Arrogan 30^th – Sepos 1^st

Amblay, Axe, Aravan, Graz Tak are joined by Daggoran Sunspear, a Darim Agitator, in the time-travelling well. As they climb into the familiar room they see Julran – the Tilean king’s chancellor – throttle the life from Kular Rockspawn. Even as he extinguishes the life of the monarch Julran converses with Amblay and his companions. When the deed is done he departs into the empty kitchen.

Above them the Darim bombardment is underway. The ground shakes as missiles and siege devices rain terror down on the Tilean capital. Amblay casts stoneskin on the entire party and after Axe puts the body of the king over his shoulder they head down into a more familiar territory…the sewers. Soon they find hidden doorways; one that leads them into a long corridor with cells either side. A Darim soldier turns into the dungeon initially surprised to see elves in the citadel. Daggoran steps forward confidently, his Agitator training makes him a fine orator, and he proclaims; "These are my prisoners." Immediately the soldier is put at ease by the authority of the words. Three other soldiers come to investigate.

When they are close enough Daggoran draws his katana and leaps at his kinsmen. Graz Tak and Aravan are close behind and swords clash in the narrow corridor. Amblay reaches out with his mind and takes control of the rearguard Darim. Under the direction of the Marraq the soldier slices through the ribcage of his companion and fells him. Aravan and Graz Tak cut down the rest but Amblay continues to exert control over the guard; he pushes him to the vanguard of their group as they press on in search of the crypt.

Soon they hear voices. Five Darim soldiers and something else; a tall humanoid, powerfully built with the head of a large lizard. "Have you found him yet?" it says. The Darim troops split up in search of their quarry and the party watch the lizardman sink inti the sewer water and disappear.

Graz Tak locates a closed doorway into the crypt. The entire party move into the room and spot eight sarcophagi – four empty and four with bodies shrouded in white cloth. Although chilled the air is not magical according to Amblay, the Marraq sorcerer. A quick inspection of the bodies reveals a family resemblance but most significant is the identical duplicate of Kular Rockspawn himself. As the party puzzle the conundrum the exit slams shut…secured from the other side. Soon they discover the only other exit is secured by rubble and debris on the other side…they are trapped.

Graz Tak, however, is a thief, and his expert ferreting discovers a false bottom to one of the empty sarcophagi that leads into a secret escape tunnel; damp and dark. The Tilean under mind control is sent down first and soon they are all moving down a gentle slope towards the outer walls. Every now and then holes in the ceiling reveal the true extent of the Darim assault on Hurlis. Walls and buildings reduced to rubble, stone ablaze with sorcerous fire and bodies littering the streets and alleys.

With the Tilean at the head he surprises a hidden man and duly runs him through with a katana – it is one of the bodies lay on the sarcophagus in the crypt.

After a while they come upon a room with provisions for four people; an escape capsule with everything the royal family would need to escape. Another body is present; the only woman whose body was also on a sarcophagus…her throat had been slit. Axe and Amblay take maps of the citadel and the tunnels beneath it and hurry their companions down the tunnel in the hope of survival.

As the tunnel turns slightly they send the mind controlled Tilean first to scout ahead. A flurry of arrows greet him and despite a stoneskin the soldier is slain by his own troops. "There is no escape!" yells a Darim soldier around the corner. Amblay stretches out his mind and sees four archers, along with a lizardman – the mind is particularly cunning.

Amblay and Axe sneak up behind Aravan, Daggoran and Graz Tak. The sorcerer’s plan is simple; hurl a fireball at the junction and follow it up with blades and knives. The blast of fire hits the mark and the screams of the Darim soldiers fills the tunnel, along with the unmistakable aroma of burnt flesh. Graz Tak is the first around the corner, his blade bites expertly into the throat of the first archer and he decapitates his victim. Daggoran Sunspear is equally deft and his katana smashes the skull of a second. The Darim archers are too busy extinguishing the small fires about them to realise they are being cut down; Aravan draws her deadly longsword across the belly of a third and the soldier dies instantly. From the shadows Axe spits a small needle from a hollow tube with astonishing precision. The razor sharp metal opens the jugular of the last archer and he dies screaming, bleeding and coughing blood.

The lizardman descends quickly into the ankle-deep water only to re-appear directly behind Amblay. The Marraq is vulnerable; his warrior companions yards away and unable to protect him from the outstretched hands of the lizardman. He senses the growing threat of sorcery. From nowhere Axe – the Nadir assassin – grabs the lizard head and in one terrifying motion snaps the neck of the creature before it knows it is being attacked. It collapses into the pool, it’s body dissipating into a large puddle with only a rough cloak remaining. Amblay finds a magical hairpin in the folds of the garment and hands it to the thief, Graz Tak.

The exertions of the day take a heavy toll on Amblay, his continuous magic use has brought him to the verge of exhaustion. The party guard him and grab sleep in the bowels of the citadel – all the while the sounds of destruction continue above.

They move on after a full eight hours rest. Soon they spot two more lizardmen talking to a Darim general. Without warning Amblay clutches his head and collapses, the party suspect a mental attack from the lizardmen and waste no time in moving to a safe location. When Amblay eventually regains consciousness he confirms some kind of mental attack but worryingly cannot cast spells or use telepathy.

Eventually the tunnel emerges into bushes, ten yards distant is a copse where four saddled horses await…and Julran. The party are unseen and clearly see him talking to one of the horses. Axe and Graz Tak decide (because they are the most stealthy members of the group) to attack and kill the murderous chancellor. Graz Tak draws a bow as Axe moves in. An errant blowpipe needle causes Graz Tak to fire an arrow…Julran’s reaction is as swift as it is deadly. In no time he leaps over to Graz Tak who can only watch as an open hand attack smashes his neck in two…

The entire party are back (seemingly) in their own present. Graz Tak is alive and Amblay is able to cast spells. The rubble of Hurlis is exactly as they left it…apart from a dark tower that protrudes up from the debris, clean and imposing, it radiates magic all around. Amblay draws the party away from the influrnce of the tower and casts stoneskin on each and every one of them…