The Dragon's Game In a deserted canyon located in the barren reaches of the northern continent of Alfheim, two figures

stood in the midst of a gigantic crater. Gharash Vren doubled over and was taking great, heaving breaths, a bright orange sphere was buried in the centre of the crater. A tall figure standing opposite to Gharash coolly surveyed the gasping Dragon-born. ...!ou have grasped the basics of the form. "ow all that#s left is to hone your skills$ murmured the tall figure. %till panting, Gharash breathed out a heavy reply, &hank you, 'aster (arkley$ )ith a faint smile on his lips, *harles (arkley walked over the orange sphere still smoking in the centre of the crater and plucked it out. +emember Gharash, the *haos Dunk, while powerful, is strictly a last-resort move. )hen you use its full power, you )I,, die.$ After dropping this bombshell, (arkley passed the ball to Gharash (affled, Gharash Vren barely managed to catch the ball as he spurted out, &hen why teach me this move at all, if it will kill me-.$ (-ball is more than /ust a game, Gharash. It#s a way of life. A time will come one day when you will have to use your mad skill0 to protect something you value even more than your life$ &hat sounds pretty gay, 'aster (arkley$ Indeed. (ut part of learning how to (-ball is getting stuck in a cliched life.$ ...I don#t suppose you give refunds$ "o.$ Goddammit.$ )hen Gharash ne1t looked up he reali0ed that he now stood alone in the crater numbly holding the orange sphere in his claws. A fleeting remnant of *harles (arkley#s voice echoed across the wind blowing across the canyon2 Good luck.$ )I&3 )3A&-.$ shouted Gharash to the empty canyon.

I am the beginning and the end. The alpha and the omega. The first and the last -Charles Barkley 'any years later, on the continent of Alfheim, Gharash Vren stood at the precipice of a cliff looking over the verdant-green forests of the 4lves. *urrently on fire. 3e idly wondered how he had got to this point of warring with the 4lves of this part of Alfheim. It had started out innocently enough, his gang, the Dragon-(orn &o (allers$ 5or was it called The Dragon-BallerZ?...Fuck it) had set up a small enterprise in one of the small villages of the continent. A little bit of pillaging here, robbing and raping travellers there, with a mi1 of burning towns and the 4lves get into a hissy fit. I mean, i !ou don"t #$%T us to ra&e and &illage !our citi'ens, !ou should reall! &ut u& a sign or something. This is reall! their ault that were at this &oint. %ome 4lves came staggering out their burning forest, one was shakily raising a white flag. &ime-$ asked Gharash. 6 minutes and 78 seconds$ replied one his lieutenants standing behind him &hough that still doesn9t prove anything$ !ou were fighting the 4lves for about a week while I was off doing some business$ !ou took a week off to rob, rape, and kill the people of the neighbouring forest$ :ut that in reverse order and yes, that sounds about right.$ And-...$ And when I come back and see you attacking these guys without employing strategy ;7 first2 Fire sol es !"!#$T%I&G$ &he more pressing <uestion is why you suddenly came back now$ Actually I came yesterday$ Gross, sir. =sually when you say you#re gone for a week, you show up a month later with even more people pissed off at you$ (ecause ,uca my boy, today the (allers have hit the motherload.$ e1claimed

Gharash. A manic e1pression 5more than usual> appeared on his face. I#ve been seeing these visions for a while now, of a glowing pyramid ?I,,4D with treasure and hookers.$ 4ven though you#ve never steered us wrong 5most of the time>, I#m going to call shenanigans on this vision thing, boss. 3ow do you know this place is even real-$ asked ,uca, trying to keep the concern out of his voice. )ith a grin, Gharash Vren gestured towards the 4lves with the white flag, )hy don#t we ask our new toys-$ And if they don#t know anything at all about this supposed pyramid-...$ <ueried ,uca "o harm in asking. "o matter what their answer is, the 4lves are still our bitch.$ )ith a sigh, ,uca gave a weary salute, !es, sir.$ *lapping his lieutenant on the shoulder, Gharash began to walk down towards the 4lves holding the white flag. *hin up ,uca, what could possibly go wrong-$

