While the siege of Baldemar was in its final stages, two more liches, Xodur and Gorthor, were released from their prisons. There was no living being present to witness what happened between the two, but apparently Xodur attacked and destroyed Gorthor and assimilated his army into his own. Though Gorthor's host had been one of the weakest to begin with, having been decimated in the mage wars, the combined host was the greatest threat to emerge so far.

Xodur wasted no time, leading his army westward, only circling around Baldemar to avoid a confrontation with Prul-Gar, who was at the time still laying siege to Baldemar. After several weeks Xodur reached the area of Vermol, where he encountered forces of Uruk-hai, leading the imperial occupation army. The clashes between the armies were hard but short and ended with the Uruk-Hai completely defeated and Vermol once more in ruins. It is tragic that as we know today, Vermol wasn’t even Xodur’s target, and he might have been content to simply pass it by.

The lich’s army continued its westward march along the coast of the inner sea, took the town of Atek and crossed over to The Central, the large island across the straights. The town of Abur had by then been largely deserted and fell to Xodur without battle. Xodur’s army then spread out over the Central, crushing all opposition and occupying some sites, without any obvious system. Xodur himself led the largest part of his army towards the Dark Citadel, the seat of the order of the Black Knights of Krao.

While the Dark Citadel was under attack, small groups of scouts led by master rangers Silvena Moonshadow and Garret Macar as well as the wizard Rade Feivra were sent to investigate the doings of the rest of Xodur’s army. They found out that Xodur was harnessing the power of several nodes for some spell as well as occupying several spots around the Black Citadel. Not able to discern the nature of the spell, they sought the wisdom of Crog, a local god who was often seen in the vicinity of Carse. Although the city had since been destroyed, they managed to find Crog and he was able to discern Xodur’s purpose: He planned to kill the god Krao and take his powers as his own!

As fast as possible Silvena and Crog assembled a group of heroes to enter the dark citadel and put an end to Xodur’s schemes. Though none of them expected to return from that mission, they found it was relatively easy to enter the citadel, for in the previous battle the walls and fortifications had been torn down, and no one was actually expecting an attack deep in the heart of the area Xodur’s army controlled. Only when they had entered the citadel itself were they forced to do battle with Xodur’s forces. As they fought their way deeper into the depths beneath the citadel the resistance was growing stronger, but it still seemed like most of Xodur’s minions were busy with the ritual.

Deep in the bowels of the citadel, Crog and his companions came upon a group of Black Knights, who were still resisting the unlife, though they were all but imprisoned in a well defensible area with no means to get out. Crog decided to help them break free. The unlife guarding the area had their attention focussed towards the Black Knights and were caught by surprise when they were attacked from behind. Still they put up a formidable battle until the Black Knights came forth from their positions and together the two groups defeated the unlife. After some negotiations the Black Knights joined the heroes and now, their numbers more than doubled and with the Knights to guide them, they headed straight for the room where the Knights were certain the ritual was held.

When they reached the inner sanctum of the citadel, they found Xodur and a couple of his minions chanting over a dark sword that seemed to glow with an evil energy. A bit to the side lay a figure in black armour he was held in place by magical wards but seemed almost too weak to move. With a cry of outrage, the Black Knights stormed into the room and attacked the lich, and Crog and his companions could do little but help them. Still the battle was too hard and one by one the Black Knights and heroes went down, even though Xodur himself was still focussing part of his concentration on the ritual.

That was when Rade Feivra managed to dispel the wards holding the black figure in place. The man got unsteadily to his feet and staggered towards Crog. These are his words as Crog later told them: “I am dieing. Nothing you can do will save me now. But you are strong. You can prevent Xodur from succeeding. You can save my followers.”
Then Krao gripped Crog’s shoulder and within seconds Crog seemed to grow larger and stronger until Krao fell over and died. Xodur let out a shriek of fury, for his ritual had not been completed yet. Crog stepped forward and took hold of the Dark Sword, which changed to emit a holy light, and all the unlife recoiled in disgust. The heroes took up the fight with new furor and this time they managed to defeat the unlife. Soon, Crog’s sword plunged into the chest of Xodur and he used his new power to weave a spell that resealed Xodur and all his minions on The Central.

When all battle had ended, less than half of the heroes and Black Knights had survived and the wizard Rade and the ranger Garret Macar lay among the dead. Crog then approached the surviving Black Knights, offering them a place among his followers, which they all gratefully accepted. Of Xodur he told that the lich was not dead, for he had used part of Xodur's power in the spell to reseal the remains of the army, so he said he would take up residence in the citadel to make sure Xodur would never again return to the world of the living.