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When the two forces collided toghther, everything seized to exist, the grinding noise of steel, burnt flesh, and screams lost in the daze of battle rage. The demon blades transforming into gigantic dark skinned warriors to charge the line of advancing goblins, whose shrieks of rage and wardrums beat the air with their terrible sound. (-1,000 Army of Darkness, spread across all units.)

Loping down the slope, you dodge stray spears, the whistle of arrows, and the boom of lightning following you close behind. The dark mages barely holding in check the dragon's flames, while the undead streamed along the flanks to rake into the sides of the enemy. (-300 Army of Darkness, spread across all units. -250 Health Points, -120 Mana.)

Everything relied upon this single defining moment as the last chance to stop the demon lord before it was too late. The column of flames in the distance, guiding your steps as you hacked, slashed, and battered your way through the ranks of goblins. The mangled corpses of thousands littering your path, while thousands more of the yellow eyed beasts leapt forward with wild ululating cries to be crushed by the demon blades who continued to rumble forward careless of the danger, their momentum taking them further and further into the center of the raging storm. The blood red clouds above releasing hundreds of thunderbolts to fill your lungs with the foul stench of death, clogging your throat with its foul taste. (-1,200 Army of Darkness, spread across all units. -350 Health Points, -220 Mana.)

Lungs burning, head throbbing from a spear wound, you come to the sudden realisation that there was no way you could possibly succeed here. There was simply too many. Exhaustion, and a slow death was all that awaited you at the end, and yet your feet continued to pump forward, dragging you deeper into the mass of bodies, the snow sapping at your strength, while goblin spears beat against your iron skin. (-200 Army of Darkness, spread across all units. -150 Health Points, -20 Mana.)

(Click here if you've made your peace with Gorrack and Lorna.)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Heart just about ready to burst, you take another step forward into the maelstrom, when a hand hauls you backwards, a bolt of lightning slamming into the ground directly in front of you, blinding you with it's brilliance. The blurred faces of Lorna and Gorrack appearing just ahead of you before they rush past in blood splattered armor to meet the wild eyed goblins. Bow, and axe working in perfect unison.

(Click here if you haven't made your peace with Gorrack and Lorna.)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Heart about ready to burst, you take another step forward into the maelstrom, when a hand hauls you backwards, a bolt of lightning slamming into the ground directly in front of you, blinding you with it's brilliance. The blurred faces of Lorna and Gorrack appearing just ahead of you before the orc knocks you to the ground and rushes forward to meet the wild eyed goblins. Bow, and axe working in perfect unison. (-80 Health points. Exacerbating injuries.)

(Click here to let use the brief respite to collect yourself.)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Using the break your companions have given you, you catch your breath, and down a few potions before re-joining the fight in earnest.(+50 Health,+50 Mana.)

(Click here to join them.)

Spoiler: Spoiler

With every blade needed for the fight, you push yourself in between the pair, ignoring the orc's sour looks.

Blade against spear, you fall back into the familiar rhythms of battle, the cries of those around you fading into the background as all that remained was you, and the blade you carried, each swing taking another creature's life as you dodged, slashed, and cut. Gorrack, and Lorna complimenting each of your movements as though it were all a beautiful dance.(-400 Army of Darkness, spread across all units. -200 Health Points, -200 Mana.)

Steel flashing in the sunlight, you hacked apart a spear shaft before watching Gorrack pounce forward to lop off the goblin's head, the thick skinned orc dropping down to let Lorna rain arrows from behind, throwing those trying to fill the gap back. Your blade lashing out to work it's way forward once more, each of you working together as a well co-ordinated team, when a brilliant blaze of light blinds you.

Flying through the air, you land hard into the snow, your skin blackened and burnt with dozens of goblins racing foward to finish you off.(-1,500 Army of Darkness, spread across all units. -300 Health Points.)

(You no longer need to keep a record of your fighting forces after this point.If you have less than 200 hundred surviving forces in the Army of Darkness, the battle for you here has ended and your forces are scattered to the winds. If you still have sufficient forces under your command, continue reading below.)

Body aching, you manage to re-summon your enchanted blade, gingerly getting up, before coming under attack from all sides, their spears stabbing into vulnerable flesh, your cries of rage lost in the deafening chaos, legs too slowed, and body too badly burnt to do anything but defend as more goblins charged towards you.(-230 Health Points, -50 Mana.)

With death's doorstep in sight, you roll to the left chopping off a goblin's leg before sagging against a nearby boulder, using it to hold you up and cover your flank as you desperately cast fireballs. Then as suddenly as it all began, everything went quiet, the goblins retracting backwards to stare up into the crimson sky. (-110 Health Points, -150 Mana.)

Falling to your knees in the thick snow, you gaze upwards, when tears of blood begin to rain down from above, it's warm touch so familiar that it causes an ache to throb inside of your chest.

Head dropping, you watch as the goblins stop their fighting to stare up into the clouds with glazed expressions, swaying back and forth, their moans drifting through the breeze, the dragons halting their attacks to circle the skies. The world become a red ruiny haze.

