“So, what you’re saying is, he needs to infect as many people as possible with his plague to regain his God-hood?” Blaze asks.
“Pretty much,” Eltharion replies. They were walking toward the abandoned and destroyed town of Canticus. The same town with the underground temple to Iyachtu Xvim where he ascended.
“You’re sure they’re in the destroyed temple?” Ogrim asks.
“When they retreated, we followed them back here, so we’re sure this is where they’re staying,” The Necromancer responds.
They reach the rubble that was once Canticus and find the hatch that leads underground, where the church used to be.
“Okay, so what’s the plan? Rush ‘em?” Blaine asks.
“We destroy the enemies of my people…” Grog says with a straight face.
“It’ll work. Worry not, I can’t die, remember?” Bloodthorne chuckles as he pulls up the hatch.
Grog, Eltharion, Ogrim, Blaze, Blaine, The Necromancer, and Bloodthorne head down into the dank underground. The once neatly carved walls and doorways were now destroyed, scorched, and in general disarray. They manage to find their way to a larger chamber.
On the far wall is hanging a map of the area. Looking at the map are five skaven.
One of them is wearing a deep green robe. One has all kinds of metal pieces grafted onto his body, almost like a macabre machine. One is wearing a green cape, and carries a staff. One has all his fur dyed green, and it’s all tied up in tufts all over his body. He looks horribly scarred from head to toe.
The final one is what draws the most attention. This one is over 15 feet tall. Completely naked except for a loincloth and a jagged metal mask, with two long metal horns protruding from it. He spins instantly to face the Heroes, whirling around a huge and wicked glaive.
And the room erupts into chaos.
The robed skaven pulls out a heavy flail/censer, which trails some noxious gas as he charges toward Blaze. His flail slams down into him hard, and he staggers back a step. The gas fills his lungs and he starts coughing horribly as it burns him from the inside.
“TEMPUS!!” Blaze doesn’t back down, and slams right back at the flail-wielding skaven with a force that could level a building. His muscles bulge, and his armor squeals from the pressure.
The Necromancer casts haste on Ogrim. Ogrim runs directly at the large masked skaven.
“By the hammer of the All-Father, you shall meet your end!” Ogrim bellows as he slams his Orc-Killer axe into the side of the fallen God, drawing a stream of brackish bile and blood. Ogrim swipes at him again, missing, as he steps over him to the center of the room, swinging his glaive with a mastery the Heroes have never seen.
He spins it back behind him, then over his head, then back to the front. The attack seems to be headed at Blaze, but at the last second it swirls around and strikes Ogrim. Ogrim staggers from the immensely powerful blow; the glaive shearing through his adamantium full plate armor.
The green-dyed skaven charges Blaze as well, pulling out two razor-sharp kukris as he does so. A jagged cut to Blaze’s arm draws another growl of pain as he feels the poison burn into the exposed wound.
Bloodthorne spins and draws his two longswords, jabbing them both out at the kukri-wielding skaven, drawing two deep cuts and a high pitched squeal of pain.
“You going to be okay, brother?” Blaine says as he draws his rapier and main-gauge.
“I’m fine, go,” Blaze says, and Blaine charges at the fallen God. He slides in and stabs it with his rapier in the thigh.
Grog unsheathes his exquisite katana blade. It speaks to him in a voice only he can hear, and he charges the fallen God. He slashes into it violently and with all his strength. He cuts the shin of the God to the bone, and the masked-rat looks down at the pesky goblin.
The caped skaven with the staff casts a spell, and points to the fallen God. Some of his wounds close up.
“Cleric…” Eltharion charges it, Moon-scimitar and Sun-sickle drawn and ready. The fallen God swings out his glaive and delivers a brutal slash to Eltharion, who dodges to the side just enough to avoid losing his life. He reaches the cleric, however, and stabs out with his scimitar, slicing the skaven across the arm.
The mechanically-endowed skaven has some jagged claws protrude from his forearms, and he clanks up behind Grog, slashing him across the back. One of his eyes is covered with metal, only a red glowing point can be seen.
The flail-wielding skaven swings out again and again, slamming into Blaze several times. Blaze staggers backwards once again, in terrible pain, inside and out. The entire area around he, Bloodthorne, the flail- and kukri-wielding skaven is covered in poisonous smoke.
Blaze steps back and heals himself. He looks back to the skaven with a steely gaze.
The Necromancer casts fly on himself, and flies up to the ceiling of the room, to stay out of range of these skilled combatants.
Ogrim charges the fallen God again, taking an expertly-placed glaive slash to the stomach as he does so, and hacks into its leg.
Once again it merely steps past Ogrim, who chops it again. Blaine also jabs his rapier into it as it steps past him. It swings its glaive once again, leveling it into Blaine. He’s fast, but not fast enough, and he takes a terrible slash across the stomach, and he bends over in pain.
The kukri-wielding skaven enters a deadly routine. Eight attacks fly out at almost every direction. He strikes Blaze four times and Bloodthorne four times as well. Bloodthorne feels no pain, but sees chunks of his own flesh rending from his bones. Blaze isn’t so lucky, however, and he collapses to one knee after the horrible routine, leaving his body bleeding and burning from poison.
Bloodthorne positions himself behind the flail-wielding skaven.
“Shouldn’t let me get behind you, mate,” Bloodthorne says as he stabs the skaven with unerring accuracy. The horrible squeals are almost as loud as Bloodthorne’s laughs.
