This is a solo story focusing on what Arius was doing during the demons' attack on Belra (the first session after the five year jump). It also introduces Traven, the dwarven paladin that Josh (from Walmart) created.

Enjoy!

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"Devastation"

Arius appeared.

In the midst of the chaos and destruction, the fey warlock stood motionless, his face slightly upturned and his eyes closed as he returned to the natural world for the first time in nearly five years. He seemed oblivious to the goings on around him as he continued to stand as if frozen, a hot gust of air and embers stirring through his long dark hair as a flaming building across the way from him collapsed with a thunderous roar. Firelight danced across the leaf-motif of his black leather armor and as he finally opened his eyes, their amethyst light cut through the thick smoke that filled the air seemingly all throughout the burning city of Belra.

“Well, here we are,” Daerist spoke within his mind, his voice tinged with what may have been relief. “Yet, once again we find ourselves surrounded by destruction. Imagine that…”

Arius’ lips curved into a humorless smile. “A fact I’m painfully aware of, my old friend.” He narrowed his eyes as a shrill scream cut through the night, originating, it seemed, from all around. “I fear we’ve come too late; it seems to be my lot in life.” Changing the subject, Arius continued. “How many managed to come through?”

Daerist was silent for a moment, as if deep in thought. Finally he replied, “Most of our people are safe, though they may find life in this plane difficult. I trust they’ll make do, as they must.”

“You said most.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” Daerist responded sadly. “Many were trapped behind enemy lines, Arius; there was no way for them to break through and join us, I’m afraid. They are lost to us.”

Arius said nothing, though, instead turning his attention to the sounds of heavy footsteps and clanking armor coming from around a nearby corner. The elf’s expression became clouded with hate when the devils came into view, each wielding a black-bladed longsword and clad in heavy armor.

How dare they? he silently asked himself, his body shaking with wrath. Was the ruination of my realm not enough for them? Must they destroy this plane as well? Hot fury boiled up within Arius, filling his glowing eyes with a sinister light that made even the advancing enemies falter slightly.

“Be wary Arius,” Daerist cautioned. “Let your emotions get the better of your judgment and it will be your undoing…”

Arius ignored his companion’s warning. Moving his cloak aside with a flick of his arm, the warlock revealed the ivory hilt and intricately designed hand-guard of the rapier that had been a gift to him from the old gods of Bolermos. His right hand was a blur as he reached for it, drawing the narrow blade with a single lighting-swift action. The sword hissed from its sheath with a flash of eldritch power and a crack like thunder. The devils paused in their advance, but only for a moment.

Arius remained motionless as the enemies ran at him, cackling with glee at finding what they thought would be an easy victory. His face became a mask of hate as he took a single step forward, fading from sight mid-step as the first approaching devil leveled a horizontal slash at him that would have easily split him in two. The attacking enemy staggered forward, shocked at finding himself with no resistance to compensate his forward motion. With a slight gust of wind, Arius appeared above him, his right hand pointed downward and glowing with dark light. The devil spun, crying out in pain as Arius’ eldritch blast took him in the throat, knocking him to the ground where he convulsed and continued to bellow in agony.

Arius hit the ground, immediately crouching and making a spinning sweep with his rapier, smiling in grim satisfaction as he felt its blade slash deeply into the legs of the surrounding invaders. They howled, a mixture of pain and frustration, before leaping forward, swords at the ready, hoping to slash through their elven opponent. Before any of them could act, however, the warlock vanished once more, and an explosion of dark eldritch power erupted outward from where Arius’ body had been, engulfing them and turning them to ash. The black-clad warrior reappeared several yards away, his eyes locked on the quickly scattering remains of his adversaries.

“They got here faster than I would have thought,” Arius spoke silently to Daerist. “I thought we had more time…”

Daerist gave Arius the mental equivalent of a shrug. “We had little time to truly plan this out, Arius. We were all scattered so quickly, it was obvious that our enemies were quite determined to make their move into this plane as soon as possible.” He fell silent, watching through Arius’ eyes as the fey warlock surveyed the burning city around him, looking for his next target. “Blame not yourself, my friend.”

The sounds of combat from several streets over drew both their attentions, and Arius was off at a run without a second thought. Steel on steel, accompanied by the harsh grunts and curses of men engaged in battle echoed throughout the streets, and a hot wind tore through the night, courtesy of the many burning and collapsing buildings and homes. Screams of women, and of children, filtered through the more prominent sounds of combat, and Arius tried his hardest to shut them out, knowing that he couldn’t save them all.

