Borgut regretted his decision. It had been made in a moment of weakness, but it could be made right. Zotikos, Errrrr, and Banoffee had joined him at the markets, and together they now led the laden mule through the streets of Brightspear, towards the portal that had taken them to Hysh. He would repay the mad on the mountain, help him rebuild. It was the least he could do to honour Cerlanas passing.
‘Are you sure you can open that gate Banoffee?’ Errrrr asked in his low voice. ‘Specifcally,’ added Zotikos, ‘can you open it back to the mountain?’
‘I can‘ the said, affirming what she had said earlier in the day.
But she couldn’t.
_____
Hours later the party found themselves on the edge of a frozen lake, a snowstorm threatening to freeze them to death. Borgut had had to hoist the mule onto the Gore-grunta as the dessert-dwelling, Aqshy-born, mule couldn’t take another step in the sleet and snow. Thankfully, through the use of a summoned phoenix streaking through the snow and giving them a brief glimpse of their surroundings, the party had managed to find shelter near a destroyed outpost of sorts.
‘What in Morkas name are we gunna do now!?‘ Borgut shouted over the winds. ‘This is crazy!? Rocket isn’t made fer carrying bluddy mules! He’s supposed ta carry me!?’
‘We have to wait out the storm,‘ Banoffee reminded the group, ‘only then can we move on and figure out where I’ve brought us!‘
And then, as if on cue, the storm abated, but what they found was significantly worse. Arrayed about them, as if statues waiting for the end of time, rank upon rank of Mortek Guard. As the group pulled closer together in apprehension, a Hekatos stepped forward. ‘Why are you here?‘ the warrior asked ‘Speak, quickly, or find your eternal doom with the great Nagash‘
They were at a complete loss. They had no idea where they were, let alone why they were there. ‘Uhhh… we are lost see….’ Borgut exclaimed.
‘We know this already. Tell us, WHY are you here? Whom do you serve on Lake Bykaal?’
And just then, Banoffee knew what to do. With hands behind her back, she shifted her fingers ever so slightly, and the shadow spell streaked off, delving deep into the mind of the warrior before them.
Riekenor, she thought to herself, no… the guard would know that wasn’t true and label them as spies…
‘Uhhh…. Nagash…?‘ Borgut proffered. Without a word from the leader, spears came snapping up, pointing at their various throats.
Thinking furiously Banoffee delved deeper into the mind of the skull in front of her. It must be something else…. yes… there…. Brighteyes….
‘Brighteyes!’ the aelf called out before the rest could say anything to put them in further danger. ‘We serve Brighteyes, free us, or risk burning our tenuous agreements.
And with that, the party was free. Well, no, they were alive. Specifically they were alive and being escorted, against their will to be fair, to what seemed like a war camp a little outside a huge castle or atop steep cliffs. And then, as quickly as they had arrived, the guard had left, leaving the party, still mildly panicked in the middle of a campsite Sigmar-knows-where, possibly in a war against Khaine-knows-who. Thankfully, Borgut was not exactly a newcomer to war, or campsites for that matter, and immediately helped the team make their way to where the leader’s tent would be.
‘Oh! There ye bluddy are,’ a stocky Duardin in Kharadron plate said as they drew closer to the tent, ‘we’ve been expected a bluddy binding. Get yerself in there quicksmart!’
The group found themselves in the middle of a planning tent. A table with various maps and markers in the center and a collection of aelf, man, and duardin talking amongst themselves. As they entered, a man with long black hair, a peg for a leg, and two long corsair blades at his side looked up from the map he had been inspecting. His eyes narrowed.
‘You’re… not… the binding we were expecting, are you?’
‘Honestly,’ Banoffee said, ‘probably not. But it seems we’ve found ourselves here now, and we are Soulbound. Maybe we can help?’
‘Well, we do need help,‘ the man mumbled to himself. As he looked over the group, an Orruk, a Sylvaneth, and two aelves, one of which looked suspiciously vampire-like, he seemed to make up his mind. ‘Okay then, I’ll take you. Please, we need your help.’
_____
The sun was setting fast as the binding, with a select few Kharadron Thunderers, found themselves heading towards Tsatraya’s Kozul Redoubt atop Uyar Point. Their assault on the lighthouse would need to be done at night, Brighteyes had informed them. It was riskier, by far, but it was needed. And so, after being introduced to the situation happening around Lake Bykaal, Team Sparkles had decided to join The Expedition. The first mission as dangerous a task as they had ever taken. Ignite a lighthouse that could be seen for leagues around, in the Realm of Death, in the middle of the night, to signal a full-scale assault on the dead of Tsatraya. What could go wrong?
