mumbling to himself, and when she had talked to him about Logan, he mumbled something about him being merely a pawn in a much larger ”game”... Varmont thought of his travelling companions. Those pathetic fools! To think that they could stop Kingbolt on such a ridiculios way... their only hope was him, still they treated him with no respect. They hadn’t even figured out that Kingbolt existed, still he could wipe them out before they reached the Light Woods. Derion yelled over to Varmont: ”Get over here Varmont, don't stand over there, all alone in the shadows! Come, enjoy the sun, the fresh sea air!” Varmont snartled agressive as an answer and walked forward to them. When they could see the southern parts of Davonkeep, they decided to set ashore. Derions plan was to spy on Wilhelm himself. He wanted to investigate where he had guards around the castle, and then return to Logan to tell him everything that he knew. Then they could plan how many men the would have to take with them in the final battle against Wilhelm. Finally they reached Briskeby, the place were Wilhelm was supposed reside these days. It had really changed since their last visit to the city. The walls were fully metal plated, and there were a whole garrison of dark elves outside. Bralox and Derion had the same thought, it must have been Wilhelm's idea. This man obviously believed everyone to be an enemy. As they were trying to get back to the woods without being noticed, they had to go through Davonkeep itself. It was people everywhere in the city, they walked everywhere and shouted like maniacs. It was a really weird city these days, things didn’t seem all right. On the sidewalk they saw a man wearing a cloak, but the hood hid his face. Elana walked forward to the man, and he just said without looking at them: ”Sit down and listen, friends, I shall tell you the truth.” Varmont looked funnily at the man and said: ”Don't I know you from somewhere, stranger?” The man didn't answer the question. Instead, he raised his head, and said: ”I feel great evil close to me”, and pointed at Varmont, ”evil one, you shall not decieve these true warriors anymore.” Varmont yelled and screamed like a terrified guinea pig. ”AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! It is you, Atebash! You shall not see another sunrise, vermin! With my own and Kingbolt's powers, I will destroy you!” He shouted up, towards the skies, and suddenly he was glowing. Somehow he flew over the group, and his hands were formed to a prayer stance. Derion, Bralox and Elana just stood there and looked like possesed at the two, and wondered what the hell was going on. They knew that Varmont was strange, and that he had looked as if he wanted to kill Logan more than once during the journey. He also said just this moment that Kingbolt, whoever that might be, should give him power. As they were not sure which of the two men they should protect, they decided not to protect either one of them. Atebash spoke in a calm voice. ”I see that you aren't as strong as in the last fight I saw you in, brother. Too bad that you turned to evil while I stayed in the good circle. And for that betrayal, you and Kingbolt shall both die!”

As Varmont summoned fireballs, Atebash simply pointed his staff at Varmont. He was as if hit by an invisible hammer, when Atebash said forth a powerful spell. Varmont screamed and screamed as he was spinning around on the ground. Somehow, he got up, and launched a huge fireball towards Atebash. The fireball obviosly hit something, but Atebash was apparently not affected by it. The fight was furious, and Derion, Bralox and Elana could do nothing. They wouldn’t dare to either, as this was the most powerful magical battle they had ever witnessed. After some time, Varmont made a fatal mistake. As he raised his arms towards the skies again to summon a lightning elemental, he was open for a frontal attack. And Atebash didn’t spill that chance. Without further nonsense, his staff was turned into a huge sword for a second, which he used to slice Varmont’s head off. The powerful, yet headless Exalted sighed, before he plumped down into a heap on the ground. Atebash wiped his staff dry, put it inside his cloak again, and approached Derion. Derion just stared at the man, as Atebash took his hand and introduced himself. ”Hello, Derion. My name is Atebash, and I am the youngest of the Exalted. I am one of the good exalted. There are obviously not many of us left, you saw for yourself Varmont here. Even he has turned to the dark side. However, I know about your mission, and there is precious little time to waste. Kingbolt has armies throughout the realms now, so we must hurry back to Logan. We need to prepare for a final showdown.” Derion just stared at Atebash, as did Bralox and Elana. Derion was the first to speak. ”I thought Wilhelm was the evil ruler...?” ”Please, Derion. You will soon understand more. Come now, as I said, we don’t have much time.” Chapter 8: The preparations begin… By ViperE

