They are out there...HUNT THE DEAD!

Whatever the hell was going on, Aarowic didn't give a damn. He was back and purring baby!

Best yet, he had his special arrows, and his journal.

He shot poppers, nets, and boomer arrows. They made noises, nets, and explosions. When the undead started getting too much, he pulled out his two hand-axes and went to work.

"Round two, bitches!"

"DAMN CHICKEN!"

Kam last knew he was firing arrows into dragon noses, now he was on a ship shooting arrows at zombies!

"Where are the freaking wolves!"

Then a wolf and a lion tackled a bear, killing it.

"There's a chicken over there! Get it too!"

It was turning into a real animal house.

*sneeze*

Suddenly, she was in a group of dozens, fighting undead. How did this happen? Below, here brethren were fighting knights and druids and zombies. She looked around.

The knights and druids and zombies were on the ship too, but unlike her fellow Agents, she knew she had to assist her rivals.

As she was fighting, she realized how dangerous her robes were. She prefered her survival to the clothes. The Agent robes came off, and she was only in tight red clothes. She tucked her hair into her shirt and retrieved her weapons.

She then got to work.

<------ That was the only face Sir Goodfry could make.

he wasn't sure why he was on this ship.

he wasn't even sure how.

All he knew was that there were big huge undead dragons everywhere.....

"Hmmmm? " he thought.

Then an idea hit him.

So he did the only thing he could think of....

He ran past everyone and ran below deck and hid in the Captain's quarters.

Chaos erupted everywhere. It seemed as if everyone was fighting everyone at once.

The Goddess had manipulated so many factions in this world against each other, that everything was now turmoil.

She stood atop her castle, her hands glowing silver and red as arcane energy enveloped her.

"YES!!!!!! I WILL END YOU ALL!!!!!! I AM THE GODDESS!!!!! I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE!!!"

********************************************************

A minotaur crashed into Kam knocking the darkling to the deck of the ship. Kam scrambled to his feet, and the minotaur swung with his axe.

The darkling's head flew off his shoulders and rolled on the deck of the ship.

Kam looked at it confused.

Then he realized he had ducked just in time. It wasn't his head rolling on the deck.

It's Quarven's. he had been standing right behind Kam.

And now he was dead.

*****************************************************

"That damn fool is going to kill himself," Mathias said referring to Turken diving off of the ship straight at the undead dragon attacking them.

"Mathias.....I know it's snowing and all...but those clouds....they're glowing an odd red and orange color. Is that a falling star?"

Mathias looked to where Erron pointed.

He then remembered Nju Shenguo and the Immolation. He swallowed hard.

"That's no star," he said, his voice trembling.

"LEIF!" he screamed, panicking.

The meteor of fire, the Immolation....her arcane energies she was using.

The Immolation had grown in size.

The Goddess continued her crazed laughter...

"NO!"

Leif watched what was happening.

"NO! NO! It was supposed to kill the dragon army!"

Leif couldn't let the goddess use his evil. How could he stop her? All he could think to do... was fire...

"JUMALA, KUTSUA KERIA!"

A storm of wind began to gust and build itself. Two red eyes appeared in could only be a head. Leif had summoned a wind elemental, and it charged straight for the goddess.

"AHHH!!!!"

Turk'en's twin short swords dug deep into the forehead of the dragon. He held on for dear life.

Dacen, Lucian, and Parah grabbed any open tear, bone, claw or anything they could grab a hold of on the dragon they were on.

Aldion swung precariously from the rope ladder.

KER-WHAM!!!!!!

Both dragons slammed right into the ship, ripping it in half!

*****************************************************

"BUCK-AW!!! I'm trying to take a nap here!" Sir Goodfry yelled from Hellcat's room on the ship.

*****************************************************

Both halves of the ship tumbled through the air falling fast. The force of the blow had knocked off Leif's aim, and the air elemental went into the huge battle below on the ground where all of the agents, knights, undead and everything else imaginable were.

KA-BOOM!!!!!

The two halves of the ship slammed into the ground below killing hundreds.

Erron crawled from the wreckage.

"Uh...what..what happ--"

"GRAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Erron screamed as energy poured from his body, pulling the planet back together.

All was then peaceful...

Erron then slumped to the ground.

All around, everywhere the eye could see was devastation...destruction...the Goddess had won.

She had brought DECIMATION.

Erron couldn't move. All he could do was lay on his side, and stare at the post-apocalyptic wasteland left in the Immolation's wake.

Turk'en climbed from the wreckage of the ship, coughing up blood.

He saw the body of Erron lying on the ground. The body that housed the spirit of his son, Talkren...

