So they know why they’re here, if not where here is, or who they’re with. They just know somewhere across the field with the uneven towers are things that needed killing. Music to Venom’s ears. He immediately heads out alone. Ob Nixilis admires his drive, if not his intelligence. Ob sends some orcs out to find him and slow him down, maybe come up with some kind of plan. The Blades head out with Grimnak in one direction, the Arrows in the other with their swog rider. It isn’t long before the blade gruts find Venom...

The arrow gruts are less fortunate. From seemingly out of nowhere 3 individuals in suits stood across the road, guns drawn. They opened fire before the orcs knew what was happening. The first orc was dead before he hit the ground, bullet between the eyes. The second took one in the throat and took a few seconds to drown in his own blood. The 3rd was fortunate to drop in time, bullets whizzing over his head...

The blade gruts heard the shots and screams, and all intentions of slowing Venom down went right out the window as they raced towards the noise. Grimnak made it first, and bit the first Krav Maga Agent in half. The blade gruts were a step behind. The 2nd Agent was able to hold off the onslaught at first, but the orcs has blood in their eyes. An orc broke through the defense of the more experienced fighter on rage alone, and ran him through. The last agent attempted to escape by climbing up the ladder. Part of the way up he fired 2 ineffective shots towards Grimnak. No damage was done, but the point was made. To pursue up the ladder would mean death from above. The agent confidently held his ground, secure in his position. Secure until the webs brushed past his face. When he met Venom’s eyes below, he realized death may come from below...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle field, one blade grut trailed, and was just coming up to the action. Before he could get there a vampire stepped out of the shadows. This vampire moved at twice the speed and had twice the strength of normal vampires, clearly enhanced by some magic. The enemy Planeswalker made his presence known. Before the orc could get a hand up, the vampire sank its teeth in...

Venom had swung up to the top of the tower and stood next to the last surviving agent. The agent fought a good fight, but was overpowered. As Venom stood over his prey, triumphant and prepared to feast, a bullet ripped into his shoulder from behind. Guilty McCreech took aim again, but Venom was already moving as the shot was fired, swinging down from the tower, ready to close the distance between himself and the gun slinger...

With Venom swinging away and the threat seemingly gone for the moment, the surviving orcs took count of their numbers, and the heavy gruts began moving in as reinforcement. It was then that Grimnak noticed the vampire still feeding on the lifeless body of his fellow orc. Grimnak charged the vampire and returned the favor, enjoying his second meal of the day. While he feasted and the other orcs licked their wounds, Arlinn Kord walked up to the top of a small hill, overlooking the orcs’ position. She rained fire down, killing one blade grut and wounding Grimnak...

Venom was closing in on Guilty when he sensed the activity behind him. Regretfully, he turned his back on his prey and headed towards the orcs. He saw Arlinn on the hill and landed in range to shoot a web at the goldknight outcast, but she burned it to a crisp mid air. Arlinn raised her arms and suddenly was no longer alone. Two crossbow wielding rangers appeared to her sides, and a mad prophet appeared in front of Venom and landed a crushing blow to the side of his head, knocking Venom to the floor. The ground under Arlinn rose up, and she towered overhead. Another fireball at Grimnak just missed its mark, exploding the ground below the orc champion, knocking beast and rider to the ground. Venom saw Arlinn poised to land the killing blow, and summoned every last bit of strength to swing off the ground and land on top of Arlinn, pummeling her in the process. Now Venom was poised to land the killing blow, but the battered mage had some tricks up her sleeve. She raised a weak finger and smiled, and Venom burst into flame. Using more magic she healed her wounds, rose to her feet, and did not miss Grimnak with the fireball this time...

Ob Nixilis had seen enough. He flew to the front of the orc line and cast a spell to stunt Arlinn’s magic. Ob knew he still hadn’t seen all of Arlinn’s forces and summoned his own backup, an Eldrazi Ruiner on the hill behind him, and Scions in front. Sure enough, the Vikings and Guilty McCreech came to Arlinn’s side, and the battlefront was formed. Ob Nixilis cast some enchantments on his front line scions, and flew into the thick of his enemy’s forces. He landed next to a ranger and ripped his throat out...

On the left flank the surviving arrow grut fired at a Viking, but the Viking raised his shield. Arlinn moved towards the end of her line, eager to put some distance between herself and the demon of spite. A blast from her palm knocked the arrow grut down on his back, and the swog rider stood protectively over the still breathing orc. Ob saw this and smiled, and pointed. The scions moved like lightning, plowing into the Viking line. The vikings stood their ground, repelling the beasts. One scion had a different target, though. It crashed into the remaining Ranger, pinning him down, and began rapidly draining his blood. Ob Nixilis roared in laughter...

