I do not own Dungeons and Dragons or any of the characters.

Mordoc's Gate

Baldur's Gate was burning. The Onyx Tower had risen near its heart, and chaos had obviously ensued. Buildings were destroyed, fires lit the night and reflected in the water the rain was forming on the ground, casting dancing lights about the streets and alleys of the city, and the people had been transformed. They were zombies, though not rotting yet. According to the merchant from the Elfsong Tavern, who'd been out of the city at the time, a group of adventurers had arrived to investigate the chaos and the fires, only to be devoured by Baldur's Gate's now carnivorous populace. A skeleton grew of guard and soldiers who'd been patrolling outside the city had set up barricades to try and keep the zombies corralled inside of Baldur's Gate, but it would never hold. Mordoc had to be killed, and the tower destroyed.

"There are so many of them!" Edgin yelped, ducking around a zombie's lunging slash before removing an arm and leg.

"It's the entire city!" Jasper reminded him, using his Ironwood sword to rapidly dispatch the zombies. "Of course there are!"

"At least we got plenty of practice in the crypts," Holga offered, lopping off a head and sending the zombie staggering into Dorn's reach, Dorn rapidly removing its arms and legs.

"That we did," Mia nodded, dancing through a cluster of zombies and relieving them of their ability to do anything.

"Why is she so deadly against zombies?" Simon asked.

"Seriously, every time we fight any, she's suddenly untouchable," Doric agreed before shifting into an Owlbear and grabbing a zombie before hurling it into several more.

"It's because Mia doesn't see them as people," Aranea explained. "The rest of us are instinctively held back by the knowledge that these used to be people, especially this time. But Mia doesn't associate them with who they used to be."

"You mean she doesn't care about others," Allessia growled, slamming a shining mace into a zombie, killing it instantly.

"No, she doesn't," Jasper agreed. "Outside of myself, Aranea, and Adrianna, Mia doesn't connect to people the same way the rest of us do. She can enjoy being around them, and view them as a friend, but even then, there's never truly a connection to them."

"How did we never know this?" Edgin asked.

"Because I'm a Changeling," Mia explained. "If I decide that someone is a close friend, they'll never know the difference. But Jasper and the rest of our harem are the only times I've ever actually had a real connection. But let me make this clear. Just because I'm deciding that you're my friends doesn't mean that I don't care. I just only care because I choose to."

The others all remained silent as they digested the information, focusing on dealing with the zombies. Finally, they finished any that were in sight just in time to find Randalla Brasshorn. Jasper narrowed his eyes instantly. She'd changed her outfit. She now wore a black midriff shirt with a tan camouflage layer over her upper arms and breasts, tight, black pants, a belt decorated by small, silver skulls, black gloves, and her skin was pale, making a pair of fang marks stick out in sharp contrast on her neck.

"Waukeen be praised," Randalla greeted them. "You've returned! I thought the city was lost, but perhaps...perhaps you can stop it!"

"What's happened?" Dorn asked. "Is it Mordoc?"

"I...don't know!" Randalla lied. "The Onyx Tower...it suddenly appeared. People began to die...and rise again! Come, I can lead you to the base of the tower."

"I don't think so," Jasper said. "Do you think we're blind? You were bitten by a vampire, Randalla."

Randalla watched him in silence for a long few moments then laughed. "I'm honestly impressed. None of the rest of you noticed, and yet I made no effort to hide it. No wonder you weren't able to stop this." Then, she turned, sprinting away faster than any human had a right to move.

Jasper narrowed his eyes, sighing. "That's going to complicate matters."

"We'll deal with her," Allessia decided. "We were originally hired as her bodyguards, so she's our responsibility."

The others nodded, and they quickly made their way through the city. Many, many more zombies assaulted them, but they made very quick progress. However, as they reached a large open square in the city, they stopped, staring at the person before them. He wore form-fitting black armor, a hooded, black cloak, and held a jagged, black dagger.

"This guy looks like trouble," Edgin said.

"He should," Jasper narrowed his eyes. "He's a vampire assassin." He stared at the dagger, which felt somehow cold and unnatural. "I'll handle him. Alone. The rest of you go deal with Mordoc. I'll catch up."

"Be careful," Mia pleaded.

"I will," Jasper promised. "See you soon."