And somewhere out there, she may be in need of my aid as well…

“Worry not about her, Arius,” Daerist said calmly, having picked up on his bonded-companion’s dark thoughts. “You of all people should know how well she can handle herself; besides, I sense the presences of the others, she is not alone.”

Seeing as how “the others” consisted of Brude, who could barely be trusted during the best of times, Hayato, who was almost guaranteed to do something foolish, and Exorinn, the dragonborn fighter who was little more than a stranger, Daerist’s words were somewhat lost on Arius.

Arius leapt over a pile of burning debris, hitting the ground and sliding to a stop as he suddenly found himself surrounded by battle. All around him, Arius could feel the dark energy being emanated by the demonic army, and for a brief moment fear struck him, for what hope did he have, alone, against such monstrosities? Suddenly, a pillar of searing white light shot high into the sky from further down the street, accompanied by the shrill screams of dying demons and devils. A cloud of black smoke followed as the cries died down.

“What was that?” Daerist asked, as if Arius would truly know the answer.

“You’re asking me?” the amethyst-eyed eladrin retorted, slashing through a devil on his right as his open left hand fired off an eldritch blast, clearing a path ahead of him. “You’re the one that’s been around forever, why don’t you tell me!” He dodged aside quickly, gasping as he felt cold steel slide along his ribs. Arius reacted instantly, ducking under a second blow and thrusting forward with his rapier, the familiar sensation of metal against bone travelling down the blade and through his arm. “How bad is it?” he mentally asked Daerist, not taking the time to examine his own wound as he took off down the street, holding his bleeding side with his free left hand.

Daerist was silent for a time, which worried his companion. When he finally spoke, Arius had no time to listen, for he once again found himself facing off against a pair of enraged, sword-wielding devils. Despite their presence, Arius continued to move forward, gripping his sword tighter as he ran right at them, a low growl escaping his lips. Just as the two creatures swung their weapons, Arius vanished, reappearing behind them and attacking with a burst of purple energy that tore through them both, killing them before they even knew their enemy was beyond them.

“What did you say?” Arius asked, panting as he ran on, the stress of the moment causing him to revert to vocal speech unconsciously. “How bad is it?” he repeated his question of earlier.

“Not bad,” Daerist replied at length. “But it’s a bleeder; it will sap your strength quickly, Arius.”

“Perfect,” he growled.

Another burst of the strange white energy caused Arius to falter, narrowing his eyes as he tried to understand what he was feeling. He’d felt something like it before; something similar, yet profoundly different. But it was so long ago…

“A paladin?” Daerist offered, having spent some time thinking it over himself. “It certainly feels divine in origin, I’d say.”

“And that would explain why it feels slightly familiar, too,” Arius agreed, remembering his time with Jaden, the halfling cleric who had once been his travelling companion over a thousand years earlier, and the dragonborn paladin Kidrin.

Once again Arius was off, moving through the chaotic streets like a spirit, fighting when he had to, staying hidden when he could. Eventually the warlock came to an intersection of two broad thoroughfares, a wide, open area filled with demons and devils, and one other. There, in the middle of the streets, stood a dwarf, his body shimmering with divine energy. Around this dwarf stood a rough circle of dozens of armor-clad demons, their alien faces contorted with rage and, perhaps, more than a little fear.

“Interesting,” Daerist spoke softly within Arius’ mind, his “voice” tinged with awe. “From the amount of energy that I’m sensing, this dwarf seems to be quite formidable…”

As if the ancient elven king’s words were some sort of silent signal, the dwarf took a single step forward, raising his almost-comically oversized sword above his head and letting loose with a deafening roar. The enemies closest to him staggered back, shocked by this strange and sudden outburst, while some in the back ranks simply turned and ran, apparently under the assumption that some creature far more intimidating and horrifying than them waited up ahead.

Arius stood stock-still, ready to defend himself if it came to it, but the frightened demons simply ignored him, running past him at an amazing pace. Snapping out of his own daze, the fey warlock took advantage of their fear and succeeded in dispatching no small number of the fleeing monstrosities. Suddenly combat erupted in the intersection as the remaining demons mobbed the dwarf, who simply roared with laughter despite the severity of his situation.

He was sorely outnumbered.

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To be continued...

AMdG