[Rygar]

Wedar peered out into the large cavern before him, he clenched his teeth and fought his rage, as much as he desired to crush Master Yael to nothingness he was forced to stow those revenge fantasies for now. He needed to resurrect his friends, and fast. He contemplated the climb up, it would be long and slow, and he would need to guide Ameliorate down to safety. A plausible plan, and he did not question her heart for the climb, but was unsure about her stealth.

He had determined he had no choice, but would travel through the Overthere outpost and hopefully obtain faster return passage. He was about to hit his mallet against the cave wall when a voice called out behind him.

“It looks like you could use some help.” The monk spun around to see the faint outline of a Halfling in the darkness, the half man stepped forward and in his hands he wielded the Water Sprinkler of Nem Ankh! He got on his knees and began to say his prayers over the pile of corpses before him, his powerful artifact glowed and dripped its magical energy among his comrades. As he neared the end of his incantation 5 pillars of light exploded in the cave, the Halfling reached in his hands and as he pulled back, he saw the bodies of his close friends return!

So happy and fortunate was this event the monk nearly forgot to thank the serendipitous cleric that crossed their path, he reached in to his coin purse and turned around to pay the man… but just as mysteriously as he had appeared, he was now gone. Wedar stared in disbelief into the darkness, but he had no time to contemplate what had transpired, he returned his focus to the task at hand. “Quickly, gather your gear and make ready for battle!”.

Sadiki fell to his knees and wretched “Easy for you to say, you aren’t suffering from Resurrection sickness!” His stomach heaved once more and he turned his attention to Impermeable, “I’ll never forgive you, Blob! As lazy as you are heavy, you roasted me to a crisp all because you’re too fat to climb you stupid oaf!! I’m never going to try and save your hide again…”. He looked up to see the ogre hanging his head low and staring at the ground. “Blo… Impermeable, I didn’t mean that, I….”.

“You gunna eat dis?” The shaman interrupted the bard, his head still hung and fixated on the pile of puke. Sadiki couldn’t help but laugh and the rest of the party chuckled, their spirits needed a little brightening after this latest setback.

“Imagine the luck, finding a cleric down here!” exclaimed Bardoc. “It would seem my troubles with this quest are finally over”. No sooner did he finish speaking those words than a Dark Elf stepped forth from the shadows, wearing the mark of Rustle. Without warning he summoned a monstrous Elemental being of air and he sent his minion forth in the cavern before them!

Whether it was from the resurrection or the shock, Bardoc turned pale white, he had not even finished stripping the armor from his corpse nor regained the strength in his legs and now this unfortunate turn of events! He was about to lunge forward and strangle the magician, but Wedar stepped forth with a cooler head to parlay. “I see you wear the brand of Rustle” he said to the powerful Tier`dal before him. “I am Wedar of the Azure Guard, and these are my friends you see before you. To whom do I speak?”

“I am Shadowgrey and I see you had quite the terrible run in with the monster before us, you best leave him to me” The dark elf did not shift his focus, he instead instructed his minion to continue dismantling the 3 lesser creatures before him. 1 had just barely fell and the magician already whispered his words of magic to summon another member of his war party!

“Shadowgrey, I beg of you, let us recover, we were taken by surprise, give us our chance for revenge!” pleaded the monk.

“Our clans may be occasional allies, but on this day I call upon the law of Sirken. If you want your chance go forth and take it!” the magician smiled wryly, as the party of Azure Guard before him could barely stand, all save Wedar. The second minion fell and another member of Rustle appeared.

“I call upon your sense of honor!” the monk shot back. “Long has our journey been and bitter since the outset, allow us this one small victory! In turn, you will grant me vengeance on this being who razed my homeland as a child, he…”

“and should I tell you the story of how my parents were murdered, strung up in the gallows of Freeport? Their only crime the color of their skin and the god they worshipped?” the magician interrupted with authority. “Would that tug at your heart strings and cause you to pull your friends aside to fight another day? No, we all have our stories and all feel we are in the right. This is why Sirken’s law reigns supreme over Norrath.” The monk knew the words to be true, yet still, for Bardoc, for his friend, he tried to negotiate.

“Please, Shadowgrey, perhaps some arrangement can be reached if…” but Bardoc grabbed a hold of Wedar’s wrist as he sat along the cave wall recovering. Half dead and a broken man, he looked up at his friend.

“Do not lose your honor, Wedar. Let them be, the day is lost. Once again, the day is lost…” the barbarian drifted off and looked away. In the darkness, the monk made out the glimmer of a tear in his friend’s eye. To see the great, hardened Northman overcome with such emotion wounded the monk to his core. The last minion in the cavern fell, and 2 more members of Rustle had appeared.

“Ready your wards, gentlemen, in but a moment we charge into battle” instructed the magician to his war party. He began to turn, “Wedar, I am truly sorry for your plight, I hope you understand…” he stopped and looked around but couldn’t find the Iksar. “Wedar..?” He then looked out into the great cavern and couldn’t believe his eyes “What madness..?!”. The monk had charged out ahead into the cavern and scaled the wall behind Master Yael as only a lizard with his agility could.

“He fights!” Exclaimed Bardoc, with as much shock as excitement in his voice. He propped himself up using his axe as a crutch. “On your feet Guardians, we do battle today after all!” He began to walk and nearly stumbled, Ameliorate rushed to stop the barbarian.