‘Bluddy everything, that’s what!’ the Thunderer said, replying to a comment made by one of his comrades. ‘You know full well that we’re heading into one bluddy big storm of death, and we’re doing it with a damn tree!’
The party had arrived at the foot of Uyar Point, and with that, they headed straight towards their goal. As the binding made their way up the hill, they came up through a small graveyard.
‘No…..’ the duardin from before exclaimed, ‘that there is just… great….’ and with that a deep groan came from below the earth about them. ‘Run,’ Zotikos exclaimed, ‘run now!’
But it was too late. The earth erupted below them, dozens of skeletal hands ploughing through the soft dirt, clawing at their feet. From all about them chainrasps leapt up as well. Kharadron guns exploded in the darkness and the silence of night disappeared as the sound of battle began. ‘Guns, aim for those skeletons,’ Borgut called out, ‘normal weapons won’t be very useful on those spectres! Banoffee, Errrr, quick, we need your skills!’ With that, lighting, fire, and aethersea scourged the chainrasps, sending back from whence they came.
‘Go!,’ screamed one of the duradin, ‘we’ll hold them back. You need to light that lighthouse, no matter the cost!’ The roar of their guns was immense, knocking back skeleton after skeleton, disintegrating ghosts all around them. As the party continued up the slopes towards the lighthouse, Errrr solidified their escape by summoning up a massive maelstrom, sending waves of aethric energy towards the swarms of ghosts that had descended on the party.
It had seemed like mere moments, but eventually, the party made good their escape, with but one Thunderer still left with them as they slammed the large gate at the foot of the lighthouse closed and began their ascent up the staircase. Thankfully the structure wasn’t huge, and as they ran the entire distance, they made their way up very quickly indeed. As Borgut lunged at the door at the top, slamming it open, a massive gust of wind pushed against the remaining team members as they stumbled out onto the open top of the lighthouse. And then another push of wind. And another. And has the hairs ran up the back of Zotikos’ neck he knew what was coming.
‘Block your ears!!!’ the vampire screamed. But he had been too late, or the remaining thunderer had been too slow, either way, the poor duardin burst into bits of guts and gore as a massive shriek tore through the party, their very bones trembling as out of the night sky a terrorgheist alighted onto the structure, blocking their way to the pyre.
The instant the bellow from the beast stopped, Team Sparkles leapt into action. Borgut running down underneath the great beast, while Zotikos jumped up onto its back, both hacking at anything within reach that looked even vaguely important. Errrrr and Banoffee wove lightning and sea, blasting the creature from both sides to keep it busy, to keep it from focusing directly on either of the fighters. Biting this way and that, it suddenly turned, it’s tail crashing through the doorway that led down the stairs, causing Zotikos to lose his balance and crash to the floor. With speed that was wholly unexpected, the beast leapt, death itself. Zotikos managed to only just get his sword in between him and the creature, but Borgut was there in a flash as well. The orruk held open the gaping maw of the beast as it inched closer and closer to the fallen member.
‘Banoffee, now!’ Borgut screamed at the aelf, ‘through ‘is big ‘ole mouth!’ Lightning and fire were woven from the air itself, forcing the beast back towards the edge of the structure, it’s mouth coming free of Borgut’s grip. It swung around, tail swiping at Borgut as it’s trying to bite down on Errrrr who had tried to come to it from behind. With a scream Borgut toppled over the side of the building, just managing to get a finger hold on the side. Zotikos leapt up again, this time going for the creature’s eyes, and managed to score a hit just as Errrrr summoned another swell of aethersea, washing over the creature again and again, forcing it closer and closer to the edge. But the beast was simply too strong. Fire joined the wash of ocean, providing even greater amounts of force towards the edge, and yet, again, it wasn’t enough. The creature threw off Zotikos howling in defiance of the attacks dealt upon it, as it slowly pushed against the tides of magic. And then, just before the two spellcasters ran out of energy Borgut managed to pull himself over the edge, and rushed the creature one last time. Waaaagh! energy swelled around the orruk as he charged, and with a bellow, he hit slammed into the terrorgheist, his great hammer hitting the beast between the eyes, green lightning joining the swell of magical energy already pushing at the beast. And with that, the creature fell, bursting at the seams in a scream of pain and anger.
They had done it. They had made it to the top. And with that, the beacon was lit.
