Crossover - Chapter 40

Shaddar and his crew arrive at the edge of what must be The Well.  It looks like a monstrous sinkhole bored right down into the rock.  Ancient and crumbling signs surround the border of the area with faded warnings to stay away from the evil and dangerous place.  Many of the signs warn that undead are known to haunt the area. 

Some of the slaves begin to gibber at the signs and the fact that they are travelling to some cursed or taboo locale.  Even the weak slaves whimper and tremble as they see the dire warnings about undead.

“Undead again,” Shaddar thinks.  “These people are very frightened of undead.  Yet I have not seen any signs of undead – I wonder if what they fear is real or if it is just a story like the bedtime tales of Devils at the crossroads?  Or Mist Demons?”  His tentacles writhe with humor at the thought.

The walls of the sinkhole have some stairs carved right into them.  In some places the stairs have collapsed leaving only a sheer wall, but overall the staircase winds down slowly like a corkscrew into the depths of the pit.

“We have arrived,” Shaddar proclaims.  “Kug?  Gather our supplies.  We’ll rest for a bit before we make the descent and make camp somewhere on the way down.”  It would be annoying to have travelers wander into their camp and that is not very likely if they are underground.

Crossover - Chapter 39

Shaddar sits next to Kug as the hobgoblin drives the team of horses through the darkening roads of the slums.  They have been traveling through the border zone and the wide avenues of the slums for hours and Shaddar is amazed at the size of the sprawling city.  The traffic has been fairly congested on the side streets that they have followed – in order to attract less attention.  The group of 16 hobgoblins that are walking on foot behind them also limits their speed. 

The slow pace doesn’t bother Shaddar at all.  He enjoys viewing the sights and scanning the minds of those around him.  Despite the ground they have covered thus far, the populace is consistently small-minded and unaware of the nature of the world they inhabit.  Any minds that he senses that seems too competent are avoided as Shaddar directs Kug to take a detour.

The thoughts that dwell on the many rumors that Shaddar has spread by word and by deed are almost ubiquitous.  The fear in the city is rich and finely textured, with so many variations that it will be impossible to determine how the rumors got started or what might be the truth. 

They even drive past a ragged-looking fellow on a street corner with a sign that reads: “The Dark Times are nigh!”  He is preaching doom and the end of all things to anyone who comes near him.  Shaddar manages not to laugh out loud at the sight.  Just.

AAR: December 22, 2012 - Mutant Squig Hunt

An unholy terror has been pillaging the villages of this section of the planet Ceti Aldelpi.  Rumor has it that it possesses an lust for blood and destroys anything that moves.  The Storm Heralds resolve to cleanse the area of whatever impure beast now roams it.  Mega-Warboss Chainsaw has another thought: "Sounds like my old pet squig!"  He brings his warband to the location to see if the beast is really his long-lost pet.  What will the result of this mutant squig hunt be?

Crossover - Chapter 38

Shaddar attempts to get some sleep after another long and fruitful day, stroking the brainmate.  The familiar, but dim mental hum the brainmate provides is a comfort to him.  He has much on his mind and as he drifts off, he wonders once again how he will find a mentor of magic…

He is surprised to find himself in a psychic construct once he falls completely asleep.

“What is this?” he wonders aloud.

“YOU REQUESTED A MENTOR IN MAGIC?  THIS I CAN PROVIDE,” the voice that Shaddar recognizes as the brainmate says. 

Ah.  Physical contact while sleeping has given the brainmate the capability of drawing his consciousness into this fabricated dream-space.  That much at least makes sense.

Crossover - Chapter 37

Shaddar realizes with dismay that his plans for using the meadhall as his headquarters may have been prematurely laid.  As his number of minions grow, the available rooms to house them is shrinking.  And the number of enemies that he might face is considerably higher than he thought it might be from his initial impression of Big City.  He is glad to be made aware of those that he will need to subdue, but he may not want them knowing how to find him during the later stages of the game.

If he could convince the palehair elders to accept him as their leader, he could move his operation down to their underground palace.  But that will take time.  Hmm…  From what the beguiling ambassador from the Mist of Darkness said, there is a Underdark in this world – he could always travel down and make a lair in some remote portion of that dark land.  But then he would be far from the events he has set into motion here in the city.

He snorts.  If things get so dangerous for him that he must flee to the Underdark, then his plans will have come to naught.  At that point he would do better to begin a long-term plan of building up a hobgoblin and human slave based army, and attack the surface with strength in 15 or 20 years.  Boring.  Still, as a fall back plan, it has merit.

AAR: December 8, 2012 - The Only Way To Be Sure

The desert winds howl on this forlorn planet.  Warboss Chainsaw is here because he heard that the shifting sands had uncovered a shrine to Mork. When he arrives, he is enraged to discover that the Storm Heralds heard the same rumor and they have brought a tactical nuke in order to wipe it from the face of the universe.  Being cunning as he is brutal, the Ork leader thinks that the weapon of mass destruction could be put to better use in the middle of a hive city... all he has to do is snip off the command antenna and it's all his!  The space marines are determined to verify that the evil shrine is the real one, teleport out, and then detonate the nuke from orbit.  Will the nuke be used for good or evil?  Find out by reading about this battle for the bomb!

