Almarth was an ancient city , built by a long forgotten god before even the Dynasty of the Sun lords. It had an interesting property in that magic does not work in certain areas with in. Making Scrying, divining and teleportation magic almost impossible. Over the millennium bandits, deposed overlords, and various villains had made use of these ruins as a hide out. Its unique properties and its odd ability to shift various chambers and rooms, made it a very defensible area.
The city was built on top of a set of low dark iron hills, large deposits of dwarven ore scooped up from the south and dropped off by a retreating glacier from some unknown era . It gave defenders a good view of approaching enemies and stopped all but the most determined of sappers. The entire area reeked of power of a forgotten age.
It was mist shrouded, but Fetch could tell that many buildings and towers still stood. Pixietrampler and Brita's lion arrived at the edge of the city , directly entering overhead was considered too dangerous even for the brave band. The lion was shimmering oddly, and Brita dismissed it before it faded by itself. Pixietrampler was uncharacteristically uneasy in this area and refused to advance, the horse leaped out of sight into the mists after Hildraxel and Frank dismounted . Fetch could tell by the looks of his companions that all except Hildraxel and himself suffered from some strange heavy aura of despair.
"Everyone grasp my hilt ", commanded the blade Galatea. They did and their fear vanished instantly . As the fear subsided they could hear sounds of battle ahead. Also a booming cackling animalisitic laugh that seemed to echo through the ruined city.
Fetch reasoned that with the Knights engaged in all out war with the gnolls , this would be the perfect time for the demon lord to escape. There would be little or no reinforcements from the main host to stop him. If the demon made it a sufficient distance outside the city's borders he would be able to use magics to escape, raise a new horde, and start this brutal cycle all over again.
Fetch gave a prayer to bolster his group. They had their weapons ready and advanced into the city.
"MORE!, MORE! ", laughed the 15 foot tall demon. It looked like an impossibly tall and thin dark furred gnoll. It wore a simple dirty loin cloth and a simple necklace of skulls. The skulls chattered in approval. It wielded a 3 headed flail, that seem to bend , twist, elongate and shorten at his whim. Fetch could feel the terrible arcane energies radiating from the flail as his band approached. A small group of defenders laid scattered and dying around the monster.
The demon swung his flail at a lone knight. The knight wore a golden lacquered suit of plate. The way he moved and blocked , told Fetch he had considerable experience. He blocked the flail , but the chains magically lengthened and wrapped around the shield striking the knight 3 times. The blows did not seem fatal, but the flail heads glowed a deathly black. The knight screamed, dropped his weapon, threw off his helmet and attempted to gouge out his own eyes. Tyirs mercifully threw a dagger into the knight's throat, leaving him to die in dignity. As he fell, his body grew dark and a dark cloud flew from his body towards the demon gnoll. The demon opened its maw and the mist flowed into him. The monster seemed to grow a little bigger and fiercer with his snack.
Yeenoghu looked at the new group in front of him and grinned with a smile, that showed impossibly countless teeth. "MORE..."
He was interrupted by a massive arrow that embedded into the creatures chest. Madgar of the Mammoth stepped out behind some ruins, flanked by Hero of the Boar, and Kalinka of the Snow Lion. Several other knights and mages appeared behind them.
Fetch wondered if anyone else responded in time.
Madgar gave them the signal to spread out, there was going to be no heroic one on one fights here.
The demon stared at the arrow embedded in its chest, and it turned to ash. The wound was visibly closing. He cackled once more, and pointed his finger to the ground. The ground tore open, and 2 demons made of shadow and fire emerged. They wielded whips of flame and swords of lightning. They had the faces of hideous bestial gnolls.
Galatea whispered..."Balors".
Several other demons materialized behind the demon lord, they were of the more common variety but they seemed to be more battle hardened and armored then the ones they previously faced when they battled the main horde.
Kalinka rushed the closet Balor, her sword lashed at its chest but was parried by its sword made of lightning. The rest followed her lead and rushed the dozen demons facing them.
Frank, approached the Balor demon closest to their party cautiously. Tyris and a knight of the Boar circled behind it.
Hildraxel was beset by a vulture demon, ...spores flew from the creature like a giant diseased moth. They landed on his armor, and quickly grew into demonic plants, its roots digging into his flesh.
Fetch was attacked by a demon made purely of shadows. He avoided its sneak attack at the last moment only because Galatea shouted a warning to him.
The demonlord laughed and awaited his minions bounty.