Guilty McCreech stepped forward, hand shaking, and fired towards Ob. His aim was not true, and attracted the demon’s attention. A second shot was deflected, and there was no laughter as Ob pointed at Guilty this time. The scions tore through one Viking and made it to Guilty, and they tore him apart as well. Another went after the Mad Prophet, but he was able to deftly dodge the attack. The savagery of the scions had Arlinn's army on the ropes. A curse from Ob on Arlinn to weaken her physically made the end seem near. But once again, Arlinn had some tricks up her sleeve...

Arlinn had a curse for the scions, and moved behind her vampires for cover. She threw a fireball at Ob, but he was able to brush it off. Now concerned, Arlinn enchanted the weapons of her vampires and braced herself for Ob’s response. Little did she expect, Ob has no care for the scions, and commanded them to attack again. As one took a step, flames erupted from each one. However it didn’t stop them, and barely slowed them down. Two crashed into the prophet. They took him down, but he was able to beat them both back and get to his feet again, battered and bloody. The other had a clear path to Arlinn, but only managed to lash at her arm before she was able to move. This didn’t please Ob. He raised his hand and opened his palm. A scion exploded, the concussion knocking the prophet to his back. He wasn’t getting up this time. Ob closed his fist, and the scion was reborn by his side. Arlinn knew she had to do something quickly...

With a whisper and a wave of her hand, Arlinn took control of the scion that attacked her and sent it after another of its own kind. In an explosion of soot, one of Ob’s earlier enchantments backfired, destroying the attacking scion. Arlinn turned her attention to Ob, sending multiple fireballs in his direction. He was unable to brush these off, and the pain sent him fleeing through the sky. He came down behind Arlinn’s line and drained the life from a Viking, healing himself in the process. He unleashed a wave of energy on the nearby vampires, disintegrating them. Seeing her own numbers get slashed, Arlinn turned her attention across the battlefield, to the swog rider attending his inured companion, and the nearby eldrazi scions. Arms in the air, a stream of fireballs flew, and when they finished all three targets were no more. Ob knew he couldn’t win if his troops suffered many more losses, and flew back behind his heavy grut line...

2 vikings took the chance to surround the last arrow grut, and eliminated him as well. Ob sought vengeance, as he does, and flew right after the Vikings. He killed one immediately, and used magic to kill the other, although he knew the second kill would grant Arlinn some additional magic power. Knowing this he again flew away from the front line. This time he landed on a glyph of healing. Now with his wounds healed, he looked up just in time to see Iron Man pass overhead. The game just changed, and Ob could feel the battle slipping away...

Iron Man landed on his front line, and vaporized a blade grut standing in his sights. Again the armies consolidated at their lines, ready to begin the final phase of this battle. The Eldrazi Ruiner stepped forward and sacrificed a part of himself to birth a new scion. Agent Carr made his presence known, stepping out from behind some ruins to surprise the demon with multiple slashes with his sword. Ob was able to block the worst of it, but damage was done, and Ob was back on his heals. He knew he wouldn’t survive another onslaught like that and flew back behind his line. He landed next to a blade grut, and using dark magic he sacrificed the grut to close his own wounds. Meanwhile at the front of the line, Iron Man was roasting 2 heavy gruts. Ob knew he’d waited long enough. Time to unleash the Ruiner...

The Ruiner devoured the newly created scion, and went right for Arlinn, standing up on the hill. Iron Man got in its way. The Ruiner lashed out, but was unable to pierce the armor. It then used its tentacles and grabbed Iron Man’s legs, dragging him to the ground. Now Ob was pleased as he watched from behind the lines, but movement near a tower caught his eye. Agent Carr was climbing a ladder and took a shot towards Ob. The demon deflected the shot, but did not want to get near that sword again. He called in the wyrms. One was able to get close enough to spit acid at Carr’s face, leaving Carr in pain and clutching his eye. Once again Ob was pleased, and turned his attention back to the front line...

The Ruiner created another scion, but immediately ate it as he moved around Iron Man, trapped down on the floor. The Ruiner made it within arms reach of Arlinn, and a crushing strike sent her down to her knees. In a last ditch effort to save her, Agent Carr fired another shot at the demon of spite, but Ob was able to deflect this as well. Again he called the wyrms, who split up. One spit at Carr, but he was ready this time and deftly dodged the acid. The defenseless Arlinn Kord was not so lucky, and the acid landed squarely on her, melting her upper half into a pool of goo. Iron Man only had a second to look on in disbelief before the Ruiner crushed his skull inside his helmet against the ground. Carr knew he was outnumbered, and with no leader to fight for he vanished in retreat. Despite heavy losses, the army of the demon was victorious this day, and continued on across the valley with the decaying towers...

