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Mordak watched the others as they passed the note amongst themselves, reading it in the dim light of the hallway, which illuminated the fresh remains of their previous attackers. Each of them nodded after he finished reading, before passing it on to the next person,

"If this message reaches you, then you have been chosen for a task of great importance to my associates and I. I need you to eliminate a certain individual by the name of Sharon Myrolla, who frequents a tavern in this city by the name of the Howling Harpy. She is an assassin, and we have reason to believe that she may threaten us in the future, we would like to remove this threat before she has a chance to complicate things for us. How you accomplish this is up to you, so long as the deed is done. Naturally, you will be paid well for this, we have included a sum of money with this message, and if you can complete the contract, you will be paid ten times that amount. Also there is a possibility that Sharon will be with three other individuals when you find her, an orc, a demon, and a crow-like individual, if you see these people, I want them removed as well. Just be warned that they are dangerous, so you must be careful, but I believe you can complete this task."

"If you succeed in eliminating Sharon, you are to bring proof of her death to the abandoned temple in the east side of town at ten tomorrow night, tell no one of your coming, and see to it that you are not seen, when you arrive, I will meet you and deliver your payment. If you can eliminate the other individuals mentioned in this message, you will receive an additional reward. Do not bother coming if you cannot prove that you've killed the target by that time. Also, know that if you should prove your worth here, there may be further opportunities for you to serve us in the future, now, I look forward to the news you will bring."

Mr. F.

That was the text that was written on the letter, and a description of Sharon and a simple portrait were shown below it, these seemed fully accurate to Mordak. Once he saw that the others had read the message, the orc broke the silence.

"I think you can see what I meant. If we assume that the message was received today, then we may be able to catch this representative of our enemy, and perhaps we can learn something useful from him, assuming we go to the temple mentioned in the letter tomorrow night."

"It could be a trap," Sharon pointed out "maybe our enemies never thought that these assassins would succeed, but instead hoped we'd find the meeting place from them, and set up an ambush for us."

"Hmm... that does sound like a possibility, the flaw I can see in that is that it seems to depend on the assumption that the leader of the assassins would keep the letter with him when they attacked us, and that we would think to search the bodies and find it, in any case, it still seems that it's worth a try, maybe it is a trap, but if we ignore this, we may miss a great opportunity to find information on our enemies, so I'd suggest we should take whatever measures we can to prepare for danger, and go to the meeting place at the appropriate time."

"If you're afraid that it is a trap, perhaps we should ask the Speaker." Gaza said, looking towards the raven "Have your prophecies revealed anything, friend?"

"I hope you don't plan on relying on my prophecies all the time," the Speaker answered, shaking his head "It's not a habit you want to get into, I know they are helpful, but it is important to be able to make your own judgment as well, for my guidance is not always available."

"I suppose you're right, still, your visions could save our life in this case, so, can you see anything?"

The raven was silent for a moment, and closed his eyes, a look of concentration coming over his face "I see... potential for danger, but also a chance to make a step forward. A difficult battle, but not one which cannot be won..." he opened his eyes after a moment, looking to his companions "I can tell you no more than that, if we go, we will face danger, but such a course of action is not necessarily pointless. There is a chance to lose from it, but there is also a chance to gain."

"In that case, I think that we should go," Mordak said "At least I intend to go, whether the rest of you come or not is your own choice, I said I would join on this quest and I intend to see it through, even if it means going into danger alone."

Gaza stepped forward, stopping before the orc, and in his warm, furry hand, he took Mordak's "In that case, I will join you, my friend. Even though we haven't been together for long, I already feel that you and I are connected, and I can't let you go to something you might not return from without me by your side."

"If you two are going, then I'll have to come to." Sharon said "If what I've heard today is true, then if you two die, the world might just end, so someone has to make sure you survive."

"In that case, it's decided, we will all go." The Speaker said.

"You too?" the orc asked, looking to the bird.

"Of course, you may need my guidance, after all, and I'd like to see what sort of enemy we're facing too."

A slight smile spread across the orc's face at his companions' words. Even though he barely knew these people, he still felt like he could entrust his life to them, he felt like, as long as they were by his side, he would have a chance to succeed.

"I'm fortunate," he said "Fortunate to have companions like all of you, people I can depend on..."

The Speaker shook his head "It is not merely your fortune," he said "We are all fortunate to have met, and the rest of the world is fortunate that we are here for it as well."

"Well, you're still going to have to pay me." Sharon interrupted "And as much as I hate to interrupt this moment, we should probably get out of here before someone comes to see what the noise was about."

