You find yourself in E1M1

[Shadowswift]

>and then Phoenix was into battle with the Death Knight Commanders

Well, you're not even sure where they are yet. This castle doesn't seem very big, so if you're going to have at least four separate fights, they must be close by. Ugh...you are so not ready for this. You really don't have that many cells left in your LG, the only other ammo you have is buckshot. Granted, your REALLY Super Shotgun is an amazingly impressive weapon by normal standards, these are not normal enemies. Guess you'll just have to do as your knight advises and trust in his blade. You survey your surroundings and senses.

Ahead is a wall. Awesome.
To the left is a wide-open passageway that leads off around the wall in front of you. There is a wall on the left marked with a large circular red stained-glass window. Hmm...
To the right is a staircase leading down.
Behind is the hallway back to the entrance. There is a torch on the far wall behind you.

You see...dark. Lots and lots of dark, added to more dark mixed in with a touch of dark. Seriously, it's dark in here.
You smell something you can't quite put your finger on. It's not unpleasant whatever it is.
You feel pretty cold.
You taste electricity. That could be the Arcane reverberations in the air. You've heard that electricity is a work of the Arcane.
You hear...them. You definitely hear them....in your head. All of them. The knights, the Elder Gods, the Shadows....The Captain...?

You...you hear him! You hear The Captain's voice in your head! He's here...he's so close...you spin around behind you, but he's not there. His voice, it's so dark and empty.
He's...waiting...at the City of the Ancients.

You shake your head. You try to block out the voices and concentrate on your mission. You check your radar.

Three, large, non-friendly blips await behind the wall with the red stained glass.

That's them. You order SFX to fire a blast at the window. The laser bolt crashes against the glass and bursts into a thousand sparks. Nothing happens...hrm. You look around. There's a pentagram design above the red glass. You order SFX to shoot it. Nothing happens. You keep looking. Hrm... behind you is a doorway. Inside is a small room with a pool in it. You step into the pool. The water here is warm and refreshing. You dip your face into it and have a drink. It is the purest tasting anything you have ever tasted.

You are refeshed

Wonderful. You'll need that little pick-me-up for the task at hand. You continue searching. Above the doorway on the outside is another pentagram design, similar to the one above the window, but not the same. It looks just like a design on the wall, not outwardly protruding or anything. You have a feeling...you put away your Thunderbolt and take out the Commander's Blade. As you grip the blade, strength rips through you. The DKC imbued the sword with his and Darkscythe's strength before he gave it to you. So, even though they are not here, they are still fighting along side you. The strength is incredible. The sword feels like it weighs almost nothing. You hold it in one hand and take your Fireman's Axe in the other.

You have learned Berserker Stance! (What is this, Warcraft...?)

