Zax breathed a sigh of relief. He had won. He was the great hero of legend. He was number one, all others were number two or lower ! Not only had he rescued Isula from the heart of the enemy forces, but he sacked Yeenoghu's treasury and made it back safely to Lower Lueders. He had gone from surrounded by demons in one minute to being back amongst his cheering troops the next. He had done all of this, though he had no clue how.
A few minutes ago, Zax was kind of concerned at first, especially with that murderous big brute and his knife happy under aged tag along in the area. Even after Darwen assured him they were with her, he was still pretty wary, especially with twenty odd demons heading their way. It wasn't till the urchin like little girl with the knives jimmied the lock on the chest that Isula was staring at, did he begin to trust them. Seeing the treasure was of course a big positive modifier to his attitude on them. Zax learned a long time ago that people who gave him stuff were probably better to trust than people kicking the crap out of him.
Zax was immediately drawn to the gold and gems, but Isula's eyes were drawn to some odd more mundane objects. Specifically an old horn, a badly carved axe, and what appeared to be a snow globe of some sort. Zax thought he could at least attempt to bribe the demons zeroing in on them with the gold, but suddenly they were all plunged in darkness.
Zax wasn't sure what was happening next. Galatea was warning him about 'jotun artifacts', Darwen was muttering something about 'splitting the void' and the big brute babbling about his sidekick 'minding her ears'. Zax didn't care how or why, but he found himself hurtling into the void one moment, then in the main courtyard of Lower Lueders the next, praise being heaped upon him by his cheering troops.
"Where's Reinhardt?" asked Zax as he breathed a second sigh of relief.
"We'll be joining him soon," replied Isula as she eyed the number of Infernal gathered.
Dahana and Grixelwhatever were the first to greet their general. "We didn't think we'd see you again, victorious no less!" exclaimed the Erinyes.
"I thought you were lost and crying in the woods somewhere, hah! " said Grizeljerk's remaining head with an approving nod. The once two headed bone devil was in relatively good spirits, especially considering it tried to kill Zax recently.
Zax puffed his chest and stood tall before his troops. "Not only did I rescued Isula, but I sacked his treasury too!" he exclaimed while hefting a handful of his newly recovered loot.
As Zax was showing off his booty, Isula reached into the chest and grabbed a handful of coins and gems, before throwing them at the Infernal troops. "Your great General Zax has brought enough for everyone! Come share in the spoils!" she shouted to the cheering mercenaries as she continued tossing the coins.
Zax stared at her in horror. That was his money she was tossing around! What was she doing.
"Hey, this guy sure know how to treat his troops," said the big brute to Darwen. "We've been working for the wrong outfit."
"Isula dear….what are you doing?" Zax hissed under his breath, trying to appear calm. He attempted to halt her coin tossing by gently placing his hands over hers, but the small albino easily outmuscled him.
Isula simply flashed him a smile. "Revenge my dear Zax. Revenge."
Grand Champion Erland rode out of the mists and surveyed the battle. Beside him were gathered the greatest of his knights; Hero of the Boar, Aethulwulf of the Mammoth, and even Brita of the Snow Lion. They all rode their respective warbeasts, while Erland was sitting astride a great destrier. Behind them were twenty thousand warriors, beast riders, berserkers, and knights that he could still scrape together.
Too long had they fought the gnoll invaders like shadows and ghosts. Depending on the calendar and because of the mists, they had lost their one chance to defeat the enemy horde five or one hundred years ago. They lost their honor that day, and were reduced to bandits and raiders to survive.
Today however would be different. A few weeks ago, the gnoll horde prepared to crush the greatest bastion of the north, Khazag Narg, but a lone mercenary army dared challenge them. Erland wasn't sure if it was the action of a very brave man or a very stupid man, but even he saw the effect it had on the remnants of his host. They were given hope, pride, and were possessed by an anger that he hadn't seen since they were defeated. It was like a second chance given to his people to reclaim their heritage in the only way that mattered, through bloody battle.
Erland wasn't good at math but he knew the enemy numbered close to half a million. Twenty five to one. Even a barbarian like himself knew those were bad odds. Still, to die with his soldiers in glorious battle, to die while their hearts yearned for battle like the old days when they ruled this harsh land, that would be a fitting way to enter Rawk's Great Hall in the afterlife. Erland was sick of skirmishes against the enemy, sick of waiting for their inevitable dooms, but today he would sell his people's lives dearly to the gnolls.
