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Through eyes transformed to examine the usually hidden mystic energies that suffuse the natural world, Ankor examines the room.

There are strong auras of magic here. Concentrating, Ankor begins to discern differences in them. The map and the poles have a transmutation enchantment upon them, of the type that can move things across huge distances. The statue of tentacles has a powerful transmutation aura upon it, along with several other auras: abjuration, enchantment, and other, weaker transmutation effects.


OOC Summary - in the tabletop session, the party defeated the stone golem here, figured out how to use the teleporting map, and retrieved the Talisman of Ultimate Good from the depths of the black spike.

Then, traveling up the spike, the party did battle with the First and the Third of the Doomdreamers. They fought valiantly, but Doombringer and Ankor were slain with their unholy magics. Gordek and Edilon managed to escape with their lives.

Doombringer despite his best efforts is unable to stop the priests magic spell. As he finishes the final words of his killing magic Doombringer mutters, "I hate..." and is destroyed leaving an expensive pile of magic items in his place.

"...magicusers." Realizing that he has been teleported and not killed, Doombringer quickly gets his bearings. And not a moment to soon, as what looks to be a bloodthirsty human is charging him. He quickly punches him in the face takes his axe and uses it to behead another nearby human. With the immediate threat neutralized he takes stock of his current situation.

Doombringer then lets out a loud laugh, "That damn wizard sent me naked to a battlefield. He was a fool to think this would kill me. I guess wizards can be idiots too sometimes. " After doning some armor and grabbing a greatsword from a nearby corpse. Doombringer sets off towards the nearest sounds of battle, "I'll just join up with a nearby army and get directions from there..."

Doombringer marches off towards the sound of battle, coming from over the nearby rise, from the sound of it. A few hundred paces across the dry, rocky soil and he realizes it's more of a jagged cliff than a rise.

As he gets within a dozen paces something begins to feel very strange about this: he can not see the land stretching away past the cliff. In fact, all he can see beyond the cliff edge is a smoky, hazy gray sky with large blurry shapes in the distance. The sound of battle is so close now that Doombringer instinctively has taken on a defensive posture, greatsword held up before him.

Suddenly, a little green hand grabs the cliff-edge from below. It belongs to a goblin in ragged bronze chain mail who vaults up over the cliff edge. Seeing Doombringer he stops and readies his iron falchion. Another dozen goblins vault over the lip of the cliff. One of them screams "For Magublet!" and they rush Doombringer.

Meanwhile, far away from Doombringer, Gordek and Edilon make their way back to the Air Temple. They cast glances behind them as they walk.

They arrive in the large room with the altar. Skordan Kirv is pacing around the room and greets the pair with blade drawn. He lowers it when he sees who approaches.

Some of the others gather around. Sword also drawn, Vister asks "Where's Ankor?" Her clear blue eyes probe the dwarf and man.

"And Doombringer," says Virith, quieter. She pushes a dirty auburn lock behind a pointed ear.

EIDOLON makes for a canteen and takes a swig. After wiping his hand across his mouth, he says "They didn't make it." Amid the rising hubbub from the rest of the group, he quiets them and explains what happened during the battle. After answering their questions, he says:

"Clearly our mistake was doing what we always do. Everyone wanted to recklessly follow their own misguided instincts in a hostile situation, rather than coordinating as a group. This was a foolhardy attitude to have since we've known from the beginning that the enemies we face are deadly powerful."

Eidolon paces around the group and turns to face them all.

"Friends, we've fought together and bled together in this dark place for many months now. We've come a long way and it's time to finish this. These bastards are going down and I intend to be there in their last moments right before they are blasted back to hell. Together, we can make this happen. Together, we can rid this land of the evil of Tharasdon once and for all!