Weapons in hand, you order SFX to fire at the pentagram above the doorway. The wall with the red window on it drops. Behind it, three Death Knight Commanders cloaked in Shadow await you on bended knee. They look up at you and rise all in unison. They reach for their blades all in unison. They speak to you, in unison.
"Welcome, mortal. We have been expecting you for some time now. The Captain told us you would come." The Captain?? "Yes. Upon our rebirth, we were given the charge of defending our new lord and master with our lives. The Captain was only too happy to have us as a replacement for our former brother." The knight in front steps forward. "Tell me...where is our wayward brother?" You do not tell them. The knight on the right steps forward.
"That is alright. Perhaps it is best that he is not here. Perhaps he will succeed where we have failed" ...what? The knight on the left steps forward.
"We loathe what we have become, mortal. There was a time when we fought with honor and valor as true knights do. We were brothers in arms, the four of us. Brothers in life! Then we were stricken down, cursed with undeath. But we remained knights, knights of honor and valor. Brothers, even in death!" You think you understand now. The knight in front nods.
"We long for peace, little warrior. After a thousand or more years, we have been slaves, bound to masters that we sought to destroy in life. Then, upon the day of our second death, we praised the Light for finally allowing us peace."
"But that peace was short lived. Even when our bodies were vanquished, they came....those bastard Shadows came and reaped our souls, culled them back from the Nether and forced us to serve them."
"Once again, we find ourselves slaves, bound to masters that we sought to destroy. From life, to death, to undeath...to this abhorant form you see before you."
"We are tired, mortal. Won't you end our suffering?" You ask them to lay down their arms, so that you can end their pain.
"It is not that simple. Even as Shadows, we are still knights, sworn to honor, valor...and servitude. Our new masters have commanded us to destroy you. If you will vanquish us, it will be through honorable combat and combat alone!" The knight swings his blade at you. You just barely catch it with your own. His strength is impressive. Even with your own bolstered strength, you struggle to fend him away. The other two join the battle. Steel clashes against steel. Sparks explode. You jump back away from them and attempt to unleash your blade's green fire...only to realize that you have no idea how to do that. Shit! That must be the ability of the DKC himself, not the blade! The three knights return to you, attacking in perfect unison. Their forms are perfect! Their strength is unreal! Their speed is far beyond your own. You are clearly outmatched in every possible way. Even with both weapons and suplimental strength at your disposal, you find yourself on the losing side of this fight. SFX adds in laser fire where ever he can, but even as Shadows these Death Knight Commanders still have thick armor protecting them. The lasers do little more than annoy them. One of the knights breaks away from the unison attack to strike at you separately. In a sheer display of desperation, you fling your axe at his leg and catch him off-balance. You sway his attack and stick him through the heart with your blade. You retrieve your axe and severe his head. The knight falls before you. You had no idea you had such skill with melee weapons...or any weapon, for that matter! You've never been so impressed with yourself! Of course, that could have just been dumb luck...

[[Continued]]

[Shadowswift]

[[Continued]]

The other two knights stand before you, ready to continue.
"We will not make this easy for you, human. Each of us is linked to the others. When one of us falls..." You notice them grow slightly larger and stronger.
"We gain his strength." They charge you. You block them with your weapons crossed, but their combined and enhanced might breaks through your block. You are knocked clean off of your feet. Your arms feel as though they were nearly ripped off. You struggle to your feet. They continue their attack, not allowing you respite. You are unable to counter their relentless assault. Their shadowy blades begin cutting into your armors, eating away at your flesh and your soul.

Your health begins to rapidly fall.

You attempt a reckless abandon and attack your foes, ignoring defence. It seems to work until one of their blades pierces your left arm. It falls limp as your axe drops to the ground.

You are partially crippled.

Shit, you don't know what to do. You cannot beat the two remaining knights. Hell, you can barely get a hit in on them. You're going to have to outsmart them. You summon enough strength in your left arm to fire your grappling hook up and at the ceiling. You barely escape a sword swing as you assend. They don't look happy about that. Their blades begin to gather cold, shadowy fire around them, no doubt their own Shadow version of the DKC's Green Fire attack. You fumble around in your inventory, looking for anything to get you out of the current situation.

>

[foq]

>medkit, ring of shadows, thunderbolt

[Shadowswift]

>medkit, ring of shadows, thunderbolt

You reach into your inventory and pull out the small gold ring and slip it on your finger, muttering something about your precious. As you fade from view, you release your hook and duck away into the shadows along the walls. It seems like they still know relatively where you are, and they turn to look in your direction, but not directly at you. You quickly consume the contents of your medikit as the two remaining knights advance on your positions, blades afire with Shadow Plasma. You pull out your Thunderbolt and aim it at one of their heads.
"Say hello to my little friend!" You unlease the devistating force of your Thunderbolt upon your foe. White hot lightning rips through the knight's shadowy form, breaking him away from his advancement. With only a mere 30 cells, he drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes, sizzling and crackling. The other knight now knows exactly where you are and knows to look for your floating eyeballs. The Ring will no longer hide you from his site. You aim your Lightning Gun at him, but before you can cap off a single cell, the knight is on you. He swings his blade at you. You block with your rifle. The LG is knocked from your grip, and is sent sailing across the room! Oh no!! Shit, you're unarmed. The knight sends his arm flying at you like a bullet. Before you know what's what, he has his vice-like grip around your neck. The pain is unbelievable.

