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Hell Again - This time it's War!!

Pazunia, Plain of Infinite Portals

Port Larkis, Plain of Sea of Fire

Reital

The Hive Ward

Inn of the World Serpent

Fortress of the Broken Souls

Pazunia, Plain of Infinite Portals

2nd Apri1609

Once again Surya found himself in the Outer Planes doing Orcus's bidding, but this time he was on the plane of Pazunia, the first of the Abyss. Known as the Plain of Infinite Portals or the Palace of a Thousand and One Closets, it was the gateway to the whole of the Abyss.

It was a realm of windswept barrens and jagged tors, flickering with swarms of winged demons. An oppressive red sun, heavy with infinite age, bathed the layer in sweltering heat and a harsh light. Angry shadows curtain the plains in places, concealing hidden menaces and everywhere were massive pits that plunged into deeper layers of terror.

The pits were in fact portals to deeper layers of the Abyss, so those who descended into them soon found themselves elsewhere in the Abyss. Leaping into a pit without knowing where it led was is as good a way as any to commit suicide on Pazunia and was something Surya was not about to do.

On the edges of these great pits nestled massive iron fortresses, relics of the past now inhabited by mighty tanar'ric lords who had not yet mustered the power to bend an entire layer to their wills. It was one of these great castles that Surya was tasked to take and hold.

The Fortress of the Broken Souls was garrisoned by almost six thousand assorted devils and was commanded by one of Belial's minor generals. Ussarak the Unforgiving was a 5600 year old pit fiend, standing almost fifteen feet high and weighing a thousand pounds. He stood on the walls of the fortress, bathed in the smoke that issued from the two magic bottles strapped to his arms. He hefted his heavy flail, Shatterscar, from one hand to another as he watched the approaching army.

Surya had been commanded to serve the demon Karsh, for a while. The King of New Tellare had not asked why, he would not have got a straight answer from the Prince of the undead, but had agreed anyway as it would give him the opportunity to once again fight in the Blood War. War was not common place in Alair and certainly not on this scale and here he could use all his powers without fear of condemnation by the clergy of Kord. Karsh was the Demonlord of Assassins and the fortress coming into view was once his and he rather fancied having it back from the demonic upstart that had taken occupancy of it.

Surya had chosen to bring the mighty Saethor, a huge Nightmare bound to his service. Mounted on his steed he rode to the top of a small rise so he could survey the area in which he must fight. The Fortress of the Broken Souls was a large, square castle. The thick outer walls rose sixty feet from the plane and were heavily defended by the six thousand demons and up to twenty siege weapons. The weapons were Surya's initial concern as they posed the greatest threat to his troops. These weapons were mainly ballistae and fortunately for the King they were quite small and their range was shorter than the forty catapults he had brought to the party. Surya quietly sighed and thought to himself, "at least there was something in his favour", as he looked over his force assembling on the plane. Karsh had given Surya command of a rag-tag army made up of six thousand undead and three thousand demons. The undead element of his force was mainly Skeletons and Zombies, with a small number of more powerful creatures, but not many. The demons were similarly low powered, with a few more powerful creatures in there ranks. He did have at his disposal nine hundred Armanites, which would make up is cavalry and twelve mighty Balors.

Surya chose to concentrate his attack on the east wall which housed the main gate. He had insufficient manpower to encircle the fortress and could see no tactical advantage in doing so anyway. He set up his catapults six hundred yards from the castle walls and divided up his army in to smaller companies, each commanded by one of the mighty Balors. With his troops in place and his siege weapons ready, Surya rode out from his camp, under a white flag, towards the fortress.

At about two hundred yards from the main gates Surya stopped and waited. There was a slim chance of a peaceful conclusion to this situation, he thought, but it would be impolite not to ask. The main gates opened and out walked two large Chain Devils. These Kytons were humanoid in shape, a little over six feet tall and wrapped in chains rather than clothes. As they approached Surya noticed that he could not tell then apart, they were identical. He then recalled a tale of two seven hundred year old Chain Devil twins, in their life on Alair they were professional killers reaching nearly one hundred and twenty assassinations, working together to bring down tougher foes. These creatures were the personal assassins of Belial, the Chain Brothers.

The two devils stopped in front of Surya and stood quietly, as if waiting for the human to speak. Surya addressed the brothers saying, "I bring you greetings from Lord Karsh and a message for your master. Leave this castle or I will have to take it by force".

Surya waited for a response, but none was forthcoming, only a grunt from the two brothers. Surya spoke again, "I will assume that your silence means you will not leave peaceably, then gentlemen I will see you on the battlefield." With that said both parties turned and returned to their respective lines.

As the King of New Tellare crossed his lines he ordered his troops to start the bombardment of the fortress. The forty strong siege weapons all fired at once, releasing tons of rock and rubble into the air. A few later moments the huge boulders and rock smashed into and over the castle walls with a deafening crash. The devils inside returned the compliment by releasing their ballistae, but they fell short of Surya's troops and landed harmlessly between the two forces. The bombardment of the fortress continued, unopposed for most of that day. The demons hurled fire and brimstone at the great castle until finally the walls near to the main gates started to crumble. On seeing the walls beginning to weaken, Surya ordered the catapults to concentrate their efforts on the collapsing ramparts until a sizable breach had opened up.

With the walls around the main gateway crumbling, Surya ordered his troops to advance towards the fortress. Nine hundred Armanites thundered across the barren waste land toward the breach, which was now filling up with thousands of assorted devils spilling out of the castle. Behind the Armannites the rest of Surya's demonic force raced across the plane, followed by the much slower undead. The King of New Tellare astride Saethor led the charge, flames and smoke issued from his Nightmare as he closed on the ranks of devils. Protected by Lordsguard, Surya lowered his lance and braced himself for impact. There was a deafen crash as the two sides met, the lances of the Armanites tore in to the devils scattering them to the four winds. Similarly Surya's lance ripped in to his foes, but every devil that Surya killed, returned shortly after to un-life and started to fight there former brothers-in arms.

For a moment or two the devils were in disarray, Surya's charge had broken their ranks but there were too few of them to defeat this horde. But before Ussarak's forces could regroup and counter attack, the charging demons arrived and Surya witnessed some of the most horrific fighting he had ever seen. fiend versus fiend, demon versus devil, no quarter asked or given. The battle was going Surya's way, the demons and undead were making good ground against their foe. Surya then noticed that one of the large Chain Devil twins was making his way towards him, but where was the other. These creatures had a reputation for working together, to bring down larger quarry. The last thing Surya wanted was to face both of them together. He through down his lance and took out his mighty bow, Maranus. Surya unleashed a flurry of arrows at the Chain Devil, hitting him many times. Surya drew his bow again, but this time the creature had vanished. Moments later it reappeared behind Surya swinging its chain, waiting for the King to come in to range. It did not have to wait long, Surya turned his steed to face the creature and charged at full speed drawing the sword of the Dead as he did so. The two assailants crashed together, with the devil's chain ripping into Surya's flesh and wrapping round his chest as it did. The devil tried, in vain, to pull Surya from his mount, but the human was far too good a horseman to be dismounted so easily. Surya now struck the creature with his cursed weapon, cutting deep into the monsters flesh. The devil screamed in agony as its black blood oozed from its gaping wounds. Not giving the creature time to recover, Surya struck again, this time the Sword of the Dead Legion bit deep in to the creatures throat and it fell to the ground dead. Before Surya could draw breath the second evil twin was upon him, it spiked chain hit him in the chest and head, with such ferocity that it almost knocked him from his mount. The devil then unwrapped four chains from his body and tossed them towards the mounted human. These animated chains moved to engage Surya and Saethor, sprouting razor-edged barbs as they did. Surya leaped from his mount over these dancing chains and landed directly in front of the devil. Before the lone twin could react, Surya plunged his sword deep in to his chest, exploding its heart as it did so. The dancing chains fell silently to the ground and the second Chain Devil crashed to the floor, their seven hundred year old partnership was an at end. Both creatures now rose up, lifeless, to serve their new master.

