After defeating the orc chieftans, it seems like things are looking up for the party… except for those 10,000 orcs outside the gates of Vanis. Just as the party begins to sweat over what the now leaderless band of orcs might do… salvation – of a sort – comes from the sky! ...in the form of a rain of fire!

Beams of light lance from the clouds, incinerating orcs and annhilating buildings in the outer city. When all is said and done, nothing remains but a cooling red plain of rock.

And then the ships descend. Several large vessels fall upon Vanis, and begin dispatching troops. They quickly take positions throughout the city, and utterly destroy anyone who attempts to interfere. The armored troops are clad in black from head to toe, weild strange weapons, and answer no questions.

A shuttle is seen approaching the castle… and an hour later, the King of Vanis addresses his people.

“Sons of Vanis… hear me. We have been rescued from the orc invaders by our new… allies… from the sky. Sadly… I am told the kingdom of Vanis is no more. But… in it’s place, we now join a new Empire, one that spans countless worlds among the stars. I am being allowed to continue on in my duties as your regent, but I rule now for another. Let us cast aside the old ways, and embrace our new Empire.

To tell you more of our new lord… I shall introduce you to Captain Nad’dar …”

The figure that takes the stage is a Drow, and he has a message for the people. The drow are in charge. But as he delivers this message, he spies Korric watching him from a window. And he recognizes the reploid. He sets his troops against the heroes, who must flee from a hail of laserfire.

The heroes retreat to the Infinite Staircase, and after several treks to strange worlds, they find themselves in a blasted wasteland… and under attack by demons on motorcycles!

Emerging from the sewers, the group finds themselves at the back edge of the orc forces. The keep they believe Biggok to be in is a mere five minute walk away… past hundreds of orcs.

Thankfully, it is a bright and sunny day out. Despising bright sunlight, most of the orcs are sleeping, preparing for the siege at sundown. The ones that are awake wear dark lenses, in an attempt to compensate for the glare, but the effect is the same. It is relatively easy to sneak past them. Still, Shun has a better plan. He stuffs the party into a Bag of Holding, casts daylight on himself, and flies into the glare of the sun. He then approaches the keep from the sky, from the direction of the sun.

His gambit is successful, and he lands silently on a guard tower. Quietly unloading the party from the bag, they get the drop on two lazy guards, and move silently in to the keep.

During their exploration of the keep, Korric again manifests strange stigmata… this time in the form of a cat-like eye in each hand. Trying desperately to wrack his memory, he recalls a strange symbol. Drawing it on the floor in ash to show the others, he suddenly feels himself compelled to chant a ritual. In doing so… he summons Kas, the Bloody Handed, from the depths.

After a tense moment, Garm realizes what is happening. Korric is able to use a type of ritual known as pact magic. It allows him to take the remnants of lost souls into himself, and for a time, emulate their abilities.

After exploring several rooms, (and killing a handful of orcs), they arrive at the keep’s main hall. There, Biggok and his officers are assembled. Biggok is being addressed by a strange man with shoulder-guards made of dark bird feathers. His face is covered by a skull shaped mask, with a long beak affixed to the front. The man is telling Biggok about the very sewer tunnel that the party used to leave the city, trying to convince the large cybork that he can use it to bypass the walls during his assault.

Just then, the party bursts into the room, and an enormous conflict erupts. After what seems like hours, 20 orcs lie dead, including Biggoks most trusted commanders and captains. The dark, crow like sorcerer attempted to flee during the fight (after finding his spells useless against Garm), but fell instead to the former Overlord’s blade.

With the keep emptied of threats, the leadership of the horde is no more. The heroes have recovered a small fortune in gems and magical wealth from the keep… but what will they do about the 10,000 orcs outside?

The heroes encounter a secret door in a sewer beneath Vanis, and choose to investigate. Inside, they find several figures in dark robes, and find themselves attacked! Their assailants shout out something about the ‘resurrection of their lord’, and then attack the party with a dark, twisted magic. During the fight, when it becomes clear that the party outmatches them, the cultists attempt to buy time for one of their number to escape, presumably to warn their allies. Valeria’s quick sword work prevents that from happening, however.

After the battle, the party investigates the corpses of their dispatched foes. Two of their number are covered from head to toe in soot, or ash. It is to pervasive to be anything other than intentional… but none of them know exactly what it means. But Garm recalls that several such Ash Men were present when he was attacked in his throne. In addition, one of their number worse a strange, skull shaped mask.

The secret room they had stumbled upon seems to be an outpost for a secretive cult… and documents within that outpost reveal the cult is behind the arrival of the “cybork”, Biggok to this plane. It appears that they intentionally placed him here, hoping that he would rally the orcs, and lead them on a campaign of slaughter.

Further investigation of the area reveals that an otherwise unremarkable door is actually a portal to the Infinite Stairway… a strange, extra-dimensional space that connects all realities. It seems that the Cultists used this gateway to transfer supplies back and forth.

The party is trapped within the walls of Vanis, a city surrounded on all sides by the green horde. They know that for the majority of the residents and refugees within the city escape is impossible. And that it is only a matter of time before the walls are breached, and thousands of orcs begin to sack the city.

The group comes up with a daring plan. Using a oft forgotten sewer passage, they will sneak out beneath the city to the river, and then approach the Orc leader’s camp from behind. There, they will assassinate him, in the hopes that this will destabilize the orc army, possibly even break it up. A slim chance, but, perhaps, their only one.

Even if this cunning plan succeeds, they will still doubtlessly face hundreds of orcs. Better odds than facing down thousands, but not by much. With few options left, however, the party chooses the course of valor. It never even occurs to them to flee. During their search for a way under the city, they encounter Shun, a native of Rokugan who had somehow found his way to Vanis. He agrees to join their mission.

While traveling beneath the city, the party encounters a gelatinous horror beneath the streets. Quickly dispatching it, they search around for it’s lair, but find instead two doors… one of them hidden secretly in the walls of the sewer…

For months, reports of Orc attacks have come from all over the North Lands. The Kingdom of Vanis is all that stands between these wild creatures and the easily pillaged lands to the south.

The King has put out a call to arms, conscripting any who would put their life on the line in defense of the realm.

The players attempt to defend the River Keep, but against such overwhelming numbers, they are forced to retreat. But not before killing many times their number, and bearing witness to the disturbing reality of the Orks leader, a huge cybernetically augmented warrior wielding what he called a “Shoota”. They are rewarded for their bravery, then aid the refugees fleeing further south.

Eventually, they are pushed all the way down to the city of Vanis itself, where they are soon trapped within… surrounded by the green horde outside!