Each of the members of Jasper's harem gave him a quick kiss before the others all took a side street as a detour. Jasper turned back to the assassin, readying his dagger and rapier, then charged. And then, he hurt. The assassin blurred, nearly vanishing from Jasper's sight, as he raced to the side, then shot inward. Before Jasper could even consider reacting, the dagger had bitten deeply into his side. Jasper spun, seeing an arc of blood still connecting his wound to the blade, but instead of falling, it flowed into the blade, being absorbed into the blade. For a long moment, the blood formed a design that looked similar to veins, but as it was absorbed and the blood faded from view, the dagger seemed to radiate darkness, growing slightly. Jasper's eyes widened before he narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. The vampire grinned, his fangs catching the light for only an instant before the vampire was in motion again. He charged head-on, this time, but as Jasper thrust his rapier out to meet the vampire, the vampire dropped under the blade and vanished before splitting Jasper's other side. Again, Jasper's blood flowed through the air and into the dagger's blade, not a single drop being lost as the dagger drank its fill.

"You're a fool to believe you can defeat me," the assassin laughed in a smooth, dangerous hiss. "No matter how fast you move, you'll still be barely moving at all to me."

"We'll see about that," Jasper growled. "Show me what you can really do!"

The assassin laughed, then vanished as Jasper shifted into a Tabaxi. Then, the assassin closed in to toy with his prey some more.

Xenk spun past several zombies, his Holy Avenger shining as it tore through their bodies, destroying them. Then, he slowed to a stop in a city square just as Jasper screamed in pain, a black blur flashing around and around him, wounds tearing open all over his body for several seconds before the blur shot off to the side and stopped, revealing a vampire. The excessive amount of blood in the air flowed into the vampire's weapon, a weapon like an over-large dagger at first, but as it absorbed Jasper's blood, it expanded, growing from a weapon somewhere between a shortsword and a dagger into a bastardsword, the single-handed grip extending along with the blade to match the blade's increased size.

"You've been surprisingly fun!" the vampire laughed. "No one ever survives long enough for my blade to get this long! It's gonna be fun to see how big it'll get. I think I'll go after that Barbarian guy, next. Sword fighters are always more fun."

"You're...not going...anywhere," Jasper panted. "I'm...not...done!"

The vampire laughed. "You can barely even hold up your arms! You reverted back to your true form you're so exhausted! How do you intend to fight me?"

Jasper narrowed his eyes. "Shadow. Last resort."

Shadow surged from Jasper's own shadow, not forming into anything, but beginning to envelope Jasper, clinging to him like a shroud of darkness. The vampire's eyebrow rose and he watched interestedly as the shadows rapidly ascended Jasper's torso before spreading down his arms and over his blades, which had long-since lost their enchantments. Finally, the shadows rose to spread down his hair before finally covering his face, leaving his eyes, nostrils, and the inside of his mouth all glowing white as darkness curled off of his body like smoke. Jasper turned profile to the vampire, holding his dagger in reverse grip at his side as he aimed his rapier at the vampire. The vampire laughed, then exploded forward once again. Except, things had changed. Suddenly, Jasper was able to keep up. Their blades clashed in a shower of sparks, the pair moving so fast that their unnoticed audience could only barely keep up.

The vampire slashed at Jasper's side, only for Jasper to spin, deflecting the blade. The vampire spun, his blade whipping around at Jasper once again, only for Jasper to flip over it, lashing out with his dagger and grazing the vampire's cheek. The vampire lunged, stabbing at Jasper, and Jasper spun around it, the blade grazing his side again, growing only slightly. Jasper launched himself into a blistering series of strikes with his blade, the strikes glowing closer and closer to the vampire. Finally, the vampire leapt back, then launched himself forward, striking with all his force. However, as he did, Jasper's mouth curled into a smirk and he lunged. The vampire's sword shrieked as it skidded along Jasper's dagger, missing Jasper just before Jasper's rapier plunged into the vampire's eye. The vampire shrieked in agony, writhing for a moment before Jasper withdrew his blade before flicking his wrist into a slash and severing the vampire's neck. Then, Shadow withdrew from Jasper, sinking back into Jasper's shadow again, allowing Jasper to sag, then pitch to the side. Before he could crash to the ground, however, Xenk caught him, pressing his hand to his chest. His hand shone, and Jasper's wounds began to seal quickly. For several moments, Xenk waited, extending his spell until Jasper was fully restored. Finally, Jasper's eyes fluttered open and he groaned.