Surya now turned his attention back to the castle and Ussarak the Unforgiving. The great pit fiend stood on the fortress walls and watched as Surya's forces overwhelmed his own. Of the six thousand troops he had started the day with only two and a half remained. He had committed all he had to the breach, all except one - himself. Shrouded in smoke he leaped from the castle wall and glided in to battle. Ussarak the Unforgiving swung his heavy flail, Shatterscar, at anything that came in to range. All that it touched demon or undead, disintegrated instantly, turning to dust. Surya watched as the beast moved through his ranks, seemingly unstoppable.

It was clear to Surya that this fight had only one outcome, he must face this creature alone. The King rode through the ranks of fighting fiends and undead until he reached Ussarak. The creature now took notice of Surya and raised himself up to his full height and growled at the human. Surya dismounted from Saethor and approached to within fifty feet of the Pit Fiend and spoke. "Will you yield now, your army is decimated and your commanders lost. Yield now and leave the plane, I will not pursue you."

Ussarak the Unforgiving responded, "You led this assault, you killed my allies, then you will die by my hands. Prepare yourself mortal"

Surya was first to react bring the full force of his necromantic powers to bear on the fiend. Waves of negative energy flowed from the Prince of the Undead's latest human pet and washed over Ussarak. The devil seemed to tire under the effects of the magic as some of his immense strength drained away. This seemed to have little effect on the creature who returned to complement and cast his magic on Surya. To the creatures frustration the spell failed as Surya shook of his poor attempt to bend his will to the fiend's control. The time for spells was over as each of the combatants drew weapons and closed upon each other. Surya with the Sword of the Dead Legion in hand approached the devil. Ussarak the Unforgiving swung his heavy flail in the direction of the King, testing his defences, but Shatterscar just bounced harmlessly of Surya's shield. Surya was aware of a voice, it was not the fiend, nor was it in his head. It whispered, "He has served Kord, he must die." Despite the voices, Surya was the first to draw blood as he hit the huge creature in the chest and abdomen. Black blood leached from the wounds, but it did not stop Ussarak the Unforgiving from lashing out with Shatterscar, hitting the King in the chest. Surya felt the pain from the weapon, but there was something else, it was as if every fibre of his body was being torn apart. The feeling quickly past and the King attacked again but with such ferocity that he almost cleaved the mighty devil in two. Ussarak dropped to the ground stone dead, his five thousand year rein was over.

The battle was over and the day belonged to Surya and his forces. Seeing their commander fall the remaining fiends that were able to teleport away did so, whose that were not were put to the sword. Surya looked down at the broken body of Ussarak and notice Shatterscar lying in the dust. The voice he had heard before spoke again, this time cursing him and his god. At that moment a small Rutterkin rushed in to pick up the prize for his commander and was instantly turned to dust. After feeling the effects of this dreadful weapon first hand, Surya was loathed to touch it again and commanded one of his undead followers to pick it up. He found a suitable chest and had the flail placed inside. He then sealed the box, to prevent any others from taking it, until he decided what to do with it. He thought the Hand of Kord would appreciate destroying it with Grispere's Hammer, but it was not the sort of thing he could just send to Hildraft.

With Shatterscar safely stored, the King of New Tellare entered the Iron Fortress. His day long bombardment of the castle had taken its toll on the structure. He detailed his troops to begin repairs to the fortress and its siege weapons. He also ordered for his artillery to be brought in to the fortress.

With the repairs and the other works underway, Surya retired to his makeshift quarters and awaited his next orders. He did not have to wait long. Less than an hour had passed since Surya had entered the Fortress of the Broken Souls and he was joined by Karsh. This demonlord stood over seven feet tall, was dressed in a black robe which covered most of his dark red skin. From his head a ring of small spikes protruded. The only weapons visible to Surya eyes were two small daggers.

The Demonlord of Assassins greeted Surya and congratulated him on the surprisingly quick seizure of the fortress. He then went on to inform the mortal of his next task. The Fortress of the Broken Souls guarded one of the many pits on Pazunia. This portal was the gateway to the Sea of Fire, a small plane in the depths of the Abyss. Karsh wished him to take the plane, but he must do so under the guise of another demonlord.

Surya's only comment it this time was, "I will need more men."

Port Larkis, Plain of Sea of Fire

Surya agreed to the task, but begged more information from the demonlord. Karsh told Surya that the portal led to the city of Port Larkis, the home of the Rutterkin demonlord, Rectulus. His plain was only quiet small, dominated mainly by an ocean of boiling lava. Jutting from these molten seas were a few rocky islands, it was on one of these islands that the city of Larkis stood. The city was of moderate size and was guarded by two smaller fortresses, each on smaller islands off to the south west of the city. These protected the main gates to the city, which was only accessible from the sea. Surya was also told the Rectulus was at present not in the city, but aboard his Adamantite ship, many leagues from Port Larkis.

Surya asked the demon why he must take the city under the flag of another and was told that Lord Orcus demanded it. Surya did not quiz Karsh any further on this matter, demon's like to play their games and Surya was not going to get involved in the politics of the Abyss any more than he had to.

Karsh suggested that Surya investigate the task in hand, by visiting Port Larkis and return with his estimate of the size of army he would need. With that the demon lord left Surya to prepare for his sortie in to the plane of Sea of Fire.

A few hours later Surya past through the portal and found himself in the main square of Port Larkis. The first thing to hit Surya was the immense heat and the overwhelming smell of sulphur. Fortunately he had taken magical protection against the effects of the heat, but the smell would take time to get use to. The King of New Tellare now wondered the city and was surprised to find not only dwellings, but shops, taverns and markets. This metropolis was more like the cities he was use to on Alair, the only difference being the occupants. Demons, demons and more demons, they were everywhere and of all different shapes and sizes. There were the occasional human beings here too, so his presence was not questioned. He roamed the city studying and analysing its defences. The city was completely surrounded by an eighty foot wall, defended by demons, catapults and ballistae. Along the walls were many structures, a signal tower, two main watch towers and fourteen smaller ones. Inside the walls were three large barracks, housing several hundred or more troops each. There was also a harbour directly in front of the main gates. This was occupied by thirty or more ships of varying sizes, but all with metal hulls. A necessity thought Surya as he watched them bobbing up and down in the boiling sea of magma.

The defences seemed very light, but these were not the main defences of Port Larkis. The two island fortresses were the key to it security. Occupied by thousands of troops, protected by high, thick walls, topped with ballistae and catapults. But in Surya's favour was the fact that all the defences were aimed at protecting the city and the harbour from a seaborne attack. Surya discovered that the fortresses were each commanded by a mighty demon. Sutar a demonic Fire Giant commanded the nearer fortress and Garthir a huge Salamander the other. These island castles were only three hundred and five hundred feet from the main island and were well within the ranges of his engines of war.

