After their heartfelt talk together, Grombrindal pulled out a scroll with the names of some of the greatest outstanding grudges on them. At the top of the list was Malekith’s name and to his chagrin, it would be some time before Snorri would even consider removing his name from that list. Snorri broke Malekith’s chain of thought as he showed him a name on the list he had encircled. “Neferata, the Lahmian Queen of Vampires?” he said. “I’m surprised she’s still alive, or existing, to be honest. What did she do to get on this list of yours Snorri?” Malekith asked.

“I assume you have heard of the Silver Pinnacle? Well, it wasn’t always a Vampire cesspit. Once it was a hold housing thousands of my people. All gone. All slaughtered for that witch’s bemusement.” Grombrindal stared at Malekith’s cold metal eyes, intensely. “Will you help me gain vengeance for my people?” “Of course Snorri….though how are we going to get to her? I doubt she’s wandering around the Badlands too…” suddenly a silver mist flooded the cave as all of Malekith’s surroundings vanished. When the mists passed on, they were no longer standing in a cave in the Badlands under a setting sun, for they were now standing in the middle of a desert, being pressed down upon by the fiercest of desert sunlight. “Well, ya didn’t think I travelled by foot surely?” Snorri chuckled.

Meanwhile, Nagash had been hard at work since his victory over the Mortuary Cult. He had finished his statue of Neferata, which he then used as a template for his leading lady’s revival. Arkhan was resurrected using bones from the pyramid and looked much like he had before but Neferata’s new visage was truly unique. A perfect blending between a beautiful humanoid and vampiric horror. He even crafted her a big hat so she wouldn’t feel out of place next to Arkhan. Neferata rejoiced when she was returned to undeath, and even more so once she saw Arkhan again who she refused to profusely for killing in the first place to prove her loyalty to the Undying King. Of course, the very fact she was alive again instantly proved to her that Nagash’s journey into the underworld to claim the essence of Usirian had been a success, which made her being killed by her cousin almost worth it to be honest. However, Nagash could not share in the dastardly glee that Neferata and Arkhan felt. The apocalypse is coming, and Nagash had plenty more liutentants to raise. Krell, Dieter Helsnicht, W’Soran, the Dread King, Zacharias the Everliving, Isabella von Carstein, Melchior and Heinrich Kemmler were among the hundreds of loyal followers he still needed to raise into his service to unleash his intent unto the world.

Nagash also had a task lined up for his loyal Liche King and Queen. The great pyramid of Nagash was capable of many things and included everything he would need to raise his generals over time. However, with all the mixing and matching of genetic material to create his personalised lords, it would be difficult to raise a functioning skeleton army from the inhabitants of this pyramid. He could raise souls as pure ethereal soldiers of course and very soon Ushoran should return home with his power restored but even then, Nagash needed a corporeal army. To do this, Nagash took his loyal followers outside and raised an immense horde of restless souls before him but rather than using them as troops, he instead lifted the bones of the deceased mortuary cult aloft and bound carved them into two great exoskeletons which he then forced the souls to inhabit. “My King and Queen of Liches, may I bestow upon you your new Dread Abyssal mounts. Razarak, the Doom of Traitors to my ever-loyal follower Arkhan and Nagadron, the Adevore to my beautiful Queen of Vampires Neferata. Now you have the means to traverse great distances. I recommend you start by getting your tower up and running and from there, find me an army!”

The two followers of Nagash rode South to the Black Tower of Arkhan where they planned to reforge their armies. Meanwhile, Snorri and Malekith were walking through the desert sands. They could see Arkhan’s tower in the distance but the fact it was so far away did not help Malekith’s disposition. “What’s the matter lad? Ya can’t be tired from a bit of Sun.” “Sun I can handle, I have stood naked in open flames. It’s sand getting into my armour which I can’t stand. Why couldn’t we have transported straight to the tower?” “Well, what fun would that be? Besides, I can’t let my enemies see how I travel.” Eventually, the two adventurers reached the Black Tower. Arkhan and Neferata were standing outside the tower. Neferata was mounted on her Abyssal while Arkhan was on foot and seemed to be engaged in raising some grave guards, clad in distinctive yellow and purple garb so clearly loyalists to Arkhan which had protected the tower before. Malekith and Snorri laid down behind a sand-dune as they began to come up with a plan of attack when they heard a ghostly hissing voice “I can see you. My tower knows all. Come out and let me have a good look at you.” The two adventurers stood up. “Good afternoon High King and Elf. I wonder…what brings you here?”