"TOGETHER! Do you hear me? We can no longer act selfishly if we hope to prevail. These enemies arrayed against us have a SINGLE PURPOSE in mind: to free Tharasdon. Their single-mindedness gives them strength. As a party, we have NO such common purpose. It is our GREATEST WEAKNESS! We all seek riches and power and fame, no doubting that. But the HOW of obtaining this is as varied from person to person as wildflowers in spring. Our lack of unity and purpose has made us weak. And because of this, two of our friends lay dead in the Black Spike.

"Well it stops now. From this point forward we all agree on certain things: how we scout dangerous areas ahead, how we enter rooms, how we coordinate our team to fight most effectively. We all have our own unique abilities. It is time we each use those abilities AS PART OF A TEAM. No more running into rooms to sate our own lust or greed. No more cavalier behavior that endangers the rest of the party.

"This is the moment in which we become a true fellowship. Or, we dissolve to so much useless dust. I stand before you now and ask you to join with me and with each other. Join, and we fight as one. AS ONE!!! WHO STANDS WITH ME?"

ooc I tend to just write stuff and not proof read anything, please forgive any typos.

Doombringer smiles as the goblins charge. His gring gets wider as even more goblins poor over the cliff. Then an orcish axe splits the skull of a goblin as it tries frantically to get over the cliff face. It is only then that Doombringer realizes they are not charging him but are in retreat from a company of orcs. Releasing a battle cry Doombringer methodically works his way towards his kin. Within a few minutes the last of the goblins are slain by the unexpected pincher attack.

The company of orcs lets out a cheer as Doombringer joins them. The orcs welcome him and explain that the goblins where deserters from a much larger force. And that they were laying seige to a nearby fortress. "The cowards!" Doombringer exclaims, goblin kind where always useless. I will help you with this seige, perhaps afterwords I can find directions back to where I came from. The party of orcs chuckle to some sort of inside joke. Doombringer excited at the thought of more battle dosn't notice.

"Let us go rejoin the main force." One of the orcs says. And the company walks straight off the edge of the cliff without warning. Startled doombringer peers over the edge to see his new companions walking down the side of the cliff. "Just step down, You won't fall." To his suprise, althogh a little dizzying, Doombringer steps across the cliff face. Then hurries to catch up.

Although there where no major battles, The company of orcs was in almost constant conflict with different foes as they travel towards the ever growing castle in the distance. The glee of battle slowly being replaced with a sort of battle clarity. Doombringer's eyes begin to change and become accoustom to the new strange world. After 3 days of straight fighting Doombringer realizes that he has not tired at all, the old feelings of exaustion being replaced by a lust to fight.

The battle is in full swing by the time they arrive. The high castle walls beset on all sides by siege towers and ladders. Catapults, ballista, and stranger seige weapons that are powered by magic send all manner of death through the air impacting on the thick castle walls or on magical shields that surround it. A huge adamantine rock hurtles through the air and destroys a section of the castle wall, only to be rebuilt moments later by wizards inside the fortress.

Prepare to charge the gates will open soon a magically enhanced voice yells over the sounds of battle. The sounds of the battering ram hitting the door can be heard even at the rear of the formation. The company of orcs moves in position to charge, They stop out of range of the archers. Doombringer looks next to him and realizes this is not the orcish horde he thought it was. To his left are hundreds of demons ready for battle. The batallion to his right are some type of angel that he had never seen. Before he can give his strange new bedfellows any thought the front gate crashes open. A roar bellows over the battle field as they all charge.

Doombringer is one of the first to enter the castle as battle wages all around him. Charging up the a nearby staircase to the battlements above he skewers a devil. After using the twitching body momentarily as cover against a barrage of arrows he lets it slide off his sword and fall to the ground below. Free to act Doombringer makes it to the top of the battlements while the archers are reloading and makes a hole in their defensive line. Seizing the opportunity a seige tower full of troops lowers its ramp in the now empty space. With a secure foothold on the battlements Doombringer begins moving back towards the front. When he reaches his unit he hears shouting from up front followed by a colassal roar. "We've got him pinned down with antimagic." Someone screams from up ahead.