The journey out of Davonkeep was tense and stressful. Derion in the lead while Bralox walked beside him like a bodyguard. Decreasing the chances of encounters with unwanted people as he held his huge axe firmly in his hands. Behind them were Elana and Atebash discussing magic, Derion thought. After the last…butchery, Atebash made to the damned Varmont, almost every villager in the city had already heard about them. Thinking about the great risk, Derion carried his feet faster and faster through dark alleys and side-streets until they reached a hatch in the ground, covered by sand right beside the city walls. Atebash told them about this hatch since he knew much about the city of Davonkeep, his city of birth. Derion opened the hatch and sent Bralox first to check where it leads. After their last experience with an Exalted, Derion didn’t knew whom he should trust anymore. After a few moments Bralox appeared once more in the opening confirming that the hatch is safe and leads right outside of the city. The four members, each in a turn entered the hatch and came out a mile or two outside the city. Everyone were surprised that Wilhelm hasn’t sent a whole militia after them but after doing some thinking, Derion thought “How can a few soldiers stand against an Exalted?”.

As they continued towards the light woods, the hideout of Logan, Derion tried to get answers out of Atebash but apparently he didn’t want to reply, until they reach Logan. Though it seemed as Elana was interested and sympathised Atebash, Derion knew she didn’t forget her father death because one of the exalted, who apperantly was also evil. Their journey was quite short since they already knew the path to the light elves hideout and could avoid rough terrain. As they saw the camps from afar, Bralox said: “This so’re will be a shock to Lugan and the whule bunch of darned ligh’ ilves.” Elana quickly replied: “Indeed it will be. They would be amazed that an evil one stepped among them and that we manage to bring ANOTHER exalted…” With this statement, they crossed the trees and as usual they were escorted by the same group of light elves that escorted them before to Logan. Reaching the “throne cabin”, they entered. As the whole group stepped into the cabin all the eyes stared at where Atebash stood, apparently wondering where is Varmont. Derion addressed Logan who as usual sat at his carved wooden throne, “Your majesty, I have some bad news and some good news.”, Logan nodded and Derion continued, “First the bad news. We managed to infiltrate the dark elves camps in Dartook but we yielded not much information. Also, when we were at Davonkeep trying to acquire information for you, we discovered that Varmont the Exalted was evil and was a worshipper of an evil god.”, suddenly lots of muttering and astonished expression appeared on all of the light elves’s faces present in the room. Logan, trying to achieve more information from Derion said: “SILENCE! Please, leave us to ourselves.” And quickly the light elves exited the room sending suspicious glances towards Derion and mainly Atebash. “Like I said, there are also good news.”, Derion continued, “Fortunately, Varmont is no longer with us in this world. The man you see infront of you…” Derion said as he pulled Atebash forward, “…destroyed Varmont!”, Logan stared at Atebash with an undeciphered look. “This is Atebash and he is also an exalted. To what he says…”, said Derion when Logan interrupted him. “Wait. I wish to let him speak.”, Logan said with a firm voice. Derion nodded and Atebash stepped towards Logan and spoke, “Good day to thee. I understand that you are Logan, former emperor of Davonkeep. My name is Atebash the Exalted.” “Yes. That I already know. Tell me more.”, replied Logan. “Very well. I kept this information from these brave young men…and woman.”, said Atebash as he looked at Elana with a smile, “I understand that you wish to take your throne back from Wilhelm and to get rid of his evil he spread around the lands.” “That is correct. But first, how should I know if the information you’re about to give me is true? As far as I know, you can also be like Varmont. Evil at heart. The light elves won’t help me find your true intentions as much as they didn’t help me find Varmont’s.”

