Chapter Fifteen - Out Of the Ruins We Rise Forever, Into the Battle We March Together

Session was held 26th of November at the Alter of Games

Setting the Standards
A week had passed from the battle of Treeward, and the news of Captain Irongrave's demised had reached Iriaebor. The rebels who survived had moved their camp temporarily deeper to the Reaching Woods, where the heroes gathered around a campfire. Since the end of the battle, Melkor who had finally came back from his travesties, had kept his distance to the others. The rumor said that the wise wizard was preparing their next bold adventure, and once again, the rumors weren't exaggerated. Once again, his visions pointed to direction that none of the heroes were able to guess, as the mad wizard told the others that they were going after the Standard of the Fallen, a legendary banner carried to battle by ancient Arakhar, the Fallen King.
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One of the rebels drew the meeting around the campfire. He slightly altered
the looks of our heroes to avoid prosecutions if the rebellion would go
awry, as all the meddlers would certainly be executed.

The wizard continued revealing his plan. After they would have recovered the magic banner from the ruins of Dakhet Mar, they would gather the rebels and march to Hluthvar. Melkor ordered Dortherion to spread a word of rebellion, "as hundreds of lights surround the city, rise against your oppressors, join the rebellion!", while they would be plundering Dakher Mar. The enigmatic old man also riddled how he would also claim Asbravn during the same attack. Many were left puzzled how the wizard could perform such a feat of conquest, but after all, Melkors pompous scheme was the last hope of Free Darnon.

Soon after giving instructions to those who were left to the makeshift-camp, the steeds of destiny galloped across  the plains of northern Darnon. They rode with the classic composition. First rode prince Arius then his mentor Melkor the Mighty. Their security advisor, Douglas the Nimble, followed Melkor, and lastly came Jared the Restorer, holy man of Lathander. Two days of aggressive striding trough the lands finally bought them to the cursed ruins of Dakhet Mar. Melkor explained the ruins to be the sole remnant of a ancient kingdom that ruled the Western Heartlands more than millenia ago. The Fallen King, whose tomb they were seeking was a legendary emperor who fought with five thousand men against an eastern horde of unimaginable size. The legend says that the king died, along with most of his warriors, but the horde was unable to topple the Standard of the Fallen King. None has ever discovered the tomb, but as always, Melkor was sure that luck would be at his side.

Ancient ruins of Dakhet Mar in a gloomy light.

Circling the ruins without a clear heading, the adventurous party of heroes came across a group of tents, sheltered among ancient monoliths. One man who was left to guard the tents attacked our heroes, taking Jared as a hostage, but teh brooding situation was soon resolved and the threatener captured. he revealed that rest of his group had gone under the ruins in order to excavate something that he refused to mention. At that time, Melkors spidersenses began to tingle, and our brave explorers descented under the ruins.

Karman Fatta

The journey through narrow shafts and ancient tunnels was at least perilous, but finally they reached the bottom. There were four explorers trying to break through the floor, as our heroes entered. Their leader turned out to be Karman Fatta, a mercenary (and highly successful according to his own words) who had insulted our braves over a year ago. It was only a matter of a little spark, that fueled their meeting into a  open clash, where, of course our heroes triumphed. Fatta was left alive and he swore to aid Free Darnon to enroll and train more soldiers. After dealing with the mercenary king, our heroes were able to delve deeper. Fatta had been able to ventrue to the doorsteps of the tomb of the Fallen King, and soon our heroes found themselves inside the tomb.

It was nothing like an ordinary crypt of the dead, nor catacomb. The tomb was immense set of traps that had been waiting for centuries to taste the blood of foolhardy graverobbers. It was Douglas's time in the limelight, as he cleared trap after another without being pierced, crushed, cut, incinerated, vaporized or disintergrated! They defeated waves of skeletons, horrid construct that bolted a mayhem of blades towards them and finally they were able to penetrate in to the inner sanctum where lied the remains of the Fallen King. And this time literally, as they had to break in through the floor, as the "x marked the spot".