Mordak nodded "You're right, there's no more reason to stay here." He folded the message, and put it away in his pocket, then went downstairs and left the building, the other's following.

"So, where to next?" Gaza asked once they were out of the house and in the street, no one seemed to have noticed the violence that took place before, at least, no one confronted them on it, so they could walk away without any trouble.

"We're going to need to make some preparations for tomorrow night, I'd imagine." Mordak said "We could also probably do with some food... though I'm not sure if the rest of you have much of an appetite after what we just went through."

"Hey, that's not a problem for me." It was Sharon who spoke first "That sort of thing is nothing new to me."

"Well, I'm not sure I have much of an appetite now, but I guess it would be best to eat anyway." Gaza said.

"When I need food, I eat, that's all there is to it, I see no reason to let a bit of blood prevent me from fulfilling my basic needs." the Speaker said "So a meal is fine with me."

"Then I guess it's decided." Mordak said "We should go eat, any idea where?"

"I'd prefer to just go back to the flyer." Gaza said "I don't really feel like going anywhere else now." They all nodded, and started heading back to the place they had parked the craft.

The trip back to the flyer was uneventful, and when they got back, Mordak soon lowered himself into a chair in the lounge as Gaza went to prepare some food for the group. Sharon and the Speaker also took seats, and there was a moment of silence that lasted until the assassin spoke.

"Now seems like a good time to talk about my price." She said.

The Speaker nodded to her "Very well, Sharon, name your price."

"Well..." she raised a hand up to her face, counting fingers for a few moments before speaking "Thirty thousand tems sounds like a good place to start."

"Thirty thousand?" Mordak asked "That seems a little expensive, don't you think?"

"Talent like mine doesn't come cheap," the assassin answered "Plus I don't know how long this contract will last, so I said it would cost more"

"That you did." The Speaker agreed "And I did say that I'd handle payment myself, so I will decide if I can accept your price, and while it is on the expensive side, I believe it is an acceptable price to pay for your aid. Therefore, thirty thousand tems it will be, to be paid upon successful completion of our mission, I trust we are agreed?"

She nodded, a smile spreading across her face "I believe we are, I look forward to working with the rest of you."

Shortly afterwards, Gaza entered carrying a platter bearing sandwiches, which he set on the table "Here's our meal," he said "There's enough for each of us to have two. After this is finished, I'd suggest we each take turns getting cleaned up, and then rest for the night, we'll need to save our energy for tomorrow."

There were no objections and Gaza joined the group at the table. They each took a sandwich, and began to eat, when Mordak bit into the sandwich, he noted that it contained eggs, cheese and what appeared to be chicken, as well as some vegetables, it was, he would say, rather good, and he ate his quickly, before getting a second helping, only now realizing he had been quite hungry, and finding the food quite satisfying.

The group finished their meal in silence, with Sharon being the first to visit the bathroom after they were done, once she was finished, her hair still somewhat damp from a shower, the Speaker went as well. Mordak was the third to go, entering the flyer's small on-board washroom and locking the door.

The bathroom was a simple, compact affair, there was a small shower, a toilet, and a basin that could be filled with water from a faucet above it for washing, on one wall, there was a rack which was used for hanging towels, the room seemed quite clean, and the air was still moist and smelled of soap. According to what he had been told, the water supply on the flyer was recycled, and was thus renewable. The first time he had ridden on such a flyer, the idea of using recycled waste water for drinking and bathing had made him uncomfortable, but he had been assured that the purification spells were quite effective at keeping the water clean, and from Mordak's experience, it appeared that this was true.

The orc set down the clean clothes he had gotten for after the shower, and removed his dirty ones, he did not hesitate to turn on the shower, and after giving it time to reach a comfortable temperature, he stepped into the warm stream, letting the water wash over his green skin. The liquid enveloped him, which was quite a refreshing feeling, and washed away the dirt that clung to him. After a moment, he reached for the soap on a ledge to the side, and began to rub it against his body, making sure not to leave any part untouched, and paid special attention to those parts particularly in need of cleaning. Once he was finished with the soap, he set it down and let the water rinse it away, turning the water off once he was clean enough. The orc's green skin glistened with moisture, and as he stepped out, excess water dripped from his body onto the floor, he used a towel to dry off before changing into his clean clothes, which also consisted of a robe, but unlike his dirty one, this one was gray with a white line running down its front.

The orc looked in the mirror and adjusted the garment, then he stepped out of the bathroom to find Gaza waiting outside, carrying a folded garment under one arm.