Too tired to move, too tired to do anything, you fall back against the stone, feeling all hope drain out of you, when a voice you'd thought gone forever returned.

"There is still time master, but you must move now while they are still distracted."

Face cracking into a smile, you reply back, "You done with your brooding then?"

Daedalus chuckled back, "For the moment."

Shaking your head to rid yourself of the growing darkness inside, you cautiously pull yourself up from the ground, and push yourself through the snow, your legs numb with the cold, chest constricting with each movement, and body alive with a blaze of continual pain.(-50 Health Points.)

Eyes drawn to the swirling column of fire, you push your way through the massed ranks of the goblins, their distracted gazes barely shifting from the sky as you trudge forward towards the bridge made of ice. Your mind wandering again, and again as you try to keep your attention focused on the flames. But no matter what you do, your thoughts drift to Lorna who'd sacrificed so much to reach this place, loyal obedient Gorrack who only saw black and white, Lord Volemar who'd gifted you with power, Coredan the tower reeve who'd followed you to his death, Sarsonel who'd chosen you for this quest, and finally Daedalus, the former mage who'd kept you company for so long.(-100 Health Points.)

There were many more names to add to the list, those you'd met, and those you'd fought, but strangely enough those were the names that meant more to you. (-200 Health Points.)

Blood staining the snow behind you, your mind suddenly takes you back to the halls of Stonefold, Sarsonel sitting on her throne, the demon guard at her side. The old dwarf Dywin watching you through morose eyes that told of an eternal struggle against madness, before flashing vanishing to be replaced by a forest where Bone Eye laughed.(-400 Health Points.)

You'd almost forgotten about those two, a dwarf sworn to a demon, and a minotaur disgraced in the eyes of all the gods.

Eyes fluttering open, you look ahead, and see the bridge at last, the white blocks of stone glistening with blood, the fortress looming right behind it.

Dimmed by waves of fatigue, you see a shape detach itself from the side and walk into the middle of the bridge to wait for you. The fuzzy shape moving closer and closer, until at last your eyes make out the figure of Bone Eye. "I told you, we would meet again warrior."

Still armored in the silver plate of the Honor Blades, the minotaur stares down at you with that single golden eye of his, his mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "Our test has finally come. It will be like it was in the past, champion battling champion to see who lives or who dies."

Blood spurting out from between your lips, you cannot help but laugh. The only part of your body that seemed to be working was your head and feet, as for the rest...you doubted you could stand upright for much longer, let alone fight.(-600 Health Points.)

"That is not completely true, master. If I lent you more of my power, you could defeat him,"said Daedalus.

If it would not have been so painful, you would have laughed and cursed the mage for not thinking to tell you sooner, but the pain as it was, was too much for you to speak. (-800 Health Points.)

"The power will not last long, but it should be enough to deal with the minotaur."

Flooded with fresh energy, you watch incredulously as your burnt and broken body slowly regenerated itself until you are whole once more, your body alive with renewed strength.(+1,000 Health Points.)

Shoulders straightening, you leer like a starving wolf meeting the minotaur's gaze. "Very well, I accept your challenge."

Enchanted blade dropping into your palm, you slide forward blade speeding towards the minotaur as he parried it aside with his great sword, black steel shimmering with energy as the two blades met again and again. The two of you ignoring all else as you focused all of your attention on just the blade. (-10 Mana.)

The two swords igniting sparks of magic as the two weapons clashed again and again in a blistering shower of steel, their legs taking them through each of the battle stances as though they were each born to the sword, their every instinct, movement, mimicked by the other. But despite the joyful smile on Bone Eye's face, you know within the first few seconds of contact that you were the better fighter.

Perhaps in the past before you'd been set upon this quest, the former honor blade would have proven a challenge to you, but as it was, months on the road battling enemies far worst than he had tempered you into a blade like no other.

Spinning, stepping, you slam home the sword into his chest, and watch as the life flees from the minotaur's single golden eye, his shocked expression sending waves of pleasure running through you. His great black sword thudding into the ice to mar its surface as you whisper in his ear, "So much for fate."

With a kick, you slide the minotaur off your blade, and stand over him, the light in his eye slowly fading away to nothing.

Filled with renewed determination, you take a step towards the column of burning flames which seemed to be emanating from within fortress, when you catch hold of something hidden beneath the minotaur's armor.

Stripping the dead raider of his silver breastplate, you see the same shimmering black material that made up your cloak, and gloves, covering the dead warrior.

Stunned at the dawning realisation that these were the final pieces of Daedalus, you quickly strip the minotaur of his tunic, trousers, and boots before putting them on yourself. The power you feel inside of you, growing larger and larger until you almost feel like your drowning in a river of pure magic, hundreds of thousands of spells scrolling through your mind, giving you untold power. (+10,000 Health Points, +5,000 Mana.)

