Hell in Ofcol

   I, Kalistes of the Dark Robes, once again take up the quill and 
parchment as I tell to you the events that occured a fortnight ago from 
today. The quest-diety that started these events was not the  near 
omniscient Mat, but the god Tom. Thus, was the body count decreased by 
ten fold; however, the events on that fated day were so unbelievable 
that It left a mark on Ofcol history, a dark blotch, and will for years 
to come. I, a humble servant of the Almighty Kil'rath'as, will tell you, 
O constant reader, how this came to be.

   I had just returned from a sojourn to the Abyss, paying tribute to 
milord Kil'rath'as. Making my way through the west gate of Kemo, I saw 
that the city was abuzz with excitement of some sort. I stopped at my 
guild to get a drink.

   The waiter served my wine with a trembling hand. He was quite pale.
"What news since I left?" I asked him.  "Huh?..oh, it's Ofcol. Daemons 
were seen there. Gods know what they're doing. I only hope that they 
finish thier business and leave, and leave Kemo alone," he replied.

   I sipped my wine and took stock of the situation. Ofcol was only some
10 miles from Kemo, and the two cities were great allies. Ofcol's 
adventurer population was nowhere near that of Kemo's though, and a 
daemon attack was grave news indeed. The best warrior there was the 
paladin Marshall Diana, and even she could not hope to defeat so many 
daemons if they had indeed overrun the city.  Yes, something would have 
to be done.

   My mind wandered to that word, "Daemon." Everybody knows that daemons 
are an everyday thing in Landsverge, from the friendly auctioning daemon 
to the Pit Fiend. I idly wondered what kind of daemons they were. They 
could not be abyssal daemons, as the rift had not been opened 
sufficiently enough for even a simple mane to get through. But then, 
what could they be? 

   Denizens of Baator--also known as the Nine Hells, or, more commonly,
the Inferno. Hellions is my word for them, and the Abyss is pledged to 
wiping thier "lawful" brand of evil out. 

   I knew my duty. I finished my wine, and made my way to the Temple of 
Kemo, the popular adventurer hangout. I saw, to little surprise, that 
there was already a group of adventurers there, led by Kroog, who I will 
proceed to name here:

   Athena, Moonshadow, Kain, Krill (Kroog's brother, mentor, and healer), 
Garat, Curer, the everpresent JWV, Ravensturm, Estalin, Kronis, the 
Quest-Diety avatar known as Terminal, and Leif. 

   I watched the group cast spells of protection upon each other, ready 
and polish blades, hammers, knives, spears, and other objects that would 
leave the Hellions hurtin for certain. Spells were studied, meditated upon,
and prepared. I do believe someone tried in vain to uncurse some cursed
marbles. Moonshadow and the assassins shifted into sneak-mode; that is,
they began to pad about silently. I cast a spell of invisibility upon 
myself and, moving as silently as my elvish frame would allow, crept 
towards Ofcol.

   As I got closer, I noticed a plumeof smoke rising from the city.
I invoked a spell of flight to see better. It confirmed my worst fears: 
Ofcol was burning!! Men, women, and children scattered about as Hell Hounds
ripped through the streets. A dark priest of Hell threw a fireball at a
house, which obediently burst into flames. 

   Cursing, I flew closer, looking for Marshall Diana. To my dismay, she 
lay in the middle of Impy Way, snoring contentedly.  Apparantly a 
Hellion had cast a spell of sleep upon her.

   I flew back to Kemo. Halfway there, I saw Kroog's group rushing, with 
cries of "BANZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIII!!" towards the fray into Ofcol. 
Hesitatingly, followed them.

   The group rushed into Ofcol, smashing Hellions left and right as they 
went.  Kroog bum rushed one of the priests, driving his sword through 
the priest's thin robed frame. The robes shuddered, then collapsed as if 
nothing had been in them in the first place. I spotted the avatar 
Terminal fending off two Hell-Hounds. The hounds bounded at him; and he 
thrust his sword along its ribs. However, the dog was only enraged, and 
its weight carried upon Terminal anyway, knocking Terminal's blade from 
his hands. The other Hell Hound bit deeply into Terminal's arm, almost 
severing it. Terminal screamed in pain as the Hound on top of him bit 
into his neck.

   Terminal may have died there, had not Moonshadow buried her blade
deeply into the Hound's spinal column. The Hound fell. Kroog beheaded 
the other Hound, which, by this time, had a bone in its mouth and was 
about to bound away with it. 

   The Hellions, sensing this new threat, quickly surrounded Kroog's merry 
band.  They formed a ring around us all, cheering thier side. Some high 
priests, holding Hell Hounds by the collar, arrived. They let the Hell 
Hounds go.  They went for Kroog. 

