The Assault on Karcenak(Orgoth, Jun)

Darkness and cold were her only friends. Darkness, cold and the incessant drip of water someone outside her stone cell. When they had first thrown her in here, Aline had been calm. She knew a day like this might come, and she was prepared. She'd waited a few hours, then picked the lock, slipping out into the dark hall beyond, and came face to face with a pair of glowing violet eyes. Slender fingers wrapped around her arm, and steered her back into her cell, and the picks she'd concealed were taken.

Aline's guardian lurked in the dark, eyes seeing everything. The stranger never spoke, never made a sound, even when guards came with food. The second night, the door opened and a blanket was thrown over her to still her chattering teeth, and her thanks were met with silence. Darkness and cold were her only friends, but maybe she had an ally in this stranger.


Octavia woke early the morning following her meeting with the Primoris Rex, and after waking Miral she headed down to the Eerie to visit Saelie. She found the Wyvern curled up in her nest of hey, snoring softly. Stroking the smooth scales under the Wyverns chin she said, "I have to go on help a friend out. I wanted to spend a bit more time with you, but it cant wait. I wont be long, be a good girl for the handlers." She said. The Wyvern's red eyes opened and she scanned Octavia with a perceptive gaze.

Octavia patted her head and rose to leave, but the Wyvern stood up and started to follow her out. "No, you need to stay here." Octavia said. "You need time to recover." The Wyvern huffed and pushed past Octavia into the tunnel. Octavia whistled a command to stay, but the Wyvern ignored her. Of course she wasn't going to listen. Octavia tried to intercept the Wyvern as she made her way to the central cavern where Galantus was being saddled. She let a roar at the black Wyvern and forced him aside, then looked at the handlers expectantly. "Saelie, you need to go lie down and rest." She ordered, but the Wyvern just gave her a side glance, and waited.

Several hours later, Octavia and Miral were soaring over the freelands on the back of the most stubborn Wyvern in the world. But she didn't falter once.


The sun was rising on the third day of their mad march to Karcenak, the city's alabaster walls glowing in the morning light. It looked exactly the same as she remembered, the cities single story buildings cascading in tiers down the side of a large hill. At its peak, the Master's Villa. Juresh Enyo's residence, now, she supposed. Aline was somewhere in that city and they were going to get her back. Lina Hargrave had sent a messenger bird to Arilia the night before, telling them to be at the west gate by noon. She would get them in, and they would do the rest. They had three hours to prepare.

Bethany had barely slept, spent most of the night watching that city from their copse of trees, waiting to move. She looked to Kairi and Rex and wondered just what she was dragging them into. There was only three of them, and Arilia but Bethany didn't trust the undari. Not because she seemed untrustworthy, but because she was loyal to Lina. She wished she had Vala and Fayla here, or siegfried, hell even Kronos would be enough. Because she didn't think she would be enough. Not with how her hands shook just thinking about stepping foot in that city.

A shadow passed over her, and Bethany looked up to see a green and blue Wyvern sail over. Not just any Wyvern, an Edia Wyvern by the bright colorings and the shape of the head. It circled round, and landed in the shadow of a hill, out of sight of the city. Bethany shook Kairi awake. "Get up, we've got company." Bethany said loud enough to wake the group. "Raindrop, stick close. No running off now." She said as Arilia looked up sleepily.


Octavia wasn't exactly sure where Rex and his friends were, but she doubted they were in the city. Even so, it seemed like a bad idea to get any closer with Saelie, lest she be spotted, so they landed in a secluded area out of sight of the city. Octavia hopped down from Saelie's and offered Miral a hand, then stretched. She scratched under Sealie's chin as the wyvern yawned. "You did great. You're a good girl, stubborn and disobedient, but good." She crooned to the wyvern who gave a huff and nudged Octavia. "Miral, do you see any sign of Kairi?" She asked the Eldross. Maybe Inara could track her.

But then she spotted a figure crest the hill, and her hands went to her weapons. Saelie tensed, growling at the dark skinned woman as she approached. But as she got closer, Octavia relaxed. There was something familiar about her. She patted Saelie on the flank, as others followed the woman. She spotted Rex and Kairi and raised a hand in greeting. "We got you're letters Rex, and it looks like we're not to late too." She said. The stranger looked to Rex. "Care to introduce us, Rex?" She asked him.

