### 173

As your divine blade inflicts the wounds which destroy these creatures, their bodies undergo a swift and gruesome transformation. They implode, twisting and shrinking as they contract, until all that is left are three evil-smelling pools of bubbling black venom surrounded by melted ice and fragments of smouldering cloth.

You sheathe the Sommerswerd and step away from the foul remains. But as you turn to leave the ruins, you hear a terrifying howl that makes your blood run cold. With fearful anticipation you look up at the towering Crystal Spire and see, illuminated by lightning flashes, the awesome figure of Deathlord Ixiataaga. He stands behind the parapet of a window in the upper reaches of the spire, the Deathstaff raised high in his ungodly hand. He has sensed the presence of the Sommerswerd and he has determined to destroy it.

You see a flash of white light explode at the tip of the Deathstaff, and in the very next instant, you feel agonizing pain shoot through every part of your body. Then an explosion of white-hot fire obliterates your senses, and in a terrifying instant, the light that is your life is snuffed out.

Tragically, you have fallen victim to the Deathlord of Ixia. Your life and your quest end here.