Believing he had sufficient information to construct a strategy to take the city and its guardian fortresses, Surya returned to his own castle, the Fortress of the Broken Souls. Once he had freshened up and cleared the sulphurous stink from his clothing, armour and nostrils he summoned his commanders. Only eight of the mighty Balors had survived the assault on this fortress, but there military expertise was still formidable. Surya suggested the idea of taking the city by stealth, infiltrating it slowly and then taking down its weak defences in a coordinated attack. Once the city was under their control, they could flood the island with a much larger force, with siege weapons, and then set about the harder task of overthrowing the more heavily defended fortresses.

The Balors agreed that the plan had a good chance of success, but would need a thousand troops for the initial attack and a further ten thousand troops for the assault on the two fortresses. The battle for the Fortress of the Broken Souls had cost Surya many lives, he had only two and a half thousand demons and a little over three thousand undead left.

Karsh had promised to give Surya what he needed, so it was now time to see if he was as good as his word. He ordered one of the Balors to summon the demonlord. Moments later Karsh appeared and demanded a review of the situation. Surya informed the demon of their plans and to the king's surprise they were well received. The Demon offered to strengthen Surya's army with a force of just over six thousand demons. This force comprised of another thousand Armanites and twenty more Balors, the rest being made up of low powered creatures such as Rutterkin's.

Surya disappointed at the offer, turned to the demon and angrily responded, "Lord, you offer my less than I asked for. The majority of this force is only fit for fodder." The demon lord scowled at the mortal. He was not used to being spoken to like this and was about to respond, but Surya picking up on the demons fury offered. "If you believe the job can be done with what we have, I will relinquish my command here and an other can take my place."

This human may be correct, thought Karsh, but he was not going to admit that to the like of a mortal such as this. "Very well, you may have more troops, but fail and you will have me to deal with." With that the demonlord departed, leaving Surya surrounded by his commanders looking at him, amazed he was still breathing. Surya turned his rage on the demons and ordered them to prepare for war.

Over the next few days the promised reinforcements arrived, in addition to the six thousand troops Karsh had offered, many others joined their ranks. There were over three thousand larger demons, including a small force of Goristros, Kelveza and Mariliths. Seeing the Mariliths gave Surya the idea he should fight under the pretence of Zabyrayt the Marilith. Many knew of her fall from Orcus' favour, but few knew of her disappearance and only a hand full of souls knew what had befallen the demoness. Surya drew Desecrator and eyed it ever change hue, she in effect would be present he thought and smiled to himself.

With their plans finalised, the stealthy invasion of Port Larkis began. Karsh had also sent one of his generals a large Death Slaad named Deathshadow. This creature, resembling a large humanoid toad, despite his warped sense of humour was a surprisingly good tactician, helped Surya with the deployment of his troops. The incursion went very well and after about five days all of Surya's troops were in place.
The time had come for Surya to make his way to Port Larkis. Once through the portal he made his way to the docks, were he met up with Deathshadow. The Slaad informed him that all was in place and the assault would begin at the prearranged time as planned. Surya knew the hardest fight would be to take control of the harbour and the ships with in it, so he choose to led the assault personally.
At the stroke of twelve on the fifth day the battle for Port Larkis began. All over the city fighting broke out, as Surya's forces besieged their assigned targets, under the flag of the renegade Marilith. The barracks and most of the towers fell very quickly. The market place, were Surya had first arrived was in chaos. Not only were the two apposing forces fighting each other, but the civilian population of the city was attacking both sides in attempt to protect their businesses. The signal tower guards put up the strongest resistance, but they were overrun before they could signal for help.
At the harbour Surya, goaded by the Slaad general attacked one of the larger boats single handedly, while Deathshadow attacked another. The Demon vanished from is side and instantly appeared on the deck of the adamantite hulled ship and started to fight the sailors and crew of the large boat. They did not stand a chance against such a ferocious opponent. Surya stood on the key side for a moment, checking all was going to plan, before he pitched in to the affray. He run up the gang plank of one of the larger ships moored at the dock side. Before he reached the ships deck he was confronted by several of the ships guards which he ran through with Tormentor, almost without breaking his stride. Once on the deck, he encountered many more pirates, many of them human. His cursed swords crashing onto and through their armour as he sheared through necks, bodies and limbs, their blood sprayed in all directions. Those that chose to engage the King were hewn down; those that chose to flee were allowed to go.

After about half an hour of ferocious fighting and the death of its Balor commander, the city began to fall in to Surya's hands. This was aided by the arrival of his main force. The portal in the market place opened and from it issued a tidal wave of troops and equipment. Demons and the undead poured in to the city taking up positions all around the metropolis, mopping up any remaining resistance. Huge siege weapons trundled through the portal and were wheeled through the city to the walls facing the two island fortresses. There catapults were set up behind the walls and the ballistae upon them.

The island fortresses, though smaller than the city, were more heavily fortified. They rose one hundred and twenty feet from small rocky isles, roughly constructed from huge granite blocks. The outer walls had been blackened over the millennia by the boiling magma below. The top of the near tower was ringed by high battlements, concealing many demons and weapons of war. Dwarfing all stood the demonic Fire Giant, Sutar, standing fifteen feet tall, weighing over five tons. Resembling a mammoth dwarf with coal black skin and flaming red hair, the armoured giant stood waiting for the upstart mortal to attack.

Once all of Surya's forces were in place and ready the city fell silent for a moment. Surya climbed to the battlements above the main gates and joined Deathshadow. He called to the armoured giant and asked if he would surrender. The giant's response was not unexpected and in a dull witted tone answered.

"If the pixie man wants the castle, he will have to come over here and take it."

With that Surya ordered his siege weapons to open fire. Huge flaming missiles launched in to the sky and pounded against the granite tower. Unlike the Fortress of the Broken Souls, this castle had seen very little action and as a result Surya's initial bombardment had little or no effect. The demons continued their assault upon the nearer tower for the rest of the day, but it was becoming clear to Surya that they were wasting their time with this approach. As the day drew to a close and the two suns dipped below the boiling horizon, Surya decided to launch a more direct assault on the tower. He ordered the Death Slaad to prepare a large force capable of teleporting over to the tower. Those demons and undead not capable of making the magical trip would use more conventional means of getting to the tower and piled in to the boats in the harbour.

The Death Slaad reported that his troops were ready and within seconds they all appeared inside the fortress. Surya had chosen to face Sutar himself and had teleported on to the battlements. There were many demons with the demonic giant when the King of New Tellare appeared on the roof of the tower. On seeing the intruder the lesser demons turned from their ballistae, picked up other weapons and came at Surya. With Tormentor in one hand and Desecrator in the other, the mortal set about slaying the demons that attacked him. One by one the demons fell to the human's Marilith bound swords, until only Surya and Sutar remained. The Fire Giant surveyed the scene, littered as it was with the corpses of his fiends, many were decapitated and all lay dead in a steaming sea of their own black blood. He turned to Surya and spoke, "The pixie man fights well."

