WILD LANDS KNIGHTS TAKE ON THE MIGHT OF AZAL'S LAIR - WITH FATAL RESULTS
Superheroic adventurers mentored by Li Po the Hermit of Secomber's docklands and supproted by White Owl of the Silver Knot set off to recover the Air Diamond and the Elemental Shield from Azal's lair.
The adventurer company was comprised of Talon, Snake Charmer and Monkfish. Talon was a black-clad street avenger modelling himself on White Owl; Snake Charmer is a serpentine super-bard with incredible gymnastic abilities and jewelled super-armour; Monkfish is the turquoise-haired merman warrior monk from Castle Lobelia.
Secomber is currently in utter chaos, with Royal Marines and other soldiers keeping order and the Royal Militia in charge of all civil functions. Against this backdrop, the team had little trouble in arriving at Azal's smaller warehouse. Once there they scaled the walls and attempted to evade the human guards on the rooftop. This effort failed and combat ensued.
In the course of the first phase of the battle against waves of rogues and four-armed gorilla daemons, Talon fell down one of the many chute traps dotting the roof and was killed after falling fifty feet on to a vorpal blade trap. His body was then cremated in the fire trap at the base of the chute, making recovery of the hero impossible.
More determined than ever, the surviving duo assailed again and again against the rooftop rogues and the other demonic menaces unleashed against them. But for the amazing reflexes and unearthly skills of Snake Charmer, and the devastatingly effective martial arts of Monkfish, the leader of Azal's ape monsters, the demon Hezer, would have destroyed both heroes. Instead, the duo defeated the demon on their second attempt and escaped with a priceless treasure Azal had been keeping in a ritual chamber.
Despite the death of their company member Talon, the surviving pair of Wildland Knights have struck an immense blow against Azal. The scroll they stole was Azal's Nither Scroll, source of magic. Surrendering this scroll to the Immortals eliminated it from any use by Azal. Thus Azal can no longer restock his Grand Arcade dungeon with new demonic ape monsters, and more importantly Azal has been stripped of some of his cosmic levels of spell power. Although he is still supremely dangerous, he can no longer permanently neutralise all powers of one metahuman per minute. He can also no longer invoke his most powerful black sorceries.
So... at long last, a victory against Azal... albeit at a cost.
