Dark Queen Ascending

Cy 4863 Feb 2^nd – 14^th

The party rush into the bedchamber of Queen Illyanth of Elenoria with murder in their hearts. As soon as they cross the threshold of her large room the stifling weight of an anti-magic shell greets them. Four Menelothian Swamp Vipers are at her feet, deadly poisonous and controlled by the queen to attack them. The queen holds two katanas and is a blur of steel and silk; her body flows at incredible speeds and the two blades are almost invisible. Taryn Bzar slashes his left palm and bites deep into his tongue filling his mouth and hand with blood.

The queen attacks unflinchingly; the party struggle to fend off her blows which start with the dangerous whirlwind attack. As they dodge the vipers at their feet the party cling on for survival, knowing that one failed parry or missed dodge is the end.

Taryn catches her sword arm during the initial stages, his blood smears over her forearm. As an afterthought he spits blood into her left eye knowing that when she is away from her anti magic the blood will burn hotter than a furnace. The queen almost disdainfully breaks Taryn’s clinch.

G-Lest backs out of the room and hurls dispel magics at the anti magic – he knows that her power is far greater and hopes to get lucky. The protection holds fast.

As the party start their attacks Illyanth brushes aside every blow, her blades an extension of her they are able to move almost quicker than the eye can perceive. She seems to be able to predict every attack and brush it aside without thinking, her swordplay unequalled.

In a heartbeat Hosskal is dead. Her strike so quick and perfect that not even a grandmaster bladesman could deflect it; his head sails across the room to land at the foot of her giant bed. Brazer Silverbow falls next to a similar blow and she begins to grin as she senses victory. Streng uses his knife and tries to slip behind her for a backstab, or to try and steal from her, but the queen employs a combat stance he is unfamiliar with. She seems to be able to face any opponent head on and he fails to get a hand anywhere near her.

With a growing number of attacks she tries to put Valadain down, knowing that if she slays him the advantage is with her. A brutal backhand swipe to Taryn’s throat decapitates the ranger and she screams with delight as she dances amongst the remaining party.

Valadain begins to sweat. His best efforts are – he realises – simply not good enough against the woman who taught himself and most of his offspring how to wield a sword. But he does not bow to the inevitable; just one perfect strike and she will die. It is the last thought of the godslayer as she cuts him down with merciless brilliance.

She radiates a beaming smile as she faces just Streng and Skraal. The thief slips away and she turns on the unfortunate Skraal; the man soon runs out of defences and is summarily cut down.

Streng exits the room and becomes invisible as he sprints towards G-Lest. The high priest is preparing a plane shift but both men turn as the queen exits her bedchamber. She screams in pain as her left eye erupts from contact with Taryn’s blood; the eyeball explodes and her arm virtually disintegrates as the insatiable primal fire tastes her flesh.

Streng quickly slips a bullet into his sling and launches a parting shot. It is the best shot he has ever fired, a shot that would – he would learn later – change the course of history. The bullet penetrates the queen’s abdomen and decapitates the unborn demon child growing inside her. Illyanth clutches the ruined stomach and backs into her chamber and Taryn’s fire dies. She begins to scream for her guards.

G-Lest has already plane shifted onto the Astral Plane…onto a battlefield. The Elenorians here are outnumbered by a growing number of demons. Before G-Lest can get his bearings and head back to his own temple he is wracked with pain. A huge claw explodes from his stomach carrying his entrails – but as G-Lest falls the Kal cloak forces his soul out through life in death.

G-Lest is now a naked soul in the midst of demons. He searches for a body to inhabit and discards the Elenorian immediately; they are dying by the score all around him. Instead he sees a vaguely humanoid shape with sharp goblin-like features and a sour disposition. A demonic killer with a wiry, powerful frame. He has no choice and attacks the soul.

By luck – or by the favour of Malakar himself – G-Lest consumes the soul and slips easily into his new body. Taller, more ferocious demons avoid him and this helps him slip away. Before long he is back at the ruins of the Malakar temple in Van Myrid. No-one questions his appearance as he begins the reconstruction – and re-consecration – of Malakar’s temple.