Rex was lightly sleeping. Not so lightly that any rustling of brushes woke him up or anything, but light enough that anything major would jerk him awake. He was still fairly well rested. Resolute in what he and the rest of them must do. Though he wondered about the company. But he was more worried about Beth. He'd noticed some little things. Including light shaking. Something had her spooked. Hopefully they'd have time for him to pull her to the side and ask. He needed her to be at her best. They needed her at her best.

Upon reaching the site, he smiled. "Relax, they're friends. Well, one at least, but if the other one considers them one..." When they got closer, he waved at Octavia. Beth asked him to introduce them. Gesturing towards each one, he listed his side first, starting with the dark skinned woman. "Bethany Merciallus, Darius's aunt. Commander Kairi Thorne of the Sunshield Hold. And Arilia. Ms. Hargrave's subordinate and guarantee she won't stab us in the back. Supposedly. And this is Octavia Velerius. Friend and Oculi Draconis member and probably the best wyvern and kelari handler within the last decade or so. Probably future commander of our Sky Guard. But time will tell on that. It's good to see you...this beauty is new, hopefully she's better tempered than Brutus. Oh, and who is your guest?" He couldn't help but mention the wyvern. And everyone in the know knows that Brutus was an extremely low bar for temperament.

He was curious as to the new face. That was new. Upon introductions, he nodded, hoping Octavia would introduce him and the rest of the gang. "Nice to meet you. At this point, we should go on foot. We need to get to the West Gate by noon. Let's not miss our window. If you got my letter, then you know the situation. It hasn't changed aside from needing to go there to get into the city mostly safely. It's Ms. Hargrave. Devils may keep to their contracts, but best to still be on guard."

This also made things so much easier. He and Octavia can fight Juresh while the rest can go save Aline. He looked at Beth to lead the way. But he would try to be the next one closest to her, and hopefully the only one to be privy to a conversation.

Suppressing any nerves she was feeling about the coming operation, Miral sensed Octavia quietly enter her room on the Sky Islands of Edia. Miral broke from her trance-like state, the Eldross equivalent of sleeping, and fixed her green eyes on the Asentari who had befriended her during their encounter in the Vultani Jungle. Nodding somberly, Miral prepared for what needed to be done. She requested arrow shafts from Octavia, and replaced any of the arrows that had been damaged in the jungle. Once equipped and ready, Miral accompanied Octavia to the Eyrie, where she was confronted by an angry Wyvern who wasn't happy about being sidelined. Saelie made it clear in no uncertain terms that she was coming, despite Galantus and Octavia's best efforts. Miral smiled and placed a gentle hand on the proud creature's snout. "I would be honored to have you on this journey." Inara nudged the wyvern's snout gently, before climbing up into Miral's backpack with her head poking out of the pack. Miral took a deep breath, and climbed aboard.


After over two days of hard marching, a moment that Kairi Thorne had dreaded for over ten years had finally arrived. She had returned to Karcenak, the site of one of the darkest moments of her life. The citadel of nightmares lay in the distance, like a shining beacon for all that was wrong with this world. Sleep was sparse while in the view of the city, and Kairi saw Bethany staring through the trees towards the city, knowing she wasn't the only one who felt fear at what was to come next. Late in into the night, Kairi sat against a tree and stared towards the same walls too, bolstering herself with the promise she had made to Bethany, and the consequences to Ka'Lesa if they failed. Aline Drexara was a good person and a talented ruler, something that was all too rare these days, and she did not deserve to be where she was now, purely because she was trying to make Asmir a better place. Kairi pulled her hood and cloak close, and forced herself to get some sleep. All of these thoughts were moot if she was unable to function from fatigue. She only hoped that Bethany would be able to rest too.