You lose 30 health. Your health is dropping steadily
You are now badly crippled.

You cannot squeeze even a single breath through the knight's superhuman grip. He glares at you. His eyes blaze under his shadow-covered face. This may be it for you. As you begin to black out from lack of blood to the skull, you feel the force of a large truck tackle both you and the knight holding you. As you regain your senses, you notice the DKC standing over you, holding his shoulder. He stumbles over to you, and takes his blade out of your inventory.
"Give me your strength, my lord." You empty what's left of your strength into the blade and relinquish it to the DKC. As he holds the sword, he releases his shoulder and stands up. He looks massive, much bigger than you remember him being. He nods at you, then turns his attention to the other knight.
"Well well well, there you are. I was wondering if I would get a chance to see you again, brother."
"I am not your brother, traitor." The Shadow DKC laughs.
"Still begrudging me that incident, are you? You know I had no choice but to follow Vol-Balgruth's orders. I was merely his puppet, as you were Yogg-Shargoth's. The DKC changes his tone.
"...yes. Perhaps you are right. But it doesn't change the fact that we are now enemies just as we were when your devoted Lord Vol turned on the rest of us and nearly killed all of us."
"And what if he had? Would it have been so bad, Velen? Would it have been so horrible if Vol-Balgruth had killed us all and ended our eternal torment right then and there?" The DKC lowers his sword.
"You have forgotten what we stand for, Korgal. We are knights, sworn to duty and bound by honor. Whether alive, dead, undead, or Shadow, that never changes. I served a cruel master for a thousand years. I slaughtered countless mortals for a millenium in his name. I didn't like it, but I did it without question. That's the oath I took when I first took up the blade. Now I serve a worthy lord on a righteous quest, just like we did when we were still alive. Perhaps if we succeed, I can atone for all the horrible things I've done over the centuries." The DKC raises his sword once again.

Ring of Shadows magic is fading

The Shadow gets back to his feet. He studies the DKC.
"I see you have also absorbed our slain brothers' power. Hammond and Ector would be pleased to see you, Velen." He chuckles a little. "It seems the 'lord' you have chosen to serve is quite the capable warrior for a mortal, and for one so young. He turns his attention to you. "I commend you, young one. Your fighting skills are quite impressive."
"My lord, allow me to finish this fight. It is the least I can do to aid you in your coming ordeal."
"Oh? You must mean our former masters. Yes, they are here, and they are waiting. Trust me, young warrior. You will find defeating them much harder than defeating us. As they no longer command me, I wish you the best of luck. I hope you make them suffer. All of them. Now then, Velen...shall we?" The Shadow raises his blade in classic battle stance. The DKC mirrors his stance with his own blade.
"Let us begin." No time is wasted. They charge at each other and meet blade to blade. The two DKC's fighting is like an artform. Each blade swing is precise and masterful. There are no flaws in their forms. Odd as it seems, you feel privileged just to be able to witness such a fight. The fight is long, and drawn out. The two knights never tire, never give in. Their strength is nearly equal. Nearly...
"Give it up, brother. You were always the weakest of the four of us. You know you stand no chance of beating me. Though I will say, you've kept up with me quite well." The DKC smiles at his foe.
"I do not fight you alone, my brother." The Shadow eyes the DKC's blade.
"I see...you are borrowing strength...then you know you cannot best me in single combat." The Shadow throws his weight into a swing that the DKC is barely able to stop.
"Yes..." he struggles. "With your superior strength, as well as your new found Shadow power, I stand no chance of besting you alone." The Shadow begins to force the DKC into submission. "But it has been that way...all our lives and...beyond! None of us...ever fought alone! Our strength...was in each other!" The DKC throws the Shadow off of him and knocks him away with a powerful backhand. You push all of your might into the DKC's blade. His eyes flare with intensity and rage. Without a word, the DKC pushes his blade through his brother's gut. There is silence as they stare into each other. "Be at peace now, my brother." He forces his blade out of the Shadow. Before the Shadow can fall, the DKC slashes him across the neck. The Shadow does not move. You feel your strength flow back into you. You approach the DKC. You ask him if he is truly dead. "Yes. All three of them are finally at peace after so long. If I am just now feeling their strengths bolster my own, then they must just now have met their final deaths. Their souls must have belonged to the Shadows for centuries now." You ask him about that strength absorbing technique. "Ah yes. It was a blood pact that my brothers and I invoked when we were still human with the aid of our lord's court wizard. When one of us falls, his strength is shared among the remaining members of the pact. Now that I am the only remaining member of our pact, I now hold the combinded might of all of my brothers. There were six of us originally. Two of us were killed when we were still human. When we four, myself, Korgal, Ector and Hammond were sent to Quake by our lord, we were much stronger than most other humans because of our two fallen brothers' strengths enhancing our own. When we were killed and raised as Death Knights, they rewarded our superior might and made us each commanders. I had assumed that the blood pact did not bind us in undeath, because when Ector and Korgal were slain durring Vol-Balgruth's betrayal, Hammond and I did not feel their strengths." You inquire about the name 'Velen'. "Yes. That is my true name. That was my name when I was still human. It...has been a very long time since anyone called me that. If you wish, you may call me that...or you can still refer to me as 'Deekaysee', though I never really understood that name." You giggle a bit to yourself.

