"Oh my God! Jazebel's gone."

"That was crazy," Harlock said shaken. Jazebel was his best friend.

"C'mon, let's go. We have to keep moving. Who knows what else that maniac has in store for us."

"Nyx?" Azazeal called to the assassin in his group. "What else do you think Lazarus will do?" They needed some clues to Lazarus's twisted mind.

"We have to be light on our feet, fast and alert at all times. He tends to ... " She was interrupted by soft rumbling like distant thunder.

"What's that?"

The rumbling sound grew louder and nearer. Nyx looked up and blinked. The meagre sunlight was fading out of sight. It was being blocked by bits of falling earth and small stones.

"Falling rocks!! Everyone, take shelter at the sides!! Under the ledges!!" Nyx screamed just as large rocks and boulders started falling smashing everything in their path.

She instinctively dove to her right. The assassin tumbled and rolled several times until she lay under the ledge. She hoped the rest had heard her. She was aware of Azazel and Zetton. They had reacted immediately to her warning. Hopefully Harlock had also heard her and managed to get to safety.

Nyx covered her ears from the thunderous noise as tons of rocks and stones bounced into the valley. Everything around her was shaking. The ground was vibrating at the impact of the crumbling mountain top. She couldn't breathe. Dust, sand and debris were everywhere. Quickly, the assassin pulled up her scarf to cover her nose and mouth. Ahhh, that's better, now she could breathe a little.

She couldn't stay here. She crawled forward slowly under the narrow ledge. The assassin prayed fervently that it would hold. If the ledge broke, she would be crushed to death. She would then have to request the Trial again restarting the quest. She bet Jazebel had respawned and was waiting for them somewhere outside the valley.

Finally, the noise stopped. Only the sound of a few loose rocks settling could be heard. The fallen earth and boulders had totally sealed off her left, forming a tunnel in which she was cowering in. She was alive, frightened, bruised and bleeding from several cuts but alive.

Nyx saw a faint light ahead giving her hope. She continued her torturous crawl toward the end of the tunnel. Luckily she wasn't claustrophobic. It took several long minutes before she managed to haul herself out the end. What a relief to be out in the open again. She rested with her back against the wall.

"Hey!! Anybody made it out alive?"

Nyx sat up. "Here! I'm here!" she almost cried in relief to hear Azazel's muffled voice.

A shadow appeared out of the swirling dust forming her team leader. The Warlock crouched down next to Nyx.

"Are you okay? Can you stand?"

"Yes, yes I'm okay. Where are the others?"

Azazel's jaw tightened. "There are no others. It's only you and me now."

Nyx stared wide eye at the Warlock. "B-but, Zett got out of the way ... and Harlock ..." her voice trailed as Azazel shook his head sadly.

"Zett got hit by a falling boulder and Harlock ... he was buried while casting a protective spell. He should have gotten out of the way first."

Nyx's shoulders slumped. "We are not going to make it this time are we?"

"Hey, cheer up. At least we got a feel of the place. We will be better prepared the next time. Now, we have to get as far in as possible, okay?"

"Okay."

"Stay close."

They got up and continued their journey cautiously.

"Umm ..."

"Yeah, I see them too," Azazel said in a low voice.

Both Heroes went into battle mode. The Warlock muttered a spell and his hands crackled with orange electricity. The assassin patted her hidden knives and took out her crossbow.

They were being watched. Shadows flitted past them in their peripheral vision, only to disappear when they turned to look. Some near, some further away, constantly moving.

Suddenly, a group of eleven NPCs jumped out, surrounding them. The Assassins went into formation around the two trespasses effectively blocking any escape. The two Heroes had no choice, they had to fight. At level 58, Azazel got six enemies. Nyx had to deal with five, being a lower level bracket.

If Lazarus had to fight them, he would have had to face nine assassins on his own being at level 75. A level 51 Hero had to deal with five enemies. At level 56, six and so on. One more opponent was added at every five levels due to the supposed increased Hero's experience and skill. And he had fought the all too, after all, Simtrixx only allowed a Trial if it was possible to complete it. Impossible or ridicules Trials were rejected. Every Gate Keeper had to test out their own Trial, demonstrating the various points and how to get around the challenges before it was approved by Simtrixx and officially added to the Game.

"Just do your best," Azazel muttered to Nyx. He knew close combat was not her forte. Heck, neither was it his or Lazarus' for that matter. It was an unexpected move on Lazarus' part.

The armed fighters rushed the two Heroes surrounding them. Azazel immediately lashed out with his lightning. His sorcery was powerful but it drained his Energy. He had to be careful to hit his targets. Random lightning would be wasteful. Three sizzled and burst into bright dots as the Warlock focused on his remaining targets.

Nyx let loose as many arrows as she could. She managed to hit two assassins but the third went wide missing her target completely. She tried to reload her weapon, fumbling in her panic. Suddenly, she felt a wrenching pain in her gut. She stared uncomprehendingly at the blade protruding from her middle.

"Ughh ... Azz ... "

Azazel turned in time to see Nyx's horrified expression before she combusted into pixels screaming in agony. He shielded his eyes.

He did not have time to mourn her demise. Now the balance six enemies surrounded him. With Nyx gone, her remaining three foes refocused on whoever remained.

The warlock drew in a deep breath and lashed out at the nearest NPCs as they attacked him. Orange electricity engulfed the assassins around him. Four died with him. The five avatars exploded majestically, lighting up the whole area in orange and white. Two survived, the warlock's reduced power had not been strong enough to kill all at once. The last two assassins were only wounded.

When the bright sparks faded, only the two injured black-clad NPCs stood on the Path. They waited motionless for five seconds before returning to the shadows, their job done. There were no more trespassers.

Lazarus sighed in disappointment. Although he had put on a show of underestimating them, he had actually been rooting for them. He had such high hopes for this group. They had been so confident. He had been watching in the shadows the whole time. The whole group was gone. They had almost made it too. After facing the assassins, they would have entered a cave where the Portal Orb was hidden.

The Assassin's Path automatically reset itself.

Lazarus walked out into the open and headed straight into the cave. The cave was well lighted. Orbs of various colours, texture and sizes were displayed all over the cave. Some in the open, some nestled in moss, dirt or stuck in between rocks. Flowers, ferns and low bushes covered some more. Players who made it this far would have to pick one.

A Shield automatically sealed the opening upon entering, preventing anyone from getting out. Picking the right Orb and placing it on a specially designed niche at the cave's entrance would dissipate the Shield, thus allowing the triumphant Hero escape. Picking and placing the wrong one would end in death as the cave crumbled destroying all within.

A serious player would know how the real Orb looked like. It's colour, texture and estimated size had been shown in Season One's reality show, on Simtrixx's official game page and discussed at length on several gamer's blogs.

The Assassin looked at the spot where his Orb was. The plain pearl grey Orb was dirty and was only half hidden in the dirt.

Suddenly feeling weary, he sank to the ground sitting carelessly on the dirt. His chest was acting up again. Not too bad, the pain was bearable this time. He closed his eyes, wincing as he focused on controlling his insides.

Health, 71 per cent.

When the sensation passed, he took out an Item from his Inventory. Quickly he drank the small bottle of Health potion. It was a low grade potion. He kept the better grade potions for dungeons or quests.

Health, 81 per cent.

He would have to buy more from Isis. He had run out of his special health potion supply. All he had left were these low grade ones. She had developed a special grade potion for him but it was expensive. The ingredients were expensive, she had explained apologetically.

Lazarus sighed. He needed to have a steady supply until he figured out how to get rid of the orc poison from his system.