"Make a hole." Doombringer says to his men. As they work to move the other troops aside Doombringer enters a massive courtyard where he sees a fantastic sight. A Gigantic Devil, easily 30' high surrounded by Demons, Angels, and all other form of monsters fights with the fury of a hurricane. Skewered by a huge ballista bolt The attacking troops try to take him down to the ground. 2 Clawed hands slash at his foes. Several arrows with ropes attached, and spike chains are used to attack and pull the huge beast down to the ground. Doombringer moves to a nearby catapult and with the assistance of his fellow orcs begin to aim it at the Devil. Just before they are about to fire the beast cleaves the magical cable tied to the ballista bolt in half and with another roar is free and begins to fly to the sky carrying half a dozen hapless soliders, still clutching their ropes, with him.

Thinking quickly doombringer has his orcs adjust the catapult and hops up with the huge rock. Waiting for the right moment he then gives the command to fire, and he goes flying into the distance after the devil. Covering the distance towards his target quickly he pushes off the boulder a few seconds before impact. The devil spins in mid air and backfists the boulder shattering it into thousands of pieces. But was unaware of the doom that followed closly behind. Hurtling through the debris sword ready Doombringer slices through the devils wing. Continuing his flight doombringer looks behind him to see the devil scream as he falls to the ground below. Knowing the same fate awaits him next, Doombringer hits the ground, hard, rolls and slides, breaking more than a few bones in the process. Not wanting to miss his kill Doombringer drags himself to his feet and using his sword as a crutch limps over to where the huge devil fell.

Staring down at the huge creature he looks into its eyes as it dies, "You where a worthy foe." With that Doombringer chops off his head, empties out the skull and wears it's head as a helmet. Doombringer drinks it's blood which seems to replenish him. as he limps towards an aid station the blood of the devil rolls down his skin and mixes with his own through the many cuts on his body. Once inside the tent he collapses on a unused cot and waits for one of the nearby celestials to heal him. Wearied from the day of fighting Doombringer dosn't even remember why he is with this army...

The days of bloodshed turn into weeks, then months and years. With no cause to fight for other than fighting for it's own sake. Doombringer becomes a killing machine. Soliders near him become inspired by his bloodlust and fight harder which in turn makes him fight harder.

As Doombringer's army approaches a nearby fortress he prepares for another battle. They had assulted this town only a week ago, but after a few days of having no one to defend against they grew bored and went in search of other opportunities. A necromancer has reanimated their foes and now it appears they will have the pleasure of assulting it again.

Doombringer motions to start the attack, his seasoned troops already moving into position. The undead while usually having better formations then most armies they face do not have enough individual fighting skill to match the orc's ferocity. Within hours the outer fortress has fallen. Strangly the inner keep is offering no external resistance other than a thick door. After a few minutes the door flys open and Doombringer and his troops move inside.

They move through the hallways of the keep with a deadly purpose. To find and kill the necromancer leader. As the approach the top of the keep Doombringer stops suddenly. The floor is littered with the corpses of his men, "The creature up ahead is powerful. Lets move!" A noticable fear began to settle on the party, something so powerful that it reminded Doombringer of something but he couldn't quite place it. They are about to round a corner when a dead orc is flung right infront of Doombringer and hits the wall so hard that the building seems to shake. The orc slumps to the ground, obviously dead.

Doombringer rounds the corner to see a gigantic foe holding a mightly spear dripping in blood standing in the middle of the room. As tall as an ogre but obviously an orc. The bodies of humans, angels, demons, orcs, and elves litter the floor around him. The floor is stained red with blood. The tower shakes as a skull is crushed underneath his foot. The two orcs next to Doombringer, enraged by the death of their bretheran, charge the figure. He laughs as he runs one through, with a twich of his wrist he sends him flying from his spear into the second orc. The both tumble to the wall. Dead.

