Life hasn’t been the same since the breaking into of Itza. What to Marco Colombo and his dark elf mercenary Tullaris Dreadbringer has seemed like a simple heist to steal an elf queen’s tiara has later spiralled into a frenzy across the many Lustrian temple cities. After his millennia long watch, Gor-Rock has fallen.
Following the Albino Lizard’s passing, the Skink oracle Ten-Zlati communed with the spirit of his deceased master, the Venerable Lord Kroak, to discuss how the safety of Itza and all other temple cities may be ensured. Just as it was an elf and a human who had broken into the most sacred of Itza’s vaults, murdered their greatest Saurus protector and raided through their collection of artifacts, so too did more humans and elves violate this land on a regular basis with humans setting ports in the North and elves creating island colonies all around Lustria. They claimed to come in peace of course yet they all seemed heavily armed all the same, leading Ten-zlati to ponder what true intentions they may hold.
After many days of prayers and deliberation, Kroak made his decision and responded to the Skink Oracle with one resounding instruction, it was time to awaken the Lord of the First City from his slumber, it was time for Tepec-Inzi to return to service. When Tepec-Inzi last laid eyes on the world, it was in response to another theft of Itza’s property. The year was 315 IC when the Dark Elves raided Lustrian lands and stole the Stela of Quetli from the Itzan vaults. In response, Tepec-Inzi and his champion Gor-Rok travelled North to Hexoatl and joined Lord Mazdamundi’s armies to reclaim the Stela. However, it was Tepec-Inzi who turned the tide of the conflict when he discovered the means by which the Druchii had raided their lands in the first place, a series of tunnels running below Naggaroth and Northern Lustria known as the Black Way from whence Tepec-Inzi soon took vengeance on the elves, sending his army to slaughter all elves who used the tunnels and even opening portals behind enemy lines so that Gor-Rok could cut off the Druchii escape. However, resentment stirred between Tepec-Inzi and the other Slaan as the conflict progressed as it became clear that most of the Slaan simply wanted to retake what had been lost while Tepec had begun to want far, far more. Tepec came to believe that the elves were an anathema to the Great Plan, since their tendency to spread everywhere and waste so many resources on their outlandish cities would only get in the way of the Plan’s realisation. And so, when Tepec decided that Mazdamundi did not have the same interest in mind, Tepec-Inzi decided to make a bold choice, to embrace a deep, meditative hibernation until the threat that the elves posed became self-evident to everyone else. Tepec-Inzi slept for almost two thousand years but now, he has returned.
As expected, Tepec-Inzi had not warmed to the elves despite all his time in slumber and became exceedingly alarmed when Ten-zlati told him of the elf colony on the Turtle Isles, resulting in him contacting Mazdamundi up in Hexoatl via the geomantic web to request an increase in troops.
And so, Mazdamundi charged his champion, the veteran saurus warrior Kroq Gar, with amassing an army to bolster the slaan master of Itza’s armies while Tepec-Inzi dispatched Ten-zlati off to Genaina to request amazon warriors from their new leader, Princess Azura should a full scale war break out.
However, after a few days of Kroq Gar grew anxious when one of the spawning pools around Hexoatl stopped contacting him or sending new saurus warriors. Fearing for the worst, Kroq Gar ordered the Tiktaq’to, rider of the great terradon Zwup and Master of Hexoatl’s skies to investigate the unresponsive spawning grounds.
Tiktaq’to soared through the skies atop his giant terradon but when he reached his destination, he could only look on in horror. The spawning pools were shrouded in a blighted green fog in which hundreds of Clan Pestilens plague monks had burrowed out of tunnels in the ground. However, while it was difficult to make out just how many plague monks were sprawling around massacring the saurus which had yet to emerge from their pools, one enemy unit stood out among them all; a screaming bell contraption with the most distinctive of tomes, a sound which could only resonate from the dreaded Contagion Conclave, brewing station for the obscene Cauldrons of a Thousand Poxes which had spread this terrible blight, and if that was all true it could only mean one thing; Lord Grilok the sixth anointed plaguelord, chosen as right paw to Lord Skrolk himself, must be leading them. As he hovered far above the desolated spawning pools, Tiktaq’to devised a plan. ….

• Sad React: Tiktaq’to decided there were too many Skaven below to take down on his own. As such, he instructed Zwup to fly back to Hexoatl to pick up reinforcements. He later returned to the spawning pools with Kroq Gar and an army of elite saurus and dinosaurs at their back. Together, the Lizardmen made quick work of the Skaven intruders, driving the few hundred plague monks back and feeding Grilok to Grymloq. Yet it was too late to save the new batch of saurus, resulting in around 3000 new saurus warriors dying at the hands of Grilok’s plagues.