Crossover - Chapter 36

Once back at the meadhall, Shaddar releases his thralls to their sleep.  He can’t rest, however.  His mind is filled with what he learned from the hesitant drow elders.

The deep city that they mentioned could very well be the settlement mentioned on his dead master’s list.  He resolves to take an expedition two hours to the south and search for the landmark mentioned in the second task: The Well. 

“I need to sift fact from legend and perhaps I will find the answers I seek if I follow the path originally planned by Felinxtrath,” he thinks.

Even as he thinks this, he feels them: again a group of stealthy-minded being creep towards the meadhall.  Shaddar sighs: his fishing for trouble has yielded many insights, but it seems the work will never be done.  

“Ah, well.  Such is the life of a shadowy mastermind.”

Crossover - Chapter 35

“Fulfill your destiny as drow.  Join me in sweeping this change across the face of the city,” Shaddar whispers into the quiet chamber.

The three drow elders who have witnessed the unthinkable do not speak. 

They stare at the body of Shaddar’s loyal messenger, killed in an unprecedented manner before their very eyes.  Their faces and especially their thoughts reveal all.  One is utterly convinced and willing to do whatever he says.  One is completely skeptical and hostile.  And one of them remains neutral towards Shaddar, despite the disgust he feels.

“The Destroyer has come!  All is lost!  We have no choice but to obey him if we are to have any hope of alleviating the suffering he brings,” the lone female drow elder Griselle thinks while nearly hyperventilating.

“A pretty display to be sure.  But I know the prophecy is false!  The Elder Evils were defeated completely by the Lords – none of their fancy predictions foresaw that!  The old tales can not come to pass now that they are no more!” Filazar thinks angrily.

Yanivlitan runs a finger down his long nose while thinking, “Revolting, yes.  This fiend is not to be trifled with, no matter who he says he is or what his plans are.  What does he want from our people, I wonder?  What benefit will helping or hindering him bring us?”

Crossover - Chapter 34

Shaddar is thinking about the magic in this world while sitting in his study that evening.  The magic of the globes of light that seem to act as an alarm.  The magic that the knight seemed to posses.  The magic combined with mental power that brought him here to this pocket dimension – this Realm.

“It is good that I have studied the arcane arts myself.  But I lack the depth in the arcane that is required to pry out the secrets of all of these things.  It is a pity that I have no mentor here to continue my studies,” he thinks, “Perhaps I can find one and force him to teach me?  Yes.  I will look for ways to solve this weakness in my skill set.  Somehow…”

His internal musings are interrupted as he detects the approach of several minds.  Ah, ha!  Again, it seems that some fish are swimming into his baited trap.

Drow this time.  Six of them.  But his mind-bent zealot, Halvyr, is not among those that approach.  Interesting.

Crossover - Chapter 33

As dusk begins to fade the sky, Shaddar senses a more interesting visitor approach the meadhall.  This man is not seeking a tankard of frothy ale.  No, he has come to report to the Boss!

It only takes a few seconds before the man enters.  Shaddar listens to the conversation going on the floor below him by tapping into the thoughts of both the men now in the room.

His captain of grand larceny calls a greeting out to Hawke, who is at the bar, “Hawke.”

Hawke nods a greeting in return, “Helmnald.  Have an ale?”

The man shakes his head.  He quickly smiles and speaks his answer aloud for the benefit of the blind barkeep, “No.  I’m here to see someone.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.  I need to talk to… the Boss.”

A slight pause follows this that indicates reflection on Hawke’s part.  “Have a seat.  I’ll call for him.”

Crossover - Chapter 32

“A productive day already,” Shaddar thinks as he climbs the stairs to the third floor, “and it is not yet mid-afternoon!”  His mind is filled with plans.

If Vicacilli’s spirit is not completely broken after his ordeal is over (and his screams and moans can be faintly heard still – so that moment has not yet arrived), then Shaddar may be able to make further use of the man.  He will wait and see if the human’s mind survives, before he makes that decision.  And he will need to take into account the desires of Hawke in that determination.

Shaddar is a bit amazed at the mental metamorphosis that has occurred in Hawke.  His thought process is subtly different – most likely a reversion to a buried aspect of his personality that withered into insignificance while his talents and aspirations were focused on merely being a blind bartender.  It is as if he has become a new man.  A man focused on wreaking a terrible revenge against the Guildmaster of the Guild of Villains – a goal that Shaddar heartily approves of.

“Nothing like the ‘dark winds of change’ to liven up a man’s spirit,” Shaddar thinks with mirth.

His high spirits fade quickly as he sets foot on the third floor.  Jorin and Bort are still having a whispered argument and Shaddar’s anger at the stupidity of Jorin during his interview with the constables is returning. 

He mentally listens to them before entering their room for a moment.

Bort is trying in vain to convince his friend that he has blundered.  “I’m telling you, Jorin, the Boss is really mad at you.”

AAR: December 1, 2012 - Rain of Fire

The battle for control of this planet rages both on the surface and in orbit!  Some important wreckage has been distributed across a wide arc of ground as starships are blown into flaming chunks of wreckage.  Two of these smoldering prizes are contested by the orks and the Storm Heralds.  The battlefield is more dangerous than usual, with debris slamming into the area with alarming regularity.