“Well, in our world today, you can’t KNOW my intentions. But what I do promise you is that I have been walking in the light path in whole my life and I will continue this way until I die. And if it is possible even after death.”, replied Atebash with a much firmer voice then before. “Very well. In any case, you are the only option we have at this time.”, Said Logan. “Indeed. And I shall help you as much as I can.”, said Atebash, “Firstly, if you think that it’s only an army and Wilhelm you’re going to fight against then you’re completely wrong. It’s more likely that you’ll fight against 2 Wilhelms and 5 Exalted…And an army.” “WHAT? I don’t understand! Explain yourself at once!”, Shouted Logan as the disturbing information reached his ears. “Calm down, my emperor. Panic is the last thing we need.”, said Atebash and waited until he saw that Logan will come down, “The story is no one except the evil creatures knows much about Wilhelm. The fact is that Wilhelm is actually one out of two twins. He has a twin brother, Wilfred who was apparently the one you heard about doing the “dirty” work.”, explained Atebash. “Well, I think Wilhelm won’t be much of a trouble to our army and certainly Wilfred won’t present a threat either.”, said Logan. “That’s right. Also especially their knoweldge at the magic arts is very little. The main threat are the exalted. There are no exalted who side with the good path anymore…no one except of me. The true evil behind every event that happened in the last year is the master of exalted. The strongest of them all. KINGBOLT!”, everyone looked with a shock at Atebash and he continued, “This Kingbolt is the oldest and most powerful exalted of all. He is the true reason for you losing your throne, Logan. He casted a powerful spell on the people of Davonkeep, causing them to rebel against you.”, Atebash explained and is was obvious that Logan was furious over the information he just received. But he let Atebash continue, “To his side stand 3 more exalted and his exalted “bodyguard” who guards him all the time, Garrick. All of them turned to the dark path. And they are the ones who we will fight against.” “hmmm…….Then do we really have a chance against these evil fiends?”, wondered Elana and apparently she took Derion’s words out of his mouth. “Indeed tell us. Do we really have a chance? I will not risk the lives of many warriors and light elves for a helpless cause.” Said Logan. “Well, we DO have a chance. Nevertheless, if we don’t try defeating the evil before it evolves, we won’t have any other chances in the future. This will be the eternal battle between good and evil.” “Very well. Then we should make up a plan…Tell us any more information you have.” “Well, in all of my hiding time in Davonkeep, I made some thinking about a battle if one would occur against the evil ones. I believe that a mere bunch of simple warriors who will shoot arrows at the exalted won’t work. We need to serve a decent and equal combat to each one of our enemies. I assume that as soon as we will approach the city, an army of evil creatures or evil hearted warriors will be sent to defeat us.”, replied Atebash.

“I agree.”, said Derion as he participated in the conversation, “We can stall their army with our army and while the battle occurs we can sneak into the palace and face Wilhelm and his troublesome brother.”, and the Bralox and Elana nodded in agreement. “WE?”, asked Logan, “I don’t think you should participate in this battle. It will mean certain death for you as a non-magic fighter. And you have already done too much to our cause.” “Like Atebash said, if we won’t succeed this time, there won’t be another chance and our lives will be doomed anyhow.”, replied Derion. “Very well. I thank thee. How can I ever repay you?”, asked Logan with gratitude. “Just lead our army into a victorious battle…That is the only thing I ask of you…A victorious battle.” Chapter 9: Facing the evil By TVPR and ViperE

The little group consisted of Derion, Elana, Bralox and Atebash. They followed the huge army of light elves, wood elves and dwarves, these gathered from the mines of Muun Raklin. It was led by Logan the Bald and his elven generals. The army was marching towards Davonkeep. Once they were almost out of the woods, they waited. The entire army waited for a signal from the light elves inside Davonkeep, led by Flacson. The large group of light elves of Davonkeep was supposed to cause chaos and misunderstanding in the city, prior to the light army marching in. It took a few hours of waiting, but finally it came. High spiral lines of smoke suddenly appeared in the sky above the city, letting the army know that the rebellion had begun. The army quickly marched towards the city and the wood elf archers progressivly shot arrows from afar towards the guards on the city and palace walls. As they got closer, the gates of the city were opened, and vast numbers of creatures flowed like a river out, towards them. Small and large beings, with and without wings, human-like and monsterous creatures. Every type of evil creature of the world was there, and more. Ogres, dark elves, trolls and wood elves. There were even goblins in the defending army. Though they couldn’t move their legs as fast as the the larger creatures, they were standing in their way to fresh meat. The final battle was taking place in all its might. Dwarves wielded their axes and decapitated goblins and trolls alike, wood elves archers pierced their sharp and deadly arrows through their enemies, light elven swordsmen sliced their opponents while “dancing” their sacred dance of the silver blades. The Ogres grabbed some dwarves and slapped them around or ate them. Trolls waved their huge clubs at the light elves warriors, once in awhile taking down a few swordsmen and goblins. Dark elves sliced their opponent’s throats while creeping up on them from behind, and threw their sharp and poisoned knives at their opponents, piercing them right through the heart. While the furious battle was happening, a small group sneak up to the city walls, towards the secret hatch. Some goblins trying to escape the mighty war hid near the walls right where the hatch was. There was no other way but killing them. As soon as the group approached the goblins with their weapons drawn, the goblins also drew their swords and hesitatedly closed in on to the