"Oh, hi Gaza, I hope I didn't make you wait too long." Mordak said.

"Of course you didn't, friend, I'm patient," he stepped into the bathroom "Though if you don't mind, I think it's time I got my shower too."

"That's fine with me, but after you're done, I'd like to talk to you, could you meet me in the lounge, perhaps?"

The Tylanim raised an eyebrow at this, but nodded "Of course, I'm always happy to talk to you, Mordak. I'll speak to you when I'm done, then."

The orc nodded, and walked away as his companion closed the door, going to the lounge to wait. He saw that the others were not there, he was not sure where they were or what they were doing, but he did not think it mattered. The orc sat down, resting an elbow against the table and leaning his head on his hand, then, in silence, he waited.

Some time later, Gaza entered the room, and Mordak sat up straight, greeting him with a wave. The Tylanim had clearly just come out of the shower, and was clad only in a loincloth like when they had first met. He soon went over to the orc's side, and took a seat next to him.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about, friend?" he asked.

"Well..." he paused for a moment, pondering the question "To be honest, I'm not completely sure. I just... wanted to have a word with you, maybe hear some opinions of yours. Some surprising things have happened the past couple of days, and I feel like my life is changing rapidly... maybe more so then I can keep up with, and I'm not sure what to make of it, or even if I'm making the right choice. I mean, I was the one who said we should go to the meeting arranged in the letter, what if that turns out to be a bad idea?"

"And do you think it's a bad idea?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking." He answered "It's just that, since I suggested it, if anything goes wrong, I'll feel like it's my fault."

Gaza was silent for a moment, shaking his head at his friend's words "Well, I can't assure you that nothing will go wrong, but even if it does, I won't blame you for it, we all agreed to go, we'll be there by our choice, and I'm sure we all knew of the risks involved when we decided that, so don't worry so much about such things, we're all in this together, so it's only natural that we would face danger together too. Anyway, if I thought it was a bad idea, I'd tell you not to go."

"I guess that's true, and maybe it's not necessary for me to have any doubts, still, it's not so easy, after all, the only thing we have to ensure that we do the right thing is the Speaker's prophecies."

"And do you doubt those prophecies?" Gaza asked.

"No, not really." Mordak responded "I haven't really been given any reason to doubt them, they led us to Sharon, at least, and from what I've been told, they also led you to me as well. But the problem is that they're the only thing we have to guide us, and what if they fail us at some point?"

The Tylanim shook his head "The Speaker's prophecies won't fail us, I can't believe they'd fail us."

"I hope you're right, Gaza." The orc said "But enough of that. I told you about my doubts, now, why don't we hear something about what's on your mind?"

The white one was silent for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought "And what would you like to hear? Any questions you'd like to ask me? I'll try my best to be honest with you, friend, but unless you tell me what you want to know, I won't know where to start."

"Well, I'd sort of like to know what made you decided to join the Speaker, you saw me make my choice, and heard a bit about how I came to the conclusion that it was what I should do, but I wasn't around for when you made the decision, and you never said why you made it."

The Tylanim's eyes widened at the question, and he lowered his head "Well... that question..." he did not say anything immediately, and Mordak raised an eyebrow, surprised by his sudden unwillingness to speak.

"I'm sorry, did I say something I shouldn't have?"

Gaza shook his head "No, there's nothing wrong with the question, it's just that... well, the answer is a little embarrassing, so that's one question I think I'd prefer not to answer."

"Oh... in that case, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, then." The orc said, unsure of what the reason was, of course, but not wanting to make Gaza tell him anything he would feel uncomfortable answering, he decided not to press the question. After a moment, he yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth "Anyway, we should probably get some sleep soon. We're going to have a lot of preparations to make tomorrow. Speaking of which, I believe you said that you could enchant my bullets so I could shoot through any barriers our enemies might use, can I count on you to do that?"

"Of course you can, friend. I'll be sure to prepare some enchanted bullets for you tomorrow." Gaza said "Anyway, you're right, we should probably get some rest. I guess I'll see you in the morning, then."

Mordak nodded, and got to his feet "Good night." He said, waving to his companion before leaving the room, and going off to get ready for bed.

With the coming of the next morning, the group awoke early to greet the brightly shining sun of another clear day, their typical morning routines followed, before they all gathered in the lounge to discuss their plans for the following night.