“Bardoc, no!” the cleric pleaded, “What little mana I’ve gathered is already spent trying to heal our wounds! And look around you, I’ve still much mending to do!” He saw Sadiki’s hands still trembling, a bad problem indeed for a bard. Nishoba was still on his knees and Impermeable couldn’t harvest a bit more of his flesh to his earthen gods before collapsing.

“Besides…” the cleric continued “in our current state we are no match for Yael’s Death Touch magic”. Rustle also knew this to be true, and was preparing to call the monk’s bluff. He began his incantation to call forth a bolt of magic against the demi-god in the cavern before him, and then, without warning, Wedar let loose a shuriken that skipped off Master Yael’s shoulder and leapt from the wall, landing on all fours on the ramp leading up to the Elemental king. He interrupted his spell, dumbfounded by what just transpired.

Wedar stood up before the creature that towered above him. Yael’s thoughts pierced his mind like a knife, “Gooooood….” He whispered, “You pitiful fool, you come here in defiance looking to slay me and take my treasures, but in truth you are just another insect to be crushed by my might” Wedar pulled back his cowl and looked at Yael with a cold, deadly stare.

“You..!” cursed the elemental, “Bane of the Elements, Defiler of Brell, the Banisher of Earth..! My minions have told me much about you, slayer, and many names have they given you…” He clenched his fists and let loose a cackle of maniacal laughter, “…but I know your true name!” With that Yael raised his arms and began to call forth his Death magic.

Wedar planned long and hard for this day, but he had not anticipated this particular situation. He only knew he owed it to Bardoc to try his hand in battle and hoped that Yael may reserve his Cazic Touch for later in their fight. However, seeing the great Elemental begin to cast his spell, he knew his end was near. He closed his eyes and gave in to his fate. They say when you resign yourself to death, your life can flash before your eyes. And so Wedar gave in and tried to achieve inner peace before Master Yael disintegrated him with his Cazic Touch. His Cazic Touch…

In an instant Wedar’s eyes shot open… He remembered reading of the Cazic Touch in an old tome in the Paineel library! Ancient ones say Cazic himself gifted the gods and their stewards with a familiar in his image that granted the Death Magic. Kept hidden away in another dimension, the familiar was also blessed with powerful magic that could only be disrupted by another god. Quickly he devised a plan, a fool’s plan, but his only chance.

He rummaged through his satchel and brought forth his magical mallet and a shiny idol made of brass. He placed the idol on the ground and smashed it with his mallet, in the same instance that he began to vibrate and slip through another dimension towards the Overthere the idol’s magic enveloped him, preventing further alteration of his body and spirit. His shaking core stabilized and his body came to rest in this inter-worldly dimension, if only for a few moments! He had gained access to the other realm, but would it be the proper plane he needed..?

Surrounded by a mist of mana and other magical energies, he focused his eyes. He began to have doubts of his plan, but then he saw a green glow and pushed towards it, his limbs seemed to behave as if he were in slow motion. The mist cleared and there he saw a shadowy outline of Yael with the faceless familiar perched atop his shoulder, arms raised, conjuring the death energy. Wedar knew he was no god and could not harm the creature, so he rummaged through his satchel once more and pulled out a shuriken he had carefully wrapped in linen. Long ago, he obtained this shuriken while on a crusade in the Plane of Hate. Many historians and prophets had analyzed the weapon and determined it was a shuriken crafted by the Tranquil one herself, Quellious. He had saved this artifact for a special occasion, and he knew of no better time to use it than now…. His only hope was the goddess imbued enough of her magic in weapon to make the difference he needed.

He felt the magic of the idol begin to wane, his vision shifted between the dimensions, his limbs and his eyes betrayed him. He grabbed hold of the shuriken and took aim as best he could. “Glox guide my hand… and Cazic forgive me!” he let the Shuriken fly. Just as he began to see the light of the Overthere, Yael reached in to the dimensional pocket and plucked Wedar back to his domain, but not before the monk saw his weapon hit the mark and decapitate the foul familiar!

“Coward!!!” screamed Yael with his hand wrapped about the monks throat. “You are wise to try and flee from my wrath but foolhardy to think you’d succeed… Now to make an example of you, mortal. Let all in my hall know I have claimed the life-force of the great slayer of the elements…” He raised his other hand high and screamed with a great bellow, “WEDAR!!!”. His voice echoed through the chasm and when he looked down, he didn’t see a shriveled corpse but instead a defiant smile.

“It would seem your powers have abandoned you, wizard” quipped the monk. Yael let go of Wedar and looked down at his hands.

“Nooo.. how could this be?!” screamed the wizard. “How could a mere mortal reduce me to… to… this?!”

Bardoc assessed the situation and couldn’t believe the good fortune that had just transpired, and that his friend still stood with the demi-god. “He’s leveled the playing field!” Exclaimed the barbarian. “Come, no more excuses comrades, to BATTLE!” and with that Bardoc lead the charge. Wedar had bought them precious seconds to recover and they had just enough strength and mana to be dangerous. Yet still, everyone knew the truth: This would be a bloody battle.

Yael saw the reinforcements coming and gathered himself, he was stronger than any of them and still had access to the other spells he had prepared. “Good….” He whispered and turned towards Wedar, “What better way to make you pay for this than with your friend’s blood!”