As they approached the city, Miral realized that they would have to look for their allies, as it was not known exactly where they were camping. She agreed with Octavia that they would not have entered the city already, so they took cover in the forest nearby and disembarked. She nodded over her shoulder to Inara, and the feline clambered down from her cabin and surveyed the area. Miral stroked Saelie gently on the snout and smiled in thanks, before moving to the task of trying to rendezvous with Kairi and the others. She spoke to Inara while looking around. "Inara, we need to find Lieutenant Thorne. See if-"

Before she could finish her request, Miral heard footsteps nearby, and joined the others in looking towards the crest of the hill nearby. A dark-skinned figure crested the hill and Miral nocked an arrow with preternatural speed, pointing it at the stranger. Inara moved beside Miral, ready to morph into staff form the moment it was needed. Miral eased her bow draw when she saw a familiar face emerge alongside the stranger, unmistakable by her white cloak and sun-emblazoned shield. Miral exhaled in relief. "It is Lieutenant Thorne. We've found them." She returned the bow and arrow to her back harness and quiver respectively, and followed Octavia to meet the others. Miral put her right hand on her heart, then outstretched it with palm up towards Kairi in the traditional Eldross greeting to friends. "Lieutenant Thorne, it is good to see you." Inara moved towards Kairi and nudged her leg slightly before returning to Miral's side. "Inara is glad to see you too."


Kairi was happy to see Octavia again, having made her acquaintance during the First Contact conflict, and Rex's introduction of her certainly showed that he thought very highly of her too. Her presence was surprising, but she definitely did not expect to see Miral Nerys alongside her. She knew the Eldross was a nomad who had traveled most of Ka'Lesa over the course of her long life, but Miral also valued peace over conflict, so how she came to be her with a renowned wyvern handler and her companion was curious. But there would be time to discuss that later. Miral offered her the traditional Eldross salute, which Kairi returned. She smiled warmly, noting that Miral still called her by her official rank in the Order of the Sun, despite Kairi's best efforts to convince her to refer to her by first name. Her ocelot companion also greeted her warmly, and despite the unexpectedness of it, the Eldross' presence actually warmed her and bolstered her defenses. After Rex had introduced everyone, Kairi bowed politely to the wyvern master, and then Rex inquired as to the identity of Miral. Kairi decided to introduce her, being familiar with Miral's discomfort in social situations, though Kairi noted that she did seem a little more relaxed than normal.

"Allow me to introduce Miral Nerys. She is a friend to the Order and one of the most skilled archers the land has seen. And this," Kairi gestured to the cat, who was now sitting patiently at Miral's feet, surveying the strangers with a most un-animal-like interest. "is Inara, Miral's friend." Miral bowed politely to Bethany and Rex, before Rex filled them in on the immediate objective: reaching the west gate by noon. Miral nodded thoughtfully. "How do we proceed once inside?" Kairi stroked her chin. "We'll need to split into two teams. One team will need to reach Aline, while the others confront Juresh Enyo, too keep up our end of the bargain." She cocked her head slightly, running the numbers. "I will take the rescue team, as my abilities are best suited to protecting Miss Drexara once we have freed her." Miral then piped up. "I will assist you. I am... less than adequate in a direct confrontation." Kairi looked to the others for their opinions, though she was aware of time passing, so she hoped they would decide quickly.

Bethany looked between Rex and the new comer, a dark skinned Asentari with a green scaled tail. Rex introduced Bethany as Darius' aunt, which was news to her, and the new comer was Octavia Velerius. Octavia bowed slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Merciallus." Octavia said. Bethany grinned at her. "I'm not a Lady. Mercy or Bethany will do." She paused for a moment. "Well, this is awkward. I'm not going to lie, I didn't know I had a nephew. I mean, I had a suspicion, but I've never met him." She said. She gave rex a look that said a heads up would have been nice.

"So, how did you come to have the misfortune of knowning my family?" She asked. Bethany noted the slight blush to her cheeks, as Octavia met her gaze. "It's a long story." She didn't elaborate. Bethany looked at the Eldross next to Octavia as Kairi introduced them. "I've never met an eldross before, but I seem to be lucky to have met the most beautiful one." She said to Miral. Octavia looked to Rex. "She's very new. I tried to take Galantus, but she insisted on going." Bethany looked to the Wyvern next, green and blue. She was magnificent, a reminder of the beauty to be found in Edia. Even if she was baring every tooth in her head at Bethany.

