Night had fallen blanketing the savage world in shadows. Not all were dark, however, as twin orange moons shone down upon the land. A slight breeze blew over the silent orc camp, making the cold gatekeepers shiver.

They were alone, it seemed that the orcs had all but forgotten about them. Those supposedly on guard duty had left the humans unwatched for some grub. It was only for a short while. There was no point in worrying about these two puny and weak humans. The ghost lords were both securely tied up in orc chains and unconscious anyway. They were not going anywhere anytime soon.

Constantine groaned and moved his head as he regained consciousness. His back was a mess of incredible pain. He could not feel his arms or legs. They were so numb. The orcs had done so much damage to his body that even his awesome regenerative powers were taking time to fully heal him. The orc chains which bound him were not helping at all.

Constantine, Health 23

It was night here. He wondered how much time had actually passed in the real world. The time here might have been speeded up when he was unconscious. A whole day had passed in here, it may have only been a couple hours in the real world.

The Red Warlock raised his head feebly, looking for his friend. Had he died and re-spawned? Had he logged out? Had Laz left him here all alone in this hell? Maybe he could log back in and release him. His hopes died just as quickly as it had bloomed. He remembered Xico. If Laz had died and re-spawned, he would not be able to port back to the Orc world.

He couldn't reach his Mark to logout. He smiled in irony as he recalled Lazarus recounting his terrible experience and desperation when the Assassin had been captured in Season One. Constantine remembered announcing confidently that he would never be caught in that situation. The gatekeeper shuddered and sighed despondently. Look at him now.

His gaze went to the spot where he had last seen Lazarus. Oh my God! His eyes widened in shock as he saw a still dark figure on the ground. The Assassin must still be alive as his 'body' was still here. Lazarus had not died after all. That meant that Jace was still online. Was he conscious? He couldn't imagine the pain of broken legs. Freaking Simtrixx.

Lazarus, Health 4 per cent.

Oh wow, seriously?

"Laz? Laz!" he called. A low groan sounded. The body moved slightly.

"Laz!! Get up, please get up."

"Oh Gods ... Am I dead?" Lazarus croaked barely audible. "No... being dead can't be as bad as this." He reasoned.

Lazarus' whole body was on fire. His clothes, torn and sticky with half dried blood from his injuries, were plastered to his body. Lazarus did not dare look down at his mangled legs for fear of what he might find. He could not distinguish his individual legs or what was left of them. From the waist down, there was only incredible pain.

All he wanted to do was log out and never come back in again. Lazarus shuddered at the terrifying memory of the heavy club hitting him again and again. The excruciating pain as he felt the iron spikes tear into his flesh and heard the crunch of his bones breaking was still fresh in his mind. He had watched in helpless horror as the cruel weapon came boring down on him. Lazarus started shaking violently. He wanted to throw up.

"Laz?" Constantine did not dare ask if his friend was o'kay. Any fool could see that he was not. "Laz ..."

The Assassin's head jerked up. "Constantine?" he croaked in despair.

Oh Gods, he had forgotten Constantine. A heavy weight bore down on him as the realisation that he could not leave the warlock here alone. It was his fault that Constantine was in this mess. It was he who wanted to cross over to find the cure, Lazarus thought miserably. If only he had not been so excited to enter the Portal, Constantine would not have been tempted to come along. He had to get them out of this mess or he would never forgive himself. Only a coward would leave a friend behind.

"Yes, yes it is me. I am here," Constantine answered. "Rest for a while, you should recover in a bit. My own Health is improving, then I will blast those monsters for what they have done to us."

"H-hang on," Lazarus tried to push himself up to a sitting position but his arms gave way. Pain shot up his phantom legs. "Aarrghhhh!" He fell back down with a gasp. He couldn't get up.

"Laz? Just rest. Don't worry about me. I will recover soon. My health is already thirty two per cent."

"No time. They will be back any minute. J-just give me a second ..." The Assassin slowly reached out to access his Inventory with a shaking hand. He had to try a few times before he managed to retrieve two bottles of potions. Without wasting another second Lazarus gulped down the precious liquid. He sighed in relief as the pain faded, allowing him to breathe more normally.

Constantine heard rattling sounds as Lazarus managed to sit up.