"The time has come for us to strike back against our enemies." The Speaker said, sitting at one end of the table, Gaza sitting opposite him and Mordak and Sharon on either side. "It is important to remember that, regardless of the outcome of what will happen tonight it will not be the end of our quest, even if we can take this mysterious Mister F out, I am sure that would not be a blow our enemies cannot recover from, but we are not going to this meeting in the hopes of destroying our enemies. Above all, I believe what we should strive for is information. We can expect to find at least one member of their organization there, and he may be able to reveal some useful information, if we can corner him, but there is likely to be some danger involved. Unfortunately, I have not had any further visions to give us a clearer picture of what to expect, but I believe we should be prepared for a difficult fight. We do not know the full extent of our enemy's powers, but it's obvious that they have access to powerful magic, and they may also have other weapons we do not know about. It may be that this is a trap, so we must do what we can now to prepare for that possibility."

Gaza stood up at that point, the Tylanim was dressed as he had been after his shower the night before, and his white fur looked freshly cleaned "For their magic, perhaps I can come up with some sort of counter, at the very least, I've already promised that I'll enchant Mordak's ammunition to penetrate their defenses, and I think I could do the same for Sharon's weapons."

"From what I've heard about them, that could prove quite helpful." Sharon said "I don't want to be stuck fighting an enemy I can't hurt."

"Then I suppose that is decided." The Speaker said "While Gaza is doing that, do you two have any other plans?" his gaze wandered to Mordak, and then to Sharon.

"I think it would be a good idea to scout the area before hand," Sharon said "So that we know the best way to approach or any good spots for our enemy to ambush us, that sort of thing. Knowing the environment could be the key to avoiding any traps our enemies might set up."

"Can you be sure you won't be spotted by them if you do that?" the orc asked "If you are, they might realize that we know they'll be there, and call off the meeting."

"That's why I'm going to go alone," the assassin said "I know how to stay hidden from prying eyes, anyway, I don't think they'll have anyone there before the meeting, but I'll stay hidden just in case."

"Well, I guess that makes sense, in that case, I see no problems with that plan. Just be careful, and make sure to come back safely, we can't have anything happening to you at a time like this."

The human chuckled "Of course I'll return safely. I for one have no intentions of dying on the job."

"Since I'm not hearing any other objections, I will assume that we're all agreed on that plan, then." The Speaker said "Now that just leaves one question, what will you be doing, Mordak?" the raven's gaze fell upon the orc.

"Unless you have anything in particular that needs doing, I think I'll go out and do some shopping." He said "Just to pick up a few supplies we might need for the coming battle, and maybe to get some new clothes too." He looked over to Gaza "I don't mean to criticize the selection of clothes you have here, but it doesn't really fit with what I'd usually prefer to go with for what could turn into an intense battle."

"I understand, friend." The Tylanim responded "and I have no objections to that. Now, if we've all decided what we're going to do, I'd suggest we all get to work. We can meet back here later in the afternoon, maybe have something to eat, and then go."

They all nodded in agreement, and soon all went off to do their respective tasks, with the Speaker going to his room to meditate. As Mordak walked away from the flyer, his mind ran over a list of things he intended to buy, though inevitably his thoughts drifted to his conversation with Gaza the night before, and he wondered why it was only the Tylanim whom he had seen fit to discuss his feelings with, after debating this briefly, he determined that it was because the Speaker seemed too unapproachable, and it did not seem right to talk about personal matters with him, and he had known Gaza for longer than Sharon, so his white furred companion seemed the obvious choice, there was nothing more to it, that was what he told himself, at least.

It was in the evening when they left the flyer and proceeded to the abandoned temple, each of them feeling as prepared as they would be. The four of them walked solemnly through the streets, each wearing gray cloaks over their clothing with the hoods raised to offer some small concealment for their faces, Sharon walking in the lead as she knew the way. It seemed rather cool that night, and Mordak glanced to Gaza, wondering if he was warm enough in his loincloth, but it did not seem like the temperature bothered him. It must have been his fur, the orc surmised.

Mordak was dressed in a gray shirt and a pair of brown pants, purchased earlier that day, the mystic cannon holstered on his belt, together with the container for its ammunition, it was hidden by his cloak, and the same was also true for whatever weapons Sharon was carrying. The Speaker had a pack containing the supplies they had felt the need to take, mostly things for treating injuries (Gaza had stressed that even though his magic could be used for healing, it was still vital that they have some common tools for treating wounds. After all, he had said, what would happen if he was the one who needed healing?) It was decided that the Speaker should be the one to carry such things as he was not expected to be directly participating in the fighting.

