[Rygar]

Luck, it would seem, was not on Bardoc’s side. After narrowly missing his opportunity at Kozzalym, he immediately ventured to the Hole with his friends in hopes of crushing Master Yael to drown his sorrows. Long was their journey in the underdark to the depths of the Underfoot itself, and while Wedar was happy to add many notches to his staff, he eagerly wanted to dismiss Yael from this plane of existence.

Just as they had reached Master Yael’s great cavern and were preparing all necessary magical wards needed to ensure their victory, Bardoc heard a commotion from up above.

“By the beard of McMannus… NO!!” To his horror the Barbarian saw a great contingent of Blackheart Pirates plunge over the falls and storm the lair below, they were near 40 strong and charged all at once! Try as the Azure Guardians did, they could not reach the Elemental King before the Pirates. Bardoc stood helpless as he watched the Pirates hack and slash the great elemental as they hooted and hollered, it seems like the weight of their bodies alone would crush Master Yael to dust! Only Bardoc’s screams of rage could be heard over their gleeful cackling.

“Bardoc….” Wedar began, but the barbarian was in no mood to be comforted.

“Blast this infernal quest! I curse you, wizard!!” and with that he grabbed a hold of his magical mallet and smacked it against the cave wall, he shimmered and faded into nothingness. He no doubt went to secure passage from the Overthere to the nearest pub to ease the pain of this latest loss.

The rest of his guildmates looked to Wedar for guidance. “Go” said the monk, “I’ll send word when he has been summoned once again”. With that Wedar, with a heavy heart, walked off into the darkness and continued on his great quest of culling.

Many days had past, Wedar had spent a great deal of time meditating and preparing for the great battle that was to come. He wanted to leave nothing to chance, he did not want to see his dear friend Bardoc heartbroken once again. And so he assembled a small strikeforce of Azure Guardians that could move swiftly and kill efficiently.

First, he recruited Ameliorate. She was a cleric of the highest order and wielded the coveted Water Sprinkler of Nem Ankh, this magical artifact would be a key to their victory and help overcome Master Yael’s unstoppable Cazic Touch.

Second, he needed a master of song to help overcome the powerful magic that they would be up against, he knew of few greater versed than Sadiki Senshiro. Besides being skilled in the ways of the sword he had a charisma unmatched which greatly increased the morale of his comrades… The bard could also crack a joke as fast as he could pluck the strings of his lute!

Next, he chose another master of the monk arts, Nishoba. Although he was a soft skinned follower of Quellious, his skills could not be denied. With 2 monks to contend with Wedar felt confident Yael would fall under the fury of their fist and feet.

Lastly, he needed a steward of the earth, so he called upon Impermeable to round out his team. An odd choice indeed as he was more behemoth than shaman, many questioned if he could move as quickly as they needed, or if he could even move quick at all! The ogre was nicknamed the Blob for his robust physique and general laziness. But in truth, he wielded powerful magic of healing, could call forth crippling diseases, and cast powerful enchantments. His skill set was very well rounded (as was his belly).

With this team, he saw Master Yael succumbing easily to them. As he meditated silently amidst a crowded room of elementals he played the battle over and over in his head, finding any hypothetical weakness in his plan of attack. Every nuance was scrutinized, every variable weighted, he killed Master Yael a thousand times over in his mind… his plan needed to succeed, he feared for Bardoc’s sanity should they fall short once again.

As he meditated he felt the surrounding elementals shudder and the ethereal hum they emitted changed frequency ever so slightly, he knew that could only mean one thing: Their master had returned. The monk sent word to Bardoc across the astral plane to assemble the others and meet him in Paineel, and with that he silently made his way to the teleportation chamber at the town’s center. He ran into the pillar of glowing purple mist and reappeared in the observation chamber directly above the great abyss. He focused his eyes for a good while into the darkness below and at last saw what he knew to be true, he spotted a glistening of magic in the shadows that could only be Master Yael.

Wedar made his way through town and rested along the edge of the great gorge in wait for his comrades. He was eager to take down the great Elemental, since the razing of his homeland he wanted nothing more than to have this master of evil vanquished by his hands! But in truth he was worried, every minute he waited was another opportunity for another war party to advance on their prize.

After what felt like an eternity Bardoc finally emerged with Ameliorate and Nishoba behind him. “And Sadiki and Impermeable?” The monk’s eagerness was evident in his voice.

“Just some… minor difficulties, they should be along any second now” Bardoc said reassuringly. Just then they heard a commotion of grunts and squabbling.

“For the love of Veeshan, just breath in already and hold it! We’re almost through!” Sadiki barked at the Blob, pushing the ogre from behind trying to squeeze him through the final opening. With one final kick the huge behemoth popped through and slid along ground face first until reaching his guildmates. He left a trail of ooze beneath him, whether it be from his own bodily excretions or the drippings of his last meal, no one wanted to know.

“Blob happy we killz bad earth minion, he help smash good!” he informed his friends as he picked himself off the floor and adjusted his pants around his bulbous gut.

“Alright” said Bardoc, “We’re all here, let us head to the pool and make our way down to this foul creature!”. He started to move but Wedar stopped him in his tracks.

“We aren’t going through the pool” he said with resolve, “We’re going this way” he pointed over the gorge with his staff.

