It was said to be an impenetrable fortress. Surrounded by the raging east oceans, accessible only by an arclight bridge, Undar’s Reach was the final bastion of the Atarni Empire. Holed up in its deepest chambers, spiralling below the seabed itself, the Emperor sat. His fingers tapped out a rhythm of impatience. A rhythm of fear. “Are the preparations complete?” He called out to his empty chamber, knowing that an attendant would be stood just outside the grand room. There was a brief scuffle at the door as the servant scrambled to open it. “Aye, my Liege,” the servant snivelled, “As before, all preparations that can be made have been put into place.”The emperor’s eyes slid half shut and he nodded in acceptance. If he were to die on this day, slaughtered by the Weapolocks of the Drasini, then it would be due to the will of the Goddess. But nevertheless, he would not go quietly and would drag as many of those creatures down to the depths with him. Godless fools that they were. XxXTh

Walking back down the mountain was more challenging than walking up the mountain had been. The High Matrix had suggested that he stay overnight in the Assassin’s Guild castle, but he knew from experience that worrying Neave and Risa by disappearing for extended periods of time was a bad idea. It was pitch black and the only reason he could see at all was due to the ball of light that he had conjured with his foci. With a little extra power put into the magery, he had been able to adapt the spell slightly. Usually the ball of light would give off no heat at all, now it was capable of giving off just enough to both keep him warm and melt the ice ahead of him. This made the walk back down to the tavern manageable, without it he was sure he probably would have slipped and fallen to his own death, which frankly would have been embarrassing considering everything he’d lived through to make it to the Assassin’s Guild in the first place. With the combination of light, heat and some caref

Alexei, Risa and Neave stood before the gates of the Assassin’s Guild castle. Alexei wasn’t worried anymore. He’d been up there once before, and despite what he’d been expecting, the High Matrix and other people that he’d met in the Guild all seemed like pretty nice people. He wasn’t sure if the bloodthirsty nature of the assassins he’d faced off against in Alandria was due to their own maladjusted personalities or if they were just fronting as part of the job, but he was very glad that not everyone in the guild was like that. He could tell, though, that both Risa and Neave were at the very least a little bit unnerved. Neither of them was enjoying the cold very much, and the climb up the castle had led Risa to slip and slide numerous times on the icy path, even with Alexei’s fireball clearing the way ahead. Nevertheless, they’d all made it.“Who goes there!” Came a voice from the top of the guard tower, Alexei noted that it was a different voice than the one who had questioned hi

Much like the rooms that they’d had at the tavern, the rooms that were in the Assassin’s Guild were nothing special. If anything, they were even worse than those at the tavern due to their lack of a window. The only light that came into the room was from a small vent in the ceiling. Somehow, likely through an array of mirrors and magnifying glasses, the Guild had passed a shaft of light down through the building and was using it to light the rooms. The result was an incredibly pleasant naturally lit glow in the room. Though Alexei had to admit that he preferred a nice window with a view of the outside world to what he’d been given. It was a small sacrifice to make, though, to be trained in the art of weapocraft. He picked up his staff and felt the power of the thing thrum through his hand. It had always felt like he had been connected to his foci from the very first moment that he lay his hand on it, but now it felt like the thing almost had a living consciousness tucked away w

Alexei came too slowly and with a colossal headache.He hadn’t felt this badly since he’d been forced to take on the Nilbog in his dreams. It was as if every part of his brain had been shut down all at once and only now were the various bits and pieces coming back to life again. Then he remembered his final conscious moments and realised that was pretty much exactly what had happened. He’d been absolutely and completely thoroughly trounced by the person he’d been fighting in practically a single hit. That had never happened to him before. In previous fights, he’d always been the one that had pulled off the clever tricks and traps that lured enemies in and then took them out of a fight instantly. For once the opposite had happened to him, and he had to admit that it wasn’t an experience that he’d enjoyed. The assassin he’d been fighting had lured him in perfectly. He’d used a big hefty weapon that couldn’t be maneuvered quickly or delicately and had drawn Alexei into a close-ran