Ixil reaches forward for the iron knob to open the door. "Wait," announces Aygrellis from behind him. "Are we sure we're doing this?"

"I'm very sure we're doing this," chuckles Ixil.

"But we could be killed..." continues Aygrellis.

Dugrik smirks and places his hand on the young lady's shoulder. "Lass, we are all dying tonight if we do nothing. At least this way, we can take a few of these bastards with us."

Aygrellis takes in a few breaths and nods. "You're right. We have to do something."

"That's the spirit, lass. Come on, Ixil, lets go."

"Wait!" halts Furliv. "Don't open that door yet."

"Why?" asks a perturbed Dugrik. Furliv motions for him to calm down as she steps to the other side of the door and draws her bow. She pulls back on the twine with an arrow ready to fire down the hallway once the door is open. "Oh, not a bad idea."

Furliv smiles and nods to Ixil, who obliges and opens the door. Down the hallway, a soldier is standing a part from four others. Furliv releases the arrow and propels it down the hallway. Within seconds, the arrow imbeds itself in the throat of the first shoulder, prompting the other four that Ixil and his allies are waiting for them.

The four soldiers sprint toward the prisoners, all with fury in their eyes.

Commence Battle with Stockade Warrior x 4

The four soldiers lay motionless on the ground with their blood pooling around their bodies. Their souls are slipping away from their bodies as the prisoners grip their weapons and eye their accomplishment. "Don't gawk for too long. We need to move," announces Ixil as he steps over the corpses and moves down the hallway. The other three nod and do the same, closing the door behind them and entering the new hallway. At the end, they come up to two doors, one labeled "The Guard's Chamber" and the other labeled, "The Dining Hall." The guard's chamber is where the guards prepare for their shifts, while the dining hall is where the prisoners are allowed to eat if they're not being held in their cells. Which door will the party go through?

The Guard's Chamber

The Dining Hall

Furliv steps in front of Ixil and walks through the wooden, reinforced door. Once inside, lit sconces along the walls reveal a chamber filled with trunks, lockers, and other receptacles for personal belongings. She holds onto her bow firmly while examining the open containers.

"I don't think now is the time to consider looting," announces Aygrellis, still panting from the previous battle.

"I'd never dream of it," replies Furliv as she inspects the equipment from afar. "I'm simply pondering if there is an upgrade in here."

Dugrik walks into the room and kicks one of the containers. "I doubt it, lass. I'd bet a fair wager that all of the equipment is in use right now."

Furlix glances up from the chest and shrugs her shoulders. "You're probably right, but we still need to get out of this room, and even this prison. Do we actually have a plan?"

Ixil steps over one of the chests while moving slowly through the room. "No," he says softly and ominously. "We're going to fight through whatever is in front of us and hopefully we can make it outside."

"And what do we do when we're outside?" asks Furliv. "Do we just go back to our normal lives?"

"Of course not, but we can figure that out once we're outside," replies Ixil. "The first objective is to get out of this prison. We'll figure everything else out once we are outside."

Furliv shakes her head in disagreement as a loud thud comes from the door ahead of them. Dugrik steps to the side behind the door while the other three remain in the center of the room. The door swings open and four soldiers pour into the room to see the three prisoners waiting on them, though Dugrik gets the jump on them.

In the next battle, Dugrik gets to take a full turn before the turn actions begin. 

Commence Battle with Stockade Knight x 2, Stockade Warrior x 2

The soldiers collapse to the ground and the door to the next chamber is open. Ixil leads the charge through the door to find a small hallway with two doors. The one on the right leads to the Warden's Office, the chamber where the head of the prison resides. The door on the left leads to the hospital. Which door will the party walk through?

The Warden's Office

The Hospital

Ixil opens the door to find a terrible surprise in front of him. Carnage, chaos, and destruction litter the dining hall as blood coats the stone walls and pools of flesh and blood fill the crevices of the stone floor. "It looks like we're late to this struggle," he announces as he enters the room with the other three behind him. Bodies of prisoners and guards alike lay on top of one another with over seventy bodies filling the room.

"Look! There's more!" shouts a voice from across the room.

In the next battle, the enemies will ambush the players. Each enemy will take a turn out of turn order before the players have an opportunity to take a turn. Once each enemy turn is complete, begin turn order as normal. 

Commence Battle with Stockade Archer x 3, Stockade Mage

The four soldiers add to the pile of corpses through the room as Furliv scouts the room for more soldiers. "Keep your eyes open. Those four came from behind a large pile of bodies."

"Any more that come to greet us will meet the same fate!" shouts Dugrik as he grips his axe tightly.