Velen, the DKC, has recieved the perminent buff "Brothers United". His strength is increased four fold.

You survey your surroundings.

Ahead of you, to the right is the doorway to that wonderful healing pool. Dead ahead of you, your Thunderbolt lies on the floor. You pray it isn't broken...
To your right are the broken bodies of the three dead Shadow Death Knight Commanders. Beyond that, ahead, is a staircase leading down.
To the left is a wall.
Behind you is a wall.

>

[foq]

>recover and inspect thunderbolt, visit healing pool, and scout the area for any useful supplies, trying to avoid those Elder Gods. Ask DKC how he feels about drawing his sword against the Elder Gods now. Ask him what he thinks about the Captain, as well.

[Shadowswift]

>recover and inspect thunderbolt, visit healing pool, and scout the area for any useful supplies, trying to avoid those Elder Gods. Ask DKC how he feels about drawing his sword against the Elder Gods now. Ask him what he thinks about the Captain, as well.

You collect your Thunderbolt and give it a thorough inspection. In your own expert opinion, it is still in perfect working order, despite the large slash on the under side of it. Thankfully, it seems that only the outter chasis was damaged in that slash. You head over to the healing pool and drink deep from the water. Your wounds and bruises are healed before your eyes.

You are refeshed.
You are no longer crippled

This castle, and probably all of The Elder Dimension has been stripped of any useful items by the resourceful Ray on his first tour. There's nothing here to take except for the torches on the walls. You wonder about the dead Shadow Death Knight Commanders, though...

You ask the DKC what he thinks about it all.
"Forgive me, my lord. I am still unable to help you in the fight against my former masters. It is not that I don't want to, I simply cannot. Yogg-Shargoth's control still binds me. Perhaps if he were slain, I may be able to help you against the other two...but I cannot promise anything." How about The Captain? "I have been hearing his voice in my head. Whatever powers he has assumed since turning, they are far beyond anything we have faced thus far. I will aid you in that fight. It will take all of us, and probably more, to defeat him." So he believes that The Captain must be defeated? There's no way to get Ray back? "I don't know. Honestly, it seems as though the darkness has taken full control of Ray's heart. I doubt there is any Light left within him at all. But...anything is possible. I whole-heartedly hope that we can restore Lord Ray back to the Light. We will need him to end this game once and for all. Without him...we may not be able to stop the Shadows."

Awesomesauce...