Spider-Man considered his party. The Vikings and the angel seemed trustworthy enough. He wasn’t sure about the vampire. He’s worked with vampires before, and this one didn’t seem too bad, but still he’s a magic wielding vampire. Maybe best not to stay too close. Spidey motioned to Thorgrim, volunteering the Viking champion to follow, and scouted ahead. Spidey swing up through the trees, landing at the edge of clearing. Spidey caught eyes with the enemy planeswalker on the other side, who was already preparing an attack. Before his sense could alert him, Spider-Man was blasted by Jace, a hammering blow that knocked Spidey to the ground. When Spidey was able to look around, Jace was nowhere to be found. Not wanting to risk another surprise attack, Spider-Man swung back behind the trees. He sat down with a ringing head, eyes heavy, and everything faded to black...

Thorgrim did his best to keep up with Spider-Man. He saw the explosion that rocked Spider-Man, and watched him flee through the woods. He found Spider-Man down by a tree, fading in and out of consciousness. Thorgrim desperately tried to wake Spidey, as he could see the lanterns from Geists glowing brighter as they moved closer. Out of nowhere, a group of cultists stood in front of him, and the geists slowed their pace. Sorin walked up next to Thorgrim just as Spider-Man was coming around. Sorin locked eyes with Spider-Man briefly, but couldn’t worry about those issues at the moment. Jace made his way onto a small hill and stood on some sort of glyph, casting spells all the way, and moved a geist to guard his approach. The cultists stepped forward, and Thorgrim thought he would see the summoned forces collide in the field of battle. The scurrying noises from the approaching deathreavers quickly killed that fantasy, and they blocked any approach to Jace’s position from the front and left sides. The mind-mage seemed to have the superior position...

More robots moved up behind Jace, on a higher hill overlooking the field. Sorin could see he would have to take charge to have any hope of winning. He saw Jace’s right side was still unguarded. He quickly ordered Eldgrim, Finn, and the knights to head that way and hopefully attack Jace before he could react. Unfortunately, Jace reacted. He summoned his Necro-Alchemist, and also sent projections of himself out in multiple directions. One projection materialized, and before Eldgrim could react, Jace was firing in his direction. Eldgrim took the full force of the attack head on, and was destroyed. Sorin had to react quickly. He was able to capture Eldgrim’s soul, and use that to enhance the speed of his cultists. It took all of Sorin’s focus to do that, and Jace took control of a cultist while Sorin’s guard was down. The cultist turned around and raced towards Thorgrim. Thankfully a well timed shield to the head brought the cultist back under Sorin’s control. Sorin attempted some spells of his own, but they fizzled out. Jace had prepared too well. Sorin could tell he would have to win this fight with swords rather than magic, and he needed to limit Jace’s mobility. He ordered the cultists to attack the projections, and they managed to destroy one. It was a start. All the while, the robots loomed closer...

As Spider-Man regained some of his senses, he could see the fight was well underway. His spider sense tingled, and he wasted no time this time and swung away. He heard a large explosion behind him, and it looked like a cultist was singed but alive. He landed next to Sorin, who was directing the troops, trying to figure out a way around Jace’s assault. Sorin noticed Spider-Man, and gestured in his direction. Spider-Man instantly felt better. Still sore, but his head was completely cleared. Spidey then saw Sorin gesture towards the cultists, and the ceremony that normally required blood was painless. Spidey was thinking this vampire might be as good as he claimed. The cultists split up and attacked different targets. The first landed a blow to a geist, another destroyed a second projection, and the 3rd was able to land a crushing blow to Jace himself. Jace reeled back, but was not down. Spider-Man could see Jace was not happy, as Jace removed the protection spell Sorin cast on the cultists, and moved it to his own lantern geists. Spider-Man had no idea Jace was capable of something like that, or what Jace’s limits were. Right on cue, Jace raised his hand, and the cultists were gone. Vanished without a trace. The spirit of Eldgrim ascended to the heavens, and the warriors cried out his name. The alchemist took a shot at a knight, but the knight batted it away and charged with Finn. The geist and alchemist they charged stood their ground. Neither side could turn the tide. Spidey finally saw someone he recognized, and waved to Dr Doom as he flew into the field of battle. This distracted Doom enough to allow Finn to avoid Doom’s attack. Neither side could get an edge. Spider-Man saw Sorin sigh and put his head down. The cultists were back, along with another angel! (Hey, where did that other angel go?) Sorin apologized to Spider-Man and stepped forward. Spidey didn’t understand why at first, but then he saw something he will never forget and may not be able to forgive. As Sorin slowly walked towards the Alchemist, the Knight of Weston attacking the Alchemist exploded. The explosion rocked the alchemist and knocked him down. Sorin continued his walk, and finished the job. Spider-Man couldn’t believe his eyes, and for once was left speechless...