Ixil stands beside Aygressia as they step through the room slowly, eventually finding a solitary soldier resting against the pile of corpses. He is bleeding, but they are not serious He will potentially survive. The soldier looks up at Ixil briefly, only to watch him raise his large blade and slam it across the soldier's throat. Aygressia takes a step back as blood spews from the fresh wound. "That's grotesque!" she shouts. "Did you have to..."

"What was stopping him from getting up and finding reinforcements to attack us?" asks Ixil. "His death was necessary."

Aygressia stares at Ixil and nods. "I suppose you're right."

"I am," affirms Ixil. He glances behind him to see Dugrik and Furliv approaching. "Come on, lets keep moving." The three prisoners follow Ixil into a hallway to find two doors, similar to the other rooms. On the left, the door is labeled Warden's Office. On the right, the door is labeled Hospital. Which door is the party going through?

The Warden's Office

The Hospital

"I think we should have go and have a conversation with the Warden," announces Dugrik with bloodlust in his eyes. "Perhaps we can repay him for all he has done for us in here."

Ixil shrugs his shoulders and steps over to the door. "Are you sure? Why don't we just make our way to the front door?" asks Aygressia. "I'm sure we're getting close."

"She may be right. Taking on the warden to satisfy a vendetta may not be the wisest decision. We don't know what may be in there, or even if the warden is here," says Furliv.

Dugrik scoffs openly and walks over to the door. He smirks before kicking it in, sending wooden splinters into the office of the prison's top official. Dugrik's eyes open wide as he peers into the room with the wooden pieces bouncing across the floor. "Get down!" he shouts as a large yellow ball comes toward him.

Dugrik must make a magical save. Dugrik may sacrifice one card from his field to make this save. Add his Mag Stat to it. If it is less than 13, Dugrik takes 25 Damage. If it is greater than or equal to 13, Dugrik only takes 10 Damage. Dugrik's Hit Points can not drop below 1.

Dugrik shrugs off the damage and stares into the room to see three mages staring at him with their staves drawn. "We may have made a mistake."

"I'd say you have!" shouts one of the mages from the room.

Commence Battle with Stockade Mage x 3

The three mages fall to the ground, though as their bodies slam into the wooden floor, the door in the front opens up to reveal two more soldiers coming in with their swords and shields drawn.

Commence Battle with Stockade Knight x 2

The two soldiers collapse from their wounds, leaving you with a moment of respite. "I think that door will take us outside!" shouts Furliv from behind the other three prisoners. "I can see one of the two moons hanging in the sky!"

Ixil turns to face the door and smiles. "You're right! Let's go!" The four prisoners sprint toward the door, only for several soldiers to emerge behind them from the direction that they came. Ixil and the others halt as they charge toward them, engaging them before they could make it outside.

Commence Battle with Stockade Archer x 2 and Stockade Warrior x 5

The five guards fall from their wounds while more can be heard coming down the hallway. Ixil sprints toward the splintered door and grabs a large bookcase. He yanks as hard as he can with Dugrik and Aygressia pushing on it with him. Furliv is standing back with her bow drawn, prepared to fire upon anyone they come across.

Ixil, Aygressia, and Dugrik sacrifice any card. If no card can be sacrificed, discard one from your hand. If your hand is empty, take 10 damage. 

With a strong display of strength, the three prisoners topple the large bookcase and block the path into the Warden's office. Furliv turns back toward them and smiles. "At least we know we're going to delay them a bit."

"I think it'll buy us some time," responds Ixil as he steps toward her. "Come on, lets go outside and bust out of here."

Proceed to The Gallows

"The hospital is a much safer option than the Warden's office," announces Aygressia as she approaches the door with the other three behind her. "Heading into there would potentially not end well for any of us."

"Why do you say that?" asks Dugrik.

"Because the Warden is a coward. It's probably well fortified with the strongest soldiers and best equipment," answers Aygressia.

She shows a brief hint of bravery and opens the door to the hospital, revealing several empty hospital beds, but also a scene of carnage. She steps in first to see several men and women, all prisoners, laying in pools of blood. "Who did this?" asks Aygressia as Furliv places her hand on her shoulder.

"Something immensely evil," responds Furliv as she peers through the room. "To cull those who are sick and dying is despicable."

"Or a necessary evil," states Ixil as he glances around the floor. "The guards were probably worried that these men would spring from their beds and overwhelm them."

Furliv shakes her head in disgust at Ixil. "Don't defend those pigs."

"I'm not defending them; I'm justifying their actions," claims Ixil. "We would've done the same if this room were filled with soldiers."

Furliv glares at Ixil as he kicks a few of the prisoners out of the way. At the edge of the room, a small flight of stairs leads to a hallway. The four prisoners move up the stairs slowly and into the hallway, where a large set of double doors wait for them that lead to the outside. However, in front of the door stood six soldiers who had already barricaded it. Upon seeing the prisoners, the soldiers sprint forward and attack.