Surya lowered his weapons slightly and asked Sutar, again, if he would relinquish his fortress and join him. The Fire Giant answered dimly, "Master treats me well, what will you do.", Surya answered simply "let you live."

The giant agreed to the truce and almost immediately the fighting in the tower stopped. A few moments later Sutar and Surya were joined by Deathshadow on the tower's battlements. He greeted Surya and turned to the giant and said mockingly, "I see the thick one has joined us, excellent." Sutar turned to the mortal and mumbled, "I don't like the Slaad."

On the other tower the Salamander commander had flown into a rage and was shouting allsorts of obscenity at the giant. "Turncoat, deserter, traitor, defector, conspirator…"

Surya took stock of the situation, it seemed very unlikely than the Salamander would capitulated as the giant had. So the tower would have to be taken by force. After discussions with Deathshadow they agreed to bombard the tower from both the city walls and the tower they stood on, before teleporting over. No sooner had they agreed on this course, the bombardment started. Missiles range from the ballistae, over the lava hitting the walls, in most cases splintering on the granite walls. Huge balls of flaming rock arched from the city and crashed into the tower. The bombardment continued for the rest of the day, doing very little damage to the tower itself, but most of the opposing siege weapons had been destroyed along with a few demons.

As the second sun dipped below the horizon, Surya ordered the bombardment to cease and the main attack force to teleport to the tower. Sutar unable to teleport himself remained behind, but both Surya and Deathshadow joined the attack force.

Surya appeared on the roof of the tower and faced the Salamander. The creature was still cursing and shouting obscenities, as he had been all day, but now they were aimed directly at Surya. "When the master comes, he will kill all of you putrid mortals and demons alike." Surya answered simply, "That may be so, but you will not be around to see it," and with one single strike from Tormentor felled the foul mouthed creature. Even in death the Salamander continued to curse Surya, and in his final breath told Surya, "My master will be here in five days, human scum, and then you will pay". With that the creature died and the cursing ceased. The demons that witnessed this butchery laid down their weapons almost immediately, but heavy fighting continued inside the tower. As the word spread of the fall of Garthir, Deathshadow's forces quickly took control of the tower.

The day belonged to Surya and an uneasy silence descended on Port Larkis. Surya gathered his commanders together and they made plans for the inevitable arrival of Rectulus' armada. He would not be please to find his city had been taken and as Garthir had suggested, his retribution would be harsh. Early intelligence suggested that the fleet making its way to Port Larkis contained over five hundred Adamantite ships of varying sizes, carrying upwards of sixteen thousand demons.

With their plans made, Deathshadow made them happen, Port Larkis became a hive of activity. The cities defences were repaired and in many cases improved. Siege weapons were redeployed and re-armed and many of the townsfolk join the ranks of Surya's army. It appeared that the local demons would rather defend their homes and businesses than face the wrath of Rectulus. After a day of preparations, the Demon Lord Karsh re-appeared. At first he appeared quite happy that the city had been taken so quickly, but his mood changed when Surya suggested that his job here was done. Karsh explained that he had been tasked to take control of the entire plane and that meant defeating the approaching armada. Surya did not need to be told this, but he enjoyed bating the demon. Surya demanded more troops of the demon lord, which angered Karsh even further, especially when he asked for ten thousand Balors. When the demon lord had calmed down he agreed to swell the ranks of Surya's army by a further ten thousand troops including sixty more huge Balors. Karsh departed shortly after agreeing to reinforce the city and over the next few days the promised troops arrived.

Surya sent out scouts in the form of Imp spies, though few returned, enough reported back to give Surya a clearer view of what he faced. The armada was huge, but the King's greatest concern was Rectulus' flag ship, the Blackfire, a titanic, flying galleon. The ship had eighteen masts, was clan from bow to stern in adamantite. It was over three quarters of a mile long and was powered by two enormous fire elementals. If this was not enough, the vessel was defended by fifty catapults and ballistae. The ship was home to many demons including Rectulus himself and his royal guard. The Imps also reported that the ship's crew had another notable member, a Dark Elf. Deathshadow informed Surya that this creature was a great vampire, who went by the name of Valon Drayth.

Surya now becoming concerned that the city would not last long against this great leviathan, decided he would take the fight to Rectulus. If they could disable the great ship, the remaining craft would be of little concern. Surya talked his plans through with Deathshadow and they agreed it was the best course of action.

On the morning of the fifth day the armada was spotted on the horizon. A few hours after the first ships had been seen the Blackfire came in to view. This was Surya's chance, his strike force had been assembled and all knew what they had to do. Simultaneously Surya, Deathshadow, Sutar and over five hundred huge demons; including Balors, Nabassu, Mariliths and Kelvezas teleported on to the deck of the huge galleon. Though they had the element of surprise, Surya was momentarily taken aback by the sheer size of the war vessel. Surya surveyed the deck which had now become a battle field of fighting demons. His Balors had engaged the royal guard and other lesser demons. At the far end of the ship was a large throne; seated upon it was a nine foot high demon, clad in shining armour, Rectulus. The creature had green skin, a spiny beard and a patch over one eye. He did not look happy to see Surya, as electricity crackled from his trident.

After taking stock of the situation Surya joined the battle, his intention was to make his way towards the rear of the ship and confront the demon lord. Surya had appeared midway down the vessel and found himself in the thick of battle. All around him demons were fighting demons. His troop of Balors, led by Deathshadow, were attempting to get below deck and disable the vessel by destroying the huge fire elementals which powered her. They were meeting stiff opposition, but Surya felt confident they would win through in the end.

Drawing both of his cursed longswords Surya joined the action; he scythed his way through the ranks of lower power demons with comparable ease. Each creature he killed rose up seconds later as one of the undead and began fighting for their new master.

Surya's first real challenge was Valon Drayth, second only in rank to Rectulus himself. In life the Valon had been a mighty Elven warrior, his clothing, arms and armour had been of the finest quality, though age had taken its toll on them now. His dark skin and white hair gave his heritage way, even in un-death, for he was once a Dark Elf, but now also a powerful vampire. Surya flew at him, both swords cutting deep into his flesh. So quick was Surya's assault that Dark Elf scarcely had time to defend himself. So brutal was the king's attack, that it drove Valon back. Surya's weapons smashed through the Elf's aging armour four times, before his final blow took the vampire's head clean off. Now truly dead, the Dark Elf crumpled headless to the floor, it vampiric powers useless to him now. Without even breaking stride, Surya move quickly to engage another opponent.

Out of the corner of his eye, Surya noticed a truly dreadful sight. A broad muscular demon, covered in blacken skin. It stood over thirty feet tall, its four arms twitching and flexing, seeking out opponents. Surya watched this creature, a Klurichir, decapitated a mighty Balor with horrifying ease. It flapped its red bat like wings with pleasure as the great demon fell lifelessly to the floor. More horrifying still was the large gaping mouth in the creature's abdomen, above which sat a pair of huge scythe like pincers. These vorpal weapons were of great concern to Surya, who chose to sheath Tormentor and don Lordsguard. He approached with caution at first, probing the creature's defences, but before the monster could react to the presence of the mortal warrior, Surya felled the demon with one devastating blow of his sword. The Klurichir dropped to the deck stone dead.