>

[foq]

>The smartest dumb thing to do would probably be to attempt to take out Yogg-Shargoth, so that Deekaysee could aid in defeating the other two.

[Shadowswift]

>The smartest dumb thing to do would probably be to attempt to take out Yogg-Shargoth, so that Deekaysee could aid in defeating the other two.

Well...that's if you can help it. If you happen upon Yogg-Shargoth first, then all the better, however if you happen upon Shub-Niggurath or Vol-Balgruth first, they probably aren't going to just let you walk away...but here's to hoping.
"My lord, what should we do with the bodies of my kinsmen?" Ah, forgot about them, didja? You're surprised those corpses are still there. You figured they would have joined the Encroaching Darkness by now. You take out the bag of crystals that Protos gave you and jam one into each corpse. The crystals make short work of the knights, absorbing them like a sponge. They turn black and chaotic inside...lucid, lurid, but dim and dull. Alive with lifelessness. Full of emptiness. You reach for one. "Be careful, sire! Remember what happened to The Captain when he touched one of those!" You stare into the crystal. Now that you think of it, it does look just like one of those Shadow Cystals that The Captain absorbed. You pull away from it. It tempts you...you'd be lying if you said you weren't just a bit curious. "Don't touch it, Phoenix...without The Captain here bolstering your vitality, absorbing one of those could very well kill you." He's right. Those things eat away 100 health. You couldn't survive that. You leave your gloves on and pick them up with the bag. The Shadow energy contained within doesn't seem able to seep through. They seem to sit peacefully and harmlessly with the empty crystals inside their burlap sack. You return the sack to your inventory. So...now what? "I will return to the entrance with Darkscythe and await word of your deed. When Yogg-Shargoth is dead, contact me on the headset. Here. Take my blade again. My strength is contained within, and since I am much stronger now, you should be much stronger, also. Be safe, my lord." You nod as he heads back toward the entrance. SFX floats back to your side. It has some text on its screen.
"Sorry I wasn't any help in that fight. I will do better to help you in the next one!" Aw...the poor thing just wants to help. You smile at it and tell it that it's alright. You're just glad to have it with you. At least you aren't alone out here...

So, what's it gonna be? The right passage with the downward-leading staircase, or the left passage with the healing pool?

>

[foq]

>The passage that feels most like Yogg-Shargoth. Ask Velen about his green fire, if you could learn this ability it could aid you.

[bluntz]

You make your choice and presume to steel yourself for the ugly consequences but instead you are greeted with the wispy glowing outline of a divine being who declares himself as Tawil-at'Umr keeper of the gate and avatar of the all knowing.
You avert your gaze quickly but not before it looks far past the pitiful blockade you imagine are your mental defenses guarding your souls intent.
Fortunately for you this is the very break you have long sought.
A skein of furtive discontent burbles upwards from the depths of imagination as you ponder entangling Xexanoth into the fray.
Bypassing Yog could make for a beneficial rear attack surprise to garner the key of destiny.
Should you incur the jealousy of these two immortals and pass by in the wake of the ensuing conflagration?This depends on your store of crystals as you grope for their callous diameter in your nervous fretting fingers.

[Shadowswift]

You make your choice and presume to steel yourself for the ugly consequences but instead you are greeted with the wispy glowing outline of a divine being who declares himself as Tawil-at'Umr keeper of the gate and avatar of the all knowing.
You avert your gaze quickly but not before it looks far past the pitiful blockade you imagine are your mental defenses guarding your souls intent.
Fortunately for you this is the very break you have long sought.
A skein of furtive discontent burbles upwards from the depths of imagination as you ponder entangling Xexanoth into the fray.
Bypassing Yog could make for a beneficial rear attack surprise to garner the key of destiny.
Should you incur the jealousy of these two immortals and pass by in the wake of the ensuing conflagration?This depends on your store of crystals as you grope for their callous diameter in your nervous fretting fingers.

[[...are we in the same story?]]

[Shadowswift]

>The passage that feels most like Yogg-Shargoth. Ask Velen about his green fire, if you could learn this ability it could aid you.