%o' po'erf(l is a Chaos D(nk) *+., mega--o(les of negati e b-ball protons. That's ho' m(.h. -Charles Barkley &ime-$ asked Gharash. About @AA years since we entered the :yramid$ replied ,uca in a bored voice It was an old ritual between the two of them, but it brought a faint smile to both of their faces as it reminded them of the old days. Despite the constant checks of time, they were getting less and less fre<uent. &he :yramid was a deceptive place, you didn#t feel any hunger, thirst, or need to sleep. Gharash#s own area seemed to build itself around his Dragon-born nature and thus suited him perfectly. %ot so sure a(out )uca and the (o!s though. $h well, uck it, the! ha*en"t com&lained so ar. +s&eciall! not when I ri&&ed a )acke!"s head o when he said it was too warm in here. ,till there"s nothing reall! &er ect a(out this &lace at all. The onl! thing resem(ling a hooker in this &lace is that succu(us, and she doesn-t e*en &ut u& a ight. #here"s the un in that? $ll the treasure in this &lace is .ust as worthless (ecause

we can"t get out o this ucking hole. Despite the lack of entertainment, all of these factors caused the body to lose sense of its own track of time. &here was no day and night in the :yramid, /ust an eternal twilight that settled over the area. )ith no frame of reference to keep track of, ,uca#s estimate of @AA years could easily be off. %ir, you#re reminiscing again$ reminded ,uca /oddammit, I reall! need to sto& doing that . Grunting a short thanks, Gharash began the long trudge towards the strategy chamberBbarracksBb-ball court. ?alling in step /ust behind him, ,uca began to recite the latest info from his scouts2 C scouting teams have returned2 Gamma, 4psilon, and &heta$ Gharash pushed open the heavy chamber door as ,uca busily shuffled through his reports. ,ince when ha*e we had that man! teams? 0r &a&er or that matter? &eam Gamma2 All members accounted forD no movement reported from the ,ibrary. %plinter seems to be inactive for now$ +ummaging through the reports, ,uca continued, &eam 4psilon2 6 members accounted for, 8 missing, 7 dead. Arboreans continue to make attacks on the %ahaugins$ I thought those plant fuckers couldn#t leave their area.$ growled Gharash Enly the reapers, sir. Arachnid soldiers and spellcasters are free to move through the barrier that...he made$ ,uca trailed off uncertainly. Gharash belatedly reali0ed the reason for ,uca#s pause, 1ight...that (arrier that was set u& (! )aForge. 2! second lieutenant and honorar! (-(alling (ro, gone or 3uite some time now. Angrily shaking his head free of the past, Gharash said in a forceful tone, *ontinue, lieutenant$ Dutiful as ever, ,uca continued his report immediately, &eam &heta2 7 member accounted for, F dead. Although considering you made this team consist entirely of those brain-dead lackeys and sent them to the grand stair, I#d say their team had a fairly large success$ )hich of those morons made it back then-$ asked Gharash. Gary, sir.$ &he guy who thought he was drowning when he saw his reflection in the waterEr the one who thought breathing was something people did for fun-$

&he second one, sir. &he first, &revor, died when you told him he was drowning when he saw his reflection in the %ahaugin#s chamber.$ *huckling at the fond memory, the pair entered the strategy chamber. %carcely before ,uca had opened his mouth to address the soldiers that were present within the chamber that the door at the far end burst open. ?rom it, one of Gharash# original gang members 54h, 5hilli&? 6e*in? %o it was de initel! 7a&tain. Fuck&ants) ,uca answered the <uestion for Gharash, Demos, what happened-$. :anting, Demos barely got his breathing under control before addressing Gharash with an e1cited smile, %ir. !ou are not going to (4,I4V4 who /ust entered the :yramid.$ It's .alled s(r i al of the fittest. If yo( .an't slam 'ith the best/ then -am 'ith the rest. -Charles Barkley %ir, I really think this is a bad idea$ ,uca said in hushed tones +eally- )hich part-$laughed Gharash. )uca is .ust (eing o*erl! dramatic as usual. 3ow about the part about going alone with ,a?orge#s group, how about the part where you leave me with all our men- 3ow about the part of GEI"G to Garavakos# splinters-.$ ?irst off. It#s ,a?orge, you remember- &all, black, and a fucking wi0ard-$ ?ine, lets /ust ignore the fact that ,a?orge seemed to be faking when he remembered you.$ #Gay$ )hat about his group- An vampiric paladin- A dwar -$ &here#s also the dragon-born he#s got with him, I like the cut of his /ib.$ ?ine, then why am I staying here with all of !E=+ men-$ (ecause I don#t trust the Arboreans to keep their word about our so-called

alliance. %omeone needs to stay here and watch them. &he E",! person I can trust to do that /ob with fucking it up is !E=.$ ,uca was momentarily stunned into silence, before regaining his composure and continuing his hissy fit, %ir, I think the return of ,a?orge is making you overconfident. )hy not wait, and gather our forces some more and-$ Are you defying a direct order, ,uca$ inter/ected Gharash suddenly. I-Ef course not, sir$stammered ,uca Good, then end of discussion.$ stated Gharash. %eeing the de/ected look on ,uca, Gharash couldn#t help but break into a grin, *hin up ,uca, what could possibly go wrong-$