Kalinka , bore down on the demon, slashing and parrying its blows as they were engaged in a deadly dance of blades. Hero leaped at the distracted beast, but its fiery whip lashed out and unnaturally entwined her body , burning her with flame . The monster parried Kalinka's blade with one weapon, while pulling Hero towards him with the other.
Madgar calmly fired several arrows at the beast, missing the 2 women by inches, and buried his shots into the creatures chest. The creature grew angry , and its body burst into flames. Despite their enchantments versus fire , the creatures infernal power stripped away their protections and burned both warrior women badly.
Hero gave a fierce battle roar, and her body suddenly transformed. Her normally lean lithe frame grew hairy and bestial. The whip snapped in several places, the Champion of the Boar was replaced by a hideous monstrous half beast woman. It landed a heavy blow to the creatures jaw with its slab like fist, momentarily stunning it. The Champion of the Lion in turn took the opportunity to stab her blade into the creatures side. The creature roared again but was silenced with another arrow into its mouth.
The creature should have died, but it was the personification of power. It roared again, buffeting Hero and Kalinka with its wings. The Lion Elder was thrown violently back, while the boar beast deflected the blow with her heavy forearm. The demon used the distraction to leap into the air and land next to Madgar. The Mammoth Champion calmly spoke a word, and his ancient bow transformed into a gleaming blade. He aimed for the wound that Kalinka inflicted and stabbed it unerringly into it.
The beast staggered for a second then smiled. It drew its lighting sword, and it flashed with deadly energy . Madgar ...oldest and most revered champion of the north , one of the greatest warriors that ever born, who was only bested once in battle by Zalthar the Slayer...fell headless to the ground. His body growing black, and a cloud fed the smiling demon lord.
Before the balor could revel in its victory. Hero retrieved her axe, and jumped at the creature...channeling all her bestial power and strength at its unprotected back. She landed mightily with a thunderous crash, flattening the creature into the ground and breaking its spine in several places. Kalinka followed up with a blow to the back of the creatures neck. Gouts of black blood, puss, and what looked like maggots streamed from its wounds. It lashed out at Kalinka and ripped ribbons of armor and flesh from her legs with its claws.
The Champion of the Lion staggered back, but stayed standing. The demon tried to rise once again, but it sustained too much damage from the blow to its spine by Hero. The Boar Champion gave several chops at the creatures legs and arms, effectively, immobilizing it and disarming it. Kalinka surged forward again at the screaming creatures exposed neck. Her blow didn't sever it, but the creature shuddered and collapsed from that last blow, continually oozing impossible amounts of bile, blood and maggots. The creature in a final act of anger, roared and it exploded in a thunderous blast , engulfing the champions in a ball of white fire.
The creature made of shadow lashed out at Fetch. The cleric had to fight it alone as he was separated from his companions in the melee. It was a frustrating creature to fight , it would appear then vanish using hit and run tactics. Its blows weren't particularly lethal, but its claws were sharp and they were slowly ripping Fetch apart.
Fetch intoned a healing prayer on himself , buying himself so more time as he was unsure of how to defeat this opponent. He backed up and ready a spirit weapon prayer. The shadow creature came at him again, lashing at his legs from the ground . Fetch took the blow and unleashed the spell. It formed into a ethereal sword then struck the creature, and pursued it. The creature attempted to fade back into the darkness, but the spirit weapon tracked it perfectly. Fetch pursued the demon and took a heavy swing at the beast with his hammer . It gave a grunt, as Fetch felt his hammer connect. The creature flailed at Fetch in a frenzy, but he was ready with his shield and easily blocked the blows this time. The spirit weapon impaled the creature again in the back . Fetch wasn't sure how much damage the creature it was suffering but it gave pained grunts . Fetch slammed the hammer once more into the central mass of the creature . A satisfying crunch of bone greeted his blow as the darkness surrounding it faded away . A wet lump of flesh dropped lifelessly to the ground.
Fetch knew he didn't have time to congratulate himself for his small victory. There were more demons to kill.
Frank saw the Champion of the Mammoth fall headless to the ground. He knew it must have been wielding one of those vorpal blades. He thought how unfair it was that there was one in reach, but refused to be wielded by him. One of life's great jokes he thought. He laughed out loud, drawing stares from both foe and ally .