As Erland's soldiers rode forward, the sound of thunder shook the Iron Wolf Glacier that could be heard even from their position. The place was both a sacred and taboo place for his particular Order, and many of his knights said a quick prayer. Even from their great distance he could see the mountain crashing down on the War Ravens, and the gnolls surging forward to finish them off. The remainder of his knights hesitated and their advance stalled at the sight of their allies' apparent demise, but Erland would not back down now.
"Knights of the North! " the great Squirrel Champion shouted. "Today we are given a gift! We will no longer be shackled by hiding in the mist ! The enemy lays before us out in the open, daring us to attack them! "
Erland saw his men weren't convinced. He heard grumblings of 'vastly outnumbered' and ' we already tried and lost before'. Erland couldn't fault in their statements, but he would not lose this opportunity. He would not lose the battle before it began.
"We do not fight alone today like we did five years ago. We stand united with our neighbors to break their backs with our strength of arms and martial prowess."
As on cue, several armies of dwarves flying the royal colors of Khazag Narg, Nazag Narg and of the Armsman mercenaries marched out of the mists. Supporting them was a great column of Halfling Dogoon cavalry of Leeha. He could see the infamous Warforged scout, General Trip riding what appeared to be a mechanical dog. The Halfling leader had held Greater Pie land against the gnoll invasion for almost a decade, and was a bit of a legend in the north. He also saw the infamous bandit/mercenary Lady Ymir in her gold gilded and gem studded mountain plate. The dwarven satrap had brought a dozen hulking mechanical giants with her that ranged from the size of an ogre to that of a storm giant. Finally he spotted the dwarf scout Allison he had talked to earlier. She was leading a band of motley looking scouts , accompanied by what looked to be an albino tiefling of all things. Erland guessed there was around forty thousand dwarves and thirty thousand halflings. The odds were still bad, but he was never good at math.
The knights, dwarves and halflings looked to Erland to make a speech, but the Grand Champion had none for them. Instead he raised his great axe and bellowed a deafening roar, before charging the enemy.
Yeenoghu sensed his prey was near and bounded up the collapsed mountain. Bodies of crushed mercenaries were partially visibly under the ice, but he cared not for these minor morsels. Reaver's soul was what he wanted.
"My lord!" croaked a hoarse voice. Yeenoghu stopped his charge, and turned to see who dared interrupt him from his prey. He saw it was the Hezrou that he had been favoring recently. The great toad demon pointed to the back of their horde. "The great host approaches! Grand Champion Erland, Armsman Ymir, General Trip, and even Lord Black is at their lead."
Yeenoghu paused. "Lord Back? Truly?" Lord Black was an exiled pitfiend, one of the exiled members of the Dark Eight to be precise. The creature and a small army of his infernals had hidden themselves within Khazag Narg and fought with the defenders against him. Not that they had some altruistic goal to help the dwarves, but they fought simply to spite him, to block his plans. Yeenoghu bristled at the opportunity to meet him in battle, but the scent of his prey was so close, so overpowering.
Yeenoghu's sharp eyes scanned the attackers and turned to the Hezrou. "Take half the horde and crush them. You still outnumber them three to one, that's more than enough to destroy them in open battle. "
"..but my lord. Lord Black is with them…." Groveled the Hezrou. Yeenoghu considered striking the sniveling creature down, but it did have a point. Pit fiends were dangerous foes, probably as dangerous as an army by itself. The demon lord sighed and simply breathed a black cloud of motes towards the Hezrou.
The toad demon cringed at the motes, but they quickly engulfed him. Shrieks of terror filled the air as the Hezrou vanished in the darkness, but the cries were soon replaced by a low ominous laughter.
From the smoke rose a demon of fire and shadow. It had red skin, great bat wings, a whip of fire, and a blade of lightning. Only a slightly amphibian face marked its previous form. It was death personified, power incarnate. Balor.
" Destroy my enemies and you shall keep this power! Fail and you shall be cast lower than a manes or larvae," warned Yeenoghu before he began his pursuit of his prey once again.
"Yes my lord. I shall destroy Black and any other fool that gets in my way!" the creature boasted.
Two hundred thousand gnolls and demons then roared and followed Yeenoghu up the mountain even as the Balor lead the other screaming pack towards the host.