E3333, :+AI%4 GA+AVAGE% I" A,, 3I% G,E+!. 34 3A&3 D4,IV4+4D &34 *3A':IE"% &E D4%&+E! 3I% %:,I"&4+! %4,?.$ screamed the preacher to his attendees. #hat. The. Fuck. T8I, is the second loor? These are the assholes that were sto&&ing us? E333, :+AI%4 GA+AVAGE%. 34 3A% %4"& =% E" A 3E,! 'I%%IE" &E AID &344 I" !E=+ "E(,4 H=4%&.$ shouted ,a?orge )hat the hell are you doing-.$ angrily whispered Gharash to ,a?orge. Iust play along$ returned ,a?orge. E333, )4 3AV4 IE=+"4!4D ?A+ A"D )ID4 &E +4A*3 &3I% 3E++I(,4 :+I%E". I& )A% &34" I" E=+ D4%:AI+, &3A& GA+AVAGE% &=+"4D =% &E &34 ,IG3&.$ :+AI%4 GA+AVAGE%.$ screamed the fren0ied *hurch-go#ers :+AI%4 &34 ,E+D GA+AVAGE% I" A,, 3I% G,E+!$ shouted ,a?orge, working the worshippers into a fren0y. GE ?E+&3, "E(,4 *3A':IE"%. GE ?E+&3 A"D DE GA+AVAGE%# (IDDI"G. *A+,, G4& !E=+ A%% EV4+ 34+4 A"D 34,: E=+ *3A':IE"% E=&.$ A scraggly looking human dragged himself out from under the pulpit where the preacher was standing and meekly shuffled over to ,a?orge and Gharash#s group. )ith

another <uick praise to Garavakos, ,a?orge <uickly moved the group out of the area and towards the splinter with *arl#s help. It was a long trek even for Gharash, with most of the time avoiding many cleverly-concealed traps with *arl#s help until the group came to a final bend in the corridors. It#s /ust around this corner and at the very end of the hallway you#ll find-$. *arl gasped and cut his e1planation short as he saw something in the corridor. 3urrying around, Gharash saw a lone figure standing in the centre of the hallway. *arl had fallen to the floor and was prostrating himself, whispering frantic prayers to himself. (efore the figure had even turned, Gharash reali0ed at once who this was. ,o, the (ig (oss has decided to show himsel at last . )ith a demonic grin, Gharash prepared to unleash a gout of flame and burn this bastard once and for all. Almost in response to his readiness, the figure turned and smiled to the group. 3e was a tiefling wi0ard, dressed in simple robes but everything from his smile to the way he moved e1uded a palpable sense of danger. Greetings...adventurers$ said Garavakos in silky tones. to /oin me in my humble abode.$ 3ow wonderful of you

,a?orge#s group and Gharash immediately drew their weapons. Garavakos simply smiled and shook one finger at the group with contempt, &ut, tut. ,et#s not be too hasty. After all this is simply a pro/ected image. I have to say I#m impressed with your progress, but then again, you had help.$ Garavakos trailed off and looked pointedly at *arl, Eh *arl, you#ve been a very bad boy. I#m afraid your services are no longer re<uired$ stated Garavakos. )ith a flourish, he snapped his fingers and *arl imploded. That was a warning or !ou /harash. %tiffening, Gharash heard a voice in his mind. As if to confirm the identity, Garavakos continued, Gharash, I see you found some new sluts to help you in your very misguided <uest.$ chuckled Garavakos. /i*e u&, /harash. 9ou"re ho&elessl! outclassed and !ou know it 8ow a(out !ou take that wand o !ours, enchant a (room to mo*e u& and down and go uck !oursel with it. )hile continuing to speak to ,a?orge#s group, Garavakos continued his mental intrusion into Gharash#s mind2 ,uch a *ulgar tongue !ou ha*e, /harash. I reall! can"t wait to cut it out o !ou. #h! don"t !ou tr! it then, !ou o*errated .ackass? Tr! and kill me like !ou did 7arl. 2! worshi&&ers are a (it more o&en to m!...ministrations than the &eo&le who o&&ose me.