"You're...late," Jasper croaked.

"My apologies," Xenk smirked. "That was some power you used."

"It comes with a pretty nasty payoff," Jasper groaned, forcing himself to his feet, sheathing his dagger and picking up the assassin's blade. "Break this."

"Break it?" Xenk frowned.

"It's a cursed weapon," Jasper explained. "Its victims' souls are trapped inside of it, and it augments its wielder's abilities. It's too dangerous to be allowed to exist. Break it."

Xenk nodded, and Jasper rested the tip of the blade on the ground. Xenk raised his Holy Avenger, and the blade shone before he struck. With a thundering crash, the assassin's blade shattered, blood erupting from both ends as the weapon rapidly shrank. Xenk and Jasper wiped their faces off and slung the blood off before they turned toward the Onyx Tower again, hurrying through the city. However, Xenk quickly realized what Jasper had meant about what he had done having a nasty payoff. Within bare minutes of beginning to travel, Jasper was panting and limping, his free arm wrapped around his torso, as he couldn't clutch at the entire thing at once.

"Is there nothing that helps?" Xenk asked as they neared the tower.

"Don't...worry...about...me," Jasper panted.

Xenk's brow furrowed, but he didn't press the subject. After a few minutes, they found Randalla lying on the ground, wounded and weakened but conscious.

"Adventurer," Randalla called out weakly. "The others are inside. You must hurry."

Jasper nodded, and he and Xenk hurried into the tower. Almost as soon as they were inside, Jasper felt his magic stir, whether in memory of his brief loss of control the last time they were there, or in reaction to the tower itself, he wasn't sure, but he reined himself in instantly. And as they followed the trail of broken gargoyles and destroyed automatons through the tower, Jasper narrowed his eyes. They had entered a different way, but after a few minutes, Jasper realized they had ended up on the same path as they had followed before. Xenk seemed to realize the same things, because he grew more confident in his movements, pulling ahead of Jasper and wordlessly guiding him further into the tower. Finally, they caught up with the others in the same room where they had once battled the massive automaton that had set off Jasper's loss of control, and where the others were resting amid the wreckage of the same type of automaton.

"Jasper!" Mia cheered instantly, sprinting over with Aranea and Adrianna just behind her.

Jasper smiled, meeting the three in a group hug. Xenk walked over to greet the others, being welcomed very excitedly.

"We should get moving," Allessia finally decided.

"Not yet," Mia said. "Jasper needs rest."

"I agree," Xenk nodded. "The battle against that vampire took a great deal of strength from him."

"I'll be fine," Jasper assured them, feeling his roiling magic power, even suppressed, rapidly restoring his strength. "Let's finish this. Then I can rest."

Mia hesitated, then nodded, and they all continued up the tower. After scarcely a few more minutes, they had reached the top of the tower, the same place as once they had faced Eldrith, and found a vampire waiting. He had a balding head and wore black armor with red highlights and spikes on the shoulders, a longsword, and a rectangular tower shield decorated with a skull with numerous spikes extending up from it and a blade extending downward where its lower jaw should have been.

"I was almost worried you wouldn't make it here," the vampire greeted them. "It would have robbed me of the joy of crushing you."

"Xanhast," Vhaidra identified the vampire. "You're the vampire that enslaved Randalla."

"Her beauty is now eternal, which is more than I can say for you, mortals," Xanhast mused. "But then...hmmm. Perhaps I'll add a few of you to my harem as well. You seem to have brought me a few rather rare beauties."

"Over my dead body," Jasper growled.

"That was the idea, yes," Xanhast nodded.

"I'll deal with this," Xenk decided, striding forward, Holy Avenger at his side.

Xanhast hissed angrily, lunging, but Xenk met him in a flurry of strikes. For several minutes, it seemed an even match. Both of them scores grazing strikes, both of them briefly disarmed their opponents twice only for the fallen weapon to be retrieved, and both seemed excessively deadly. Then, all at once, it was over. Xenk had knocked Xanhast's shield aside before removing that arm, then Xanhast's head. For a moment, everyone stood in stunned silence. Then, Jasper and the others in Edgin's group cheered.

"I'm glad he's on our side," Dorn muttered.

"Yeah, that sums up everything you need to know about Xenk," Jasper smirked. "He's probably half the reason we defeated Eldrith."