group. Bralox, seeing the puny goblins challenge him, rushed towards them with his huge axe in his hands. He waved it at three of the goblins, and took two heads off. The third could do nothing but watch the huge axe slice through his body. As the other goblins saw what Bralox alone did to their comrades, they quickly dropped their equipment and ran as if Therak himself was in their heels. “You should keep your strength for the real battle…not waste it on those goblins.”, said Derion as he saw Bralox breathing with excitement. “Aye. I’m redy to face anyune righ’ nuw!” Derion just smiled as he opened the hatch. Everyone entered without knowing what to expect on the other side... *********************** “You fools!” Wilhelm cried out to his commanders. “What... why... how could you allow this to happen? Unless you remove these puny rebels from outside my castle by the end of the day, I will see to it that your head is placed firmly on a stake!” “My liege, why are you so upset? These elves are no threat to our forces. We will simply call for assistance from the Dark Woods if they become really bothersome. They don’t even have any real magicians!” The commander’s next word was simply “Blurp.” Atebash spoke up. “Oh so we don’t, do we? Wilhelm, I suppose? I see you let frogs run around your palace. Not very hygienic, I must say.” “And who may this person be, turning my commanders into reptiles?” “My name is Atebash”, he replied. “Meet my friends: Derion, Bralox and Elana. I think you know the last one of them, his name is Logan. Logan the Bald... Ring a bell?” As he said their name, the other members of the group stepped out of the shadows behind Atebash. When Logan stepped forth, followed by a few light elves, Wilhelm started laughing. “And I suppose he wants his throne back, am I right? And you people are the ones to help him get it back? Well, inferior ones, I have a suprise for you... Brother! Master! Come forth!” Not before had the words left his mouth, before a hellish pack appeared out of nowhere. Amongst them was another person looking just like Wilhelm. Derion understood that this had to be his brother, Wilfred. After seeing this mans work on Sadra, he started burning with rage. The old man he had seen in his vision on the island was also there. Wilhelm continued. “May I introduce: Wilfred, my dear brother, If a bit violent, I love him dearly.” He chuckled. “Kingbolt the Exalted, my master that has tought me everything I know about spellcasting. He is always complaining that I have no talent, but I am still doing my best to follow him. By his side, you see Garrick the Exalted. My masters personal guard, and rather powerful, I must say. Apart from him, we have Coran, Rehochipe, and Veiroth.” A great silence rested upon the party members, while they all were changing looks with both Elana and Veiroth. Elana’s eyes were first filled with happiness, then, they were striking lightning bolts. “Varmont would have been here with us, but unfortunately, someone destroyed him some time ago...”

Bralox made the first move. He approached Wilhelm, and nearly cut his head off. In the confusion that followed, Derion was all over Wilfred, while Elana charged Coran. Before Garrick knew what had happened, Atebash was all over him. While there was a bloody battle happening both inside and outside the great imperial palace of Briskeby, Logan and his elves were trying to fend off Wilhelm’s guards. Coran tried to take cover for Elana’s furious spellcasting, but accidentely walked straight in the way of Derion’s sword. He recieved only a scratch, but it was enough for him to flee. However, before he ran off, he managed to cast a spell towards the charging Elana, throwing her backwards in the air. At the same time, a guard threw a spear into the throne room. It hit her in the chest, inflicting major damage. Veiroth saw this happening just as he had charged up an enormous fireball. Instead of throwing it at Logan, finishing both him and his grunts off, he turned around, facing Kingbolt. The master Exalted had only stood still all the time, watching the battle taking place before him. With an outrageous anger, Veiroth threw the fireball at his evil master. Kingbolt reacted with the speed of light, and threw a “protect fire”spell at himself. As Garrick finally subsided to Atebash’s flaming staff, and Wilfred lost his head to Myrion, Kingbolt joined the battle. Only by combining their powers, Atebash and Veiroth stood a chance against Kingbolt. The same could not be said about Bralox. Even though his skills were limited, Wilhelm was a powerful spellcaster enough to almost finish the dwarf off. Just as Bralox was lying on his back, Wilhelm drew a crystal dagger, obviously ment for religious purposes. Raising the dagger above his head, Wilhelm let his voice fill the room. “Therak, I give to you this inferior creature! Please accept my offering, and grant me luck in these times of trouble! I sacrifice this...” His voice died out as a whining. Derion, seeing his friend in trouble, instantly ran towards Wilhelm with the blood-dripping Myrion raised. As he drove the sword trough Wilhelms body, Bralox obviously felt great relief. He stood up and took his axe. Looking down into the not yet dead eyes of the evil ruler, he yelled at him: “Therak my’ arse! Now shortey her’ gonna give ye somethin’ to chew on!” With this, he mowed his battle axe trough the upper body of the allready mortally wounded count Wilhelm the Wicked, instantly killing him. Now, only Kingbolt was left. As the whole group closed in on the struggling Kingbolt, a huge fireblast threw them all aside. “Rehochipe! My god, we have forgotten Rehocipe!” The Exalted named Rehocipe had been sneaking around in the shadows of the room all the time, assisting his companions without any risk of getting hurt. Bralox, even as he had enough fighting for one day, threw his axe at this mighty exalted sneaking around in the corners. Even this archmage couldn’t do anything to prevent his own death as the huge axe came whirling towards him nailing his upper body to the wall. The whole battle ended as Derion jumped on Kingbolt from behind, while he was fending off Atebash and Veiroth’s combined powers. All three of them had recieved a big portion of damage, but it didn’t show on the fury of the battle. With Derion hanging on his back and two Exalted giving him a fair battle on the front, a mighty scream of terror escaped this greatest of all evil. As he kneeled down in despair, Derion drove his sword straight down, through the skull of Kingbolt. The battle outside the castle walls had become a huge slaughter, but now it was much less furious than earlier. As Derion and his friends stepped outside the balcony of the palace, displaying Kingbolt the Exalted’s chopped off head, the battle instantly ceased. It was some confusion at first, but finally, the dark forces laid down their weapons and surrendered to the remaining warriors of light.

