The Wrath of Malakar

cy 4862 Arrogan 15th - 16th

Illyth, the sister of queen Illyanth of Elenoria, meets Marvarris and Zaelyan in a dark shadowy corner of the Hidden Citadel. The contrast of her maimed yet beautiful face makes her seem even more terrifying and the two men are cautious. But despite her appearance and fearsome reputation Illyth offers peace and an alliance to Marvarris and the party.

Mevik uses his abilities gained from the Time Master to Time Portal back to the event – he eavesdrops on the conversation from the shadows.

"My sister is like the elves of old," Illyth tells them, "from a time when humankind were slaves to the might and ancient power of the Old Lore. I can tell you that your plan to rescue Slider is folly; Illyanth has set a deadly trap."

Marvarris invites her to the party and Illyth greets them all – especially Viscount Taymar – with great respect. The conversation is frank. She requires help to depose her sister and rid the world of a potential tyrant whilst the party are more cautious; Chopper in particular asks what’s in it for them. A compromise is quickly reached however and she agrees to travel with them as Taymar leads them north on their epic quest across Grayhawk’s largest mountain range.

That evening Chanra Tal stretches out his growing mind, his Marraq power searches for one mind in particular. The queen of Elenoria greets him, allowing the Marraq past her mental defences so she can taunt him. "I have been waiting for this…I suppose you have my sister?" But Chanra Tal does not enter conversation with her, instead he strikes at her mind with his own and connects a blow that would hurt the elven queen. Illyanth breaks the link immediately.

Next morning the Marraqs (with the help of many elven fletchers) load recently made arrows onto horses and head out into the brilliant sunshine. Whilst they travel Mevik uses the Time Scope to spy on Illyth; he catches brief glimpses of her traumatic life from the terrible ordeal at the hands of the demons to an even more terrible time incarcerated by her sister.

Later Marvarris’ mind spots a predator spying on them. The party prepare bows and the Marraq informs them that it is likely to be a dragon – a young and hungry dragon at that. When his mind finds it almost a mile away he puts an arrow into its shoulder and the beast moves from its cover. The dragon is small although it’s massive jaws are capable of snapping a man in two. Before it is within normal bow range Chanra Tal puts an arrow between shoulder and neck, the long shaft punctures the soft flesh and buries itself into the fledgling’s heart.

That night Chanra Tal casts hallucinatory terrain whilst Scordian casts rope trick. The idea is that six of the party sleep whilst two sit outside on guard with the horses. The illusion should give them enough cover to hide their encampment.

But it is within the rope trick that something strange occurs. Scordian sits by the portal and notices a flicker of movement to his left. Illyth is asleep but her skin moves as though independent to her mind, small ripples in the flesh that travel up her arm and her face. Behind the closed lids a deep crimson light can be seen. Immediately Scordian screams at the party and everyone wakes.

Chanra Tal is instantly in Illyth’s mind as she wakes. He senses her reaction to danger and is astonished by her ruthless and meticulous mind as it copes with the danger. In the first millisecond she has already identified the strongest targets and knows exactly where she is going to strike them to kill them instantly. In the next millisecond she has mapped out her route to the exit and beyond.

When it becomes clear that she is not in danger she relaxes to face the scrutiny of many nervous faces. Illyth is calm; "I should have warned you about that. It is perfectly natural and nothing to worry about – one does not go through what I went through without scars…"

None of the party sleep for the rest of the night.

Next morning Chanra Tal’s owl familiar spots an encampment in the next valley. Illyth volunteers to scout ahead whilst the party climb to a nearby ridge to take a look. The symbol of Malakar is clearly visible as are the plate-clad warriors and their retinue.

Later Illyth appears to the party. "Malakar has sent a priest called Bastinar to recover the holy relic (the katana) that Chanra Tal possesses. Do you realise that Malakar has heard every single conversation you have ever had through it?"

That fact strikes them all hard, their faces display horror and fear that the dark god has been so close. But they have no time to react as Bastinar sends his dark warriors at them.

The ten heavily armed warriors appear suddenly, sent magically by the high priest who uses the katana symbol as a focus. There is no time to react as the party are completely surprised. The first broadsword cuts Marvarris at the neck and slays him instantly. Isarimir is next, a blade crushing his skull before he can even blink. Chopper, the Skoorlian warrior, falls to another cruel strike whilst Scordan, the sorcerer, takes a devastating blow to the midriff that almost cuts him in half. Even Chanra Tal, the powerful Marraq, sustains a broken skull and falls dead.

Viscount Taymar is hit last of all, a crushing blow to the stomach makes him spit blood through his visor. Despite the near fatal gash to the stomach he survives although any effort causes further gushing from the wound and from his mouth.

Only Mevik, Illyth, and the badly wounded Taymar are left. Mevik casts haste and reacts with blinding speed. He uses the staff of Azael to destroy two of the dark warriors then watches in awe as Illyth – now twice as fast as normal – explodes violently against the Malakarians. Her hands and feet kill with the deadly finesse of a true killer. Five fall dead after her first assault.

Taymar’s blows are turned aside as the three remaining warriors turn defence into attack. Mevik catches the sword arm of one and rams the staff into his foot to destroy him. Illyth effortlessly breaks the neck of her opponent before deftly striking the last warrior dead with a sweeping kick.

Before they can regain their composure the high priest Bastinar appears amongst them, he places one arm on Mevik and another on Taymar and prepares to cast a deadly spell into. There is triumph on the priest’s face. He is within seconds of wiping the two men out with a single spell.

But Mevik is too quick. He casts dimension door and hurls the party almost three hundred yards away. In one swift movement Taymar draws the bow, nocks an arrow and lets fly. The shaft pierces the high priests skull, his triumph stolen at the last second. He falls face first into the dirt and dies.

Mevik staunches the blood from Taymar’s abdomen and the three remaining friends pick through the equipment of their fallen comrades. After a while the Malakarian katan / symbol begins to shine brightly, the luminescence as bright as the sun. Illyth is horrified. "Malakar is doing this! He is going to destroy it! Move!"

Once again Mevik reacts quicker than any of them. He casts dimension door and removes them from harms way. As the step through the katana has already exploded, a distinctive and terrible shattering of matter itself. An explosion of void magic unmakes everything within one hundred feet radius; all the horses, including Escobar, all the equipment are gone.

Illyth’s face drains of blood as she staggers back in horror. A whisker away from total destruction she puts a hand on Mevik’s shoulder and smiles; "That is twice you have saved me Mevik Z’mmm, it is becoming a habit."

Mevik gestures to Taymar who vomits a fresh spurt of blood from his mouth. "We’d better help our friend here – let’s remove his armour and stop the bleeding before Malakar claims another casualty…"