Blaine ducks and weaves past the spinning glaive to land a hit on the fallen God.
Grog pushes the mechanical skaven out of his way and moves toward the cleric. He takes a glaive-shot to the back for his efforts, but screams in rage to block out the pain. He slashes the cleric with his katana, who falls backwards, but regains his feet quickly.
Eltharion ang Grog corner the cleric against the wall. Eltharion lets loose a seven-hit combo that would normally kill seven men; but the skaven stays standing, barely.
The mechanical skaven moves opposite the chamber from Eltharion and Grog. From underneath his forearms come two pistol-looking weapons, which place themselves in his hands. He fires one of them, and a glowing-greenish substance splashes onto Grog. Grog hardly notices the terrible burning sensation.
The flail-wielding skaven growls and slams into Blaze a few more times. Blaze is overcome with pain, bruises, breaks, and poison, and collapses.
The Necromancer frowns, looking around. He flies down and touches the flail-wielding skaven, casting a maximized vampiric touch. He feels the life force drain out of the rat-man and into his body.
“I love that…” The Necromancer’s smile is as evil as ever.
“Settle down, Nekky,” Eltharion calls from across the room.
Ogrim ducks a glaive swipe as he runs at the fallen God again, but isn’t fast enough. He gets jammed in the gut and grits his teeth in pain. That doesn’t stop him, however, and he chops into the God once again.
Again the huge masked skaven steps past both Ogrim and Blaine, who both get minor hits in as it does so. It slams its glaive into Grog from 15 feet away, who falls to one knee.
The kukri-wielding skaven smiles a toothy smile to Bloodthorne as he throws an eight-hit combination at him. Bloodthorne can’t dodge enough of the lightning-fast blade attacks, and collapses into a flesh-torn mass.
Blaine tumbles away from the God, and pours a potion into Blaze’s mouth, who comes to.
“What happened?” Blaze says, startled.
“Look out!” Blaine says, as the flail-wielding skaven turns back to face them.
The cleric-skaven attempts another spell, but it is lost, along with his life, as Grog chops into his body with his katana as a butcher into meat. A bloody mass is all that remains.
Eltharion tumbles in toward the God, barely dodging a glaive hit that would have removed his head. He stabs into it with his Moon-scimitar.
The mechanical skaven fires two more green-sludge blasts. One hits Grog, and one hits Eltharion.
The flail-wielding skaven swings at Blaze, but it is deflected by his armor. He hits Blaine once, however, and Blaine coughs from the poison gas.
“TEMPUS!” Blaze bellows again, his muscles expanding. He chops down with his axe three times, each one more powerful than the last. Somehow, the flail-wielding skaven is still standing. Parts of its bone are exposed along its arms and ribcage. Its entrails are falling out of his body, and it is bleeding from dozens of different places.
“How is that thing still alive!?” Blaze yells in frustration.
The Necromancer narrows his eyes at the kukri-wielding skaven, who is now lording over Bloodthorne’s mangled body. He points his drow-skull topped staff at it, and invokes an evil rite. A trap the soul spell weaves into being, and the two rubies set into the skulls eyes begin to glow. The skaven’s eyes go wide, and he drops his kukris. He vanishes into one of the gems, forever trapped.
“Nice work Nek!!” Eltharion calls out in triumph.
Ogrim charges the fallen God and takes another glaive hit to the flank. He chops into the thing’s leg.
The God spins its glaive over its head, and slams it down into Ogrim, and then Grog. Both of them are left barely clinging to life. Grog has several mortal wounds, but sheer adrenaline keeps him going.
“I’m going for the rat-king,” Blaine says as he disengages the near-dead flail-wielding skaven, heading at the fallen God. He takes a glaive slash across the arm for his efforts.
Grog does so as well, gritting his teeth. He slashes into the fallen God’s leg once again.
Eltharion does the same, and they have the horned rat surrounded.
The mechanical skaven fires two more globs, both splashing into The Necromancer.
“Bad move,” The Necromancer says as he winces from the burning poisonous sludge. He levels a finger at the mechanical skaven, and invokes a flesh to stone spell. The skaven’s flesh turns to stone, and the mechanical parts stay metal, so it becomes quite a work of art.
“I’m glad he’s on our team,” Elthaion quips to Grog, who doesn’t seem to hear.
The flail-wielding skaven and Blaze stalk back and forth, knowing the next hit could possibly kill either one of them. The skaven swings first, but Blaze ducks. As he does, he swings his axe in from the side, gritting his teeth, and swinging as hard as he possibly can…
…and the skaven’s torso is removed from its legs. Its body almost falls apart now as it has no willpower left to keep it together.
The Necromancer throws a horrid wilting spell at the fallen God, and Ogrim hacks into it four times. It counters, slashing its glaive at Ogrim, Grog, Eltharion, and Blaine. Each one takes an almost lethal hit. Eltharion staggers back, as does Blaine.
Blaine spins back in and stabs in with his rapier and main-gauge quickly and precisely.
Grog follows with a wicked combination of overhead chops, followed by a jump stab to the fallen God’s stomach. The fallen God staggers back, dropping its glaive, which clangs on the stone. It then falls to a knee, looking at each of the Heroes. He removes the mask, revealing a horribly scarred and diseased rat-face. He collapses, and the mask skids across the ground.