2eaning !ou can"t do .ack shit. 8ow 3uaint. 9ou think (ecause I can"t kill !ou here, that !ou are an! more likel! to sur*i*e in !our current conditions? I"m not a &usho*er. I"*e got a warrior, a cleric, a &aladin $%D a wi'ard: 1eall!? $nd !ou think this makes !ou somehow sa er? That !ou"ll succeed in !our 3uest? /et out and ha*e a ha&&! ending? Damn straight. Then !ou"re deluded and so *er! nai*e. +*er!one has a &ast, e*en !our so-called riend. Angered at the implication, Gharash hotly denied with both his mind and voice, I#m going to en/oy ripping out your guts you tiefling bitch.$ %miling, Garavakos said, I do so hope you kill all my splinters, their the only thing preventing me from leaving, you know- And when you do eventually reach me, I#ll en/oy the use of your corpses for my studies$ +n.o! the time !ou ha*e le t in !our little antas!. +*entuall! it will all come crashing down and !ou"ll reali'e that !ou should"*e killed )a orge the second !ou laid e!es u&on him. #hen !ou inall! do la! down and die like the dog !ou are, !ou"ll onl! !oursel to (lame. &he image of Garavakos faded as his words echoed far more strongly in Gharash#s mind than they did in the surrounding space. ,a?orge and his group, amused at Garavakos# attempts to intimidate them, laughed it off and continued onto the second splinter#s chamber. Gharash laughed with them, but in the back of his mind he only had one single thought2 )aForge...who are !ou? It's only 'ith the 0ltimate B-ball .an a person perform a Chaos D(nk. B(t yo( need more than -(st a ball or e en ha ing the game. $o( need the so(l. -Charles Barkley &he rhythmic beats and occasional flashing lights permeated the corridor as it emanated from the room ,ightovius the immortal paladin had disappeared into /ust moments ago. Gharash Vren was standing in a place he#d thought he#d never reach, the Crd and final floor of the :yramid of %hadows. )hile moving through the narrow hallways, ,ightovius# vampiric senses picked up some of his own kindred from within one of the rooms and entered despite Gharash#s warnings. &his is a bad idea$ said Gharash for what felt like the hundredth time It#ll be fine$ reassured ,a?orge for the hundredth time. Gharash occasionally glanced over to ,a?orge, changed now ever since he, uh she, put on that belt. %eems like it only affected the outer appearance 5$lthough i he"s a chick, I guess that means the insides changed too, hehe>. %till ,a?orge seemed like he always was, slightly

annoying but always dependable. &he niggling suspicion left by Garavakos warning against ,a?orge#s supposed duplicitous nature remained in Gharash#s head however. Despite the internal turmoil in his mind, Gharash managed to keep it out of his voice, or at least make its seem like he thought this was a terrible ideaD which it was. I#m /ust saying, you can never trust a rave-ist. All they do is party all day every day. &he only thing a rave-ist likes is to immediately satisfy their sick, perverted desires.$ rambled Gharash, I mean, you would never see Dark%hadow or I doing that. 'aybe the dwarf would with some of the younger kids, but hey that#s part of his religion$ added Gharash. ,ook, you can stop worrying, he#s coming out right now with the rave-ists$ said ,a?orge nonchalantly )hat.-$ shouted Gharash as he readied his weapons. Dark%hadow and DI, taken in with ,a?orge#s cool demeanour showed no signs of alarm however. ,ightovius emerged smiling from the rave-ist#s room along with an undead creature of some kind with C skulls along with C vampires. &he rave-ists and I, have reached an agreement. &hey have agreed to ally with us for the sake of defeating Garavakos. As a token of their good will, they#re coming with us right now to lead us to the C rd splinter#s lair, also known as Gravak the Damned.$ happily intoned ,ightovius. &he paladin spoke most elo<uently in his defence and made his case against Garavakos <uite clear. I see now that the way we have been living in this godforsaken place has made us too compliant, when we should have been rebelling against Garavakos this entire time.$ added the %kull ,ord in soft tones. Despite the friendly manner and words he presented himself with, Gharash did not trust him or his vampire servants. ,uca thought he was an idiot, and for the most part, that was completely true. &here was no point in thinking about a problem when he could /ust tear the problem#s head off, rape it, and then use it#s corpse as a make-shift puppet. 3owever, rushing ahead of things had got Gharash into this :yramid. But now, I"ll &la! along. I"ll go with !ou to the s&linter"s room, and when !ou do (etra! us. I"ll tear !ou to &ieces.