You consult Velen about his green fire technique.
"Any human can master the forces of magic, my lord. It just takes time and dedication. Apprenticing under a skilled master helps as well." You ask if he can teach it to you. "I've never taught it to anyone...I suppose it is possible, if you have time." You ask him how long it took him to learn. "Me? Approximately....30 years." =/ Well, that's out. You break contact, move to the center of the room and try to listen to the voices in your head.

...

......

come to me, children

...

.................................................. .................................................. .........................................vengeance

...



.....


.................................................. ..all shall become one

Hm...among all the other psychic traffic, it would seem that there are three presences, all undeniably Elder God-like. One close, to the west of you. One far, straight ahead of you, and one far to your north-east. The one to your west is beckoning you. The one north of you has only revenge on the brain, and the one far to the north-east strives for universal unity. Judging by what you know about these Elder Gods (which is to say, nothing) you should make your decision based on those callings.

>

[foq]

>Hmm...
West: Beckoning... we'll get to that later.
North: Revenge... Could be either Vol-Balgruth or Shub-Niggurath. Considering the Captain has turned, I'd think Vol-Balgruth is the one seeking revenge... but then again, it could even be Yogg-Shargoth seeking revenge on the Shadows. Not even the former Death Knight Commanders, being turned by the Shadows, liked what they were doing, but they were forced.
East: Unity. I'm placing my bet on Vol-Balgruth being there. In a way, he wanted unity though taking over the other Elder Gods.
West: Between Shub and Yogg-Shargoth, I'd place my bet on Yogg-Shargoth being there. He commanded Captain Ray to destroy the Shadows. It's possible that even though being turned by the Shadows, he is calling to Phoenix, reaching out to him, seeking his own destruction, which would aid Phoenix in his current quest.

Go west.

[Shadowswift]

>Hmm...
West: Beckoning... we'll get to that later.
North: Revenge... Could be either Vol-Balgruth or Shub-Niggurath. Considering the Captain has turned, I'd think Vol-Balgruth is the one seeking revenge... but then again, it could even be Yogg-Shargoth seeking revenge on the Shadows. Not even the former Death Knight Commanders, being turned by the Shadows, liked what they were doing, but they were forced.
East: Unity. I'm placing my bet on Vol-Balgruth being there. In a way, he wanted unity though taking over the other Elder Gods.
West: Between Shub and Yogg-Shargoth, I'd place my bet on Yogg-Shargoth being there. He commanded Captain Ray to destroy the Shadows. It's possible that even though being turned by the Shadows, he is calling to Phoenix, reaching out to him, seeking his own destruction, which would aid Phoenix in his current quest.

Go west.

You really thought this one through! West, we go! You eyeball your radar. To get there, you're going to have to go through the doorway with the healing pool. You take another sip along the way (stuff just tastes good!). There is a dark hallway, a rather wide one along the way. You get to a junction, where the linear hallway splits off three times: once on the right, which appears to be a lift up to a higher level, then further on, it forks off left and right. You follow the hallway to the far right, which leads you to a large pool. Upon tasting the water, you quickly find out that this is NOT a healing pool...yuck. You survey the room. Off to the right is a large stone wall. According to your radar, there is a room behind that wall. There is a HUGE non-friendly blip in there. You focus....

...

......


.....vengeance

That's not the one you're after. The one you came here for is actually off to the left, according to radar. Ugh.....ok. You steel your nerves....it probably already knows you are here, but lets try to be sneaky and cautious anyway. You slink into the water, and swim over to the left of the room. There is a huge open room here. You peek your head above water to see what is going on.

Fuck...you chose wrong.

You take in the sights. Shub-Niggurath, now a Shadow, sits in the center of the large room in all her tenticled glory. A line of Quake minions stands before her. You see a robed figure standing in front of her weilding a scythe, slaying the monsters one by one as they kneel before the Hell Queen.

"Captain!!" ...oops...

