For those in the Violet Hold, black mist shrouded their vision!
When the mist cleared, what greeted them was an unfamiliar continent.
These were the memories from the demon's mind that Archmage Alonsus Faol showed the mages:
This was a hellishly barren land, with traces of fel corruption everywhere... drought, poor soil, withered plants, and even the creatures lucky enough to survive had all been exposed to fel, undergoing all manner of horrifying mutations!
Humanoid skeletons lay everywhere. These humanoid creatures had suffered war and slaughter in life, leaving behind only cruelty and bloodshed.
A depleted, savage region without any sign of life! The only thing that drew their attention stood at the easternmost edge of this land... a black gateway.
"This is a portal!" Meryl cried in surprise. "An extremely powerful portal!"
A group of green-skinned monsters walked toward the portal... they were tall and powerfully built, creatures seemingly born for war; all carried weapons such as greataxes or flails.
The ground these creatures trod upon gave off faint traces of fel.
"The demons' minions?" Nalaras asked quietly. "Where are they going?"
There were nearly a hundred monsters in this group, and they marched in orderly steps through the black portal.
Then the mist shrouded everything again...
"Wait a moment!" Faol said quietly, trying his best to further cloud the demon's mind.
Ten minutes later, the mist cleared again...
Where was this?
All three mages were immediately startled.
This was a familiar land, lush with vegetation and brimming with life.
These monsters were not the first wave to arrive here. In fact, they already had an outpost here.
There were not many of them, though, only a few hundred in total...
Some monsters were cutting down trees to build a camp, while others hunted every animal nearby for food...