"There it is." Sharon said, motioning to the large structure that rose before them, seeming to grow steadily larger as they moved closer. To Mordak, it looked as though the structure had once been a grand one, towering above the buildings that surrounded it, it had a triangular foundation and a tall spire rose from each of its points. Now, however, it had fallen into disarray, its worn stone face looking ominous under the light of the moon and stars. Even in this sparsely populated district, it stood out as a relic of a bygone age. The orc had to wonder if it was perhaps even older than the city around it, with whatever god once worshipped there having been forgotten by those who called the area home. Whatever the case, it had clearly been abandoned for a long time.

Silently, the group stepped in through the large doors on the front of it, their hinges brown with rust, they hung open, and one had to wonder if it would even be possible to close them now.

The inside of the structure was a massive hall, lit only by what light from outside poured in through the great broken windows that rose above the once grand chamber. Stone benches could still be seen arranged around it, running parallel to two of the sides of the triangle, though they looked rough and pitted with age. Great statues stood on pedestals by the walls, looking as ancient as all their surroundings, their features too worn to be clearly identified now, seeming as faceless guardians that still watched over the now forgotten hall. Against the third wall, there was a raised dais with a large alter upon it. They could make out an opening in the wall on either side, perhaps leading into back rooms of some sort, if there had once been a door in either opening, they had long since decayed with age.

"Where do those openings lead, Sharon?" Mordak asked, looking to the assassin "Which one should we check first, if you have any idea?"

"One of them just leads to a few rooms in the back. I'd imagine they were probably offices or sleeping quarters for the priests or something. The other has a staircase leading into some underground tunnels, a crypt, I think, and I saw signs that people may have been in there recently, so that's probably where we should go."

"It sounds fine to me, does everyone else think that's a good place to look?"

They all nodded, and Sharon led on, when they looked through the left passage, they could see there was indeed a set of stairs leading down into the darkness.

"You should probably activate your magic light here, Gaza." Sharon said "These stares aren't exactly the safest place to be walking in the dark."

The Tylanim nodded, and quickly cast the spell, bathing the path ahead in mystic light, the stone walls that surrounded the staircase appeared rough, and some of the steps seemed unstable with age, the group carefully avoided those parts as they descended to wherever the passage would lead, their movements shifting dust that had settled in their surroundings.

It was hard to say how far the staircase spiraled down, and their advance was rather slow, but eventually, a light could be seen ahead of them, faint at first, but steadily growing until Gaza was able to deactivate his light spell without preventing the group from seeing clearly, soon enough, they entered into an underground passage that extended a short way forward. The passage was lit by torches, their orange glow revealing carvings on the walls which had by now become unidentifiable. The hallway eventually came to an opening which led into another chamber, though Mordak could not yet make out what was in it.

"Hmm, I don't recall these torches being lit before." Sharon observed.

"That must mean that someone is indeed here, or at least has been here before." The Speaker said "Can you tell us what's up ahead, Sharon?"

She nodded "The passage ahead opens into a large chamber, and there are hallways leading off from it in the other three directions as well, those hallways have many alcoves and side passages that could make good spots for an ambush, we should be careful if we have to follow them."

The others nodded, and once again, Sharon led them on.

"It looks clear." She said, glancing into the chamber beyond, they soon followed her in, and looked around. Like the hallway they were in earlier, it was lit by torches, but there were areas shrouded in shadow where their light did not reach, fortunately, these did not appear large enough to serve as effective hiding places. Large pillars rose up to the ceiling, and the walls were lined with stone doors, looking to be somewhat higher and wider than a typical coffin, though bodies might have been buried within, age had made any identification of the occupants they might have previously born unintelligible.

As Sharon had said, there were passages leading off in other directions, each placed in the center of one side of the square room, of these passages, only one of them was lit.

"If I were to hazard a guess, I think we're expected to take the lit one." Gaza said.

Mordak nodded "And if this is a trap, that would be exactly what we don't want to do. Still, this could be a long night if we have to search each one individually, so that's probably the quickest way to find what we're looking for."

"Alright, I guess that's where we'll go then." Sharon said, leading the others down that hallway, the side passages leading away from it were dark, and they did not enter any of them, only following the lit path until they came to another large chamber, about the same size as the first one they saw, but this one had a large statue of a robed figure sitting cross-legged at the opposite end of it, and it seemed to be in better condition than its counterparts above ground. The face of an aged man with a long beard overlooked the group, the signs of age seeming to bring dignity to his face, before him, there was an ornate sarcophagus, with four somewhat simpler ones arranged before it on either side so that one had to walk between them to approach it, soon, however, the group's eyes were drawn to the normal sized figure that sat before the statue, mimicking the stone man's position, he looked to be in his middle ages, with short, neat hair of a dark brown, and blue tattoos of an unfamiliar design upon his face. A robe similar to the ones that Mordak had seen on the cultist's who first attacked him flowing about his form.