Wow React – Malekith and Snorri ran into action before Arkhan could keep talking. Malekith charged straight through the grave guard towards Arkhan as Snorri went after Neferata. Malekith weaved in and out between the ranks of grave guards, chopping them up and spinning with such speed and precision that it could look like a dance to onlookers. To speed things up, he cast a bladewind around himself to scatter the grave guards from him so he could charge at Arkhan. Arkhan fired a leeching bolt at Malekith only for it to be reflected back at him by Malekith’s Supreme Spellshield. Arkhan stumbled back as he was hit in the chest by his own spell only for Malekith to blast him with his own powers which eminated from the Circlet of Iron built into his armour. Arkhan could barely stand as the circlet’s power blinded him before Malekith finally approached him and swiped his head off in one slash of his Destroyer blade. Arkhan may have been powerful, but he was only a skeleton after all. Meanwhile, Snorri battered Nagadron’s head with his Axe of Grimnir until finally the mount collapsed, the soul were released and Neferata fell on her butt. Before she could respond, Snorri hacked his axe into her skull, causing a nasty crack. Satisfied the job was done, the two adventurers left the Liche King and Vampire Queen’s body behind. However, hours later Nagash arrived at the tower with Ushoran at his side and looked down at his fallen minions. “Shall I take them back to the pyramid for resurrection my lord?” Ushoran asked. “No, these two have failed me too many times. They deserve to remain in my under-realm for some time as punishment…..then again, I did put so much effort into crafting Neferata’s beautiful skin….” Nagash turned to Ushoran “Did you find the Chalice of Bathori while on your mission?” “Yes my lord.” Ushoran confessed as Nagash’s eyes turned back to Neferata’s corpse. “Good. Then we can begin.”

Love React – Malekith charged at Neferata while Snorri took on the grave guards and Arkhan. Arkhan’s magic was powerful enough to hurt the dwarf but thanks to his innate magic resistance, Snorri was able to continue fighting the grave guards while being leeched by Arkhan. Snorri smashed through the grave guards, chopping them up with his axe and body-slamming them with his short, stocky body. Malekith took on Neferata’s mount and slashed at its chest and legs, releasing stray souls from it as her mount weakened. The abyssal became more dazed with each swipe as Malekith used his soul stealing powers to syphon the souls from the mount and freed them into the wilds. Neferata fell off her mount as it stumbled into a vacuous state. She attempted to stand and fight Malekith only to immediately be stabbed in the chest by his Destroyer blade which latched onto her soul and trapped her inside it. Meanwhile, Snorri threw himself at Arkhan and knocked the Liche King to the ground only for Razarak to come riding in and blast Snorri back with its breath ability. Arkhan hastily mounted his dread abyssal and rode in the direction of the pyramid. “Looks like he got away. Are you sure about this lad? Surely, you don’t want her whispering to you?” Grombrindal asked. “The only way to ensure your grudge is settled is to make sure this witch cannot come back. By keeping her in my sword I will do exactly that. Now, let’s get out of here before The Undying King destroys us both.”

Sad React – Snorri ran towards Neferata and her mount while Malekith took on Arkhan and the grave guards. Malekith cut through the grave guards with ease only to find himself under excruciating pain. “You thought that spellshield would protect you elf? You are mistaken Elf. You are standing under my tower where I am master of all. It is here where I am at my most powerful.” Malekith tried to reply only for Arkhan to continue speaking, clearly more intent on having a momnologue. “You were wrong to come here elf. I am the Liche King, an expert in all matters of death so did you really think I would not sense that Hashut’s handiwork on you? Oh dear…. you were recently resurrected weren’t you? A recently dead being who thought he could face death’s favourite servant.” Malekith turned away from the grave guards and towards Arkhan himself, hoping to reach him and prevent his spellcasting by hand. However, for each step he took he became weaker and weaker as Arkhan continued to chant the extremely powerful spirit leech spell. However, it wasn’t just that his spirit was being damaged, so too did his armour seem to be becoming heavier as Malekith had a terrible realisation. Arkhan was casting two spells at once, channeling a leech spell while also aging the body that was inside the armour. Truly, the spellshield had failed Malekith due to the overwhelming power Arkhan drew from the tower and now his own armour was weighing him down as the body inside became weaker and weaker, almost as if he were being burnt once more. Meanwhile, Neferata’s mount Nagadron was enabling her to massively overpower Snorri, as she pinned him to the ground beneath its skeletal paws and dismounted. Neferata kneeled down next to the dwarf and proceeded to pass a judgement worse than death as she withdrew a knife from her belt and cut off Grombrindal’s glorious white mane. Snorri called for help from Malekith but he received no aid as Malekith toppled over into the desert sands, so weak he could no longer stab. “I am disappointed in you elf. I had heard such impressive things but fear not, your next life may just live up to those expectations.” Malekith attempted to yell in anguish upon hearing Arkhan’s taunts but could only bring himself to some weak muffled sobbing. “Fear not my friend. You may fear me now but together, you and I will save the world.” Arkhan sat down in the sand next to the struggling Malekith who was totally incapacitated within his own armour. Arkhan easily removed the Destroyer blade out of Malekith’s hand and stared at his metal shell with the intensity only a skeleton could muster. “Y…o-r ma-” Arkhan seemed puzzled by Malektih’s attempt to speak “Mad, am I? Have you ever heard of a zombie who contracted the plague? Or a skeleton who became enthralled by an orgy? I thought not. Chaos is coming elf and we are the first line of defence against it. A world of the dead does not decay, does not give into excess, does not declare war and never changes. Death is the answer. Death is the only way to save your soul from the horrors that are coming. One day, you shall see this too.” Arkhan channelled a purple orb of death magic into his fingers and upon its completion, pressed the orb into the elf’s chest. “Now rise, Herald of Nagash.” Malekith rose from the sands, his limbs swaying unnaturally. Grombrindal managed to wriggle out from the Dread Abyssal’s grasp and ran over to his friend. “Are you still in there lad?” but Arkhan replied “He has been saved. His is one of us now and we will take care of him…but first my Herald of Nagash, would you introduce the dwarf to our ways?” Snorri gasped as Malekith walked over and lifted his sword to attack the Dwarf. As Malekith swung his blade, Grombrindal suddenly vanished, summoning in the mists that had brought him here in the firstplace. Snorri sat in the cave in which they had beaten the Shaggoth. He mourned for his beard and more importantly, his friend.