Octavia seemed to notice it too, and lay a hand on the Wyvern's neck. "Settle, Saelie." She said to the creature, who calmed slightly, then huffed a gaut of flame in Bethany's direction. Bethany puffed out her cheeks and sent back a small burst of flames of her own, and the Wyvern seemed to calm further. She crept forward and sniffed at Rex, then Kairi, Arilia and finished her sniffing with Bethany. Seemingly content, she lay down, curling her long tail around Octavia's legs. Then Kairi began to speak, discussing the potential plan. Bethany steeled herself.


Octavia watched the group as they made plans. She couldn't help looking at Bethany, noticing the features she shared with her nephew. It was mainly the red eyes, or eye, and the perceptive look, though her former lover's aunt seemed much sharper. And, less stuck up. Kairi suggested splitting into two groups once inside, and volunteered to rescue Aline. Octavia knew Rex would want to take on Juresh, it was after all what he was trained to do. Octavia said it before him though. "I'll help take out Juresh. I can run interference for a heavy hitter." She said looking at Rex. Bethany looked at them both. "No. I'll deal with Juresh. I've ended plenty of lives, I wont force that kind of guilt on to anyone else. Besides, I had a better Idea for you and Miral." She said looking at the Eldross.

"Will that Wyvern, Saelie, come to the city if you call her?" Bethany asked. Octavia looked to Saelie. "I don't know, maybe. She's not trained, but surely the city has defenses.." Octavia said. "It does, Arbelests on the walls. But they're limited on turning radius. All you need to do it take down a few, and Saelie will be safe to come to the walls, grab Aline, and get the hell away from this city." Bethany said. Octavia frowned. "It might work.. But even if she'll come, she might not hear me." Octavia said. "It's the fastest way to get Aline out. She's a stabalising presence in the freelands. The rest of us, we don't matter. No offense guys." The woman said. There was more to it than that. Bethany seemed to be worried about Aline. "It's worth a shot, if everyone else agrees. But we should come up with an alternative just in case."

Bethany nodded. "Alright. So we go in, split up, Rex and I take out Juresh, Kairi and Arilia find Aline, Octavia and Miral deal with the west wall defenses. How does that sound?" Bethany asked.

Rex had...completely forgotten about that little detail. Giving Beth an awkward grin, he didn't meet her eyes and rubbed the back of his head. And got back on track. So this beast was so new that she wasn't even trained? Well...that put things into perspective. Even Brutus was trained, if by the Primoris Rex and only by her.

Then came the details of their plan. "I agree with the two teams, but I'd rather keep Saelie out here and as a last resort. Between the chances of Octavia even being heard and the fact she's untrained, and a huge eyesore, no offense sweet girl *pats Saelie on the head* I'd rather not expose her to unneeded risk. Plus it would be super easy to pinpoint our position with her around.

I'll go after Juresh, it was me who struck the bargain with Hargrave, after all. However, I'm sorry Beth, but I want you to assist Ms. Miral, Kairi, and Ms. Arilia in rescuing Aline. You may know Juresh better, but I know Octavia's fighting style better. I may be highly adaptable, but I think it would be far smoother this way, and you have more reason than most to what Aline back safe and sound. We'll need you to be the juggernaut to clear the path when the alarms go up. Assuming Hargrave doesn't do anything to make our jobs easier, and frankly I won't count on it.

Fastest doesn't always mean the best. I'd rather do things as stealthily as possible. Even if they're searching around frantically, we can slip through the cracks and be far too gone before they notice we're no longer in the area. Once we're out, then make a beeline towards here, then towards Edaria. Don't wait too long. As Beth eloquently put it, we don't matter much.

Let's continue this while at least walking a little bit? I'd rather not miss our window, it was tough enough just getting here in three days..." Between speed and difficulty it was best they didn't waste too much time. He'll expect an argument from Bethany. Even if they did have to disable the defenses first, that team would then have to go assist the rescue team. But he was adamant in this setup. He didn't want Juresh or Beth anywhere near each other.