Commence Battle with Stockade Warrior x 2, Stockade Knight x 2, Stockade Mage x 2

The six soldiers succumb to their wounds and the door to the outside is unabated, allowing the four prisoners to make their trek outside.

Proceed to the Gallows. 

The four prisoners burst through a wooden door and into the chilled night air. The door swings loudly on the iron hinges as the four prisoners breathe heavily, noticing that their breath is now visible in front of their faces. "We're outside" announces Dugrik. "Gods be praised. We made it outside."

"We're still surrounded by large walls," quips Furliv. "Don't get too excited."

Ixil steps in front of the group with Aygrellis right behind him. The young woman folded her arms across her chest with her club on her waist while Ixil peered off into the distance with his scythe still firmly in his hand. Behind them, smoke billows out from the top of the prison and the sounds of the prisoners rioting echoes off of the stone walls.

"We need to figure out how to get out of here," claims Ixil as the sound of a scratching blade grabs his attention. Ixil turns toward the large gallows to see a man in black with a hood over his face emerging from the shadows. "Fitting..."

"Drop to your knees!" shouts the executioner as he lurches forward. "Your path from this prison ends here just as it does with the rest of the tormented souls inside."

Dugrik steps in front of Ixil and stares at the executioner, looking at his large great sword scraping against the ground. "I think mine's bigger," he announces as he holds up his axe.

"I think mine's sharper," retorts the executioner. "Care to see if it can slice through your skin and bones?"

"I'd love that," replies Dugrik as the rest of the members of the party grab their weapons.

Commence Battle with the Executioner

The Executioner drops to his knees with blood pouring from his wounds. He stares over his mask as Ixil grips his scythe firmly. He raises it up above his head when a loud bang coming from the inside of the prison grabs his attention. The executioner's body goes limp at Ixil's feet as soldiers pour out of the prison. Ixil and his allies turn around to see soldiers coming out of the shadows from behind the walls.

"We're surrounded," mutters Aygrellis as she stares off into the sea of soldiers marching toward them.

Dugerik releases his left hand on his large axe while holding onto it firmly with his right. A wry smirk appears across his face as he drags the tip of the axe blade against the ground, scraping it against the rough stone. "That's quite a formidable force they've assembled," he says contritely.

Aygrellis tilts her head toward the floor solemnly. She pauses briefly as the troops move forward, eventually looking up and locking eyes with Ixil. "It was always going to end for me here near the gallows. Perhaps now I can least take a few of them to meet Vesya with me."

Ixil smiles warmly at the young girl. "That's the spirit," he says before raising his scythe. "Let's see just how many of these bastards we can take to her hall with us." Furlix pulls his bow up and reaches back on the twine while the other three hold their weapons in front of them. Shadows emerge around the feet of the four as the soldiers charge toward them to subdue and execute them. Ixil swings his scythe at the first soldier who comes near him, only to find his body lifted off the ground. He misses wildly, but after a quick blink of his eyes, he finds himself standing in a different place.

With a wooden floor beneath him, Ixil breathed heavily while resting on his hands and knees. His scythe was still in his hand, though he immediately released his grip on the weapon. He glanced up from his position to see several large windows overlooking the city of Merdool, with the large arena in the distance painting the skyline. "Get up," announces a familiar voice from behind him.

Ixil glances up as he grabs the handle of his scythe to help him up to his feet. Once upright, he stares across the room at a younger man with olive skin staring at the skyline. "What is going on?" queries Ixil. "How am I still alive?"

The man chuckles and folds his arms across his chest. "I've been watching you for some time, Ixil. I've seen the strength you possess and your unmatched tenacity. I see something in that husk of yours that shows me you are far stronger than many of the people walking through Dun-I." The olive skinned man turns to face Ixil with a smirk plastered across his face. "I yearn for that."

"My name is Nathair and I am a servant for Latros, the God of Chaos," announces the olive-skinned man from the window. "I am trying to gather all of the Shards so that I can release him from his prison, but to do that, I need the assistance of people like you. I require people who won't stop until every last Shard is back on Eden and Latros can emerge from his crystalline prison." Nathair struts toward Ixil proudly. "I saved you, so that you could help me gather the Shards for my master to return."

Ixil leaned on his scythe while keeping his eyes trained on Nathair. A lot had just happened and he was finally free from the prison, though at what cost. "You are requesting that I serve you?" asks Ixil.

"I'm asking that you serve my master and assist me in releasing him," replies Nathair.

Ixil closes his eyes and takes a deep breath of the chilled night air. He opens them and looks into the serpent eyes of Nathair. "Where do we start?"