Surya slew many more demons, most did not even get the chance to return a blow, dying as they did, instantly under the cursed blades of one of the finest swordsman Alair had ever fashioned. Finally the last demon between Suryaand Rectulus fell to the floor and the king stood in front of the demon lord, caked from head to toe in the black blood of his opponents. Standing with Rectulus were two more Klurichir and six of his Rutterkin elite Guard. They moved to protect their master, but as they did Rectulus stopped them. Capturing the moment Surya greeted the demon with courtesy, "Lord, your forces are defeated, turn your fleet round and yield the plane to me."

Anger swelled up in the demon and he bellowed, "Never, tell me mortal why are you here? Who's bidding are you doing?"

Surya answered calmly, "My mistress Zabyrayth, the Marilith, has commanded me to take this plane in her name." Which, thought Surya, was partly true, he just hoped that Rectulus knew nothing of her fate.

Thinking out loud, the demon lord spoke, "Why would she want my domain?" he continued, "I will deal with her and her plane when I have defeated you." He paused for a moment, while he surveyed the devastation done to his flagship and his elite demons. "One chance, human call off your attack and I will not pursue you further."

Surya seeing the demon lord's resolve weakening, "Lord, I can not yield, may I suggest a compromise." Rectulus seeing a possible way out of this situation let Surya continue. "Yield to me and leave, I can inform my Lady the plane his hers and leave myself. My contract will be fulfilled and you can return in a few weeks and kick her ass back to Taurnor."

Rectulus seemed pleased, but needed to feel he had the upper hand over the mortal. "Why should I just not kill you now, where you stand?" In a master stroke both appealing to the demon's ego and insulting him answered, "You are a god and it would not be a fair fight." The demon smiled assuming Surya meant it would not be fair on the mortal, how little he knew. "Very well mortal, I will leave. Play your games, I shall return in three weeks. Be gone when I return."

With the agreement made, Rectulus rose from his throne, stuck his trident in the deck and moved towards the bow of the Blackfire. Once there he ordered his fleet to turn away from the city and leave. The Blackfire also turned about and started to leave. Surya and his remaining force teleported back to the city. Surya reappeared moments later on the city walls over looking the harbour, from here he could see the Rectulus fleet departing and there was a huge clap of thunder and the Blackfire disappeared from sight. Surya breathed a sigh of relief as he watch the remaining ships vanish over the horizon and out of view.

Surya was joined on the walls by Sutar and Deathshadow, victory was theirs. Deathshadow congratulated the mortal on his success and told him that Karsh would no doubt join them soon. Before retiring to his quarters, Surya made arrangements for one of the adamantite vessels to be transported back to his workshop in Reital. The metal was very scares on Alair and this would be a valuable addition to his stores. His working of the metal had improved greatly now he had read and understood Elverandil's manuscripts.

Surya returned to his quarters and cleaned the blood and gore of battle from himself and his equipment. Now feeling somewhat fresher and after a little light supper, he reclined in a moderately comfortable chair and enjoyed a glass or two of fine wine. As Deathshadow had predicted a few hours later Karsh appeared.

"Greetings mortal, and congratulations the plain is mine." The demon poured himself a glass of wine and raised it up slightly in a toast. "To our victory and to those still to come."

Surya rose his now half filled cup in a mocking gesture and said, "To returning home." The demon seemed angered at the mortal's wish to leave and reposted, "Orcus demands more service and I demand more service."

Surya responded simply, "You may ask demon, but I may not obey, I have many mistresses and I will return home to one of them."

With that Karsh placed his wine goblet down heavily on the table and left.

Reital

As good as his word Surya left Port Larkis and the plane of the Sea of Fire and returned to his home on Alair. Reital was just has he had left it two weeks ago, daily life continued as normal. On his returned he arranged for his prize to be moved to his workshop, this was no small feat as the boat was quite large and very heavy. Fortunately he had the resources of his kingdom to call upon and the adamantite vessel was soon squared away in the castle workshop.

Surya spend most of the next week catching up on his lordly duties and spending time with his family. What little spare time he had left after that, he devoted to his new project, the working of Adamantite. He had worked the metal before, but due to it scarcity, only in very small quantities. He had left instructions with Talamos, is Dwarven Iron Golem, to start braking up the ship in to more manageable pieces.

One evening Surya found himself in his library, working from his copy of Elverandil's manuscripts, when to his surprise the castle's alarm sounded. His magical senses suggested that one of the wards, that protected the castle, had been broken by an intruder. It seemed odd to Surya that the magical guards that the Mage Guild had put up after the abduction of his family many years ago had not prevented the intrusion.

The library quickly started to fill up with the castle guards, keen on protecting their king. Surya fearing the worse used his magic to discern where the castle's defences had been compromised. To Surya's horror his magic revealed it to be the royal bed chamber. Without a moment's thought to his readiness or safety for what awaited, he teleported to his private rooms.

Surya appeared in the centre of his quarters, startling the unwanted guests. There were five creatures in the room; a Tiefling with an Imp on his shoulder, two thuggish looking humans and a Bearded Devil. All were dressed in impoverished clothes and armour, none of them looked capable of braking Reital's magical defences. That was a question for later thought Surya as he drew his two cursed blades. The two thugs rushed at the king shouting, "That's him - kill him." Surya raised Tormentor and with a single blow hacked both legs off the first human, severing them both at the knee. The second thug fared little better as Tormentor sliced his arm off at the shoulder, taking his ear off with the same blow. He too fell to the floor stone dead. Surya moved to engage the remaining trespassers. The Tiefling crumpled to the floor as the Sword of the Dead Legion cut deep in to his abdomen, spilling his innards on to the stone floor. The Imp died instantly as Surya cut the creature in two as it fell from the Tiefling shoulder. Clearly out matched the Bearded Devil backed off slightly, noticing as he did, that the halberd he carried had been cleaved in two, by one of the many blows that had rained down on his companions. Offering no quarter, Surya's weapon bit deep into the devils chest and it also dropped to the ground.

For a moment the room fell silent and Surya now noticed that his family were not in the room. Seconds later members of the Royal Guard rushed in to the room ready to aid their king. Surya demanded to know where his wife and son were. One of the men in the room informed his Lord, that Crown Prince Cuitech was in his private chambers and Queen Leonora was in the lounge, both were safe and under guard.

Surya ordered the guardsman that had spoken to fetch General Harker immediately and then he ordered the rest to leave the room. Once alone he searched the corpses for any clues to their identity. The only items of any interest were two small keys he found on the Tiefling's body. Probably portal keys, thought Surya, at least he now knew how the intruders had gained access to his chambers, but from where. With a shortage of material clues, he now turned to his darker powers. He locked the door and knelt beside the Tiefling's broken body. He called upon the dark gifts he had been given and spoke to the Tiefling asking him who he was and why he was here. The creature answered the necromancer stating he was an assassin hired to kill the King of New Tellare. Hearing this Surya's mood changed, his anger and blood list was abated slightly as it transpired that these creatures hand come for him and not his family. Surya continued to question the unwilling soul asking who had hired them to kill him and where he could be found. The creature answered informing Surya that an Iron Golem, by the name of Iron Fingers, had given them the contract and he could be found on the plane of Sigil. At that moment there was a loud knock at the door, disturbing Surya's concentration and the spell was broken.