What they witnessed as they descended into the inner crypt, was a huge cylinderical shaft in front of the sarcophagus of King Arakhar. In the middle of the shaft, several feets below the floor-level was the Standard of the Fallen, it's banner carefully bound. Melkor warned that without his order, the banner would not be unbound. But before they were able to claim the standard, the Fallen King released his one last trap, as three Helmed Horrors assaulted them. The ancient constructs were not the ordinary type, as they re-animated again and again, even tough our heroes continued to strike 'em down. It was Melkor who perceived to lift the lid of the sarcophagus, and he managed to pry it open all by himself! And thus they saw the gloomy lights in the eye sockets of the once mighty emperor, and by sundering it's head, they were able to defeat the helmed horrors for good. Without further ado, our heroic plunderers proceed to cash the check, as Douglas was magically transported into the center of the shaft to reclaim the standard. Once again they faced a menacing trap, but by Melkor's astonishing magics, Douglas was released in no time.

The Battle of Two Cities
Our fearless tombdelvers set their course back to the makeshift camp of rebels. Two days later, at nightfall, they reached the remnants of Free Darnon. While they had been away, hundreds of volunteers had joined the ranks of the rebellion, and reinforcements poured in at constant rate. People at the camp were preparing for the march that might turn out to be their last, but they were ready. Rarely has the people united so strongly against their rulers, and as the flame of justice burned in their hearts, our heroes joined the brave people, and began their march for freedom. From Hluthvar to Asbravn, and finally to Iriaebor, they followed prince Ariendur in his quest to take the throne from cruel tyrant Osander II.

As the army of the oppressed reached the walls of Hluthvar, hundreds of torches were lid. by this sign, Hluthvarians knew that they were to stand against the city guard. Weakened by the defeat at the Battle of Treeward, troops garrisoned in the city were smashed quickly, and contrary to their own king, those pledging for their lives were left alive. Melkor led his friends to the Keep of Hluthvar, where they had to wedge their way through the Iron Wall, elite soldiers clad in full plate. But near the hall of the Lord Protector Mornburg, they ran into regiment of soldiers. There a young noble with a shining armor of polished steel stepped forward to address our braves. Turned out that the young noble was prince Saldor, son of Osander II Grivald.

Prince Saldor in one of his promo potraits, quite a champ.

 He urged the heroes to route their troops out of Hluthvar, but before any further diplomacy was introduced, a beast that had broken loose from the dungeons attacked the regiment and our brave champions. Why there was a demon bound into the dungeons, no one knows, but soon that malevolent outsider was banished for good. Prince Saldor was captured and given to the angry mob, and our liberators followed Lord Protector Mornburg, who had escaped during the turmoil.

They found out that in his hall, behind his grand seat, was hidden a room with a surprise. There was only a strange looking mirror in the that tiny little room. Melkor identified the mirror as the rippler of Soldengraad, strange device of teleportation. In stressful situations, one has to make quick callings, and before they knew, Melkor pushed everyone into the mirror. Unlike Melkor has expected (he thought that the rippler was connected to Asbravn), our trans-dimensional travelers found themselves from the middle of a desert. All that they could see was landscape desiccated into scales. There was no sun, but still they felt the heat and light of direct sunlight, nor was there night. Only clear blue sky, scorched landscape and sun. But in the distant horizon they saw a glimpse of light. They took it as a benchmark and began walking towards it. As they finally  were reaching it, it disappeared and emerged directly behind them. Puzzled from the strange dimension that had captured them, they yet again followed the light, and it vanished. Melkor began to suspect that they were somehow trapped inside the mirror. They repeated this journey of theirs many times, until Melkor had enough and summoned Petreskobal, an imp that they were able to bind with it's true name.

Fearful creature advised them to keep on the direction, even tough the light disappeared. The hint proved to be successful as they pushed on and found a small red book, partially buried in sand. As they opened the book, all they saw was deep space. Suddenly the sky began to change, and the same infinite space surrounded them with it's distant suns and immense galaxies. And before them rose a figure of colossal size. The figure belonged to a mage with ultimate power, and as Melkor identified him as Alzarseth, the mage spoke to our little adventurers. "You chose to seek the power I wield, and thus you chose your own destruction" And with these words he changed into a gargantuan purple worm that attacked our  planar-braves. Luckily to our heroes, they had slain worms before, so killing the worm was plausible. The battle was grievous, but once again the ones whom we cheer proved to be victors.

But as the worm died, the surrounding space began to twist, spiraling towards it's toothy yet dead maw. It soon escalated, and our wormkillers struggled against a void that was sucking the whole dimension in it, but at some point, everyone has to bend, and one after another, the void engulfed them..

To Be Continued...