Derion and Veiroth were the only ones missing at the balcony. They were attending Elana’s wounds. Veiroth sighed. “I don’t know what happened to me... the lust for power... it was stronger than me. When I saw what these evil ones did to my daughter... I could do nothing but turn away from them. Please understand me, Derion. Can you forgive me? Do you think she can forgive me?” “I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I only know one thing, if there is any way to save Elana, I will do it. This wound is far too serious for any cleric to heal. It’s all hopeless... Veiroth! What can I do?” “I don’t know, my child. I simply don’t know.”

Epilogue By ViperE

The sun began to set as the light warriors ended the battle victoriously. The battlefield was red as wine from the slaughter of the battle. Now, the only ones who stood there were light elves and dwarves. The sight of this was heartily comforting yet sad. Light elves stood on the battlefield. Some hugged their comrades who fought bravely, some knelt down by their dead allies mourning. Some sheathed their sturdy red swords while some started walking back to the forests trying to forget all they lost… …and some still had important things to accomplish ahead of them. The only light in the room came from the setting sun in the window. Elana was lying on the bed while drops of sweat rolled on her cheeks. Beside her, knelt Derion holding her hand and her father, Veiroth the Exalted. “There HAS to be a way to save her, Veiroth! There must be! You’re an exalted! You’re supposed to know things!” shouted Derion as a tear rolled down his cheek. “Indeed. I would do anything to save my precious daughter but there are some paths to the underworld, one cannot escape from.” Said Veiroth with sadness. “I will not lose hope! And neither should you!” “Of course. For the sake of my daughter.” replied Veiroth, “However, there is a rumor…” “A rumor? What are you talking about?” “A rumor among the light elves. You see, one of the light elves main homes are on the island of Dawning. This island is filled with woods and in the center of these woods lies a lake. The

Eternal Lake. This lake is named “eternal” for no rivers run through it and the water never vaporizes. Also, it is rumored that this special lake consists magical healing water which can heal any wound.” explained Veiroth. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s take Elana there!” “Wait my child. Like I said, these are only rumors. One shouldn’t rely on rumors. Hopefully, she will survive the trip there, but she certainly won’t survive returning here if the rumor is incorrect…” “But she will definitely won’t survive here by herself now, would she? We have no other choice.”, said Derion with determination. “Very well, my child. Very well.” ****************** A second tear was shed of Derion’s eyes as he carried Elana’s body through the forest. Behind him were Bralox and Veiroth trying to keep up with his pace. Derion was nearly running. They were supposed to reach the lake according to what the village’s elder told them…and every minute was important. They kept on walking and walking until they reached a large glade. The sight was amazing. It was as if a large transparent sphere surrounding the glade. Flowers were blooming in every colour and birds were flying above them. A shiny lake was the center of this glade. The water was obviously not ordinary water. This was dark-deep blue and shiny water. Never had Derion’s eyes seen such a sight before, even though he had traveled Tja for all his life. This was sacred water. Derion rushed towards the lake and gently put Elana’s body near it as she was hardly breathing. Next, Veiroth handed him a large leaf he gently took of the near bush, like the village elder instructed. Derion took the leaf and put it into the blue water. As he pulled back the wet leaf, it was shining white, so bright that Derion almost had to close his eyes. He quickly put it on Elana’s lips and next moved it to her belly where the elven spear hit her. Bralox stared at Elana curiously, since he didn’t like use of magic at all. He despised it. However, this time he prayed it would work….and it did. Elana opened her eyes. She didn’t seem to understand where she was. She didn’t get the chance to understand since Derion simply sent his arms and held her as close as he could, giving her the most affectionate kiss he could give her. Veiroth simply smiled and vanished, disappearing in thin air.