   Four Hell Hounds are a match for anybody, even great warriors like 
Kroog.  Tounges of flame licking out of thier mouths, they pounced on 
Kroog, knocking him down. 

   For the next five minutes, every thing happened in slow motion, because 
it was-- It would seem that the Hellions, who were expecting Kemo to 
rally to Ofcol's side, had brought the most underhanded beast there is 
from the Inferno:

   The Lag Monster.

    Those five minutes seemed like an eternity. A red Sentry Spear came
over the crowd of Hellions, thrown by Kronis. He did a smart back tuck
over the crowd of priests and Hounds, and his sword of Nosferatu entered 
a Hell Hound's back at the same moment the spear did. I threw a lightning 
bolt at another Hell Hound, knocking it off of Kroog. To my horror, it 
bounded towards ME.

   Ravensturm, JWV, and Garat destroyed another Hell Hound, and Kroog, with 
blood flowing freely from lacerations where his armor had been bitten
through, threw the final Hell Hound off with a mighty effort. He brought
his sword down and clove through its skull, sending a fine mist of black
blood spraying through the air.

   Krill threw a major heal at Kroog. Seeing this, the dark priests 
attacked Krill, who recited a scroll of recall and disappeared. Terminal 
lay moaning on the ground, mumbling epithets and blaspheming Tom's name. 
Three minutes had passed.

   A gout of warm liquid hit me from behind as I landed. I looked 
around to see Athena being ripped to shreds by Hell Hounds. There was 
blood everywhere, as everyone had been wounded to some degree. Skin was 
hanging off of my calf where a Hell Hound had lept up and bit me. 
Through a red haze of pain, I saw the priests release four more hounds 
and then attack us themselves. I threw a swarm of meteors at one priest, 
who, smoking, went down. Estalin was hit by a fireball and, reciting a 
scroll of recall, disappeared. Garat was torn apart by Hounds, and with 
his remaining arm held up a scroll of recall and dissapeared shortly 
after. Ravensturm and JWV were surrounded. They put up a terrific fight, 
but in the end had to recall. Terminal was being feasted upon. Kain and 
Kroog were left, and were cutting through Hound and priest alike. 
Presently a Hound got ahold of my robe, and would have set it afire with 
his flame-tongue had I not set him afire with a fireball. 

   Then: Arioh and Hellraiser arrived. The two heroes came in swinging, 
Arioh with his Nosferatu sword and Hellraiser with his spells. Arioh
impaled three dogs upon his sword. Hellraiser let loose a fireball so big
it took out seven priests at once. All that was left of them was a pile of
smoking boots and robes.

   Then: something strange happened.

   Time stopped for all of us. I saw Arioh, with a look of euphoric glee on 
his face, frozen, about to drive his sword through the back of yet 
another Hound. The three aforementioned Hounds were still on his sword. 
I tried to move, angry at myself for being (what I assumed) under a dark 
priest's spell. 

   Then lo, a light shone from heaven as the clouds parted and dissapated. 
Suddenly, from the clear blue sky, a pillar of fire descended, 
enveloping all in its white-hot flames. Its heat embraced me, and I knew 
no more.

   I awoke the next morning, as did everybody else. Ofcol was a burned
and blasted wreck. Sitting up, I was dimly aware of avatar Terminal's 
smoking skeleton. Hell Hound bodies were everywhere. Everything was 
smoking. 

   I then realized that the Gods had somehow invoked the power of the 
almighty force known only as the CRASH. The CRASH, combined with the Lag 
Monster's fiendish powers, had sent us all reeling. I was lucky to be alive.

   I cannot remember how I made my way back to Kemo that dismal morning. I 
do recall, however, that while flying through what remained of Ofcol, I 
saw a rift---the rift that the hellions were literally pouring through. The
rift remains there, to this day.

   Upon arriving at the Temple of Kemo, I saw the haggard face of 
Knightblade, along with the travelling hero known as Bum the Swordpupil 
of Death.  Knightblade and Bum were still trying to drive out the 
Hellions, but it could not be done--unless the rift was closed.

   I explained this to them. Nevertheless, Bum and Knightblade trekked to 
Ofcol.  They were gone for some time. During my wait, I prayed to the 
Powers that Be to close the rift; make Ofcol safe again. During the 11th 
hour of that dismal morning, Bum returned with Knightblade. Bum had 
suffered several bites; his armor was wrecked and slashed. Knightblade 
was worse, however-- he was near death, and would have died quickly, if 
not for the cleric Puck.

   The rift was never closed; it remains open. Quest-dieties, hear my 
plea.  Close the rift before any more lives are lost, and purge the 
Hellions' dark, twisted souls. I humbly beg of you.

-Kalistes
34th Day of the month of Nature, in the year of my Lord, 194.