As the group approached, the man soon opened his eyes, looking up at them "I see you arrived on time." He said, slowly getting to his feet "and I can see that you are the ones I targeted, then I guess the assassins have failed. I am not surprised, but perhaps I can make up for their failure here."

Mordak reached for the mystic cannon at his waist, pointing it towards the stranger "It seems you know who we are." He said "In that case, you probably know why we're here too. I'm going to ask you some questions, and you can answer them, or I can make things... unpleasant for you."

The man raised an eyebrow at the orc's words "Is this how you deal with everyone you meet?" he asked "If so, I'm surprised your companions can stand you."

"Only if I feel the situation warrants it." He answered "Now, are you going to answer my questions, or will I have to use this?"

"If you believe your threats can frighten me, then you are mistaken." The man answered "Though I'd be lying to say I would be happy to die at this early stage, if I must, I will give up my life without fear. Still, you're welcome to ask any questions you want, as to whether I'll answer them, I can make no guarantees."

"Fine," Mordak said "Then I'll begin. What do you seek to accomplish? Surely, you know that the being you serve intends to destroy this world, what can you gain by serving something like that?"

"I think that's something we'd all like to know the answer to." Gaza said "Do you believe that this being will spare you just because you serve it? Even if it would, where would you live after it has consumed the world?"

"That is an understandable question." The man answered, speaking calmly, seemingly rather unfazed by what seemed like an interrogation "But we do not expect to be spared the destruction that will consume this world. However, what it seems you do not realize is that what our Lord strives for is not simply to bring an end to the world, but rather, it is death and rebirth, once the world has met its death, it will be remade in a new form, and with the rebirth of the world, its inhabitants may be reborn as well, and those of us who serve the Avatar of Destruction can attain a station above all the misguided souls who did not embrace this grand destiny when they had the chance, perhaps we will even become the gods of the new world."

"And do you actually believe that nonsense?" Mordak asked, his finger twitching on the trigger "'Gods of the new world' you say. And do you really think that this 'Avatar of Destruction' will fulfill that promise?"

"You ask me about belief, yet I would like to turn around and ask you,." The robed man answered "do you really believe that you can stop the death of this world?"

"I do not believe that we can do this," the Speaker interjected "I know we can. It has been foretold in our visions, and I intend to make those visions a reality."

"Exactly!" Gaza said "And we will do whatever we need to help him, if that means killing you, then we won't hesitate."

"I agreed on a contract," Sharon added "And when I accept a job, I always fulfill it, this one is no exception."

The cultist before them shook his head "I suppose that is how it must be. I had hoped that if you survived last nights attack and found your way here, I might be able to convince you to join our cause, but it seems clear to me that you've all made your decision, so I suppose this can only end one way."

"You're right," Mordak said "It can end only one way, with your death!" he fired, and he knew that the bullet he shot was one of the ones Gaza had enchanted, it should be able to penetrate any barriers he might have.

However, the shot did not hit the man, for even as he pulled the trigger, the man was engulfed in light, then vanished, leaving the group alone in the chamber as the bullet impacted the wall.

There was silence for a moment, before the group heard his voice again, speaking with a faint echo, they looked around trying to find its source, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"While I have no intention to fight you personally tonight, I will not just leave you there either. Now you will face my tool of destruction. If you survive this, then perhaps we will meet again, if not, then this crypt will be your tomb."

"Damn it, where are you?" Mordak demanded, but received no answer, and the crypt was filled with silence.

"It would appear that he has escaped." Gaza said.

It was at that moment that the silence was broken by an ominous noise, like some heavy objects repeatedly falling against the stone floor, echoing through the cold halls, it was the sound of feet, Mordak realized, and feet belonging to something large, and something that was coming closer.

"This isn't over yet." He said "You hear that sound? That must be the 'tool of destruction' he mentioned."

Sharon nodded "Any idea what it could be?" she asked.

"I can't tell," the orc answered "But it's definitely coming towards us, we should prepare for a fight."

The wait for the creature to approach had not been a long one, but it seemed much longer to the orc, he could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest, and though it was rather cool in the crypt, he could tell he was sweating profusely, looking around at the others, he could see the perspiration shining of their skin or fur, all except the Speaker, who looked as calm as always. Had he foreseen that this would work out alright? No, Mordak could not let himself fall into that kind of thinking, lest he assume that a positive outcome was guaranteed and let his guard down, whatever it was that approached, they would have to survive the encounter with it by their own power, not trust in fate to keep them safe.