Zax watched in despair as the Legion gathered. Instead of a proud army in orderly ranks, they were squabbling over his hard earned gold. What was worse, was that he thought Isula was throwing a lot of the Legion's money and a fair bit of Zax's own stash into the squabbling Infernals. He tried to stop her again of course, but that would be like stopping…a giant. She was just too strong for him.
"Isula stop! Please…that's all my coin, all our coin! What are we going to live on after we sneak out of the Legion," pleaded Zax once more.
Isula stopped and seemed to take a quick count of the squabbling Infernals. Not only were the rank and file tieflings making a grab for the cash, but it appeared that the elite devils and their commanders were getting their share as well. They were pushing hard, almost on the verge of violence, but tempers were subdued by the sheer amount of money she was throwing at them.
"Zax, having been captured I learned a thing or two about our enemy. When they are through, there will be no place on the world to spend your ...gold. They won't stop till they turn this world in a barren wasteland. They are ruthless, and there are a lot more of them than even your army can handle," she sighed.
"Tell me something I don't know," grumbled Zax.
Isula smirked as if on cue. "If you didn't know, the War Ravens which Ari had been chasing are leading a final desperate battle against them with a loose coalition of other soldiers of the north. They are vastly outnumbered but could use our help. Your devil legion can counter much of the demons at his command," she explained.
Zax shrugged."How do you know all this?"
"Reinhardt told me. He tells me a lot of things since we fought in the pit. Also, you can ask Darwen there. She knows more about this than I do."
Zax's orange skin turned a bit red. He wasn't sure what to make of this Reinhardt thing. Was that the reason that albino bastard was always hanging around and helping him? Was Isula seeing him behind his back? Was he expected to fight him or something to regain his honor? Was Isula and himself even considered dating? He pushed those questions out of his head and then turned to Darwen.
The grey haired elf reluctantly nodded. "The last I saw them, they were headed to Nazag Narg, but I heard news they were blocked and turned south. I only have brief information about the coalition. I known only what Baalphzon tells me since he's linked to Warlord Reaver."
"That's me!" exclaimed the small muscular imp as it popped into existence near them. Isula swatted the creature which quickly darted to safety behind Darwen.
Zax paused and scratched his head. "Wait, I thought the little imp was linked to Insector. How can a familiar have two masters at once?"
Isula slapped Zax's cheek with an open palm. "That's because Insector IS Reaver you idiot! Everyone seems to clue in to that except you."
Zax cringed at her blow as he rubbed his face. He liked that she was acknowledging him, but wasn't pretty sure he like the slapping." Well supposing you are right, that doesn't help us, does it? I mean we're about five hundred miles away from the main battle. The fight will be long over when we get there, even if we only sent Yamon and his flying horseman and Dahana and here winged women."
Isula shook her head and then raised the axe she just recovered. "This is an artifact stolen from my people. It allowed them to travel across the oceans, jumping from island to island. "
Before Zax could question her further, the miniature albino sliced the air in front of her, seemingly splitting reality. The tear in space grew, and sucked Zax through it like some giant cyclone. The tiefling tried to grab a hold of anything to stop his freefall, but Isula calmly walked next to him and booted him into the vortex.
"It also works pretty well on land ! " shouted Isula as Zax tumbled once again into the darkness.
Zax and apparently the entire Legion groaned as tumbled onto the hard tundra.
"Where are we? How'd we get here? I thought travel magic didn't work here, " were some of the things Zax heard as he cleared his head.
These questions soon became cries of panic as he began to hear" Is that an army? Curse the Pit! They're charging us! Someone do something!"
A small strong hand helped Zax up. As his vision cleared, he expected it to be Isula but instead was greeted with the worried elven face of Darwen. Behind her was the big guy, and stabby girl, and behind them was Isula, weakly crouched on the ground.
Zax started to make his way to the small albino, but Darwen grabbed him and turned him around.
Zax was terrified. An ocean of demons and gnolls were bearing down on him.
"We gotta get out of here! There's an army coming our way!" blubbered Zax in fear.
Darwen waved at the disorganized Legion around them. "You have an army of your own. You better start leading."
Before Zax could reply. Galatea jumped into his hands, brimming with power. Zax wasn't sure what was going on but felt the blade drag him head long into the fray.
The Legion was still disorientated from its arrival but quickly formed ranks around their leader and charged the great horde.
"What are you doing !" demanded Zax. "I thought you liked to be passive. A silent observer! You're going to get us all killed!"
"I'm a demon slaying sword, and there's an army of demons in front of me," explained Galatea. "What else do you expect me to do?"