Sorin knew Spider-Man would never understand, but the alchemist was too dangerous and had to be put down at any cost. Finn and the other Knights did not see, locked in battle with the geists as they were. They were able to break through the geists defenses and damage one, but it was nothing significant. A robot guard moved in and destroyed a second knight, so Sorin knew if anything he could blame the first on the guards as well. The battle was still too even, and Sorin had to make a difference. A treasure was rumored to be in the north, so Sorin was counting on the rumors being true. He summoned bloodchasers to take his place on the field and sprinted north. He didn’t count on Doom noticing this, and the deathreavers took off to the north as well. They stood across from the treasure glyph, freezing Sorin in his tracks. It dawned on Sorin that Doom was controlling the robots, and he sent the cultists. The cultists swarmed Doom, managing to knock him down. Doom pushed them off, and stood up battered and angry. Sorin’s eyes went to Doom, along with everyone else, to see what the response would be. That was probably a mistake. The final projection materialized, and Jace destroyed a third unsuspecting knight. It’s dangerous to take your eyes off of Jace. Jace or Doom, one had to be taken down immediately...

Spider-Man began to worry. His own teammate was a monster, his other teammates were trying in vain to chip away at the geists, and Jace caught eyes with him again. Jace gestured, and the geists flickered away from Finn and the last knight, and appeared again between Spider-Man and Jace. Jace again took a shot at Spider-Man, but this time he was ready, deftly dodging the blast. Out of nowhere, Spidey felt his worry fade. The angel was here! Raelin took up position near the back of the attack line, and the remaining combatants cheered. Even the enemy stood in awe of Raelin. Except for Jace. He took the opportunity to move towards a cultist, and easily destroyed the distracted opponent. The cultists rallied. Spider-Man saw one cut himself, the arcane ritual that gives them strength. He realized this battle might be too much for him, and he might not be willing to do the things he saw done by his own team. It seemed to work for the cultists though. One was able to use the strength from the blood ritual to finish Dr Doom, and the other severely crippled a geist. Spider-Man caught eyes with Sorin, and the vampire seemed to sense Spider-Man’s struggle. Sorin closed his eyes, and the destroyed cultist was brought back from the dead right before spidey’s eyes. Before Spidey could consider what that meant for his feelings on Sorin, the lantern geists “flickered” to a new position. Jace moved behind them, and attacked Raelin. Raelin went down. While Spider-Man raced over to check on his angel...

Jace used another spell, and the geists roared with rage. The geists moved towards the two remaining Vikings. Sorin almost stepped in to assist, but Finn and Thorgrim were able to repel the attack with only a minor injury to Thorgrim. Confident they were safe, Sorin looked to continue his earlier strategy. He saw Raelin getting to her feet with Spider-Man’s help. Sorin informed the both of them that there was only one remaining projection. Spider-Man did not respond, and kept his eyes locked with Sorin’s. Raelin could sense the tension, and broke it by going after the projection. The projection moved before Raelin could land a hit, going after and wounding a bloodchaser, that until then had just been protecting Sorin’s back. The vampires surround the projection, and the injured bloodchaser absorbs the projection’s life force, restoring his own health in the process. Sorin knew he just took away one of Jace’s greatest strengths, and he could be physically surrounded and overwhelmed. Jace knew too, so he hastened his attack, and destroyed the final knight of Weston. With no more knights, Sorin sent the bloodchasers on the offensive. 2 severely damage a lantern geist, and the 3rd lands a heavy blow on Jace himself. Jace is knocked to the ground. Sorin can see victory in front of him, and poured on the assault...

Spider-Man is happy to see Raelin as she flies into the middle of the army, uplifting all that see her. Again, Jace takes advantage of the distracting aura and destroys a bloodchaser. Spidey could see Sorin had had enough. Sorin pointed to Jace, and the cultists pounced. They wounded Jace further, but Jace still fought. Apparently Doom did not control the robots, and Jace ordered them to attack the Cultists. As if possessed, the cultists brushed off the robot guard attacks, and turned their attention again to Jace. This time, Jace was overwhelmed and destroyed. Spider-Man was happy to be alive, but still unsure if he was happy about the way his team survived. However he continued walking alongside them, heading towards the next battle.