Angon, Gavin, and Hero entered the chamber of creation with Tricia behind them. The scene before them was chaotic. On one side of the cavern stood a black-cloaked figure with rotted gray skin; on the other was the orc woman holding the mostly restored Soul Rupture; and between them was black bolt of lightning crackling and lashing out wildly.

Angon's head went back and forth between them, while Gavin did the same with his bow. Hero began to snarl, and Tricia whimpered, running and ducking behind a stalagmite.

The undead turned to regard the trio, with narrowed eyes, and Gonzeelda cried out, "Tricia!"

The cloaked one snapped back his head and sent a surge through the lighting bolt, taking advantage of the orcess' distracted state. Soul Rupture flew from her hands and landed on the ground between them.

Gonzeelda and the undead glanced at each other, and in a sprint Gonzeelda ran. She dove for Soul Rupture, but the rotting one was ready. He held out his hand and the scythe flew into his grasp.

The orcess scrambled to her feet, eyes widened with fear. A wicked grin spread across the undead's face and he pointed Soul Rupture at the woman. She cried out and a blue beam of light blasted straight for her. As quickly as she could, Gonzeelda dove to the side, but the beam caught her hip, spinning her around and slamming her into the cave wall. With a great thud, the woman went down, and lay still.

"Mommy!" Tricia cried, and started to run from behind the stalagmite. Gavin threw up his hand to stop her. She gave a slight nod, and went back to hiding.

"Who are you?" Angon demanded of the undead.

The creature turned to the trio and glared at them with pinprick eyes.

"My name is Lord Reischerr, one of the Lich Brotherhood, and—"

"Blood Tomb." Gavin furrowed his brow. "So it's true. You're back."

Reischerr chuckled. "In truth, we never left."

"Then what happened?" Gavin asked. "You killed so many innocents around the world and then just vanished. Victory was ours, and I dare not complain, but I would have loved the satisfaction of putting an arrow through your skull."

The lich lord burst a mad fit of maniacal laughter. "Victory? You did not achieve victory that day! We left the mortal plane to ascend to the heavens. We succeeded in our goal to gain more power. The victory was ours!"

"These are the ones who took down the good gods." Angon said.

"Wrong again." Reischerr held up a long bony claw and wagged it. "Our masters took them out. There was no room for righteousness, or justice in the celestia any longer."

Gavin nocked his arrow, and aimed it at Reischerr. With a sigh, the lich wagged his finger to the side and Gavin's bow flew from his hands.

"As much as I'd love to fight you myself, let's test out the power of Soul Rupture." The lich exclaimed.

He swung the scythe down and it struck the stone floor. The cave began to shake, with small pebbles falling from the ceiling. Twin circles of light formed on the ground, and from within each, a head rose out; followed by shoulders, and then the entire bodies of two gray-skinned figures.

The trio stared at the pair that had appeared; they were none other than zombified versions of Budge and Weiggs, Gonzeelda's minions.

"He can raise the dead." Hero breathed.

"Don't lose focus." Gavin said, drawing a dagger from his hip-sheathe. "These two may not go down easily."

Angon didn't give them a chance to attack. He lunged forward, swinging Hellsmasher sidelong. The zombie duo both jumped to the side, surprising Angon. He dug his heel into the ground, and changed directions, pursuing Weiggs. Meanwhile, Hero rushed at Budge, leaping and snarling.

Gavin, took it upon himself to attack the biggest threat, Lord Reischerr.

The lich's eye sockets widened in shock at the boldness of the sol elf. But he was not afraid in the slightest.

Gavin stabbed the dagger forward, and Reischerr brought the haft of the scythe up. The tip of the dagger was deflected, and the sol elf went into a mad series of stabs.

On the side of the chamber, Tricia watched the battle. She knew she could use nature spells, but she wasn't sure of who to launch them at, or how to avoid hurting anyone who wasn't bad. She saw Budge and Weiggs as her daddies, and the nice adventurers who had helped her were good too. The bad one was the one with the big bladed stick. If she were careful, she could hurt him. But she had to look for an opening.

The short fat orc held a spectral battle-axe in his hands, as Angon rushed in at him. Angon adjusted his hands and brought the hammer in for a tight swing. Weiggs went to dodge, but Angon feinted and thrust the hammer's head. The bulk of the weapon struck Weiggs in the face, sending him skidding back. When he looked back up, his jaw was hanging by threads of rotted flesh, and his tongue was hanging halfway out.

It was Weiggs' turn to attack. He dodged Angon's next swipe and thrust his axe vertically, sending the forge's arm out wide. Off balance, Angon was wide open. The zombie spun and used the momentum of his axe to carry the deadly attack. Angon twisted just so, and the axe missed by mere inches. With a growl, Angon bull rushed Weiggs, and continued forward, smashing him into he wall. Rocks fell about the orc, but his head lifted up, the bashing barely having fazed him.

Hero was no expert at battle. He had only transformed twice in his life. Once to become the wolf he was, and the second to become the great raptor outside. A bird would not be useful in the low ceilinged room, and a wolf wasn't threatening enough. He was tempted to change into his humanoid form, but he would be even more defenseless without a weapon; so a wolf he stayed.