The Balor facing them lashed its flaming whip at Frank. The young knight was waiting for that attack however and slashed at the whip with his holy blade. The whip wrapped around the sword, spiraling down its blade, and arm, leaving scorch marks on the metal, and terrible burns on his arm. Frank ignored the pain and twisted and pulled his sword upwards. The righteous blade was anathema to the unholy demonic lash as it severed the whip into several pieces.
Brita summoned forth a spectral chain which flew at the occupied demon. It saw the chain and timed a mighty overhead chop at it. It connected and the chain and shattered it harmlessly. The demon smiled, and motioned them to dare to make another attack.
The sorceress complied and directed the 5 swords hovering above her to attack. The 8 foot blade dispersed against an invisible field, and 2 of the long blades fell to the ground inert. 2 of the short blades that were animated penetrated the creatures defenses and slashed at the creature with little or no affect. She threw her two handed sword directly at Frank and the demon. Frank didn't notice, but it detoured around him, striking the creature with sparks before flying in a wide arc back to her hand.
A fly demon swooped down to attack the mage, but she simply invoked a spell. The new attacker stiffened,... turned to stone...and it crashed into the ground...showering the balor with shards of rock.
The unknown Boar knight seized this opportunity and struck a mighty 2 handed blow to the creatures side. The knight was rewarded by a roar of pain by the demon. His expert blow and his great strength penetrated even the demon's unearthly hide. Tyris tumbled behind it, and jabbed her rapier and parrying dagger into its back. Both blades bit deeply into the demon's hide, creating rivers of black blood and maggots. She rolled away with her rapier, but her dagger was lodged firmly into its back.
The creature dropped its destroyed whip to the ground and raised its arm into the air. Frank slashed at the arm, drawing a spray of blood, but fire surrounded its hand then . It made a fist , and the fire seem to concentrate into a ball into its hand before he released it. The nearby area was engulfed into a torrent of fire. It further immolated its body with dark flames. Doubly scorching Frank and the Boar knight.
Brita was unaffected, protected from fire by her magics. Her dragon tattoos seemed to light up in blue arcane energy to challenge the flames. The Boar knight dropped his weapon , and fell to the ground rolling in an attempt to put himself out. Frank though the knight was screaming like a girl..then he realized he was the one screaming . He fell to the ground ashamed at his weakness and rolled away. Tyris changed her tumble to a somersault, and vaulted away deftly from the fire. When she landed she raised her arm to shield herself from the remnants of the flames.
The Balor was proud of its handiwork. It walked towards the Boar knight and its lightning sword wrapped around the knights head. He pulled the sword like a whip, and the knights head came off with a dark cloud trailing it.
Frank thought," Great! Another vorpal weapon."
With supreme effort the young knight got on one knee, and willed himself to stand up. He had no intention to turn into a dark cloud and feed the demon lord. Brita walked towards Frank and spoke impossibly quick. Another celestial lion appeared, at the same time she touched Frank and he felt his body renewed with energy. He nodded at her, and re focused on the demon.
Behind them , the other balor exploded in a large ball of white hot fire. Brita saw Hero and Kalinka tossed aside by the fiery burst and made a note of its death throe tactic.
The beast before them spread its wings and flew at Tyris, with Britas 2 short swords flailing uselessly behind him. The bard stabbed the approaching beast in the cheek. Her rapier pierced its mouth. The demon in response rammed its horned head down onto her head. At the last second she lunged forward avoiding the bulk of its attack, but it still connected heavily on her shoulder. Tyris gave a pained gasp , as the demon followed up its attack with a sudden bear hug. It immolated immediately with dark fire.
"No !", Frank cried. He rushed the back of the creature. Driving his blade into the creature's muscular behind. Franks heroics were rewarded by a lashing of darkfire around his body. The creature roared in pain and dropped its lifeless burned target to the ground . Frank saw that the burned corpse was that of a large lion. He looked behind him, and saw a staggered Tyris nodding at Brita. The knight didn't know much about magic but he had seen magicians switch the position of allies during battle before. It was a handy way to save archers and magicians in a chaotic melee. Brita intoned another spell and both Frank and the remaining warriors began to move with unnatural speed. Frank recognized that spell, it was one of Clovis's favorite. Despite his burns, Frank drew his shortsword, and warily circled the creature , carefully watching the lightning blade. Tyris's attack was a bit more straightforward, shot forward like a lighting bolt, scoring a dozen blows with her rapier and another drawn dagger.,
The demon pushed past Frank's and Tyris's combined attacks , it knew who the most dangerous foe was and it charged at Brita. Frank swung at the fleeing creature drawing more blood but it ignored his blows. Brita was lightly armored but Frank suspected she had magical wards and guards. The creatures claws met glowing blue shields and barriers, but with a crackling of energy it broke through. The paladin sorceress hewed it with an expertly placed blow on it shoulder, but the creature slashed her with its deadly claws in response. She gave a sharp bark, but stood standing with a deep wound to her side. Frank wondered why she didn't heal herself but suspected that she already used her healing on him. Tyris shot after it again like the wind, it reacted by a fierce buffet with its wings, keeping the bard at bay. Brita slashed at it again with her greatsword, but it blocked the attack dismissively with his massive arm, and returned with a claw once again at her. The last blow bit heavily into the sorceress's shoulder. She fell to the ground her sword clattering away from her. She tried to intone a spell but the demon gave her a cruel kick to the face, sending her sprawling on her back.
