The Heart of the Mountain Darkly

Meanwhile, back at the ruins of Minestus' lair something earthshattering is about to take place. Underneath the crumpled peaks of the Shreken Mountains where once the honeycombed menagerie of the dragon's dark home lay, there is a sudden rumbling. The radioactive cracks and scars left behind by the thermonuclear grenade begin to buckle and heave. Blocks of crushed and crumbling stone split and fall apart. Spaces begin to form and a new set of caves slowly spreads through the heart of the mountain. It began far below, beneath rock as black as night, and it has finally reached its destination.

The destruction of the Southern Caves had assured Minestus' defeat. His hoard had been destroyed and his life taken from him. But it had also awakened an ancient enemy. The nuclear explosion had opened up a doorway for that enemy to return. And it HAD returned.

The first giant, hairy monster broke through the crumbling rock and heaved itself up and out of the tunnel its brethren had struggled to create. It looked about and its inhuman eyes took in the scene and it laughed. Without a single ray of light, the monster saw all the ruin and scorched earth that lay about it. The monster was used to the dark. It loved the dark. And it waited for the night.

The Orcs had returned.

1. On a lighter note...

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