Angry React – Arkhan blasted spells at Grombrindal while Malekith attacked Neferata. Neferata could sense that something was amiss with Malekith. Not only had he recently been ressurected, but he was having doubts about how worthwhile his life had been up until now. As the two fought in hand to hand, Malekith on the offence and Neferata simply parrying with her staff and dagger or evading swipes altogether, Neferata began to taunt Malekith over his legacy and how his father would react to seeing him now as well as going into contemporary doubts as well. The battle persisted and Malekith became more and more visibly frustrated until finally, he gave up all sense of hope and crumbled to his knees. He asked to be put out of his misery, that being dead was so much more simple than all of this but Neferata only grinned wickedly before wagging her finger in response. In the mean time, Arkhan had been able to stun Grobrindal with his spells and was maintaining that cast. Neferata stood behind Malekith, kicked him to the ground for good measure and forced him to watch as Arkhan unwound his spell and turned Grombrindal to dust by ageing the Dwarf by around 2000 years in an instant without sustenance, mere child’s play for the almighty devotee to Nagash under his great tower’s watch. With this done, Arkhan and Neferata turned their interest back to Malekith who was entirely broken now after seeing his one remaining friend die. The Liche King and Queen of Vampires debated whether to destroy the elf, raise him into undeath or leave him be so he could feel his shame intensify. However, Malekith took this decision for them as he picked up his blade and ended his suffering with it.

Laugh React – Malekith and Snorri attacked their enemy. Malekith charged straight through the grave guard towards Arkhan as Snorri went after Neferata. Malekith smashed into the ranks of grave guards, chopping them up and even thrusting his sword straight through their shields. Malekith charged at Arkhan who had started to cast a a leeching spell at Malekith but even with the empowerments of the Black Tower, Malekith’s Supreme Spellshield was able to hold back enough damage for him to get in melee range. The two proceeded to fight each other in a ferocious melee. Arkhan was the stronger caster but because of the close range fighting, had his casting continuously disrupted in order to parry the Destroyer blade in melee combat. Malekith was winning. However, Razarak emerged from the tower and dove into combat to aid Arkhan, crunching Malekith’s left arm within its jaws and as it dragged him back. Malekith laid on the ground, clearly in pain from being handled in such a way as Arkhan started to monologue to him about his future as a an undead and how great it would be to fight alongside each other against chaos. Arkhan hunched over Malekith and continued to speak in his dry, hissing voice when Malekith suddenly bent upwards from the waist, pulled Arkhan further in at the rib with his left hand and stabbed Arkhan with his sword in the right. The blade cut through him like a hot knife through butter and Arkhan’s skeletal body wasted into a puddle of bones on the ground. Nefereta, who had been fighting Grombrindal on her mount, became angry when she saw this happen. Rather than continuing to fight Grombrindal, her mount turned around and Nagadron kicked Grombrindal a good 50 feet away with its hind-legs and charged at Malekith while being joined by Razarak. The two dread abyssals pounded away on Malekith’s body ass Neferata cast intermittent spells to weaken Malekith’s resolve and slow down Grombrindal who was trying to run back into combat.The dread abyssals couldn’t break his armour but they didn’t need to. Instead, they hit him so fiercely that by doing it again and again and again, Malekith ended up being submerged below the desert sands as the abyssals hit him further and further underground before sealing the whole up. When Grombrindal finally made it into combat, Nefereta turned and ran from the battle on Nagadron while Razarak stayed behind to fight the dwarf before being promptly destroyed by an axe swing to the head. Grombrindal attempted to dig Malekith up with his little arms but there was no hope. By the time Snorri unearthed his friend, Malekith had suffocated beneath the desert sands.