Miral watched with interest as the group discussed their plans. Kairi's plan was sound, and she trusted the rest of them to know their own capabilities and plan accordingly, as she knew none of them besides Octavia and Kairi. There was a curious interaction between Bethany and Octavia, seemingly centered around someone called Darius. Bethany then turned to Miral and mentioned how she had never met an Eldross before, and commented on her beauty. Miral blinked and cocked her head in confusion. "I... do not believe you have enough evidence to make such a judgment." She looked to Kairi, who looked equally as confused as herself, before looking back to Bethany quickly. "But thank you. You are beautiful too." She looked to Kairi again, and the Human simply smiled. Miral looked at Inara for some form of help, but the feline just returned her confused look. "Don't look at me."

Talk soon returned to the plan, which was just as well. The sooner they got this out of the way the better. Rex disagreed with Bethany's plan, which involved using Saelie. Miral nodded and piped up. "I am inclined to agree. Saelie has not had enough recovery time from her injuries she sustained in the jungle." Octavia had volunteered to join the team confronting Juresh Enyo, but Bethany had disagreed. However, Rex insisted on Octavia, given that he knew her fighting style better. Miral agreed, it was a sound premise given that they did not know what they were going to be facing once inside. An idea did come into her head regarding Saelie. She cleared her throat before piping in. "I have an idea. If I leave Inara with Saelie, I can signal her to alert Saelie to come to us, once we have disabled the defenses. She can take Aline and one other, while the rest of us escape on foot." Rex also suggested moving, given the lack of time left. Miral nodded to Inara and the ocelot walked over to Saelie and sat beside her.


Kairi had already began looking towards the city, so when Rex suggested they move on, she was ready. "Alright then. I will take Arilia and rescue Aline. Miral and Bethany will take down the arbalests, while Rex and Octavia will try and reach Juresh Enyo to fulfill our part of the bargain. Any questions?" She looked to Miral and Bethany before continuing. "You all know what's at stake here. Once we have Aline, we will meet you on the west wall. Try and delay calling Saelie as long as you can. We don't want to give them the chance to prepare any surprises." She then looked to Rex and Octavia. "As for you two, deal with Enyo and get out. Meet us at the west wall. We will hold until you arrive. Do not take any unnecessary risks. If you are unable to fulfill your objective, retreat. We can deal with it later." She began walking, with Miral and hopefully the others in tow. "I sure hope your bargain holds, Rex. Otherwise this will be the shortest operation in history."

Bethany looked at Rex. "I've never met Juresh. We're going in blind either way." She said. Bethany sighed. "But very well, I will go with Kairi. We're going to need a distraction, eitherway. If its not taking out the defenses on the wall, we'll need to draw people away from the prison and the Master's Villa at the peak of the city. That's probably where you'll find Juresh." She said. Miral made an alternative suggestion and Bethany listened as Octavia replied. "That might just work." She said, looking at Saelie who was nuzzling Inara gently. "She trusts Miral and Inara as much as me. She'll listen to you Miral, you'll have to fly her out of the city with Aline."

Bethany didn't understand exactly how a cat was going to fly a Wyvern into the city, but it was clearly an eldross thing she didn't understand. If they said it would work, it would work. Kairi reiterated the plan and Bethany nodded. "We'll get you two to the prison, and I'll draw away as many of the guards as I can. I'll make a big mess along the way, then Miral and I will get to the wall and take out those Arbelests." She looked at Arilia. "We're counting on you, too. You need to stick with kairi, ok?" She said. The Undari nodded. "I will do my best."


The group approached the road towards the west gate. There was a small stream of people entering and leaving the west gate, many were thin and frail looking, with a tattoo across their foreheads marking them as slaves. She'd avoid those markings because the needles couldn't peirce her skin, but then she hadn't needed the one with the power suppressing shackles of theirs. As they approached the road, Bethany felt something settle over them. Bethany looked around, realizing they were all dressed as slaves. She could fell her own weapons on her, but couldn't see them. Arilia looked up. "Mistress Hargrave is hiding us." She said. "We should make haste, she can only do this for so long." She said, walking a bit faster. "Try and look repressed, and dont' make eye contact." Behany muttered.

"Oh, my mistake." Rex had gotten the impression that they had met. Oh well, it didn't really change his mind. Though he was still nervous about the new wyvern being involved, he didn't argue it. He still frowned at the thought though. He did get an idea on where to find Juresh. That pretty white villa at the top. How typical.