Line up, rabble. One by one. Hm? Well well well...Phoenix. Wonderful to see you've made it this far. You never thought you'd see him, the hero of the Quake Wars, standing side by side with Shub-Niggurath. I'd love to stick around and listen to what I'm sure will be a long and boring lecture about the wrong-doings I am committing...but I have far more important tasks to take care of. You understand. You plead with him to wait, but with a swing of his scythe, he vanishes into the nether. Shub-Niggurath stands before you, ready for combat. Her remaining minions now stand against you, as well. With bolstered strength and limited ammo, you decide to start the fight off with Commander's Blade in one hand and Plasma Pistol in the other. There are quite a few monsters to contend with here of all shapes and sizes. You don't really have time to count, but you do notice a foursome of rather angry Shamblers before you. Shub-Niggurath doesn't intend to sit around and let her minions do her dirty work for her this time around, either. At the ends of each of her tenticles is a spark of Shadow Plasma, which, more than likely, will act just like a Shambler's lightning. Fun shit, man!

The ranks start with Enforcers and Ogres on point. Grenades and laser blasts sail past you. You slink back into the water and try to hide from the incoming fire. The Enforcers rush to you and begin firing their blasters at you into the water. Their accuracy isn't very impressive. Wow, after fighting Shadows for so long, you hadn't realized just how wimpy these true-blue Quake monsters can be. You charge up to the surface and fire your Plasma Pistol. One shot to the face is all it takes to deal with them. The last one to die scores a lucky shot on your ribs. Ouch!

You lose 7 health and 10 armor

Damn, that laser blast tore through both your armor and your soul armor. You're gonna have to be careful here. There's no telling when you'll be able to get more armor. Just as you blast the last Enforcer, an Ogre comes up right behind him and nearly splits you in two with his chainsaw. You use your blade to stop it short. Luckily, the Commander's Blade is made of much tougher stuff than an Ogre's old rusty chainsaw. You slay the Ogre with your sword while blasting at the other monsters. Knights and Death Knights bring up the next line. The knights are easy prey, but the Death Knights and their sword fire do a bit of damage. Crap!

You lose 8 health and 11 armor

You dig into Velen's strength and superior combat experience as you use his blade to combat these lesser Death Knights. Fiends and Shalraths take the next line. The Fiends jump head first into your blade. You dig into Darkscythe's strength and combat experience to counter the Fiend's attacks with flawless form. Not a single claw hits you. The Shalraths, however...shit.

You lose 19 health and 31 armor

Those fuckin things hurt. You use your pistol to shoot their firepods before they can home in on you. As your vorpol blade goes snicker-snack, the trio of Shalraths falls before you. Last but not least, the foursome of demonic lightning polar bears. They are clumsy, oafish creatures, not nearly the towering terrors you remember. These ones seem tame compaired to their Shadowy counterparts. Their lightning stings a bit, though.

You lose 27 health and 35 armor
You are badly crippled!

Shit. You hobble back into the water and inject a few stimpaks to bring yourself back up.

You recove 45 health.
You now have 84 health.
You are no longer crippled.

You probably don't want to stay down here. If those Shamblers' lightning hits the water, it's probably going to hurt pretty bad. You climb back up out of the water and replace your pistol with your Fireman's Axe. You go in swinging, taking out huge chunks of bloody white flesh with each swing. The first Shambler falls. You attack the second one with ruthless bloodlust, severing one of its arms, and taking its head. You stick the third in the face, killing it instantly. The fourth gets a pre-emptive on you and whacks you with its huge claws, knocking you silly.

You lose 30 health and 40 armor
Your soul armor is destroyed
You are now partially crippled.

You cut down the Shambler before it can get a second swing in, then pop another stimpak to keep up.

You recover 15 health.
You now have 69 health.
You are no longer crippled

The monsters are vanquished. Shub-Niggurath is not pleased...


>

[foq]

>Well, you're here. Might as well try to take Shub down. The plasma pistol eats through shadows. Duck behind a wall and blindfire at Shub... it's a pretty big target.