Have you ever been trapped? Scared and alone as doom closed in all around you? This was the predicament that six adventurers found themselves in: a druid, a warlock, an archer, a boss, a monk, and the Bard! The dark cultist had been defeated, his amulet taken, yet the undead horde continued their assault on the city. As Dis burned around them, the group headed to the only place that had any sign of activity, the town barracks! Once it had been their prison, but now the guards inside might be their last line of support. After pushing their way through, they were not met with proud warriors. No, what was left were cowards too afraid to fight. Milo did his best to inspire them, but beyond some babbling about the elf district being empty yet still off limits, even he could not summon their courage.
Suddenly, the doors burst open and a cloaked figure stood menacing in the doorway! Her fiery eyes and confident demeanor were somewhat out of place on her small body, as she was either a halfling or the upper half of an elf. The young woman marched across the room and approached the bard—as women were wont to do—and with a growl said, “I will never agree to be flown into a flaming city under siege by zombies for you again!” The Bard, as always, was flattered by the devotion of his fans, but before he could reply another small figure ran into the room.
It was a little girl with frantic, tear-filled eyes. The druid knelt before her and asked what was wrong. “They took them,” the girl exclaimed. “They took them to the arena! They’re going to kill my family!” The druid did her best to comfort the girl. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright. You were very lucky to have made it here.” The girl sniffled, “It wasn’t luck… they made me come here.” She looked up at the druid and explained, “They said they wanted you.”
The group marched to the colosseum. It was clear this was a trap, but they would not let any more innocent lives be lost today! As they entered the arena, the group was unnerved by the silence, but also by the hundreds–nay, thousands!–of zombies that turned from their seats in the stands to watch them enter, yet did not attack.
“I see you got my… invitation,” boomed a voice from the center. The group turned to see four cultists standing over three scared townsfolk. “I’ve heard a lot about Dis’s famed fighting force. You are The Despots, are you not?”
“YES!” said the group in unison.
“It will be nice to see you die once and for all,” and with that a cultist pulled out a cruel flail with a spiked skull for its head.
“You won’t be killing any more people this day!” shouted the warlock, just before the cultist buried his flail into the first man’s face.
Awkward silence hung in the air as the archer winked at his friends and answered back, “I would like to join you if you spare these people.”
“Nah,” replied the cultist as another innocent head crumpled inward.
“I’ve had enough of this!” growled the cloaked halfling as she removed a katana from her robes. “Let me at them!” she screamed and jumped into the arena. The group was close behind… all but the Bard.
<Let me at them> The words echoed in our hero’s head. These words he had heard so often in his past were only ever said by one person! The governor, the cultists, the fire, the undead… these were all small things Milo could handle, but now he saw there was a new threat among them that was far scarier… Maltrix.
Meanwhile, the ensuing fight was fierce! Spells filled the arena and that terrible flail swung again and again, nearly taking out many of the heroes. Just as things were looking grim, a voice rang out from the arena entrance: “HO HO! WELL MET FRIENDS!” It was Lo-Keg! Their longtime friend of questionable sexuality had come to them in their time of need! With his strength added to the fight, slowly but surely our heroes fought back against the cultists and slayed them one by one!
After the group triumphed over their foes, the monk noticed a collection of amulets worn by their fallen adversaries. Something about them called to him, and he reached out to retrieve them. As the monk went about his noble work of robbing the dead, the boss noticed that the zombie bystanders were no longer standing by. One by one the dead began to shift in their seats! “Guys,” he called, “I think we’ve overstayed our welcome!” With that, a single zombie let out a horrible scream that filled the arena. This was answered by a chorus of shrieks, and all at once they propelled themselves out of their seats and crashed into the arena like a wave.
There was no time to lose. The group dashed to the exit and closed the door behind them, not knowing how long it would hold. The boss and the monk shared a look. Their long history together allowed them to understand each other wordlessly, and they both knew what had to be done. Wearing the amulets would allow them to control this horde and stop the undead for good! At once they slipped on the amulets, though, instead of becoming rulers over the undead, they were immediately paralyzed. The Bard stopped looking for an escape route and began preparing his ink and quill to draw what would be the greatest pair of genitalia ever illustrated on someone’s face, but before he could begin, the druid cured the monk of his paralysis. Unfortunately, this took all of the little time they had. The zombies were almost through the door!
With a tear in his eye, Lo-Keg knew what he needed to do to protect his friends and his home. He braced the door and with a booming voice shouted, “HO HO! I WILL HOLD THEM LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU TO ESCAPE. RUN NOW, AND SAVE DIS FROM THIS TERRIBLE FATE! I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR GREAT STRENGTH, AND MAY KORD SMILE UPON YOU!”
The party did not respond as they had left him some minutes prior.
Colosseum in Dis
2018-07-02