"*cough*Talkren*cough*...Talkren!" he mumbled crawling to his son.

"D-dit I...d-dif...geh..."

"NO!" Turk'en screamed, crying.

"D-did I do it?" his son asked, coughing up blood as well. His eyes began to seep blood.

"Y-yes....yes son you did it. you...you saved the world..."

"woo...woo..would Uncle...Uncle Erron....be p-proud?" he asked his father.

"More than anything," Turk'en said smiling as tears flowed freely.

Erron smiled....and then....he died.

Turk'en's head fell onto the chest of Erron as the darkling weeped. He heaved deep and heavy sobs.

The god-child had used every bit of his divine energy to save the world....at the cost of his own life.

More survivors crawled from the wreckage.

Popurum, Browden, Cholley, Populus, Amber and Leif.

Aldion.

DiYogi and Lucian's Lion with Punky riding on it's back.

James and Lopex.

Aelemar and Xania.

Herod.

Dacen, Parah, and Lucian.

Captain Hellcat, Zoei Fantasy and Tangarine.

Guyver, Sir Goodfry, Kam and Steven and Assassinator.

and last was Mathias.

All of their gear and equipment was gone. All of it was destroyed in the crash. Their weapons.
Their armor. Their magic spellbooks.

All of it.

Everyone else that was on the ship had died.

They all watched in silence from behind, as Turken weeped only for both his son....and his best friend.

Turk'en then looked up at the castle, his eyes red with red, blood and dirt streaked across his face.

He saw her. A top the castle.

She moved.

Turk'en ran at her.

The others chased after him.

There were no zombies to fight. No Civil Agents. No minotaurs. Nothing.

There would be another day. But right now, all Turk'en wanted was the Goddess.

Lucian stood there the others ran he was in awe.

"Wha...what happend?" he was so confused.

He then looked and at Eltam (his lion) and saw everyone running at the goddess. He was not going to let her get away and he had to help Turken anyway he could.

Lucian ran and Eltam roared and followed.

Leif crawled out of the wreckage. He looked away from everyone. What had he done? His spell was cast. Had Kristyn been wrong?

Turk'en charges into the castle, hurrying to get to the goddess. Everyone started to follow. Leif hadn't seen the goddess since...

He started sprinting after her. Somehow... he needed to correct what he had done.

Browden looked around. His eye patch was missing, exposing his torn socket. Also... his axe was gone.

He just looked up at the goddess.

"Oh, I've found you. Aren't you going to be glad to see me? We REALLY need to have a talking!"

Browden tore off right behind Turk'en. The hippy elf was behind him.

Aelemar darted after the goddess along with everyone, but why, they had no weapons, how could they beat her?

She began to argue silently whether or not she should go.
You ALWAYS do this at the worst times! she thought. I don't care any more, I'm going.

Aelemar then continued running with the others.

The group made it to the castle. Turken had been here before when he believed he had banished the Goddess of Vengeance.

This time he would make sure she would never come back.

He went straight to the throne room.

The others caught up to him.

Calhera met them in the throne room.

Zoei stood nearby.

"The prophecies have always said that there must always be a King of the Undead," she stated, "but the prophecies also state that there are many thrones, just as I told Mathias in the Toi Swamp."

"You foolish elf bitch. I am now the Queen of the Undead. I would have destroyed this world, were in not for the ungrateful bastard Talkren and--"

"Enough," Turken said, "It ends here."

"So it does," she replied.

A bolt of lightning shot from her hand hitting Mathias in the face, blowing his head clean off. The body slumped to the floor.

"Do any of you really believe you can defeat me? Do you!/ how about you 'dear husband'? HAHA! Jade was merely one incarnation of me Browden. You were nothing more than a tool for me to use.

Or what about you Lehti...or Leif...or whatever you feel like calling yourself. Trying to redeem the horrible sins you committed against the anivers of Nju Shenghuo now? None will ever forgive you for the attrocities you brought upon those people. Or what about--"

"I'll stop you," a small voice from the back of the group said.

Popurum stepped forward.

Tears already began to well up in his eyes. Still, the little riverfolk pushed himself through the tall bodies.

Popurum made his way past Kam'Hillod, Steven Seagull, and Sir Goodfry. The darkling sneezed all over the still drunk pirate, after being bumped into the aniver.

He passed the wolf, the lion and the monkey. Popurum was gentle, knowing Punky was something special to his great, great grandson.

He walked between the people just recently brought into this chaos: Herod, Aelemar, Populus, Lucian, Dacen and Parah, Guyver, Amber and Browden. Whether they began in a blizzard saving a man from undead and minotaurs, or followed the adventure from a city beneath the snow, or were found in a desert... They all had their role to play.

