As told by Father Beowin….
The forces of Ulric Karnorian, having forced marched for 5 days from their hidden fortress, Mons Dracanor, find themselves on the edge of the ancient Battlemoor battlefield. In the distance, the forces of Dracanas are already scouring the ancient tombs for the last piece of the Staff of Dragons while above them the unmistakable forms of several evil dragons keep watch.
Ulric stands before his small ragtag army of elves and men and his voice rises above the fear in their hearts. “Once, thousands of years ago, the forces of Elves and Men fought here, on this very site, to defeat the Valmarans and today, once again, we must meet our enemies. Today our goal is different than it was on that great day, so many years ago. We need to buy just enough time for our small team to enter the tomb and retrieve the last piece of the Staff of Dragons before we can retire back to the safety of the mountains. We must buy them this time through the cost of blood and steel!“
With that, the small band of adventurers jumped upon the backs of Ulric’s two gold dragons and headed towards the tomb in which the final piece of the Staff of Dragons lay. The gold dragons made two circles above Ulric to gain height, during which the horns of Ulric’s army bellowed forth their challenge too their foes. Below the golds, the elves and men of Ulric move off to engage the forces of evil.
The tale of what happened within the tomb is a story for another day; but many hours later, when Ulric’s small team of adventurers exits the tomb, carrying the slain body of one of their members, they can see that it is late in the day and that the battle is still in full flight. Men, elves and Draconians battle among the rocks, hills and tombs of the Battlemoor. The sky is very dark and the clouds swirl above the battlefield, while the falling rain makes the ground slick and muddy. The blood and gore of those who have fallen run in rivers around the feet of those still fighting. Streaks of lightning pierce the sky and the air has an electric feel.
The tomb, being at the top of a small rise, has a good command of the battlefield and those who escaped the tomb can quickly see that they are surrounded by the battle of Ulric’s forces and their Draconian and human foes. A quick glance reveals the body of a slain blue dragon nearby as well as the body of a large gold dragon on the ground near the foot of the rise. The Dragonknight, Malazar and his sunblade, can be seen fighting several Draconians at the bottom of the rise and it must have been his gold dragon who paid the ultimate price. It is clear that the battle is lost and it will not be long before all of Ulric’s army is defeated. Nearby, Ulric the Gold has a large red dragon pinned to the ground by the neck… and the cries from another gold dragon are heard from high above as Jace and Gildor the Gold command the sky above the tomb. In the distance, a sliver flash reveals the dragon form of the Elvin prince Maelos, fighting a couple of black and blue dragons while beneath the prince lies the slain body of another blue dragon.
At that exact moment there is a huge crash of lightning followed by a thunderous blow of thunder and rain and most of the combatants on both sides are thrown to the ground, stunning most. The sky continues to swirl faster and faster and a black column of energy falls to the ground as a pillar of darkness. From within the darkness all can see a figure in black robes emerge and move to the center of the battlefield. The creature who strode forth from the pillar of darkness can certainly be identified as Dracanas the Dracolich and even though he is far away, all can hear him laughing as if he was standing next to them. He then begins to speak.
“….All that I have foreseen has come true…thousands of years in the making….now the final step in my master plan can come forth….” He raises a skeletal hand to the dark clouds… which start swirling even faster and lightning starts crackling across the sky. Dracanas starts what seems to be a very powerful spell in an ancient language that cannot be understood… and for several seconds his demonic words echo across the battlefield and the stunned onlookers of both armies. He then says…“Now my lord, we have prepared for this day for many years and now your payment will be paid in full…” and he pulls forth a long item from within his cloak which looks very much like the Scepter of Souls. “You asked for 10,000 souls to bring you forth…and now you shall have them…” and he crashes the scepter into the ground shattering it into thousands of pieces.
With that action, lighting splits the sky and thunder causes the ground to shake throwing those not already on the ground down. A swirling mass of ten thousand ghosts begin swirling around Dracanas and they begin to take over the bodies of Draconians and humans nearby. Then the ground really begins to shake… and from the muck and ooze comes forth the spires of a massive demonic temple. “Yes….Baal…my Master, come forth… your new kingdom is ready for you….”
From where Dracanas is standing a low lying thick mist begins to swirl out from around him and up from the ground. As the mist moves out away from where Dracanas is standing, all feel the ground shake as pillars and walls of ruined buildings start to emerge from the mud around them. Red flames emanate from within the main temple and begin to grow in intensity and all of those who are of good alignment begin to physically detect the presence of an extreme evil coming from within the temple. The massive 20ft doors of the tomb begin to open and one can see the fingers of a giant creature clawing at the doors…
But that is not all that raises from the ground… the skeletal remains of those killed thousands of years ago on the Battlemoor also begin to rise from the gore. Skeletal remains of humans, elves and Valmarans begin to crawl forth from the muck and gore. Wraiths, Shadows, Zombies and other undead terrors rise as well. Terror begins to sweep through not only the forces of Ulric, but those living from the army Dracanas as well. This is because the undead army rising from the ground cares not what side one was on…only that they are living. Those who can, begin to flee…those who can’t die… and join the every growing undead army of Baal.
A severely wounded Olothontar seeing this rushes forth and says “Dracanas, while you might have won a small victory here by bringing this unholy evil to these lands, you and all of your brethren shall not have the day. All those who follow you shall fear the brightness and power of light and this I curse you and all your kind. Whenever you see the sun or the power of light, it will cause you and your kind pain and destruction and you will wither in its light…”. Olothontar then raises his staff above his head and smashes it on the ground at his feet and he and the staff explode in a flash of bright sunlight.
All of the undead shun the light and begin to retreat… even Dracanas is forced back. The sunlight burns and starts to kill the undead; but it is late in the day and the sun is already beginning to go down behind the mountains.
Ulric screams…“Sound the retreat…get out of this place now, while we have a chance. There are only a few more hours of daylight remaining” and all hell breaks loose as Ulric’s army and all living flee the area.
Over the next few hours the mist overtakes those running from the battle. Within the mist, ghosts, skeletons and other undead must be fought. Those who can fly or can be carried can escape faster and they do not need to endure the savage retreat. Those who can’t must fight for their lives or join the undead army of Baal.