"Hardly," Xenk said. "At most, I was only forty percent."

Jasper rolled his eyes, turning to the gate occupying the top of the tower, exactly where Adrianna and the others had disappeared before.

"Let's go," Adrianna said, taking his hand. "Together."

"Together," Jasper nodded as Mia took his other hand, Aranea holding her other hand.

Together, the four of them walked forward, continuing to hold each other's hands as they passed through the gate, the rest of the two groups following. Once they were on the other side, Jasper narrowed his eyes. The world around them was black, completely void of light, but the tower below them was a bright, pure white, as though the complete opposite color of the tower they'd just left. And before them stood Mordoc.

"You meddlesome wretch!" Mordoc snarled as more and more of the others joined them, starting with Xenk. "How can you be here!?"

"We brought in some help, and he killed your guard dog," Jasper said, gesturing at Xenk. "Easily."

"No matter, it is over!" Mordoc snapped. "The Tower's core is mine! I alone can draw on the power of the Onyx Heart, now bursting with the souls of forty-thousand dead!" He gestured at a disturbing object, like a sort of obelisk formed from melted, black skulls. "You cannot possibly defeat me!"

"What a coincidence," Mia smirked as Vahn lifted his Onyx Sword, Mia withdrawing her own from Shadow. "We happen to have the perfect weapons for that."

Mordoc snarled in rage, but before he could do anything, they had all broken into a charge. Mordoc slashed at Jasper, but he ducked under the blade, slashing back at Mordoc. Mordoc stepped back, Jasper's rapier grazing the front of his armor, breaking the skull. Mordoc roared, kicking Jasper and hurling him into the railing of the tower, then spun, deflecting both of Dorn's swords. He slashed back the other way at him, but before the blade could connect, Mia stepped between them, deflecting the blade with her Onyx Sword. The force of the blow hurled her backward into Dorn, both crashing into the ground, but before Mordoc could attack them, Xenk reached him. Mordoc snarled, his face contorting in rage and annoyance as he and Xenk dueled, both of them spinning and slashing rapidly, their blades clashing over and over. Mordoc stabbed at Xenk, and he deflected the blade, countering with a slash. Mordoc ducked, spinning under the blade, and lashed out, his blade carving a scratch into Xenk's chestplate. Jasper lunged, slashing at Mordoc's back, and Mordoc twisted, deflecting the blade as he slammed a palm strike into Xenk's sword arm, sending his Holy Avenger skittering across the tower. Mordoc shoved Jasper's blade away and moved to strike Xenk, only for Edgin to slam his own sword into the underside of Mordoc's, deflecting the blade over Xenk. Holga stepped forward instantly, taking a powerful swipe at Mordoc, only for his body to burst apart into a swarm of bats. Allessia tossed Xenk's sword to him, and Xenk nodded, just as Mordoc reformed behind him. Before Mordoc could attack, however, Allessia and Jasper both raised a hand.

"Daylight!"

A pair of spheres of shining light appeared over the tower, and Mordoc roared in agony, recoiling. A second later, Vhaidra slammed a devastating punch into his side, cracking his chestplate. Mordoc roared, spinning, moving to slash, only for Aranea's spear to deflect his sword before striking out at his side. He avoided it, but Mia and Vahn both lunged, slashing and scoring a pair of grazing strikes to his sides, their Onyx Swords cutting through his armor cleanly. Mordoc roared, leaping over Vahn and landing off to the side, only for Adrianna and Simon to both fire a Lightning Bolt at the same time as Allessia used a very powerful cast of Guiding Bolt. All three exploded into Mordoc, shattering his damaged chestplate and sending him crashing into the railing of the tower, exactly where Kromlech was waiting for him. Kromlech swung hard, planting his axe in Mordoc's abdomen. Mordoc roared, grabbing the axe by the shaft and ripped the head free of his gut before hurling both it and Kromlech away. Then, he roared in pain as Jasper and Ysuron blasted him with a pair of barrages of flaming arrows. Just as they stopped, Borador fired his crossbow, a bolt with a small pouch tied to the end flashing across the tower and stabbing into Mordoc's chest. A moment later, the pouch erupted into a massive explosion.

"Did that get him?" Borador asked.

"Don't count on it," Jasper growled.