Frank limped towards the creature. Despite the carnage and suffering around him, he thought it funny that the demon was moving around with his holy sword up its ass. "Careful sitting down there, you don't want the lesser demons making you the butt of their jokes. ", he joked more out of habit then as a taunt.
The creature stopped briefly its ears perking up. Frank smile, he saw its weakness, " Hey nice loin cloth...does it come in men's?" The creature spun around , its attention firmly directed at Frank.
It slashed its sword toward Frank in a flurry of attacks . Frank raised his shield to block, each blow he stopped still gave him a fierce electrical jolt. By the time he blocked the last blow of the exchange, Frank couldn't move his shield arm anymore. The demon sensed victory and swung his lightning sword at Frank. The deadly blade wrapped around the young knight's chest . The Balor sensed victory and pulled , the weapon then snaked up to Frank's neck in response. Frank of the Crab, shut his eyes, awaiting the fatal blow, but it didn't come. He looked and saw the lightning blade had fallen to the side and began to dissapate while the demon was wrapped in spectral chains. It roared in frustration, but was still bound. He attempted to intone a spell, but Tyris quickly pinned its tongue to the top of his jaw with an upward thrust of her rapier . She gracefully bounded up and landed softly on his chest. The weight of the sylph like bard, finally unbalanced the demon. It fell crashing to the ground. The bard smiled evily as she took her daggers and began carving out its eyes, nose and tongue.
Frank never seen her like that before. It was scary and sexy at the same time. Frank laughed , a woman chopping wood would be sexy to him. Brita intoned another spell, Frank can tell she was reaching her spell casting limit. The demon began to levitate, and Tyris nimbly lept away. She levitated the bound demon impossibly high up in the air away from the group. She released her incantation and it fell gurgling , eyeless, noseless, earless, into the stone rubble. It exploded harmlessly away from them into a ball of white fire.
Brita collapsed , but Tyris supported her. Brita gave Frank a look and said " Thanks for the distraction."
Frank was about to say something that would sweep her off her feet and into his bed after the battle, but suddenly a terrible vulture head appeared before his face.
"BAWK BAWK BAWK. BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!", Frank jumped back dropping his blade , then realized the head was attached to a long lance. Sir Hildraxel was chuckling as he dangled the severed head in front of him. The old knight was holding an unconscious Kalinka with one arm. Behind him was a badly burned , half boar half giant woman carrying a great black silver axe.
"Whered that cleric go ?", he asked looking around. They were the only ones standing , both balors and the the demons were all slain, One of the champions were beheaded, and another down. The other mages and knights were shriveled on the ground. Several more knights and heros were arriving as reinforcements however.
A 20 foot tall demon stared at them hungrily and simply said " MORE!..."
Fetch's battle with the shadow demon, drew him well away from the main fight. It took him awhile to refocus after that draining battle . It was a long day of fighting and most of his prayers were used up. He poked around the ruins retracing his steps. Using one of the last wands Clovis had bought him to restore his health. The memory of his friend Clovis seemed like a lifetime ago as he stumbled through the ancient ruins.
From around the corner , he saw a giant gnoll hunched over, roaring, "MORE ! ... MORE!"
The creature then started saying something in a language he never heard before. "Cthulhu, Astartoth, Chronus, Bow...",
Galatea suddenly interrupted."Grab my hilt now Fetch!", she commanded in haste.