The riverfolk with the fiery red hair moved through the veterans, the fighters that fought since the beginning and the ones that became Heroes of the Ravaging:

Cholley stayed with Hellcat and her BooT's. The tiny man comforted the woman that just lost her ship... again. James and Lopex stood slightly away, Lopex had picked his nose and was showing his spoils to James, then wiping his finger clean on James' clothes. James still had some paint around his mouth.

Leif stood, waiting, curious about what he would be able to do. He was angry at the goddess for all the tricks she's played on him. Popurum, while passing, patted the man.

"She's still proud."

The riverfolk continued, wondering just how many legs he still had to crawl through. Tangerine and her mother Zoei were together. Who knew what horrors the two went through, when they fled Peregren?

Then Popurum came up to Aldion. What curse had the elf placed upon himself, to have to be in this horrible world? Popurum hugged the elf's legs.

"I'm so happy to see you. Your grandmother... your real grandmother would be so proud."

Popurum let go and walked past Turk'en.

"I'm sorry about your son... and Erron. Even though Erron was the biggest asshole it the world... he still didn't deserve what he was forced to go through."

Then Popurum faced the final person in the room. The Goddess of Vengeance, the woman that stole his beloved's shape. His tears went down his cheeks. He hated this goddess.

"You took your revenge. But on the innocents. Calhera was so beautiful. So pure. And all those lives you took, just for this? Why? Why all knowing goddess, did you have to hurt so many? If you truly are the Goddess of Vengeance, where is our vengeance on you?"

Lucian could hear all that was said his training as a Ranger gave him hightend senses.

He was so enraged but he couldn't as much as he would like to she had the power to kill them all without thinking. Lucian walked through the crowd much like Popurum did he nodded at Aldion as a sign of thank you for all you did, he got to Turken and layed a hand on his shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault," he said as he looked up at the goddess.

"My name, is Lucian. I have been a lycan all my life and from the shear and will everyone in this group has i was able to break away from that curse," he said as he stepped back into the crowd.

others stepped forward and spoke as Lucian did and then stepped back eventually almost the entire crowd had spoke the only ones that didnt were people like Browden and Leif because they would get them selves killed with there choice of words.

Dacen had been through so much, from The Long Reach, all the way to the goddess herself in her castle, and as everyone stepped forward, so did Dacen.

'My name is Dacen, my family and friends have all been killed, all but my brother Parah." Dacen spoke then stepped back into the crowd just as everyone else had done.

"Vengeance? You---GAH! NO! My love, help I--Enough of the nonsensical, melodramatics, I--LOVE SAVE ME! I'M FIGHTING HER AND --"

"You're demented," Turken whispered cutting her off, "demented...sick...and twisted.....


...SO AM I!"

VAMP!

Turken teleported throw the shadows on the floor below the group.

Calhera and Popurum's love was so strong, it took all of Calhera's spirit to fight the will of the Goddess.

"Wha???? But only Erron can--" The Goddess started but was cut off.

Turken re-emerged behind her.

"No," he said grabbing a handful of her hair from behind, "only the King of the Undead can walk through shadows. GET OFF MY THRONE!!" Turk'en yelled driving his fist into her back.

"GEH!" She whimpered...."you heartless bastard."

"That makes two of us," he growled transferring his own soul into the Goddess, finally making her completely mortal and grasping her beating heart and squeezing it until it popped.

Calhera tumbled from the throne to the floor in front of the group.

Popurum knelt at her side.

"M-my love.....wh-where am *cough* where am I?" she asked the Riverfolk.

"Shhh....it's over love. You can rest. I will...I will always be here," he said crying.

Calhera Rainsong. Jade. Trinity. Kyria. The Goddess of Vengeance....died.

Popurum wept.

The room was silent.

The smell of brimestone filled the air.

A fist burst through the floor. Edaw the Second, son of Edaw the First, son of The King of Hell, reached through and grasped Popurum's ankle.

"YOU!!!!" he growled, "THAT WAS MY MOTHER! DON'T YOU SEE WHAT YOUR PATHETIC LOVE HAS DONE!!!!!"

Edaw pulled Popurum down into the hole he had emerged from. The floor sealed itself shut.

Edaw had taken Popurum to hell....

......Turk'en sat in the throne.

"Leave my castle....."

No one argued. No one said anything.

Aldion gave a nod to Turk'en, and left as well.

The new King of the Undead was finally left alone in his castle to grieve for his dead son and best friend.

He cried silently the entire night through.