He nodded nonetheless. Anxious to get this started.

Before they knew it, they neared the road, where there were some slaves being hoarded into the city. Rex felt something on him, and he wasn't the only one to notice. It appeared he had slaves rags. And yet, he still had his weapons. Arilia elaborated. Huh. So this was how Hargrave was going to get them in. "Easier said than done for some of us..." The boy muttered as he messed up his hair a bit. Thankfully, they hadn't exactly stopped to bathe or anything, so it was at least a little bit dirty. Still, he really disliked this idea.

They quickly found a spot to slip into the line without detection. And once inside, to slip out of line and hide. Once hidden, hopefully the rags would disappear. "Remind me again why this city is allowed to run? Karem was bad enough, but this? I really want to burn it with its masters to the ground...this is no way for people to live." He had bitten his lip throughout the experience. Perhaps it was his youth and inexperience or perhaps the looks on the slaves' faces reminded him a little of his past.

Still, he nodded to each member, pulling up his hood, he led the way towards the villa...

Kairi and Miral stayed close to the rest of the group as they made their way to the west gate to see just what plan Lina Hargrave had to get them into the city. Just as they came into view of the gate's guards, a peculiar sensation fell over the Human, and she looked around to see if anyone else had experienced the same thing. That was when she realized that the group was now adorned with tattered slave attire, complete with slave brands on their foreheads. Arilia explained in a hushed whisper that the illusion was the work of her mistress, and that time was limited. Kairi still felt the weight of her equipment on her, which brought some small comfort to her. She heard Bethany mention that they should look oppressed, and avoid eye contact. Kairi had plenty of experience in that regard to fall back on, but she had an uneasy feeling that some of the others might not. She looked to Rex, who mixed his act with just the right amount of silent indignation to appear genuine. The others all appeared genuine too, except for Miral. The Eldross was looking from sight to sight with wild-eyed panic, and Kairi could see her breathing accelerating dangerously. She looked genuinely petrified, and Kairi felt so sorry for her in that moment.


Miral's breathing was quickly escaping her control, as she took in the horror of the city around her. Everywhere she looked she saw slaves working and being beaten, being forced to give their energy and their lives to maintain the facade of a prosperous city. Ordinarily, the sight of the gleaming buildings and colorful fabrics would be a pleasant spectacle, but seeing the inner workings and how the work was done filled Miral Nerys with horror and dread. How is this kind of behavior tolerated? Why has no-one stopped it? Miral began to hypervetilate, but was shocked back into focus by a gentle squeeze of her arm from behind. She turned to see Kairi looking at her, a reassuring steeliness in her expression mixed with a warmth in her eyes. That strength and compassion grounded Miral, reminded her of the good that still existed in the world, and re-focused her on the job at hand.


They reached a point where they could move out of the line and into a secluded place to regroup. Rex expressed his distaste for the city and its way of doing things, and Kairi nodded somberly. But said nothing, hoping to lessen the distractions. Once they were gathered, Kairi nodded to Rex and Octavia. "Alright, this is it. Are you both ready?" They could see the hilltop villa where Juresh Enyo would no doubt be holed up. Near the base of the hill was a heavily fortified building, which distinctly looked like a place where people where imprisoned. Kairi looked to Bethany, Miral and Arilia and nodded to the fortified building. "That looks like our place." As Rex and Octavia headed for the villa, Kairi whispered after them. "Good luck." She then turned to the others. "Any ideas on how to get in?"

Octavia felt something settle over her and looked around as the Undari explained what was going on. Everyone else was equally puzzled, checking their weapons, and Bethany warned them to look defeated. Rex did a bad job, and Octavia doubted her performance was better, but she noted that everyone, including the undari, fell into the role easily. Dear Erolath what had these people been through? One look around told her everything she needed to know about slavery, and she didn't like it. Her people were strongly against the practice to begin with, but seeing it in person made her sick, and angry.