"Mow! ", the creature finished. A pulse of impossibly evil , dark energy erupt from the demon lord in a dark corona. Fetch , felt the impulse to slay himself at the moment, but he felt the sword he was grasping protect him from the brunt of the psychic attack. Despite the swords powers , he still felt nauseous and found it hard to hold the contents of his stomach in let alone stand.
All the newly arrived knights fell to the ground. Some died instantly of fright. Others fell to the ground screaming. Some with weapons impaled themselves on them , others tried to claw their own eyes out. Most were sent into seizures and writhed painfully on the ground. Tyris stood briefly , seemingly unaffected , she strode confidently towards the creature, her gaze fell on the dieing squirming knights, and then she stood still. She suddenly fell to the ground writhing in pain as well . Even the mighty Hero of the boar was not spared the power of Yeenoghu's blasphemous word. She rolled painfully on the ground , shaking the earth and knocking down ruins in the process. Frank found his mind filled with terrors. It was too much for him to bear. He reached for his longsword, but he remembered it probably exploded with the balor. He tried for his short sword, but remembered it clattered away when Hildraxel scared him. He even reached for his crossbow, but remembered it was most likely under Bartogs' mammoth. He was in a panic, this was too much for him, he just ran hoping he would dash his brains out against a ruin.
Fetch struggled, the fear and panic too much for him. He saw Frank fearlessly rush the demon lord. The demon lord laughed and slapped Frank out of the way. His friend landed in a heap 20 feet away. The cleric doubled his resolved seeing how his friend faced up to the demon even without magical protection. He struggled , but he managed to raise himself up , while holding using Galatea as a brace.
The demon saw him and smiled, then stalked with an unnatural gait towards him . More akin to a giant insect in gnoll form, then a humanoid.
A voice sounded behind the demon. Sir Hildraxel strode forward, more calm and collect then Fetch had ever seen. "My word,...it looks like that last spell of yours cleared my mind. All those nasty good thoughts placed by my misguided and foolish daughter gone !", he said with a grin," Its been 20 years since I've been walking around with that fog on my mind. Today's my lucky day it seems. Seems like Sir Hildraxel, terror of the northern wastes ,Aka the Eternal Enemy is back in business!"
Fetch remembered through his spinning mind that an unholy word was amongst the most evil and vile of spells. Uttered by a demon lord it was a death sentence. Only the strongest magical defenses or those with the blackest of hearts could escape its power.
The demon stared at Hildraxel and cackled, "It seems there is one who is worthy amongst this rabble. ", It drew itself erect to its full height. " Join me ...as I reform my army. I will need a new general. ", it sniffed the airs towards him ,"I see you had a hand in slaying my old general. You will make a worthy addition to my army. Prove your worth...go forth and harvest souls."
"Let me get this straight...All I have to do is kill these goody two shoe knights, and I get super abyssal powers? PFfftt... I was gonna do that anyways . ", He drew his blade and scanned the battlefield . He spied his daughter nearby moaning and crying at nameless terrors. He studied her for a moment. Then he strode towards the thrashing Brita. He stepped on her hand cruelly, grinding it into the ground.
The demon stalked behind him, completely ignoring Fetch. "You make your daughter suffer , even in her last moments. How delightfully cruel. It will place a delightful flavor to her tortured soul when I devour it. "
Hildraxel, spun around and with a swift motion and caught the surprised demon lord with a savage blow below the arm pit. The creatures bones were like iron and his skin like stone however. Hildraxel grunted as he tried to lift the blade through the creatures hide "Ugghh,,,actually I was just making sure she doesnt claw her eyes out.". Even though the blade did not cut him, the demon howled in pain and lashed at the black knight. It tore large chunks from his armor and back, but the man would not fall.
Finally resistance to his blow relented, Hildraxel finally managed to raise his blade , but it was the sword that came apart not the arm . It had cut the demon lord badly but the creature's shadowy black blood, melted , and hissed on the remainder of the blade.
Hildraxel, shoved the remainder of his weapon, which mostly a hilt with jagged shards, into the creatures chest, and fell back. " Irontongue, I had that sword for 50 years...Now I'm really mad."
Fetch snapped out of his trance and try to walk forwards towards the battle. When he was close enough he intoned the last pulse of his divine healing aura . Several knights' wounds disappeared but they were still writhing on the ground. He hoped he could do what he could to help Sir Hildraxel.
The demon lord awarded Fetch with a blow with the flail. He was too weak to defend against it and he felt his arm shatter and his ribs crushed. He stumbled, and fell to the ground again. His mind briefly lit on fire, but the sword he was holding soothed him.