Surya sprang to his feet, unbolted the door and was greeted by General Harker. The old soldier bowed nervously before entering the room. Harker surveyed the room and knew what was coming next. The last time the Royal chambers had been violated and his family kidnapped, Surya had almost sacked the entire council, including himself. Fortunately, for the general, the kings wife and son were safe and under heavy guard. Surya turned to the general and bellowed at him, "This is the second time you have failed to protect me, pray tell me what went wrong this time."

Harker tried to defend the actions of his men and bravery explained that alarms put in placed by the Mage-Guild had worked well and the palace guards had performed there duties in protecting the Royal family, but the wards had failed to stop the intruders. The general's explanation of the events seemed to calm the king some what and he thanked him for protecting his family. Surya suggested that he should personally oversee the continuing protection of the Queen and Prince and in the morning they should be moved to his queens former home in Rhorien. Finally Surya ordered the general to convey a message to Halvoord Gurney, the Mage-Guild's representative on the Suryan Council.

"If he does not fix the holes in the castles defences, he will be looking for a new job."

With that Harker left the king and continued about his duties. Surya followed him out of the room and ordered the guards waiting outside to clean up the mess. After checking on Leonora and Cuitech, Surya made his way back to the library. His library was a treasure trove of information, containing many tomes on Sigil. Surya tidied away the documents he had been studying earlier and thought that the project would have to wait. He then removed a few books from their shelves and placed them on the table along with the two keys he had found on the Tiefling corpse.

In the centre of the Great Wheel of the Outer Planes lies the Outlands, the grey realities of neutrality. In the centre of the Outlands stands the Spire, an impossible pinnacle thousands of miles high, which suppresses all magic as one ascends. Orbiting the tip of the Spire is Sigil, a doughnut-shaped reality with a fantastical city built along its' inner surface. While magic exists in Sigil, none of the Powers, Gods, Arch Devils, Demon Princes, can touch it, and no mechanic of planar transportation save the portal operates. The absolute ruler is the Lady of Pain, a mystery of non communication, she seldom interacts, and tolerates most things in her peculiar realm except Gods and Tyrants. She creates and destroys the myriad portals that dot the city. From Sigil it is possible to go anywhere, if you have the correct portal key.

Surya picked up the two small silver keys and cast his magic upon them. His suspicions were confirmed, they were indeed portal keys. One would probably open a portal to his castle, the other would open a door to where ever they had come from. Most likely Sigil, the king thought. But which was which, he would have to use trial and error, at least if he guessed incorrectly he would only end up in his private rooms.

Surya turned his attention to the matter of who had sent the assassins to kill him, Iron Fingers. After many hours searching he found a reference to the creature. It transpired that over six hundred years ago the wizard Damek created a very powerful Iron Golem, which served his master well for many years. Damek decided he would imbue the automaton with life, intelligence and feelings. The incantation worked well and Iron Fingers was at first happy to serve as the wizard's apprentice, but as Iron Fingers' independence grew, tensions between them also grew. Until one day the Golem slew is master and fled to Sigil where he took up residence in the Hive Ward. Here he joined some of the darker guilds where he flourished, working his way up the ranks mainly through killing his rivals. It was not long before he had control of many guilds and his empire of assassinations and thievery had become very large and powerful.

Surya closed the tome and assimilated the information, he was torn between going after the creature or staying to protect his family. Fortunately it appeared he was the target and not his nearest and dearest. It was decided he would leave in the morning.

The Hive Ward

Surya woke early the next day and prepared for his trip to the City of Doors. His squire and faithful servant, Narvas, had prepared his equipment the night before, but was not now present. Surya preferred to don his attributes of battle in private.

Over the top of his fine leather & silk under garments he slowly donned his adamantine plate armour. The black armour had originally been made for Asildur, an Elven warrior, by the master smith Elverandil. Asildur had made a foolhardy attempt to enter Vorsand and kill Varkar without waiting for the completion of Mergil, which he should have borne. It was always assumed he failed and died, as he never returned, but no account of his fate existed. Until he was encountered nearly a thousand years later, corrupted into a Death Knight by the powers he tried to enlist against the Dragon, and finally given peace by Surya and the other Wymslayers. A demon of some sort had been bound in it and a shred of Asildur's essence also remained, occasionally whispering to him. The armour had since been re-forged and re-enchanted to remove this taint, by Elverandil himself.

With his armour on, the King now turned his attention to his dreadful weapons. First he strapped the sword of the Dead Legions to his side. This cursed longsword, created by the powerful Half-Orc necromancer Karkan Murg, had come in to Surya's possession after he had slain Hrothgault of the Kin. Next he strapped to his hip Tormentor, a Fae Mhor longsword, both demonic and damned. Elven legends describe this weapon as a cursed sword, captured from some unknown evil wielder in the misty past by the hero Galoriand and carried by him to prevent it falling into the wrong hands. It was taken from his body after his death at Lantalaure and became part of Varkar's hoard. After the great dragon's death at the hand of the Wymslayers, Surya took up the sword.

Lastly Surya picked up his shield, Lordsguard. This shield he had made himself, with the crest of New Tellare emblazoned upon it. The mages of Reital had then woven there magic in to the shield to further protect their King.

He was now ready for almost anything, including breakfast. After a very light meal Surya took one of the newly acquired portal keys and activated it by walking through a doorway in the castle. A portal opened up before him and he passed through it in to another world.

The Hive Ward was the poorest of Sigil's six wards, a slum whose muddy, unpaved streets and alleys were choked with garbage, muggers, criminal gangs, prostitutes, and ramshackled impromptu housing built wherever there was room. It was in one of the Hive's back streets that Surya now found himself. The only thing of any interest was a heavy metal door, leading into a three storey building. The building was in reasonable repair, that is compared to the buildings that surrounded it. Surya made his way to the front of the building only to discover a tattoo parlour occupied the ground floor. Not feeling the need for it services, he made his way back to the metal door he had seen earlier. Without knocking Surya gave the door an almighty kick with his armoured boot. The door burst open with a loud bang, inside the two thugs standing near to the door started to move towards the king. Choosing not to draw his weapons, Surya laid the two thugs out cold with his bear hands. Once inside the building he noticed a flight of stairs leading to the first floor. Surya climbed the stairs, which took him to a large open area occupied with many more of the thugs. The thugs momentarily stopped what they were doing, but incorrectly assumed that he should be there and carried on with their business. Surya asked where he could find Iron Fingers and was told, "Up stairs, but he don't like visitors."

Surya made his way through the shoddy lounge area to the stairs and climbed them to the next floor. The stairs opened out into a similar sized room as the lounge below. This room was lined with bookshelves and was dominated by a large wooden desk, sat at which was a large creature. The creature was odd to observe, it was clearly alive, but its construct origins were rather obvious. Iron Fingers was over ten feet tall with a row of metal spikes around his head, but the most striking feature was his disproportionally large hands and fingers. Clearly this was how he had got his name. A few thugs also occupied the room, coming and going doing their masters bidding. Surya approached the desk noticing as he did a second creature standing behind the seated Golem, a Tiefling with a green Mohican hair style.

Iron Fingers looked up from his desk as the human approached and shouted, "Who the hell are you?" Surya answered, "The King of New Tellare, at your service." The Golem looked puzzled and stated, "You don't fit the description I was given."