Sure enough, Mordoc burst from the smoke, burned, bloodied, and furious. He rapidly began to beat them down, holding nothing back. He slammed a punch into Edgin's head that had to have cracked his skull, kicked Holga's knee backward, backhanded Kira as she plunged her dagger into his back and rendered her unconscious. He slashed Vhaidra across the chest, plunged his sword through Vahn's abdomen twice in the blink of an eye, kicked the shaft of Kromlech's axe to bury the back edge in Kromlech's shoulder, slashed Allessia across the face. He severed Borador's right arm at the bicep, tricked Simon and Adrianna into blasting Doric with a pair of Fireballs, stole Adrianna's staff to slam into Simon's head, nearly caving in his skull, then planted it through Adrianna's diaphragm. He slashed Aranea across the side nearly to the spine and impaled Mia through the chest. However, as he did, Mia drove her Onyx sword through Mordoc's own chest, then shoved the hilt sharply to the side, breaking the blade off.

Mordoc staggered backward, staring down at the blade, then roared, backhanding her and sending her flying. He turned on Jasper and Xenk, the two final enemies standing. Jasper had activated his Ironwood Flesh spell, and Xenk's Holy Avenger shone. Together, they lunged into combat. Mordoc spun and ducked around their blades, lashing out rapidly, but neither of them gave him an inch. Jasper deflected a stab, allowing Xenk to counter with a slash, then stepped forward, slashing upward at himself. Both blades tore across Mordoc's chest, and Mordoc roared, launching a flurry of slashes, only for Jasper to deflect them all before jabbing his rapier into one of Mordoc's eyes. As Mordoc staggered backward, shrieking in pain, Xenk stepped forward, slashing him across the abdomen. Mordoc roared, leaping over Xenk, only to stop as the others all rose, their bodies shining as their wounds healed, though Borador's arm remained amputated. As one, they all struck. Adrianna and Simon's Lightning Bolts struck first, and they were immediately followed by a storm of stabs, slashes, and blows as the others, even Kira, assaulted Mordoc. Even as Mordoc countered savagely, and even as Allessia and Xenk added their own attacks to the assault, they both also healed any wounds Mordoc created. Then, finally, Vahn hurled his Onyx Sword into the air and Aranea leapt over them all, catching the blade before catching herself with her hybrid form's spider legs on Edgin, Holga, Dorn, and Xenk before dropping, driving the sword down into Mordoc's head.

Everyone leapt back, watching as Mordoc stood motionless for a moment. Finally, his sword clattered to the ground and he pitched forward. He crashed to the ground hard, and Xenk strode to the ghastly obelisk. Once again, his Holy Avenger shone. Then, he drove it into the obelisk, and it shone around the blade, cracks spreading outward from it. Then, it exploded apart and the tower began to shake. They all turned, fleeing through the gate together, and then down through the tower to the doorway they'd entered through. As they got outside, less than a second after the last of them escaped, there was a flash of blinding light, and the tower was gone.

"There goes my arm," Borador growled. "Shit."

"Adventurers!" Randalla called out, hurrying over to them, a swarm of surviving citizens of Baldur's Gate behind her. "I owe you my life, as do all the people of Baldur's Gate. You are truly heroes among heroes."

"Randalla!" Kira gasped, then smiled. "You survived!"

"I did because of you all," Randalla smiled, eyes watering. "Xanhast's destruction saved my body, while the Tower's destruction saved my soul. But come! Before we celebrate, the Grand Dukes will want to meet their saviors!"

"Lead the way," Edgin said, gesturing for her to go first.

Randalla nodded, turning and starting through the city, everyone beginning to cheer, none even caring that Jasper and Mia had both assumed their true forms, or that Aranea was in her hybrid form. Jasper smiled, taking Mia and Aranea's hands, Mia's free hand taking Adrianna's.

"We did it," Mia smiled. "And now, we get to receive more medals."

"We'd better," Jasper smirked. "That's two they owe us this time."

Adrianna laughed. "Well, no matter how the Dukes reward you, I have something special in mind as thanks for saving me."

Jasper smiled. "While I'd be more than happy to accept, you don't have to thank us. Us abandoning you was never an option."

Adrianna smiled, switching places with Mia so that she could kiss Jasper, cheers erupting around them as they did. Jasper smiled as he pulled back. He was glad it was over. He needed a break from adventuring for a bit. He wanted to just be able to enjoy holding the women he loved. No threat of death involved. And that was exactly what he planned on doing.

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