The creature turned its attention back to Hildraxel, who had already retrieved a sword from one of the fallen champions. He looked at the sword and smiled. "The ancestral sword of the lion...this should have been mine you know. Well no time to reminisce now. I have serious killing to do . " . He took the the sword in one hand, and raised his lance in the other. It was an impossible weapon style, but Hildraxel seemed to balance them well.
The creature roared at this insect that dared to challenge him. He rushed forward with his flail in one arm, his half clawed off arm should have hung limply but it seemed at the ready and was prepared to tear flesh from limb. Hildraxel jumped back with his armor, seemingly ignore any encumbrance. Fetch had heard that the greatest warriors , treated armor like a second skin. He was seeing it first hand now. Hildraxel moved with unnatural precision before, but now his movements seem to be on a whole new level of speed and agility.
The demon swung his flail wildly, shattering stone and rock wherever it struck. Hildraxel just continued to back up. In a slow circle. The cleric noticed however the creatures wounded arm seemed to be regrowing as the battle wore on.
Hildraxel finally stopped. The creature grinned, "Enough running die!", It raised its flail to deal a death blow to the knight. However, in a flash a massive horse landed with a mighty crunch onto the demons back. It howled , as Sir Hildraxel lunged forward with the spear, impaling the creature into the ground. Its metal point burned and hissed. It wasn't immune to the creatures blood, but it was sufficient enough to pierce the creatures hide. The beast thrashed wildly , and caught the horse with a mighty kick. It flew back smashing into a stone pillar. The demon's crazed eyes met with the Black Knight's. It attempted to claw him and kick him. But the knight simply parried the claw and dodge his kick. He struck again at the wounded arm pit. The blood sparying on his armor. Fetch saw acidic wisps, come off the openings of his armor. Suddenly the knight gave a triumphant roar as the demon's arm was finally severed. The creature tried to batter again with the flail, but Hildraxel stabbed it deeply in the hand with his new blade. The flail fell, but the ancestral blade of the lion shattered as well. Hildraxel gave a shrug and jabbed the fallen fragments into the creatures neck.
The creature and the battlefield fell silent. Hildraxel paused ..then he began to stumble around . The fight with the demon lord had exhausted him. He found the direction of his daughter and began walking towards her.
Suddenly the beast rose up, the spear finally melting off his belly. It gave a gurgling sound from its horribly slashed neck. With unnatural speed it grabbed Hildraxel's arm and with a powerful motion yanked it off in a spray of blood.
The old knight spun around and fell to the ground. Fetch noticed he bled red blood like everyone else. He wasn't a demon in human form. He was going to die like the rest of them. The demon grasped its neck, and yanked the dissolving shards from his throat. "We both lost an arm...cackle now we can play."
"FETCH GET UP! Throw me !", commanded Galatea. It was burning white hot in his grasp. The cleric found it was painful to hold. Fetch nodded and tried to move but he couldn't .. He cursed his frail body. They were all gonna die. Hero, Frank, Brita, Sir Hildraxel, ...Tyris... , Fetch tried once more...he managed to move his arm this time, and attempted a feeble throw. The sword was barely lifted off the ground and the cleric figured it would travel 2 or 3 feet. However Galatea stopped in its fall, and the eladrin sword flew from its scabbard like a lighting bolt. It wasn't directly aimed at Hildraxel, but it changed direction in mid flight, lighting up the room, and flew firmly into Hildraxels grasp. The sword flashed an incandescent light. Fetch could see the Black Knight's hand burning from the sword. The lightning blinded the demon temporarily, but it never received a chance to recover. Hildraxel swung the legendary demon slaying blade at the demons lord neck. The creature still had enough wits about it to block with his other arm. More black blood sprayed out from the deep wound. It stepped forward with a savage check with its shoulder sending the battered and wounded one armed knight spinning to the ground.
The old warrior broke his fall by stabbing the sword into the ground and directing his strength to balance himself up. It was another impossible maneuver, but seemed on par with what the knight was capable of. He took a short thrust at the demon, but it blocked his blow warily. As the battle began again Fetch could see tendrils of blood slowly clotting and forming an impossibly thin arm from the stump of the old one on the demon . In a minute , Yeenoghu would be at full strength once again.
