"Legend of the Twelve Regions"
Fists of Rayje, Part 1
by Edward Bolme
This follows the events of The Battle of Naroom, Part 5, upcoming portions of The Unwanted, the fiction in Book of Ages #3, and the Nightmare's Dawn rulebook.

The Underneath...

"We're trapped!" yelled Radget.

"I know," said Strag grimly. "They're streaming down from Naroom, and boiling up from below. It's like we're caught between an avalanche and an eruption." Exhausted, he dreamed up a pylofuf to try to hold back the advancing hordes of the Core. He looked up and saw Evu far above in the cavern, cackling evilly and throwing black jellybeans about by the handful. Every place a jellybean landed, a vile bhatar rose up, sundering the earth beneath it with its slithering, probing roots.

"We can't hold them here, Strag," yelled Radget over the din of dream creature combat. "Morag and Evu have got us in a vise. We have to pull back!"

With a roar of frustration, Strag used the last of his energy to summon a pack of korrits. "Run!" he yelled. "I'll be right behind you!"

Radget fled, her tunneler's boots providing great traction in the treacherous warrens. Strag bounded after her, his crystal claws glowing powerfully in the presence of so many Core creatures. They ducked out of the cavern through a narrow, winding passageway, and ran down its convoluted length.

They passed Emaal as they ran, hiding in a cranny in the irregular passage. "Gotcha covered," said Emaal quietly as the two Underlings passed. Shortly afterwards, a heavy cave-in cut off any pursuit.

Radget and Strag reached the other end of the tunnel, where it opened out into a large, carved room that served as an impromptu command center. Radget collapsed on the floor, while Strag dug his claws in the wall to hold himself up, his bare chest gleaming with sweat.

"What are we going to do?" asked Radget weakly.

Emaal scrambled in, and answered, "We need to get Ogar out here to help us. She ought to understand them better than anyone."

Strag slowly shook his head, his fungal locks waving to and fro.

"Knowledge is not enough," he said. "We need power."

Read:
Arderial
Bograth
Cald
The Core
The Sands of D'Resh
Kybar's Teeth
Nar
Naroom
The Orothe Deeps
Paradwyn
The Weave


What happens next? Read Part 2 "When will you Rayje?"