"Ahh, this is impossible. Damn it, I almost got it," the Assassin cursed softly.

"What are you doing?"

"Hang on." More rattling sounds followed. "Yesss! I got it."

The Red Warlock watched as Lazarus unclasped his heavy chain collar. Ahhh, he smiled in understanding, hope blossoming in his chest. The Assassin had somehow managed to pick the lock. Cool!! Hah! Now the orcs will pay, every last one of them ... just as soon as Laz came to save him.

The warlock's delight did not last long however, as he noticed that Lazarus did not get up immediately. Instead, the Assassin was painfully crawling over to him, using his arms to drag his useless body closer, commando style. Constantine's eyes widened in pity and horror when he realised that his friend's shattered legs were still useless. Bones took longer to heal compared to flesh. The poison was seriously hampering his recovery even with maximum research and two bottles of healing potions.

Constantine, Health 36 per cent.

Lazarus, Health 26 per cent.

"Hey, uhh, Laz ... wait awhile until your legs ..." he said awkwardly.

"No time," Lazarus panted with effort. "We got to get out of here now. They could come back any time. This ... is our only ... chance."

By the time he reached the warlock, Lazarus was sweating with exertion. However, he did feel better, his chest wounds were closing, the whip lashes had faded into thin silvery white lines. His legs too were mending. He could feel the bones knitting back together slowly and flesh growing and covering his damaged limbs. Healing was painful too but he needed his legs. One more bottle wouldn't hurt, he thought. Quickly, he downed another vial of Isis's potent brew. Saying a silent prayer, he hauled himself up using Constantine's support beams and let go. Amazingly, his legs held. They were mending faster now that the orc chain was not hampering his healing process.

Lazarus, Health 38 per cent.

Constantine let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Without another word, the Assassin started picking the locks which held the solid chains in place.

"I don't mean to pressure you, but ... please hurry!"

"Ughhh, Val is so much better at this than I am ..." Lazarus swore as he fumbled with the heavy orc locks. How he wished he had the Thief's unique mastery at lock-picking now. He never missed the Thief's presence (and Skill) like he did now.

"Hurry, hurry! I hear them coming."

"Done!!" Lazarus cried in triumph as he flung open the locks and the taut chains finally loosened. Constantine fell to the ground, quickly freeing himself from the rest of his binds.

"O'kay. Let's get out of here."

"Are you o'kay?"

"Yeah, you?"

"I've been better but I'll live."

The two gatekeepers stumbled as fast as their mending bodies allowed them from the camp and dove into the wilderness lining the dirt path. They would be too exposed on the open road if they kept running. Constantine and Lazarus hunched down huddling in the thick foliage just as the alarm rang out.

"The prisoners have escaped!"

"Everyone, search the camp and its surroundings."

"The spell caster must be carrying the other one."

"They couldn't have gone far. They are both terribly wounded."

Braukke did not care for excuses. "Who is responsible for this?!! Whose shift was it?" his loud voice bellowed angrily.

Constantine chortled gleefully his spirits soaring in excitement at their escape. "I wouldn't want to be the orcs who were supposed to be on duty. They are so dead."

"Let's go. This way." Lazarus crouched on his newly mended legs and indicated a direction.

"No, wait," Constantine grabbed Lazarus' arm to hold him back. His eyes had narrowed dangerously and his lips had pressed into a thin line. "I've got a better idea," he said and tossed Lazarus a small vial filled with green liquid. He took out another and gulped down its contents.

Constantine, Health 66 per cent.

His health recovery rate had doubled back to normal now that he was out of the orc chains. The potion which he had drunk would top-up another chunk.

"Go on, drink, it's on me." Constantine grinned. "We have some unfinished business to attend to."

Lazarus raised an eyebrow, "What? I thought we were escaping."

"Later we will continue with our escaping. Right now, I want to teach those NPCs what happens when they mess with me, the great Red Warlock ...and for Xico," he said fiercely.

"You want to go back? You want to take them out?"

"Of course! When monsters attack me in any MMORPG Game, I always wipe them out before continuing, don't you?" he asked in surprise. "That way I know they won't sneak up on me from behind when I'm not looking."

"That's true."

"C'mon, before they organise themselves."

Both went into battle mode and geared up.