Streng moves through the battle into the outlying areas of the palace, then the city. The Elenorians there are confused, unsure of what is happening in their city. Streng moves through them, and through the armies posted outside the capital city until he is eventually free.

It is six days later when Streng returns to greet the only other survivor, G-Lest. Sat close above this reunion is Hamroth, the towering Glaennyn, who says; "We have dark days ahead of us…"

Leandra, a minor noblewoman, has taken control of the city, a city now grieving for the loss of it’s leader. With no obvious successor the power vacuum has to be filled and G-Lest and Streng take it upon themselves to promote Leandra as leader…and possibly later as queen. G-Lest discovers (through a reflecting pool) that the Imperial army are only a couple of weeks away from the rendezvous at Van Myrid. This gives them all heart. Streng and G-Lest hold a council with other notables such as Casar, the head of the Great Library, and Stelvor Darkblade, the guildmaster assassin.

Later Stelvor invites Streng to the Death Vine Parlour, a dingy dark backwater tavern where Stelvor moves him through to a secret room at the back of the inn. There Stelvor offers him the city; "We can divide it between us," the assassin says, "with our talents we will rule day and night."

Streng considers the offer and senses two dangerous magical daggers beneath the folds of the assassin’s garments. He takes them quickly and without Stelvor realising; later he places the knives on the table and Stelvor is shaken by the experience. Streng decides to be non committal and leave the tavern via his own route. As grandmaster he flows through the smallest gaps, penetrates the impossible and moves without sound in the shadows.

G-Lest, Streng and Hamroth plan to make Leandra give a rousing speech to the people to garner their support in the dark times ahead. G-Lest uses another reflecting pool to scry on Valkaras – the blade lost by Hosskal – and he is stunned by the vision in the pool. It is Illyanth’s throneroom. The queen stalks up and down a line of Elenorian traitors and decapitates them one by one for turning against her. Demons and other Elenorians stand in fear at the sight. Her eye is full of pustules and dried blood and her arm is in a sling, a useless limb by her side.

The bishop G-Lest can sense the anger even through the scrying pool…it gives him a certain satisfaction.

Later Leandra – with Hamroth’s magical assistance – gives a rousing address to her people. Such is the cheering that it sounds all across the Myrid plainlands towards Elenoria itself. Now Leandra is cheered wherever she goes.

As a single Elenorian rider approaches Leandra is on the wall to meet him. The emissary of the dark queen prepares to give a warning, an ultimatum or – more likely – a threat. But Leandra howls at the man and points a finger of rebuke. Streng feels the subtle force from Hamroth as the Glaennyn sends his own warning – a bolt of lightning issues from Leandra’s finger and splits the Elenorian’s skull in two and the elf disintegrates before a cheering crowd.

G-Lest theoports to the Malakar temple in Gran Breton and is given a warm welcome by the high priest. He is there to gather support from the Bretonians and to enquire about the general leading the army that closes on Van Myrid. The general is called Gorak Stern and the high priest assures G-Lest that he is a good leader and an honourable man well suited to the task.

Relieved G-Lest thanks the high priest and steps back to his own temple via the altar. He is suddenly aware that something is wrong; an alteration in the normal order of things finds him in a darkened room with no sound and very little space. From the shadows comes a familiar face – Arvial. The child is grief-stricken at the death of his grandfather but there is a seriousness about him that G-Lest has not seen before.

"I want you to do something for me G-Lest," Arvial says, "but it requires from you a sacrifice that you may not wish to give. I need you to keep something from your god."

Stunned at this G-Lest is not about to dismiss the idea without more information. "Go on Arvial."

"I have something that you must take from me – the Key of Zalun – but you must somehow smuggle it past your temple without Malakar knowing about it. Your god has eyes and ears everywhere – including Elenoria – but this must be our secret. If Illeum Runesabre falls then this key is the only thing that can release me and release the powers that might stop the dark queen."

G-Lest wrestles with his conscience but accepts the task that the young man has given him. Once back at the city he leaves the temple and heads for the palace and a quiet word with Streng…after some time G-Lest manages to persuade his thief friend to keep the key safe. Streng can sense the unusual magical power within the key and wonders where such magic was created…