[Gregstrom]

Goatblower, deity of the Agarthans, surveyed his people. They huddled in one corner of the Great Square, made nervous by the capital's terrible emptiness. They were all dressed like princes now, even the humans. Their finery had been earned the hard way, and many of them still had the wounds to show it. He addressed his people.

"Agarthans. The ape-lords of Bandar Log will remember this day forever in their nightmares. Their archers, their tigers - even their elephants could not break our lines. Those few who passed through our gates fell before they had the time to see more than the blades that ended their lives. They may break our walls, but our will is unbroken. Agertha stands!"

The crowd's answering roar of "AGARTHA STANDS!" was loud, but it was quickly lost in the cavernous darkness of the empty capital. The grinding as the statues lining the square raised their swords in salute echoed back as little more than a faint, rattling exhalation.