The demon sensed its imminent victory. He didn't have to beat his foe, just outlast him. He roared and waited for the knight's next attack. The 2 foes stood apart for a moment. One getting weaker one getting stronger as time moved painfully forward. The demon was like a grotesque cat playing with his prey. Hildraxel sensed this as well. His shoulders slumped, and his arm hung limply at his side. His head bowed towards the demon, awaiting the death blow. The demon cackled in victory and lunged forward to finish his foe.
Fetch had seen this maneuver before, and he broke in a grin, It was Hildraxel's gambit. At the last moment the knight stepped into the demons lunge while crouching. The demons claw shredded his armor, tear a deep wound into the knights stomach. The knight however was now inside the beasts defenses. The sword flashed towards the creatures neck.
An intense icy chill filled the room. Time stopped for a second, as the one armed knight's sword connected with the surprised demon lord's exposed throat. Then its head flew off. Its face locked in surprised shock. The Demon Prince of Gnolls, the slayer of millions, the conqueror of Orcus , was defeated by a human. A pained and piercing elven voice filled the room. Fetch could see that Galatea despite being the legendary Eladrin Vorpal sword of demon slaying was not unscathed. Its blade was scarred by the potent wisps of dark energy and the gushing black blood. Hildraxel, breathed a deep and pained breath. He awaited for the head to land on the ground. Then stomped his mailed boot on top of it. Fetch was surprised to see the head still moving. It tried to say something, but Hildraxels boot kept it in place. Its eyes rolled up , as the black knight brought the holy elven weapon crashing into its skull.
Time stood still once again. As a shrieking , but triumphant elven voice filled the room. It was at once both terrifying and invigorating. The tip of the sword shattered. Pieces scattered everywhere, hissing and burning with black blood and the evil dark tendrils. The shattered blade continued its descent however, and its remenants drove deeply into the creatures brain and pinned it to the ground. The battlefield finally laid silent.
Hildraxel looked like a broken man , his aura of invincibility suddenly gone, and he looked like an old broken man hunched over his broken sword. He had several mortal wounds. His arm was missing, his stomach torn open. Fetch didn't know what magic or power kept him standing..."FFFeeetch...FFeeettccchh.", he uttered.
Fetch was shocked at the resiliency of this man. He struggled to his feet and limped towards him. "Brriitttaa...", he said pointing his chin to his motionless daughter.
Fetch understood, and hoped she was still alive. He knew that those slain today , were most likely beyond the power of divine magic to raise. The demonlord was a devourer of souls, and you needed a soul to return to life. He touched the still form of the tattooed half elf with his wand and she stirred. She looked around and saw her father , and weakly stumbled towards him , eyes tearing up. . Fetch noticed that the demon skull was slowly rocking. The blood and dark energy was drained from it however and the broken sword was no longer dissolving. Fetch could see fleshy growths attempting to regenerate trying to push the sword out of the skull, but Hildraxel just pressed it deeper. Fetch was filled again with a cold panic. The creature was still alive, barely but still alive, only Hildraxel was keeping it at bay and he was going to die soon.
"Takkkee crrrr of Brittttt, nnnd hrrr chldrnnn. " he managed to gurgle , seemingly oblivious to the regenerating demon.
Fetch couldn't understand the dieing mans last phrase, a hand touched his shoulder, he looked and saw it was Tyris. She looked shaken but relatively unharmed, her soft yellow eyes strengthened his resolve. She looked at the broken knight and said "We will."
Hildraxel turned to Brita and weakly commanded," stonnnee nnowww..."
She understood and began casting a spell, Fetch was pretty sure the demon was too resilient to be affected by her magics, especially in her condition. Hildraxel shook his head at his daughter and their eyes met. She nodded and casted the spell bursting into tears. Hildraxel smiled as he swiftly turned to stone. The sword was locked into place in the demons skull. Its eternal guardian forever vigilant in his watch.
The other champions and heroes of the host arrived. They were shocked to find the carnage and death that greeted them. Fleur of the Narwhal, looked at the trapped demon skull and nodded. She muttered a spell and the stone form of Hildraxel turned black. Fetch knew it was adamant ore. One of the hardest and most magical resistant substances known. She then placed some wards aaround the skull, and a stony hands emerged from the ground grasping and hiding the knight and his eternal prisoner.
Various clerics tried to revive the fallen, but Fetch was correct. The demon devoured the souls of those that had fallen. Magdar of the Mammoth was given a funeral on top of a massive pyre. The knights of the mammoth threw corpses and bodies, of slain gnolls and demons onto it . Something for the old champion to slay in the afterlife to keep him company.