It was then that a shape came through the doorway beyond, it was a large humanoid shape, almost twice the height of the orc, it's wide, powerfully muscled frame was covered in thick scales, green and adorned with designs seemingly carved into them. Beneath a pair of arms in the usual position, it had another smaller pair, all of its large hands ended in large claws that looked extremely sharp, surely, they would have no trouble slicing through the flesh of anyone struck by them. Though it wore no clothing and had a masculine shape, Mordak could not see any sign of any male organs on it, going by outward appearances, it seemed asexual.

A look of recognition came over Gaza's features, and he uttered a curse under his breath "Aim for the eyes or mouth if possible!" he said "Everything else is heavily armored."

Mordak nodded, firing a shot aimed at the monster's face, but the creature was surprisingly quick, managing to raise its arm in time to protect its face from the bullet, which was harmless against its scales.

The monster charged at the group then "Disperse!" Mordak said, and with no further words, everyone split up, all running in separate directions even as the creature came upon them, those terrible claws slashing, but hitting no one.

Gaza extended a hand, and swung it before him in an arc, blue glyphs crawling over its surface, a pale blue trail of light forming behind it, the cold mist of frost could be seen in its wake, and sharp shards of ice formed in the air, shooting towards the monster, each one either missed, or struck it's scales, doing nothing but irritating it, causing it to charge towards him. He reacted quickly, and a section of ground between him and the monster rose up to block its path, it noticed this too late, and crashed head first into the wall of rock, which shattered under its weight, but the monster was not left unaffected. It went down, crashing to the ground.

It seems strong, but I don't think it's very smart. Mordak thought.

Sharon seized the opportunity, and ran towards the beast, looking as though she was about to jump on it and attempt to attack its vulnerable spots, but it did not give her that chance, suddenly one of its arms came up to strike at her, and it was only by reflexes honed through years of experience that she barely managed to dodge it.

It can't end well at this rate! The orc thought If I could just get a clear shot...

A thought came to him then, and he spoke.

"I think I can take it out." He said "Just keep it busy until I get a chance."

'I don't know what you're planning, but I'll trust you in this." Gaza said, seeing that the creature was back upon its feet again.

"Alright, see if you can get it to stay in one place." The monster was trying to strike at Sharon now, and each time she successfully dodged its attacks only seemed to increase its rage, its eyes filled with malevolence.

"I think this may be a good time for me to help you." The speaker said suddenly, walking up beside Mordak "I can't actually kill it, but I may be able to draw its attention away from you."

"Any help would be appreciated, do whatever you can."

As to what the Speaker did, Mordak was not completely sure, for a moment, a look of concentration came over the bird's face, and then their enemy stopped it's attack, and began looking around as though confused, then suddenly, it swung at thin air as though to attack something only it could see, and then attacked a different patch of air. Though the orc was not sure what was going on, he was not going to waste this opportunity.

"It looks like it's distracted," he said "See if you can do something to get it to hold still, I'll have an easier time hitting it that way."

"I believe I can do that." Gaza said, as the creature charged forward, once again striking at nothing, he put his hands together, focusing energy in them, and thrust them downwards, the stone of the floor beneath the creature suddenly came up to grab it like some misshapen hand, however, it missed, the creature running past before the stone could grasp it. The Tylanim shook his head "I'll have to try again."

Mordak nodded "Just stop its movement," he said "It might help if you cast the spell just after a swing, before it gets moving again."

The white furred one nodded "I'll try that."

The creature made another attack, this time striking a spot near one of the walls, and the Tylanim began weaving the spell even before it came to a stop, choosing just the right moment to release the mystical energy. The rock once again came up, and grasped the monster, succeeding this time and winding around its legs, holding it in place. The scaled monstrosity cried out as it struggled against its bonds.

"You should act quickly," Gaza said "With its strength, it might be able to break the bonds."

The orc nodded, and raised his weapon, gripping it with both hands and lining it up so he could look down the sights, he took a moment to account for the sway of the creature's head as it struggled, and then held his breath as he fired. The bullet found its mark in the creature's eye, causing a blood spraying from the new wound, however, it was not enough to kill it. Crying out in pain, the monster reached one hand up to cover the wound, while Mordak was already thinking of how he would finish it off. At that moment, he decided to do something that was probably rather reckless, but at the time, it seemed like a good idea.