….

• Love React: Though he was tempted to call in for reinforcements, Tiktaq’to decided that the potential casualties incurred by turning back would be too great. It was up to this line skunk to vanquish the blight of Pestilens from this land. As such, Tiktaq’to used his helmet to meld his mind with Zwup’s own and together, they descended towards the enemy’s plague device. The terradon gained more and more momentum as it dove down on the enemy until it gained such speed that it could fly down, grasp Grilok in its beak and ascend before the other plague rats even saw it coming. Having been caught off guard, Grilok had dropped his staff when caught in the terradon’s maws, which significantly reduced his ability to fight back. Tiktaq’to flew higher and higher until finally, he commanded Zwup to drop the pungent rat who fell to its death. From there, Tiktaq’to prepared his next attack and dove again only to drop his blessed stone of Tepok on the Plague Conclave this time, causing it to explode. The plague monks looked around startled trying to work out what was going as Zwup lifted them off only to drop them again and again until the remaining plague monks grew so worried that their morale shattered and they fled through the hole which they had burrowed. Some saurus had died of course, but the vast majority were saved by Tiktaq’to’s actions.

….

• Angry React: As Tiktaq’to surveyed the situation he was suddenly caught off guard as a withering rot suddenly befell his mount for the plaguelord below had sensed the Skink’s presence with his magic. With the wings of his mount rotting away, Tiktaq’to was forced into an abrupt crash landing right in the heart of the Skaven’s blighted terrain. With Zwup too badly damaged to fight or fly, Tiktaq’to abandoned his companion and took hold of his Blade of Ancient Skies, carved from the fossilised jawbone of a long extinct sky-borne predator and attempted to take the tsunami of plague monks on in melee. But before long, the monks overwhelmed him, shattering him with their maces. Finally, Lord Grilok stepped forward from the pack of rats, grabbed the defeated Skink by the throat and belched his pestilent breath deep into the Skink’s lungs, asphyxiating him with excruciating prejudice. The Skaven went on to kill both this batch of saurus spawnings and the next, slaughtering over 6000 saurus, before finally being discovered and routed by Kroq Gar’s army.

….

• Laugh react: Sensing it would take too long to bring reinforcements, Tiktaq’to decided to descend on the Skaven and vanquish them himself. However, as the Skink and Terradon combo dove towards the Skaven they suddenly came under fire from bolts of energy eminating from the Contagion Conclave’s screaming bell. The terradon managed to evade blast after blast until finally, Tiktaq’to was shot off his steed as they came into tree level. Tiktaq’to armed himself with his blade made from an extinct predator’s jawbone and proceeded to cut through monk after monk which attacked him. However, their numbers were too great as the Skaven began to overwhelm him and Lord Grilok approached, hunger in his eyes. Fortunately, just as he was about to be beaten, Zwup returned having circled around to save his master and carried him away. The two flew away thinking they had escaped when suddenly, Grilok’s contraption fires once again, hitting Zwup from behind. As a last act of devotion to his master, Zwup continued to carry Tiktaq’to back to Hexoatl, all while struggling to resist the encroaching rot which travelled up his scales. Finally, Zwup died on the steps of one of Hexoatl’s great pyramids, having delivered Tiktaq’to to safety. Tiktaq’to alerted Kroq Gar of the situation who went onto route the enemy Skaven after they had killed the first batch of Saurus spawns while Tiktaq’to mourned for his deceased companion.

….

• Wow React: Deciding there was no time to waste, Tiktaq’to melded his mind with Zwup and dove towards the Contagion Conclave. As he approached, Lord Grilok and the contraption began to fire on the soaring terradon which Tiktaq’to did his best to dodge as succinctly as possible until Zwup eventually came into range and dropped its explosive payload on the screaming contraption, purifying that unholy bastion with Tepok’s righteous boulder. As this happened, Tiktaq’to jumped from his terradon’s saddle to take the hideous plaguelord on in melee. The rat attempted to fight the Skink in melee but his jawed-blade cut through the rat’s spellstaff and pierced the plaguelord’s skull just as Grilok was casting his final, terrible curse. With the disease-spreading device destroyed and no plaguelord to cast spells around, the saurus were free to emerge from their spawning pools and crush the plague monks which attempted to halt their birth. However, despite this Tiktaq’to had taken in too much of the diseased air and the plaguelord’s putrid breath during the fight, causing him to pass out after a coughing fit and fall to his death from Zwup’s saddle on the way back to Hexoatl.