Budge snarled and his teeth flew from his mouth. Then he rushed at Hero, who easily jumped to the side, and spun around behind the zombie. The druid rushed forward, leaping and slamming his shoulder into the back of the orc. He stumbed into a stalagmite, and it just so happened, the one which Tricia was hiding behind.

Tricia squeaked in fear as Budge looked at her.

"Daddy?" She whispered.

The zombie tilted his head, but then snarled again, causing the little girl to scream.

Hero was there in an instant. He jumped onto Budge's back, forcing him down over the tip of the sharp stalagmite. The rocky cone pierced through his collar bone, shattering it. The orc tried to pry himself free, but couldn't. Hero took that moment to snap his teeth down and tear off the undead orc's head.

The taste of rotten flesh in his mouth was more than he could handle. He spit out the chunks, and shook his head. Bearing the aftertaste, he turned to see Gavin and Angon still in battle.

Angon looked to be holding his own, exchanging blows with the fat orc, but Gavin was attacking a powerful lich lord with a dagger.

Hero rushed towards the lich, who glanced up and saw him coming.

Lord Reischerr slammed the butt of the scythe into the floor, and a shockwave rippled out, taking both Hero and Gavin from their feet. Hero looked to Gavin, and nodded towards the bow and arrow. The sol elf understood and went for his weapon. Hero leaped back up, and charged at the lich again.

Angon took a slashing hit to his chest, leaving a long gouge. Mythril blood leaked out, and dropped to the floor.

The forge growled, and thrust out his hand. Weiggs brought up his axe and slashed the underside of Angon's arm, but he kept going and grabbed the orc around his throat. With all the might he had in him, he squeezed; and Weiggs head popped right off. The zombie fell limp, and his battle-axe vanished, sparkling into the air.

Angon turned to see Hero in a dodging dance with Lord Reischerr who swung the scythe down and across, but could never manage to strike the nimble wolf.

"Foolish mutt!" Reischerr shouted, and lifted the scythe to slam its butt into the ground again. But an arrows flashed across the room and right into the lich's eye socket. Reischerr screamed, and grabbed for the arrow. Gavin loosed another missile, right into the Lich's forhead, and he stumbled back into the wall.

Pinned, Reischerr grabbed with one hand, pulling out the arrow in his eye. But Hero was there snarling and pulling on Soul Rupture's haft.

"Enough!" The lich lord screamed, and kicked Hero. With a loud squeal, the druid bounced and rolled across the room, slamming into a stalagmite. He tried to stand, but he fell right back down; one of his front legs broken.

The lich pointed the scythe at Gavin. "You die first!"

A black electricity sparked around the Soul Rupture, and the lich grinned once again. Gavin swallowed hard knowing he likely wouldn't be able to dodge the next attack.

Just then a huge orange ball of fire soared at Reischerr and struck him in the chest. The force of the blast knocked him to the ground, his robes now burning.

Gavin, Angon, and Hero all turned to regard Tricia, who smiled shyly.

But they shouldn't have taken their eyes off the battle. For with a great roar, the lich floated into the air, reaching for Soul Rupture. But to his surprise, he couldn't find the weapon.

"Where—" He whispered, but as he turned his head, he came face to face with Gonzeelda. Blood trickled down her forehead, and one of her arms hung limply, but in the other hand was Soul Rupture.

Lord Reischerr threw up his arms to block, but the blade of the scythe went straight through the undead's midsection, slicing him asunder.

The two halves of the lich hit the ground and the group turned back to see Gonzeelda wielding the magic weapon of great power.

The orcess grinned as she chopped the scythe into Reischerr's skull, ending his unlife.

All in the cave went silent then, as everyone regarded one another. Tricia broke the silence.

"Mommy!" She cried and ran to the orcess.

Gonzeelda smiled as the girl ran up and hugged her leg. But then she turned her glare to Angon, Gavin, and Hero.

"It seems it all comes to an end, here and now." The woman said.

Gavin had an arrow aimed at her, but she shook her head, and lifted the scythe. A red arrow of the scythe's creation appeared in the air.

"Mommy, no!" Tricia cried.

But the plea fell on deaf ears. The weapon was in her mind now; and the scythe was set on killing any threats.

The arrow fired right into Gavin. He stumbled back, looking at the arrow protruding deep from his chest. Angon screamed in anger as the Gavin fell over, and no longer moved.

The forge turned back to Gonzeelda, lifting his hammer, but she was already creating another arrow. It aimed at Hero, and the druid shook his head.

"Not like this..." He whispered, just before the projectile struck his side, and he too, fell, unmoving.

Angon looked up at Gonzeelda with pure hatred in his eyes.

"You're going to pay." Angon growled.

The orcess pointed Soul Rupture at Angon, and a blue light encompassed every inch of his body. He tried his hardest to move, but he was paralyzed by some sort of magic.

Gonzeelda giggled. "No, homunculus, I will not."

She walked to the anvil in the center of the cavern, lifted the scythe above her head and cried out. "Torchwood, I summon you to this plane!"

With all her newfound, unearthly might, she struck the anvil of creation.