Hero , suffered grave wounds, but due to her bestial nature, she recovered fully. Apparently she knew Tyris from a long ago, and they chatted privately for awhile . Fetch tried to listen in to gain more insight on Tyris, but Hero shoved him away with a mighty push and a laugh. "Girls only ! "Fetch never knew she could transform into a were boar, but she winked at him and said she normally only saves that trick for Innkeeper. Fetch responded with a nervous laugh, not knowing if she was joking or not.
Many people wondered who the mysterious knight was. There were wild rumors that it was a Knight of the Mammoth , there were stories earlier of a knight matching that description fighting alongside the mammoth in the center of the battle lines. Others said he was a knight of the lion, because his black armor had a lion insignia on it. Kalinka responded it was an old knight she once met when she was still a child during the great war .She thought his name was Sir one remembered a Freyaxel, but her word as champion was not to be questioned. The name meant Valiant battler in the old tongue of the land. His battle with the demon lord became the stuff of legends.
Frank won renown and a new title that day. The Lord of the Crab not only made him a knight but a knight commander for his valiant actions. The survivors remembered he was the first to attack the demon lord, and he was given the new title of Seigeirr. or Victorious Javelin, Frank hated that name at first...but then thought of new ways to pick up women with it. Knight Commander Frank Seigeirr, the victorious javelin , had a certain ring to it he thought.
Brita was a terrible mess after her father died , she spent a week in mourning , each day praying at the shrine erected for her father. Fetch felt great pity for her and wanted to aid her however he could. Tyris joined Brita in her prayers, and they became fast friends. Fetch knew that warriors who had battled together even for a short time had a tendency to easily befriend each other. Thats the only way he could explain Frank, he joked.
Pixietrampler recovered from the backbreaking attack he suffered. He stood at Hildraxels statue for a week, nobody able to move him. Finally he left his vigil and literally jumped beyond the horizon.
Bartog , was buried with full honors by Lady Janya. She renamed the wall surrounding the town of Mammoth Keep Bartog's wall, for his stalwart defense of the Order.
The Grommers, dwarves and other foreigners that answered the call for battle, were rewarded with choice shares of loot and ancestral treasure. In return they renewed their vows of friendship and alliance. They prepared for their long trek back to their respective homelands.
The gnoll horde was broken, utterly. Demons attempted to flee back to the Scar, but it was a long ways off , and most were hunted down by the relentless cavalry of the Knights. The gnolls that survived were scattered, leaderless, and godless, the harsh tundra quickly dwindled their numbers. Only those that managed to escape underground survived. The rest died from exposure or from their Knight hunters. It was estimated that 95 % of the horde died from either battle or exposure in the first few weeks after the fight. Combined with the victory in Yllarum over the gnoll horde, the threat of the gnoll tribes were broken most likely forever on the surface from the northern wastes to the mountains of Rockhome.
The champions took great pride in rewarding the heroes of the host. The horde had amassed a quite a treasury since it formed and rampaged through the north. Magic , gold , gems, properties and titles were heaped upon the companions. Fetch,Tyris, and Brita donated their gold to the various orphanges that were set up after the war to take care of children left parentless after the battle. Frank donated a sizable portion too...after a bit of arm twisting.
Olive offered Fetch a commission in the 3rd army. Reinhardt offered him sizable lands and properties outside a city called Lower Lueders. Even Earl offered him a job referral if he was ever in the south . Fetch had never been outside the kingdom of the knights, but seriously considered their offer.
Roland slew many demons in the battle, and was personally singled out by Lord Oswald for helping to hold the Silver Champions troops together. He accepted his praise humbly. He went immediately went to see Tyris after the battle. They talked privately for a long time. When they returned, he gave Fetch a defeated smile. "Take good care of her my boy , she will be needed soon.", was all he said before he left again . It was cryptic but Fetch felt that single phrase was the greatest treasure he was awarded after the battle. He told Roland that he will guard her with his life.
The mists slowly retreated after the demon lord was slain. Weather ,time and distance started to make sense again up north. Only the areas surrounding the plateau and the ocean surrounding Ogremochs icy island were still covered with the mists. The Knights took this as a sign as a start of a new age of honor, chivalry and victory.
Finally Frank, try to hit upon the beautiful bodyguard of the champion of the Narwhal, he was doing pretty good, till he asked her if she wanted to see his victorious javelin.
Fetch used many prayers of healing that night.