Meanwhile the orc camp was in chaos. The whole place had been lighted up. Extra fires in braziers and scones were placed everywhere. There was nowhere to hide.

"How can two half-dead, shackled, pathetic humans just walk out of here?!!"

"T-t-they are g-ghost lords, Sir. The rumours about them must be true."

"Rubbish! They are not ghost lords. They are only humans. The prisoners are flesh and blood, you all saw them bleed. FIND THEM!! I will make them bleed some more and dispel all your doubts! In fact, I will kill them myself as proof!"

Constantine winced covering his ears, grinning wickedly. Lazarus smiled crookedly at his friend. The Red Warlock was enjoying the orcs discomfort.

"Let's go. We have the element of surprise, not to mention their superstitious fear on our side."

"There are about twenty of them left. Ten for you and ten for me," Constantine counted happily. "Think you can handle that?"

Constantine, Health 85 per cent

Lazarus, Health 40 per cent (max limit)

In response, Lazarus hefted his favourite silver bow. "Barbed steel heads, iron shafts, harpy feathers." It was time to try out his new specially constructed arrows he had created with the equipment editor. He hoped it worked like he planned. Earlier he had forgotten about his new arrows in all the chaos. He mentally kicked himself in hindsight. It could have saved them so much trouble and pain. Now it was time to kill. "Auto reload quiver."

As one, the two gatekeepers rushed out towards the camp using Speed. They appeared like deadly apparitions at the edge of the camp. Not many noticed them, those who did, died immediately.

"Acid mist," Constantine muttered beginning the complicated spell of the melee weapon.

A red mist seemed to float towards the huge warriors attracting their attention. Those who charged into it screamed in pain as their thick grey hides bubbled and peeled off their flesh. Leather armour, skin and flesh melted as the deadly acidic cloud enveloped them. Constantine, the great Red Warlock was done fooling around. No more trying to be reasonable in this brutal world. It was time to kill. These NPCs did not deserve reasonable.

More armed orcs came forward lured by the terrified shouts of their comrades, they must have found the prisoners. The second they came within range, lethal barbed arrows materialised in the air and embedded themselves in their bodies. Three, four arrows hit each orc ensuring death. Those who were hit in the head or the neck died instantly and were counted lucky. The others died more slowly. None escaped.

"It's the prisoners. They are ghost lords!! They have returned!!"

"Impossible!!"

"It's true, they are here for vengeance. We shouldn't have tortured them."

Panic rose among the grey warriors. They could fight against all kinds of monsters as long as they were flesh and blood. All manner of creatures were mortal, bled and could die ... but ghost lords? They were a whole different story altogether. The rumours on the fabled beings were many. How did one fight or kill an immortal ghost? They had been left dying and securely chained, so how did they escape and come back strong enough to wreak havoc? It was proof of their legendary powers.

It was a blood bath.

The two Heroes did not give the orcs a chance to retaliate. The deadly red mist hovered menacingly around the humans, like a ring, protecting them. The ring expanded to envelop brave warriors who tried to get near. They died shouting curses. The orcs could not get close. Spears and arrows aimed at the ghost lords hit an invisible barrier and fell harmlessly to the ground. Meanwhile, reinforced arrows kept whizzing out of the cloud. Every one hit a target. One by one, the confused orcs died. It was all over in a few intense minutes.

Braukke was the last to die. He had to watch his whole platoon being annihilated before his eyes whilst not being able to do anything. His warriors were being killed so fast. He stood dumbfounded unable to comprehend the situation or react to the massacre of his troops. When he finally did, it was all over.

At last it was his turn. He felt three solid arrows pierce his body, one in his neck making him gurgle thick black ichor, another on his arm which caused him to drop his heavy double edged sword. He fell to his knees as the last one hit him in his thigh draining his legs of strength. He had just started to curse and laugh in disbelief when red lightning struck him again and again, electrocuting him. He was the final one to explode and fade into nothingness.

The slaughter had taken a little under five minutes. The orc camp became silent again. Constantine and Lazarus made a quick search of the camp, ensuring there were no survivors. Only then did they relax from battle mode.

The two gatekeepers disappeared without a trace after moving a safe distance from the empty orc camp.

They had logged out.