The orc ran towards the monster, jumping towards it "Mordak! Wait..." Gaza called when he saw what his friend was doing, but by then, he had already made the move, latching onto the brute with his hands and putting his legs around its chest, he pressed his mystic cannon against the monster's other eye, and fired repeatedly from point blank range, the creature grabbed at his back, its claws tearing his flesh as it tried to force him off, but somehow, he managed to endure the pain as he emptied more and more bullets into the creature's vulnerable spots, blood and other things he was less inclined to name sullying him.

Finally, the monster fell to the ground with a groan, to say that Mordak jumped off with any sort of grace would be inaccurate. Instead, he practically fell off and soon collapsed onto the ground, bleeding from the gashes in his back left by the monster's claws, the other's quickly crowding around him.

Suddenly, the intense pain he had been brushing aside hit him all at once, and it was an effort just to keep his focus, he saw Gaza standing over him, the Tylanim said something, but he could not clearly make the words out.

Mordak found himself being turned over onto his back by his companion, then he felt hands on his wrists, holding him down, in his current state, he could not focus enough to care. Then he felt a warm sensation in the gashes that covered his back. A warmth that was at first comforting, but soon began to increase to an uncomfortable heat, then it became a burning pain, he tried to cry out, but no sound came to him, and tried to struggle, but in his current state of weakness, he was easily restrained by the hands that held him down.

The orc could not say how long the pain continued, but when it ended, it came without warning, it simply stopped, his wounds no longer hurting, there was only an uncomfortable coldness against the exposed skin where his clothes had been torn by the claws, and a weakness spreading throughout his body.

"That should do it." It was the voice of Gaza that Mordak heard, now clearly audible once more "Can you stand?"

The orc slowly pushed himself up, coming into a sitting position on the ground, he then tried to stand, but quickly lost his balance, he would have fallen if a pair of furred arms had not gone around him to support him at that moment.

"Don't worry, it's normal to feel weak after having such serious wounds healed." The Tylanim said "But you just need to give it time before you feel better."

"I... I guess I should thank you for healing me a second time." Mordak said "But does it always hurt so much?"

"If the wounds are so bad, yes, you were spared the pain last time because you were unconscious when I used the spell, but you should be safe now, the monster is dead, and your wounds are healed."

At the mention of the monster, the orc looked over to its corpse, he did not see the scaly four armed monstrosity he expected, but rather saw what looked like a replica of it carved from wood, with holes chipped in the spots where it had been hit. He then reached up a hand to wipe the places where he had been splattered by its blood and found only what looked like water mixed with saw dust.

"What was that thing anyway?" he asked "When we fought it, it seemed perfectly alive, yet now, it looks like it's made out of wood."

"It was a creature created using magic, a being of flash and blood, it was very much alive and had all the basic needs you and I have, but upon death, the magic that created it was broken, and it returned to the form it had before the spell was cast, which, as you can see, was a figure carved from wood."

At this point, Sharon interrupted the conversation with a cough before it could go further "Your lessons on the physiology of magical creatures are truly interesting," she said "But I believe there are other things we should think about, for one thing, we should probably get out of this place, and for another, we need to think about what to do next, because it seems this confrontation didn't give us any new information."

"On the contrary," the Speaker broke in "We have learned one piece of information, we now know the motives of our enemies, they believe that their efforts will earn them a better standing in the new world."

"Also," Gaza said "We've learned one other thing, we know the identity of one of their members." At this, they all looked to him, a look of curiosity on their faces.

"Are you saying you recognize him, Whitey?" Sharon asked, to which Gaza nodded, either not registering or choosing to ignore her use of the nickname she had given him against his will.

"His name is Velarus Farnez, his name is fairly well known in the magical community, particularly for his research into the subject of creating mystic creatures, so it's no surprise that he'd be able to set that creature on us, still, I would not have thought he would be working with the enemy."

"Well, maybe he was the 'Mr. F' who wrote the letter," Mordak said "still, knowing who he is doesn't tell us what we should do next, does anyone have any ideas?"

The Speaker raised a hand, drawing the attention of the others towards him "It seems to me that we have no leads, so I will just have to wait until I have another vision. We should leave this place now, for there is no more reason to remain here, and after we get back, I'd suggest we all rest, in the future, I will meditate to see if it will help me experience a vision sooner."

Since no one seemed to have any better ideas, they all agreed, and began walking out, Mordak was still weak from his injuries, and Gaza stayed by his side, keeping one arm around him to help support him, under the circumstances, the orc found himself welcoming the contact. Knowing there was nothing more for them in the crypt or the ancient temple above it, they left, and did not look back as they walked off into the night.