"I've been waiting for you." He says, "There have been rumors of a master swords man in charge of an orc army. He needs to be tested they say. To prove himself worthy to enter Nishrek." The huge orc pauses for a moment as his eyes narrow. "Defend yourself!" And then charges.

Avoiding the inital lunge Doombringer steps behind the corner where he came from. An instant later the spear stabs through the metal walls and passes right by Doombringers head. Too close as a trickle of blood poors forth from a nick on his face. Doombringer, taking advantage of the temporary prison the spear is in moves forward for the attack. As the first swing speeds to it's destination the huge orc pulls his spear sideways through the wall, With no cutting edge to aid it in it's path. Underestimating the pure strength of his opponent Doombringer realises that he stepped into a trap as the spear head is on a course for his neck. Unable to complete his sword stroke without losing his life Doombringer moves to parry.

The force of the blow sends him tumbling across the room. As Doombringer rises to his feet the huge orc laughs, "HA HA HA! Not only are you still alive you can actually stand up. At least some of the stories are true." Realizing that the next time that spear hits him will be the last Doombringer prepares to dodge the next blow. The orc makes a masterful series of spear thrusts. Any of which being powerful enough to end the life of even a giant, and only barely does Doombringer avoid them. So focused is he on avoid the deadly spear stricks that he is unable to make but a few weak counter attacks. None of which are strong enough to cut through his foes thick muscles. The huge orc taunts him again, "HA! You run like a goblin and hit like a woman. Do you really call yourself an orc?"

Realizing that there is no way to defeat this foe as he is now Doombringer grins at the death fate has given him. "You are about to die, so the proper respect!" He curses. Doombringer returns to his balanced combat stance, no longer afraid, his wicked grin even broader. "DIE THEN FOOLISH ONE!!" and charged spear thrust going straight towards Doombringers chest. At the last moment, Doombringer steps forwarding into a striking position, while it did nothing to stop the spear, the new posistion was just removed enough not to be immedatly fatal. The spear runs through his chest taking out 1/2 his ribcage and a lung. But that is exactly what he hoped for. In a perfect position his greatsword slashes down with deadly force, enough to cut through the huge orcs arm dropping it to the floor.

Now free to move doombringer staggers back refusing to die or give in to this foe. He spins around, dizzy, pulls the spear the rest of the way through his body spilling blood and guts in the process. "Insolent little peon. How DARE you wound me!" The orc picks up his arm and slams Doombringer with it. Doombringer is thrown across the room hitting a wall hard landing and on a pile of bodies. Dying he looks down at the fallen that came before him and spits out a mouthful of blood. Will I be joining them now? Doombringer wonders, and then something catches his eye. A symbol cluched by a dead dwarf, something he has not seen in a long time. He spits out more blood as the memory comes to him. "Kord..." Doombringer can barely form the word as he gazes at the holy symbol.

"Don't utter the name of that weakling in my presence!" the huge orc roars. Doombringer looks up at him as he places his severed arm back in place. It heals instantly. "Just when you passed the test you had to go and do something stupid."

"It is an honor to be killed by someone so powerful." Blood poors from his mouth as doombringer utters the words.

"What kind of orc speaks like that? Not one of my kin!" The huge orc picks up his spear and walks to Doombringer. "Look at you. Even now you are still defiant." He utters as he sees the greatsword move feebly to defend its owner.

Doombringer just smiles and spits out more blood. He begins to feel himself becoming part of this place, part of war itself. Excited as he sees the spear decend towards his heart. Sure to strike true this time but trying to block it regardless. He feels the sword and spear connect, everything slows down. The spaks of the impact glow. Doombringer watches with amazement as his body still moves as if unharmed. The sparks made by the impact glowing brighter as his sword moves the spear out of the way.

"What's this?" The orc is confused. Nothing can parry his deathblow. He swings again. The greatsword moves faster this time, to parry the spear again, exploding with brilliant white light when the 2 weapons meet. He looks in horror as Doombringer's wounds begin to close. Doombringer looks at his foe, his eyes blazing with the same firey white light.