Bethany looked a bit shaky, but Octavia's attention went to Miral who appeared on the verge of panicking. She moved to comfort her friend but Kairi got there first, and someone bumped into her as she slowed. She turned to see a slave, cringing in fear, and then heard the crack of a whip as it snapped against her shoulder. She let out a hiss as a guard ordered her to keep moving. She glared at him, when a hand pressed to the back of her neck and pushed her head down. "Trust me I wan't to kill every last one of them too, but keep walking or you're going to blow our cover." Bethany hissed in her ear, dragging her along by the arm. Octavia's tail whipped in annoyance as Bethany dragged her out of the line after Rex and the others.

As they made it to a more secluded location, the illusion started to fall away. Rex instantly began to talk about how this place was abhorrent and shouldn't exist. "I agree, this is barbaric." She said in annoyance. "Yes, yes, its a fucking stain on the face of asmir. Good luck getting rid of the city without inciting a war with the Heanta though. They have all sorts of trade agreements with this place, its basically theirs. If Mondolin or Edia marched on it, instant war." She said. Octavia wanted to ask her how she knew, but from the rage in her red eyes, decided to leave it until later.


The crack of the whip had set a good dose or rage burning in Bethany. It was far to familiar a sound, and was enough to drive back her reluctance to step foot in this place. "Let's get this over with. If you two aren't at the wall in an hour I'm coming after you." Bethany said, nodding to Rex and Octavia. Octavia nodded back, then quickly and gracefully scaled up a side of a building, keeping low as she reached the top. Impressive. Rex was in good hands atleast. Kairi pointed to the small fort and suggested that it might be the best place to start. Bethany nodded. "When I was here they kept me there for a few days." Bethany said quietly to Kairi. "She's in there." The undari said behind them. "It's secure." She said, fishing a small set of lock picks out of her pocket.

"Here, give these to Aline. She can get in or out of anywhere with a lockpick." Bethany said to Kairi as they neared the old fort. They stopped across the road from the old prison. Several guards stood outside. "I'm going to make a distraction. Miral, get high and keep me covered. When you two are clear, get Aline out and stay well away from the fires. We'll be ahead of you." Bethany said to Kairi and Arilia. With that, She walked forward towards the guards. They noticed her, as did the rest of the street, and she drew her weapons. They did the same, ordering her to sheath her blades. She smiled at them and charged. People started to scream. The slaves were the quickest to vanish. A quick duck took her under the blade and defenses of one guard, and she drove her gladius into his back. Ripping the blade free and kicking him away, she skewered the next man and kicked him through the large door of the prison.

More guards rushed to meet her, and Bethany let loose her dragon's breath, wreathing the doorway and guards in flames. She started to retreat, as several more men charged her from a side entrance, redirected by her flames. Bethany turned and ran.


As soon as the Asentari was out of sight, Arilia rushed forward and doused the area in water she drew up from a nearby well, allowing Kairi to enter the prison. A pair of guards rushed out, and Arilia jumped away in fear as they turned towards her, swords drawn.


Octavia was nearly at the Villa when she seen the flames down the hill. Bethany had sprung her distraction. She kept moving, reaching the front gates of the large Villa soon after. Octavia crossed the road quickly, and waited by the wall out of sight of the guards. "I'm no good at stealth." She said to Rex. "I'll hop the wall and make my way to the target, if you want to try and sneak in after me we might stand a chance of killing him quickly. Or we both go in blades swinging, its up to you." She said to the lightning Asentari.

Rex tsked at the reason. Of course. Hopefully Vala would be able to change that, or start the process. Changing a culture takes time to do. If she ever needed outside help though...he would gladly volunteer. He could see the question lingering on Octavia's lips, but she decided not to mention it now. Probably upon seeing Beth's rage in her eyes.

As they climbed and made their way to the villa, he spoke. "Beth has some sort of history here. It's not that surprising she knows a fair bit about it. Keep focused on the task at hand though." He didn't pry into Beth's history either. Whatever it was, it left its scars.

Beth's distraction was flames. Not surprising. Octaivia was behind him now, both behind a wall out of sight of the guards. He knew she wasn't the best at stealth, but thought she'd be better than she exclaimed. "I'd go with option A. I wouldn't mind option B if we had the time and more people starting fires to draw off more guards. But I think this way is better...might follow me after we meet up again." They could cover more ground if they split up, but they'd be more easily overwhelmed by numbers.

