I do hope you have some interest in politics or these next few Acts may get a bit confusing.

Act IX: A New Order

"It was just over a week ago when they came."

Vanath had taken Abaddon straight to Castle Avernus, its looming edifice belying the unusual emptiness. Given the insolence Kanthis had shown on the road, Abaddon could guess in part what had happened. The castle itself was unchanged, its titanic black stone walls pocketed with small windows, save the wall in which was set the massive gate. The mountain it was set upon appeared as impregnable as ever, the parapets of the castle allowing defenders to fire arrows or drop oil on any foolish enough to climb up. The only true entrance was through the gate, which was a fortified structure bristling with ballistae, catapults and cannons created by ancient magi that spewed imploding orbs of black mist itself onto attacking fortresses. The seven circles of walls and towns could house tens of thousands and store food to last for months.…
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Another day, another Act. The plot thickens from the consistency of apple juice to a tomato soup.

Act VIII: The Threads Frayed

Abaddon had left not long after they had departed Vo'hollom Domosh, destined for his ancestral home. What he had seen disturbed him, and he had to return to the Font to reconcile his discovery. Arash understood, and he thought the others did too. Dragonus had also taken that opportunity to leave, carrying a tome of magic that would help him restore his beloved to the throne. The look of immense mistrust Arash had received before the Skywrath took off suggested that he'd found something else in the doomed tower, but what it was nobody knew.

This left just him and Lanaya to return to the Ancients. He was somewhat disappointed she hadn't gone, as he had a feeling she would get in the way, but the company could've been worse.

The pair had made good time and had just entered the woods on the outskirts of the lanes. At this rate, another day and the Ancients woul…
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Now I'm giving people presents on my birthday! I might do a Christmas special outside of the main plot.

Bah, humbug.

Act VII: Agents of the Primordials

Abaddon collapsed, and the shield faded. A few of the smaller rocks from the broken ceiling fell harmlessly around the four Heroes. Through blurry eyes, he saw Lanaya stagger upright.

"Well done," she gasped. "I didn't know you had that left in you."

"Nor… did… I," the Lord whispered, feeling weakness close over him. "Something, briefly, empowered me.."

Dragonus was still unconscious, and Arash was lying strangely comatose. Lanaya followed his gaze to the Psychomancer.

"He looks almost peaceful when he's sleeping," she remarked, smiling slightly. Abaddon grunted, unable to do much more.

"Should we do it?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Kill him. Remember, for all his facades he's still an abomination."

Abaddon shook his head. "We still need him. Besides, he is struggling, trying to remember that he is human. I suspect that he may…
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Yep, laptop still broken and my files were unrecoverable so I had to start again. Really sorry for the long wait, couldn't be helped.

In this Act the plot takes a darker turn as the Heroes find what they were looking for, and Arash moves one step closer to his dark destiny. For added effect, listen to this with some creepy orchestral music in the background. Probably by Two Steps From Hell. Mmm.

The steady rocking of the caravan over the ground suddenly changed to a jagged series of bumps and jolts that quickly woke Lanaya. Grimacing at her aching muscles, she staggered upright as best she could. Abaddon and Dragonus still slept, but she sensed them stirring.

Act V: The Black Rook

She moved to the compartment at the front, where Arash was steering the horses. They'd moved off the road and onto overland terrain - they were somewhere in the highlands.

"I thought Abaddon wouldn't let anyone touch his horses," she opened. Arash shrugged.

"He was tired, and I wasn't."

"How much did y…
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Act Four: In the Shadow of Self

"Pawn takes rook."

"Knight to E5. Check."

"Remind me again where we are going," Lanaya said, interrupting. Arash turned from the game, Dragonus still studying the board intensely. The Assassin was sitting on a windowsill, passing the time with a book of some kind. He couldn't blame her for being relatively anti-social, considering how comparatively terrible she was at chess to the two locked in furious combat.

"You wanted to see my past," Arash replied. "We are going to it."

She raised an eyebrow. "At the start, your vagueness was almost enticing. Now, it's just irritating."

"There are bad memories at this place," he said gravely. "The less I speak of it the better." His response was met with a shrug, and Lanaya returned to her book. The carriage they travelled in rolled smoothly along the roads, dragged along as it were by two steeds of Avernus. Abaddon hadn't trusted anyone else to drive them, so he had done so himself.

It turned out that the Sk…
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