Gravak the Damned was on his last legs, ,ightovius stood over him, sword abla0e with holy light. &he sword came down, crashing with all the might of the paladin#s fury

and strength and slashed through Gravak#s body. )here the sword came into contact with flesh, crystals of ice began to form as the splinter#s body began to be encased in ice. 3owling in fury as he saw his life come to an end, he stopped and smiled as his hand came up snapped his fingers. It was the smile that gave it away, as it was not directed towards ,ightovius or ,aforge or any other members of the group, it was given towards the %kull ,ord. &he same creature currently standing in the back of the room as he put the finishing touches onto a barrier. As the %kull ,ord, glorying in his treachery, started to boast of his deeds, Gharash Vren#s claw pierced through his abdomen and carried out the monster#s heart. Burn, (itch. Epening his /aws, Gharash let loose a torrent of flame that engulfed the %kull ,ord in a glorious conflagration. (ut the damage was done, the portal at the far end of the room began to crackle and seethe with energy. &he %kull ,ord had planned to take himself out with the party as soon as the last splinter was dead by sealing the room in. But he didn"t know a(out me and he doesn-t know a(out what )aForge can do: &hink you can seal off that gate-$ <ueried Gharash, already knowing the answer to his <uestion "ope, that#s a bit too much power to seal off$ laughed ,a?orge, still making light of the situation. &his not be the time for /okes, ,a?orge. &hat e1plosion would wipe everything out on this floor, maybe further. It be connected to another plane$ added the dwarf. &hat barrier at the back of the room will probably prevent that from happening$ inter/ected Gharash. %eeing the obvious solution coming to ,a?orge#s eyes, Gharash then added, (reaking the barrier will take too much time. &he gate will e1plode before you get it down$ %o what, we /ust die-.$ shouted ,ightovius. "o, ,a?orge will take the three of you to the barrier and manipulate it so that you#re sealed within it. It should protect you from the e1plosion.$ stated Gharash. =h, I don#t think I can do that$ said ,a?orge.

&rue, you#ve never tried to do it before, but you do have e1perience with setting up barriers$ replied Gharash. Eh, right. Ef course I do$ agreed ,a?orge. &hen seeming to reali0e something, ,a?orge then asked, )ait, you said three other people. &here#s a total of five of us. )ho#s staying-$ 'e. &hat barrier would probably have stood against the e1plosion if the %kull ,ord had finished making it properly. (ut now it#ll probably shatter on impact, along with anything in it$ %o why the fuck are we going to hide in it-$ demanded ,a?orge. (ecause I#m going to counter-act the e1plosion with a little techni<ue I#ve been saving. I hoped I#d get to use it on Garavakos. (ut, this seems like a good time as any.$ said Gharash with a laugh. Gharash, I-$ began ,a?orge ,a?orge, do you still have the orange sphere I gave you-$ calmly asked Gharash !es.$ shortly answered ,a?orge. )ith a somewhat incredulous e1pression on his face, he pulled out the =ltimate (-ball, that 'aster (arkley had bestowed upon him so many years ago. &hanks. 3urry up, that gate#s about to give way any minute now.$ ...Got it. And Gharash- &hanks.$ Ah get your ass into that barrier already, woman.$ ,ooking more than a little annoyed, ,a?orge led his friends to the barrier. Gharash watched the party go with a curiously calm mind. T84%6 &he ball bounced off the floor once and sailed into the air. Gharash followed its path like a starving man. )ooks like there"s onl! time enough or one last dunk. T84%6 Again the ball hit the floor, bouncing a little higher into the air this time. 'aster

(arkley#s words flowed into Gharash#s mind, The 7haos Dunk is a FI%$) mo*e, an ultimate techni3ue at the cost o the user"s li e. 9ou gi*e u& !our (od! when using this mo*e, lea*ing !ou no chance or resurrection T84%6 As the ball slammed against the floor for the third time, Gharash began to reali0e that any suspicion he towards ,a?orge was long gone. ,a?orge was ,aforge, simple as that. )ith a feral grin on his face, Gharash sei0ed the ball in his hands as he called out to ,a?orge, ,a?orge...remember who you are.$ ,o long (ro, and good luck.