Without warning Surya drew both his swords and brought them both crashing down on the Golem's desk, cleaving it in two. The human then demanded to know who had given the creature his description. Without getting up from his chair Iron Fingers answered, "A priest, he said you were a weakling, not fit to rule. He offered me a very small bounty for your death." At that point the Golem rose from his seat and towered over Surya. Showing not a glimmer of fear, the Golem walked through the remains of his desk and looked down upon the king. Surya looked up and spoke, "Tell me the name of this priest or die." The Golem laughed at Surya's remarks, it clearly had no idea what he faced. Iron Fingers raised his huge hands and spoke, "No, I think I will collect the bounty myself." But before he could bring his iron clad fists down upon the humans head, Surya thrust the Sword of the Dead Legion deep in to his chest, bursting his lungs and piercing his heart. Imbued with life the Iron Golem was now susceptible to the devastating power of Surya's swords play. The creature fell to the ground stone dead.

The thugs that had started to move towards Surya, now dropped their weapons and fled in terror, leaving just the Tiefling to answer Surya's questions. Surya now turned to the green hair creature and said, "It would appear that you are now in charge here, will you cooperate with me." The Tiefling nodded and smiled back at the king, his gaze seem focus on his sword. The creature spoke, "Nice sword, may I touch it." To which Surya answered, "The day you touch this blade will be the day you die, so tell me of this priest."

The Tiefling - Stryfe as he was known - told Surya the priest went by the name of Zadok and he had marched into Iron Fingers headquarters a few days ago, left the cash for the hit and left the building shouting and babbling about something. The Tiefling described the priest to Surya and remarked upon the symbol on his clothing, a feathered hat with a rapier running through it. When Surya asked if he knew where the cleric could be found, it told him he did not know. Surya raised his sword to the creature's neck, "But, but I could find out for you, if you wish my lord."

"Good," said Surya, "I'll wait." and with that Surya seated himself in one of the now vacant chairs and made himself comfortable. Several hours later the Tiefling returned with no new information. Rather displeased, Surya sent him away again, suggesting he try bit harder. Surya used the time, while Stryfe was away to search the place, but found very little of interest. Life in the hovel seemed to return to normal, the thugs returned and carried on their mundane tasks, ignoring the warrior king completely. A further five hours later Stryfe returned and told Surya what he had discovered.

The Tiefling had not found the cleric, nor any reference to him in any of the libraries on Sigil. But the symbol seen on his clothing was that of the minor Demon Lord Ipos, which they assumed Zadok must serve. Ipos was the Lord of the Masques and his home was, like most demons, to be found in the Abyss. Ipos's abode was a peculiar plane called The Festive Everlasting, which resembled a huge outdoor theatrical festival. The centre piece of this realm was thirty three connected stages, set in an idyllic valley, lit by the early afternoon sun. The entertainers, souls of recently deceased actors sworn to Ipos in life, played to the demonic crowds, while hawkers of pleasures roamed these crowds selling their wears.

Convinced that this priest was not on Sigil and the only clue to finding him would lead Surya to the Abyss, he decided not to chase after him. He had had his fill of demons for a while and this priest could wait. Surya left Iron Finger's hovel and headed towards the Market Ward, the smallest and densest ward of the City of Doors, where absolutely anything could be bought and sold. Time for a bit of shopping thought Surya.

After a few happy hours in the shops and bazaars of the Market Ward and now heavily laden with many exotic items, Surya returned home to Reital.

After a few days, the castle returned to normal, though the palace guards were kept on high alert. Halvoord Gurney had informed Surya, that he had improved the castles magical defences and he was now quite confident that only the most powerful of creatures would be able to teleport in to the palace. Surya knew this was the best he could hope for, but pointed out that if such a being entered the castle, it would only be stoppable by him. The point was lost on the mage, but he promised to work on further improvements and left the king to his thoughts. After a week the Crown Prince Cuitech and Queen Leonora returned from their recluse. The King split his time between his family and his workshop. Talamos had been busy working with the huge amount of adamantite and there were now pieces small enough for Surya to work with.

Two weeks after his return from Sigil, the alarms in the castle rang out once more. It was midmorning and had been shaping up to be a very nice day, but this time the Halvoord Gurney's wards had worked. From his window seat in the library, Surya could see three rather dazed and confused figures in the court yard below. A tall and rather stupid looking Fire Giant, a Death Slaad and a bald scar-faced human. They had attracted the attention of the palace guard, a few of which were rushing towards them readying weapons as they ran. Surya pondered for a moment on whether to let his guards deal with the intruders, but he knew they would be no match for these Abyssal scum.

Surya teleported to the court yard, appearing near to the three intruders and more importantly before his men reached the uninvited guests. Surya dismissed the guards and turned to the Death Slaad and asked rather abruptly, "Why have you come here? I would rather you did not turn up here uninvited, please leave now."

Deathshadow answered, "Sorry my Lord, but our need is great."

Seeing that the creatures were not going to leave until they had said their peace, Surya showed them to his workshop. Here with the extra magic wards and protections, Surya was confident that they could talk without being over heard. Once in side the workshops and after telling the Fire Giant not to touch anything, several times, Deathshadow informed Surya that Lord Karsh demanded his service again. The Slaad explained that the Fortress of the Broken Souls on the plane of Pazunia was under siege from a huge dreadful demonic army and would fall very soon if he did not help.

Surya flew into a rage when he heard the demons words, "I have already captured this castle once, why should I help Karsh defend it?" Before the death Slaad could answer, Surya continued, "And why should I aid this crummy Demon Lord, I am not at his beck and call."

Deathshadow spoke, "You must serve, Lord Orcus demands your service to Karsh." Now furious Surya shouted at the demon, "I will not aid him anymore, he is an imbecile and is not worthy of my service, nor yours for that matter."

Sutar asked while adopting a thoughtful pose "We need your help, what can we offer you?" All looked amazed that the Fire Giant could look intelligent, let alone say anything coherent. Death Slaad asked trying to calm the human, "Souls, Land, Weapons, Money, what do you desire?" Surya paused for a moment and thought. He had no need for these things, he had them all, well except for the souls. Surya turned to Deathshadow and spoke "I will help you, but first you must bring me the priest Zadok, Alive!"

The Death Slaad agreed to look in to the matter and they arranged to meet in the World Serpent Inn in two days time. The three outsiders then left Surya to prepare.

Inn of the World Serpent

The world serpent inn; the tavern between planes, some even say the centre of existence itself stood before Surya in all its glory. In the centre of the circular room stood the bar run by the famous barman himself: Mitchifer, a squat, round, jolly fellow with a constant smile on his face and a beard of serpents, rumour has it that no one has seen Mitchifer when he isn't smiling, and those that have don't live to tell the tale.

Surrounding the bar were tables of all shapes and sizes, from small to enormous, along one side of the bar a massive brawling pit dominated the space. Roughly half a dozen corridors led off from the main room to backrooms and wine cellars, though most of them were obscured by the eerie, blue sweet-smelling mist which surrounded the tavern.

Seated on the tables around the great bar were creatures of every sort; from mighty angels from the heavenly planes of Celestia to fierce Ice Devils from the hells of Baator. Githyanki stretched their arms while their silver swords glistened in the radiant light from the tavern's torches. Slaad shook their oily bodies covering nearby tables in a mixture of slime and sweat, a Night Hag with its florescent purple skin sat in one corner stroking what looked like a cat, but on closer inspection revealed it to have a man's face and a dark orange, forked tongue.