With a wave of your hand portals open up all across the battlefield releasing thousands of demons to slaughter both goblins, and dragons. Hundreds of winged creatures taking to the skies to surround, and drag them down where they were hacked to pieces by an army of demons that expanded outwards to engulf the land. (-500 Mana.)

Fingers clenching into a fist, you feel a surge of energy pour through you as you tear down dragon after dragon out of the sky. Magic roaring through you as the dragons sensing the attacks were coming from you, attempted to dive upon you, only to explode apart like they'd never existed.(-800 Mana.)

Gliding through the air like a god of war, you floated over the bridge, power pulsing inside of you, and sail through the open gates of the fortress. Goblins charging out to try and stop you, only for the power bubbling inside to burn them all to ash as though they had never existed.(-150 Mana.)

Heart pounding loudly in your chest, you drop onto the cold stones of the fortress, stride through the empty courtyard, and enter the great hall, where Lord Tazrael waits. The demon lord's back turned towards you as he cradled a thick book in his arms, his body wreathed in swirls of flame that melt through the ceiling of ice overhead, his sheer presence tamping down the power bubbling inside of you.(-1,500 Mana.)

As though guided by the divines themselves, you force yourself forward through the storm of fire that surrounds him, feel the artifact burning with heat in your pouch and draw it out. A rumbling crack of thunder shooting through you as the demon spoke, "It is done. My influence will spread across the land, bringing about a new age, one where I will no longer need to serve my father. You have done well to reach me, but there is nothing more you can do now."(-4000 Health Points, -500 Mana.)

Turning to face you, you feel the heat from Tazrael's ruby red eyes, and see the Book of Maglencloid in his arms. The demon's gaze penetrating through you, turning your legs to water. The strings of magic that had tied your mind to Sarsonel's evaporating away. "What will it be warrior, will you join me or die here?"

Free at last to do whatever you wished, you try to think on what next to do, but all that circles in mind was how close you were to finishing it all. Fighting the demon lord could mean certain death even with Daedulus' magic inside of you, still you'd rather that than bend the knee to another demon, no matter how much power he offered you.

Distracted by the sound of footsteps coming from behind, you twist round to see Dywin in full plate armor. The old dwarf wielding a double sided battle axe that he slung over his shoulder, his face tired and grim. "Well laddie, I see you've made it 'ere before me. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised seeing as you were the one I saw 'ere in me dreams. But no matter, what will it be? Will you turn your back on the world or will you fight for it?"

Will you turn your back on the world or will you fight for it?Will you turn your back on the world or will you fight for it?Will you turn your back on the world or will you fight for it?

Spinning you take a step towards Tazreal, feel the demon's power hammer against you, the magical energy inside you blocking every blow, whip out the artifact from your pouch and plunge it into the demon's heart, Tazrael's eyes glowing white hot with rage before slowly being sucked into the magical object to vanish away. (-2000 Health Points, -1,000 Mana.)

His last parting thought imprinted into your mind. "You have stopped nothing."

But at that moment, all you could feel was a rush of relief at having finally done what you'd set out do all those weeks ago. Hand still clenched around the pulsing artifact, you watch it burble with life before slowly darkening.

Dywin's voice drifting towards you from a great distance. "The fight is not over yet, but at least now the world has time to prepare for his return. You've done better than I ever expected, perhaps we'll meet again one day, till then farewell."

Opening your mouth, you turn round to ask him why he was here? How he'd found his way to you? But by the time you looked back he was gone.

With nothing left to do, you leave behind the halls of the icey fortress and return to the outside world, a smile cracking your lips at the suns breaking through the clouds. The storm that had covered the entire battlefield breaking apart to allow the light to shine down. Farewell dwarf.

(Click this option if you have more than 12 Companion Reputation points with Daedalus?)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Too tired to really bask in your victory, you wonder what will come next, now that you're free of the compulsion, when a voice intrudes upon your mind.

"To be quite forthright with you, I was going to seize control of your body, and use it as my vessel, but I suppose we could adventure alongside each other a little while longer. With my power and your skill we could rule the world,"said Daedalus. (+100,000 Health, +100,000 Mana.)

1. Do you wish to become a warlord raiding and pillaging?

2. Do you wish to restore the Honor Blades to glory?

3. Do you wish to return to the Land of Dreams to battle the Troll Kings?

4. Do you wish to build an Empire of Blood?

5. Do you take over Bloodtides?

(Click this option if you have less than 12 Companion Reputation points with Daedalus?)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Too tired to really bask in your victory, you wonder what will come next, now that you're free of the compulsion, when a voice intrudes upon your mind.

"I'm afraid that is no longer possible for you, now that Tazrael is no longer a threat to me, I no longer have a use for you. I thank you for collecting my soul, but it seems we must part ways here."

No longer able to control your limbs, you're thrust out of body to wander through the world aimlessly as a spirit for what seems like an eternity, until one day you hear a voice calling out to you. "Come child, we have much to do. You are needed once more." (-100,000 Health, -100,000 Mana.)

Quest Complete