"This one is mine." Doombringer speaks, but it is not his voice.

"Kord!? You come all the way here for this whelp?"

"I have a use for this one, and will not allow you to have him."

"Argghhh!" The orc screams as he hurles the spear at Doombringer. It is deflected again with another flash of light. And with that the orc and spear are gone.

"I have saved you," Kords voice booms in Doombringer's mind, "this makes you mine. But before you can join me in Ysgard I have a task for you to complete. Tharsdon cannot be allowed to awaken. Travel south of here for 2 days, there you will find a portal, it will be guarded. Enter the portal and assist me from there. Carry my holy symbol at all times." And with that he is gone, leaving Doombringer alone in the room with the dead bodies.

Doombringer takes the holy symbol off the fallen priest and begins to make his way south.

OOC: I asked justin for a prayer from godek, but he is slower than a sloth on sake so I'm gonna make one up for him.


Gordek sits in the chapel to kord that has been created in the air temple. "Ohh Kord, we are so lost without Doombringer to fight with us. Everyone is so depressed now, Morrissey Morrissey." As Gordek prays he feels the presence of Kord and a portal to another realm open.

"Please aid us Kord, send us someone to defend..." Before Gordek can finish his prayer the dead body of some kind of demon comes flying through the portal and impacts against the wall.

"Kord I'm sorry you didn't let me finish my prayer, I meant to say "to defend us."" Almost as soon as Gordek finishes speaking a shield with what looks to be an arm still attached to it comes flying through the portal.

"Kord this isn't funny, we need someone to replace Doombringer so that we can put a stop to tharsdon." This time a huge head rolls out of the portal and lands right on Gordek.

"What the hell is going on!" Gordek exclaims as he gets up to look through the portal.

And just as Gordek begins to gaze into hell a Devil jumps down out of the portal and lands with a heavy thud in front of Gordek. No stranger to combat Gordek almost swings at the beast but notices the symbol of Kord tied to its waist. As he takes a closer look he realizes it's not a demon but a farmiliar orc, wearing a devil's head as a helmet and his skin is wrapped in demon hide. Doombringer stares at Gordek vacantly or more accurately at the holy symbol on his breastplate.

"Serve Kord.." Is all Doombringer says.

A disarming figure stands in your presence. A tall and wiry elven woman looms over the scene. Her skin is dark brown. She wears only the skins of animals hanging loosely about her waist. Her black hair is an unkempt mess of dreadlocks adorned with the bones of serpents. At her scalp the fanged skulls of vipers serve as barrettes to keep hair out of her face. Her ears are pierced in several places with bones and quills. Encircling her muscular biceps are leather armbands decorated with feathers of a many coloured bird. She carries a large ornately carved wooden shield inlaid with abalone. Affixed to the outside center is some kind of horn. A scimitar hangs at her hip. Crouching behind her is a tiger, its fangs bared. A savage intensity burns in their eyes.

She looks you each over in turn.

" I am Nanga Parbat, I have traveled the wilds of this world with my companion Korol Riga. I am summoned here by a vision. A ghastly waking nightmare. I smelt burnt flesh and fur. I experienced death, but it wasn't my own. When my vision left me I had an aching in my breast and a question in my mind. Where is Ankor Wat?"

In answer to Nanga's query, Eidolon says, "She perished in a battle with two of the Doom Dreamers--powerful high priests of the dark god Tharasdon."

After a moment of silence to let that sink in he continues:

"We fought them in one of the upper levels of the Black Spike. Through our own ineptitude the party did not give a good accounting of itself in the battle, and two of our companions died as a result. I have resolved to learn from my mistakes and do better next time. Next time I will kill these priests. And I have just asked the other members of this party to support a new pact, wherein we will fight together instead of mucking about with our own frivolous desires. We could use your help. Will you join us Nanga Parbat, along with your fearsome companion?"

Eidolon holds out his open hand.