Surya approached the bar and ordered a drink. He was asked what he would like by Mitchifer, to which Surya answered, "Surprise me, I leave the choice to you." The barman placed a pint of dark brown liquid in a tall glass on the bar and said, "Something quite old and peculiar". Surya thanked Mitchifer and tried the strange brew. It tasted very pleasant and he found an empty table and sat and waited for the demons to arrive.

He did not have to wait long for Sutar, Deathshadow and the bald scar-faced human entered the bar. They quickly spotted Surya and joined him at the table. "Greetings Lord," said the Death Slaad. Surya asked the demon if they had found the priest, but they said they had not. Surya was not surprised at the answer, but they agreed to help once the siege was over.

With that, Surya finished his drink and opened a portal to Pazunia.

Fortress of the Broken Souls

Surya once again found himself back on the plane of Pazunia, standing upon the walls of the Fortress of the Broken Souls. He looked out over the plain surrounding the castle and was greeted by the sight of many tens of thousands of demons. The siege must have been several days old as many thousands lay dead across the plain. Huge siege towers were now being moved into position for the final stages of the assault. Surya turned his attention to the castle, they would not last long, he thought, their defences were in tatters. Their weapons of war lay dormant, without ammunition. Many thousand were dead and there was clearly no leadership here.

Surya did not have much time to sort the castle's fortifications into a credible defence. He needed to slow things down. He looked once again over the plain and summoned up his magic. A thin, green ray sprang from his pointing finger and arced towards the nearest siege tower. The tower was over a hundred and fifty feet tall, covered in hundreds of demons and being pushed by sixteen huge Chraals. The ray hit the bottom of the tower and instantly disintegrated the lower portion of it. The structure stopped dead in its tracks, now unable to move forward and started to sway from left to right, until finally falling backwards onto the advancing enemy. Many of the demons on the tower fell to their deaths as the tower toppled over. Surya raised his finger towards the next tower and it too toppled. Surya continued until all the towers had been destroyed. Rallied by the hint of victory there was a huge cheer from the demonic troops inside the besieged fortress.

Happy that he had bought some time, he called his commanders to his side. He began to bark orders at the demons. Surya could see that they needed reinforcements and asked Deathshadow if the city of Port Larkis was still under their control. The Death Slaad told him it was and the portal in the castle was still working. The moment the demon gave the king the information, the penny dropped. The creature knew without being asked what was needed and wondered off to start the re-equipment of the castle. Before long men, demons, engines of war, ammunition and lava started to pour in to the fortress from the plane of Sea of Fire.

Surya now turned his attention to his opposition, the enemy's siege engines had gone, but they still had many thousands of troops. The opposing army were mainly made up of assorted fire demons and ice demons, but he could not see his opposite number. No doubt he, or she, would come into play soon.

The weakest part of the fortress was the gate, so Surya despatch many of the larger Balors to the gatehouse to keep it clear. The last thing Surya needed was a breach in the wall. About an hour after Deathshadow had been despatched to Port Larkis for reinforcements, the fortresses engines of war spoke again. Fire, rock and brimstone, launched from the siege weapons inside the castle, arced over the city walls and into the heart of the advancing army. The ballista on the castle walls fired once again tearing in to the demons. The Balors on the walls launched great balls of fire in to the creatures below, clearing much of the area around the castle gates and other strategic areas.

Surya's plan was working well, he had appeared to have slowed the assault down. Thankfully the castles magical defences prevented all the opposing demons from teleporting into the city. The more powerful creatures could attain the walls, but most chose not to as they were cut to pieces when ever they tried. This did not prevent creatures, mainly Chraals, from climbing the high walls and Surya spent much of the day involved in quite heavy combat.

Fighting continued for the rest of the day and long into the night. The human king tried to rest, but with battle raging all around him, sleep did not come. A new day dawned and the battle continued. Losses were being taken on both sides, but Surya's losses were fewer than his adversaries. Both sides were now being reinforced and they were rapidly reaching a classic Blood War stalemate.

At about noon that day Surya was alerted to the presents of a powerful creature teleporting on to the gatehouse. The creature was humanoid in shape, but over twelve feet tall and apparently made of ice. The Immoth was powerfully built and showed off its prowess in combat as it cleaved a Balor in two with its mighty ice axe. The monster looked up from its kill for the next victim and saw Surya moving to engage him with his cursed weapons drawn. The King of New Tellare was quickly upon the creature, raining down blows upon it. Tormenter bit deep into the Immoth's head, chest and abdomen pushing him back. Shards of ice exploded from the demon's body as the sword tore great holes in the monster. The creature had never faced a warrior of this calibre before and was unable to recover his balance, before the Sword of the Dead Legion passed straight through his chest and out the other side, killing him stone dead. The creature toppled to the stone floor and shattered into chunks of ice which quickly started to melt in the heat of Pazunia's sun.

Surya managed to get some rest on the second night of the siege and awoke next morning more than ready to face another day of blood and carnage. The Dark Angel had once said to him, "The Blood War, there is nothing quite like it." And she was right. Surya climbed to the walls and surveyed the scene. His siege engines continued to rain fire over the enemy on the plane and his troops were locked in mortal combat on the walls. No change then, he thought, just more bodies. In some places the bodies were stacked thirty feet deep.

As he stood and surveyed the scene, he noticed behind the enemy lines a tall figure, could this be his opposite number. The humanoid was about seven feet tall and clearly a fiend of some sort, but not one Surya had seen before. Half its body was similar to the Immoth he had killed the day before and was made from ice. The other half was composed of flames. Where his head should be was a huge helmet, but Surya even with is enhanced vision, could not make out any features. In his hands were a two bladed sword, half frosted and covered in ice and the other half flaming.

Surya seized the opportunity to end the stalemate and took out his mighty long bow. It was an impossible shot, the creature was over a mile away. Undeterred Surya let fly with four arrows, they arced high over the demons on the plane and towards the fiend. The first missed, but the second thumped into the creature's chest. Before it had time to react, Surya's third arrow hit the creature just below its helmet, lodging in its neck. To Surya surprise the demon retained both its balance and its composure, snatching the fourth arrow in mid flight before it could hit its target. The creature then vanished from view.

The day continued as normal after that, with no sign of the creature again that day. The forth day dawned and Surya rose early, only to notice that there were no sounds of battle. He rushed to the walls and looked out over the plane. The enemy had stopped fighting as if waiting for something. Surya did not have to wait long to find out what.

The creature he had seen the day before now moved to the front of his ranks and beckoned for Surya to join him. The King of New Tellare, eager to hear what the creature had to say, teleported near to where the creature stood. The demon, still with an arrow lodged in its neck, introduced itself as General Maradaraam and asked if Surya wished to negotiate terms. Surya toying with him said, "I would be glad to accept your surrender." Without showing any emotion the demon told the mortal king, that it was he that was to surrender and if he did the lives of his troops would be spared.

Surya thanked the General, but refused to accept the terms and teleported back to his walls. The demon, still without showing any emotion, withdrew the arrow from his neck and through it on the floor. The General returned to his ranks and the battle continued for the rest of the day.

….Find out what happens to our heroe in the next unedifying episode of this tale.

The Story Continues…