EPILOGUE

6 Months Had Passed...

The King sat on his throne. One of his minotaur servants held a platter that he retrieved a piece of fruit from.

It was a delectable fruit, and he loved the taste of these apples. They were juicy, yet slightly tart. The only thing better was the salted pork he used to eat when he accompanied Erron.

Erron....

So much time had passed.

He hadn't thought of his friend in so very long. He looked to his minotaur manservant.

"Bring me a messenger. I need to make contact with an old friend."

"Yes, highness," the minotaur said deeply as he bowed to the King.

"OINK!" Punky complained.

Aldion Selek, King of Riddik, Great-Great Grandson of Princess Calhera Rainsong of Riddik, a princess who fled her homeland at a young age to study under druids, handed his pet monkey some fruit.

"I swear, every time I go to eat, you do this. And where the hell did you get that crown from? Give it--"

"*Ahem* You're highness. The messenger," the minotaur announced.

Aelemar stepped forward.

Aldion gave her the message he wanted delivered.

As a part of the crew of Captain Hellcat's new ship, the Sky Palace III (aptly named after her other two ships, the Sea Palace and the Sky Palace) Aelemar, Tangarine (who had become first mate), Sir Goodfry, kam, Steven Seagull (who had become helmsman) James, Lopex, Cholley, and Populus (whom they couldn't seem to get rid of, no matter how many times they left him somewhere) were Aldion's number one choice when dealing with matters of this...nature.....

*****************************************************

In Nju Shenghuo, Leif returned. The aniver people didn't trust him at first, and some even called for his death. But over time he helped rebuild the villages, and clear the jungles leading to the temples. The tomb of Rizzen would be left as is. But the other temple was re-furbished, into what would become one of the most revered druidic training sites on all of Aeon....and it's headmaster was the new Cheiftan of Nju Shenghuo, Leif.

The Sky Palace arrived, and Aelemar delivered the message to Leif's personal body guard Lanist.

The druid understood.

*****************************************************

Aldion and Leif met in Dead Town. The roving undead ignored them, but it made neither them feel any better.

There they entered, The King of the Undead, Turk'en Rah'ell's castle.

*****************************************************

"What you ask of me, is too great," Turk'en said as he petted DiYogi, "It takes every bit of will power I have to just keep the undead here in Dead Town docile, let alone how much it takes to keep them from invading most of the towns, villages and cities all across Aeon. How--"

They had all vowed never to say his name again . He was to be left at piece with his wife and son finally. Not even his memory would be disturbed. This they all three had made a pact on.

"It takes an incredible amount of willpower. I have no idea how the 'former king' was able to it before. The strain on him must have been unbearable." Turk'en stated.

"Maybe that's why he was always in such a piss poor mood," Aldion said.

"Remember the vow," Leif reminded the two of them, "We are the last living Heroes of the Ravaging. Us three. That makes us responsible to see his safe return home."

"I'm sorry, but I can't. My responsibilities lie with the living here on Aeon and protecting them from those I control enough to keep them out of the cities," Turk'en said.

"Aye," Aldion agreed, "If anyone would want to help, you know it's me. There hasn't been a day that's passed that I haven't felt guilty for not acting. But I can't do anything. That's why I contacted the two of you. To see if you knew of a way to help."

"Don't feel guilty. It will serve nothing. I myself am busy with Nju Shenghuo and helping to bring that nation to prosperity. But I believe I have an idea. I spoke with Prime Minister Zoei Fantasy of Peregren and she agrees that my idea would work."

"Really? The same idea you spoke to the two of us on about this matter weeks after the Decimation War ended?" Aldion asked.

"Yes," Leif replied.

******************************************************

Two weeks later, the Sky Palace arrived in The Long Reach and retrieved it's passengers.

The mercenary group of Browden, Herod, Lucian, Dacen, Parah, and Guyver.

They had taken a vow to defend all of The Long Reach from the undead, since that was part of where the original Decimation War originated.

Their fortress, Frost Keep, was amazing. Lucian's lion mount's tracks were always seen around it, as he preferred patrol duty more than any of the rest of the group. Many believed these tracks to be gnoll tracks but they were wrong.

All of The Long Reach knew of these men. Some small barbarian tribes worshiped them. Some small villages revered them. All of The Long Reach though, feared them.

They left on the ship and sailed to Dead Town.

"It's ready then?" Browden asked.

"Yes. The incantation, Zoei explained to me is working," Leif said.

Soon it appeared.

"Good. Let's go save Popurum," Lucian said.

They walked through the magical gateway into hell.

And the portal closed behind the mercenary group of Browden, Herod, Lucian, Dacen, Parah, and Guyver.

THE END.