“Wuz dat?” The Blob asked puzzled, wondering how a hulk such as he could traverse such a vertical impossibility.

“Wedar… we want to achieve victory as much as you do, but this is madness, we should take the safe path to victory” Ameliorate said, stating the obvious.

“And how many times have we taken the safe path just to come up empty handed?” quipped the monk. “I assure you we do not have hours to waste, but minutes! We must descend the cliffs now or it will be too late” he looked at Bardoc, pleading his case. Everyone else turned to the barbarian for guidance.

“Wedar is right, the time for child’s play is over, cast aside your fears! Let us make our way down with haste!” and with that they all donned their climbing spikes. A great length of cord was strung around their shaman friend as climbing would do him little use. His weight was shared by both the monks and Bardoc, they secured the gargantuan creature and started to lower him down. Once they had a feel for his weight, they slipped over the edge and began the climb.

Sadiki and Ameliorate managed the climb well as they were slender and nimble on their feet, but the others struggled with each foot hold. The cord that held the shaman creaked and moaned, threatening to snap at any moment. Careful as they were, the cliffs were unforgiving, as Wedar descended to a small landing he didn’t notice the small outcrop of granite snag and cut his length of rope. The cord snapped before he could utter a word of warning and the shaman’s weight swung over between Bardoc and Nishoba, the dramatic shift in momentum caused them to lose their grip and they started to plummet!

They would have fell straight to the bottom if it wasn’t for the quick thinking of Nishoba, his training always made him situationally aware. He quickly wrapped a length of cord around his staff and lunged it into a crack along the rock face to slow his fall, once it wedged between the rock the rope tightened and he grasped the nearest outcrop of rock and held with all his might.

The staff absorbed all it could of Bardoc and the shaman’s weight until it jump free of the rock and all the weight transferred to Nishoba. He calmed his mind and made his body ready for the pain, the rope tugged with a heavy force but he strengthened his core and held his grip. He held firm as his comrades dangled beneath him, the creaking of the rope drowned out by the popping of his ligaments and tendons.

“Hold still…” the monk said through gritted teeth. “Grab a hold of the rock Bardoc..!” The sweat was beading on his brow, he didn’t have much time. Sadiki had almost reached him to share some of the weight when he heard a plea from the Blob below.

“Ummm… guyz” said the ogre, “Me thinks weez in trouble”. The cord has slipped over his belly and only his ogre man breasts held Nishoba’s length of cord beneath his growing bosom. Tighter and tighter the rope squeezed until it popped over the rest of the ogre’s body and he once again entered freefall! Bardoc had just reached the rock face but was pulled off once again, Nishoba knew he would be dragged down with the ogre so threw a shuriken to sever the rope that held the barbarian to the behemoth.

Just before hitting the bottom the barbarian dug his axe into the wall and slowed his descent just enough, although he still hit with significant enough force that he broke his leg and cried out in pain. Luckily his cries were drowned out by an enormous splash as Impermeable plunged belly first into the tiny lake below them. The shaman crawled out onto the ridge to be greeted by a blood thirsty fiend and two enormous elementals.

“Hee hee ho ho” laughed the shaman, “Me slippz from rock, all alone. No friends… Follow me baddies!!” In a huff the shaman ran down the ledge with the creatures at his back, biting and pounding away at the sizable ogre. He tried to distract them from his friends and sacrifice himself for the greater good. Ameliorate and Sadiki had reached the bottom, they were too kind hearted to leave Bardoc to a painful death so they tended to his wounds, much to the barbarian’s dismay.

“Nooo!” he pleaded “Leave me be, get out of sight and regroup, you can…” but it was too late. After the creatures made short work of Impermeable they caught the glint of Ameliorate’s magic of healing and rushed towards them for more carnage. Nishoba dropped from the cliff face, unable to see more of his friends perish, they all put up a decent fight, but an enormous elemental crept forth from the shadows and floated before them. An eerie, withered voice of pure evil entered their minds.

“Fools…” whispered Master Yael, the sinister nature of his voice making Ameliorate tremble. Bardoc stood up in defiance, ready to let this horrible creature suffer his wrath. “Did you think yourselves strong enough to defeat the likes of me?” The barbarian paid no mind and charged forward, Yael laughed crudely and screamed, “BARDOC!”. The great Northman was stopped in his tracks and his life force sucked out of his body and faded in a green mist. His body fell, the remains of his mortal flesh shriveled and twisted, locked in his armor like some crude coffin.

Sadiki and Nishoba quickly took up arms and tried to fend off the hoard but were quickly overrun, Ameliorate had no time to call back Bardoc’s spirit for battle. Yael unleashed another magical barrage of fire that torched their skin as the fiend ripped pieces of their charred flesh. Brave as they were, they could not overcome the carnage. Wedar watched helplessly as they fell, one by one below him, luckily the waterfall masked the tears that fell from his scaled face.

So carefully he had planned this encounter, yet his impatience lead to their demise. It was now on him to right this wrong. He looked up at the sun, noting the time of day, at any time another band of adventurers could arrive seeking the riches that Yael held in his lair. He scaled down the cliffs, and one by one carefully dragged his comrade’s bodies into the safety of a nearby cave.

With the pile of bodies before him and Bardoc’s quest in jeopardy once again, he hung his head low in despair… what would he do now?