Finding a few rocks, he grabbed a couple and nodded to Octavia to hop the wall. He stayed to the shadows and watched. Using one of the stones, he threw one at a tree limb and snapped it. The noise, combined with what was happening down below, immediately put the guards on guard, and both left their posts to check it out. Keeping a hand on his sword, he moved, sneaking past a second group, and a third. He had to kill the fourth, and move the body out of sight.

But he made his way back to Octavia without any issues so far. And led the way inside. Timing their moves, they moved to hopefully where Juresh was. Turned out, the man was in a garden of some kind, ripping into someone, both metaphorically and literally. He was the only Heanta they'd seen so far. "You make a grand entrance while I take out the guards?"

If she agreed with that, he'd make his way to the few that were still about. Having chose which order to go in, he was take them out quietly as Octavia made a grand entrance...

Kairi pocketed the lock-picks that Bethany had given her and marveled at Asentari as she got to work creating the distraction she had promised. Miral disappeared around a corner and appeared shortly after scaling a balcony to get a vantage point. Remembering her mission, Kairi and Arilia headed for the entrance, with the Undari extinguishing the flames from Bethany's flames. A pair of guards rushed out at them drawing swords. Arilia jumped back in fear, but Kairi would not be denied. Drawing her own sword and shield, she charged forward and swept the first guard's weapon away with her sword, and smashing him in the face with her shield. The second guard swung high and wild, forcing Kairi to duck. Spinning her sword into a reverse grip, she drove the pommel of her sword up into the man's jaw, breaking it and knocking the man out. She turned to Arilia and beckoned to the Undari to follow her. "Alright, let's go." She ran inside, hoping Aline was still safe.


Miral nodded to Bethany as the Asentari delivered her orders crisply and clearly. Kairi and Arilia headed for the entrance to the jail, while Bethany headed around the other way to make the biggest bang she could. Miral took a deep breath, steadying herself for what came next. Spotting a low roof, the Eldross deftly scaled it and climbed across to a balcony and up to a roof that overlooked Bethany's position. Guards had already begun to respond to the disturbance, and Miral began her task. Se deftly drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and released it into the first guard that came into view. The man cried out in pain and dropped, but he was replaced with more that charged Bethany. The Asentari efficiently dealt with them, while Miral took out any stragglers. Bethany began to fall back, and Miral took a parallel route along the rooftops, keeping the Asentari covered with precise bowfire.


On the balcony overlooking the city, Juresh Enyo studied the scene before him. His villa was well guarded, but if the fire and screaming was anything to go by, he would need more than that to protect him this day. He didn't even consider how the scum had gotten into the city, only that he would make sure they didn't leave. A messenger entered, delivering news that he didn't need to hear. He knew that it had only been a matter of time until someone came to try and rescue Aline Drexara, but he didn't expect an attempt this dramatic. He wondered if his head was also on their list, and then he sneered. Let them come, he thought, I'll make them pay for this mess.

Octavia nodded and leapt the wall. She moved along slowly, letting Rex distract the guards and the openings to move before she was spotted. They probably heard her running, she might be light on her feet but she knew nothing actually reducing the noise she made. Still, she managed well enough, until she almost ran face first into a guard. He was surprised to see her, but thankfully didn't shout a warning, assuming she wasn't a danger. Before he could utter a word though she spun and lashed him across the side of the head with her tail. He staggered to the side, his eyes glazing over, before flopping to the ground. He'd be sore in the morning, but alive. Probably more than he deserved, but Octavia had never seen a reason to needlessly kill someone.

A few more seconds of running, and then Rex was there. They moved deeper into the Villa, finally coming across the Target in the courtyard. He was rather gleefully tearing into someone with his claws. Octavia frowned. "Those claws can't tear through our hides, right?" She asked. Rex explained his plan, and Octavia nodded. "Grand Entrance, not a problem. I'll hit him with some of my weight magic, you use the chance to take his head off." She flicked open her Kama, nodding.

Octavia burst from cover, activating Feather to decrease her weight as she lashed a Kama out, hooking a piece of wood. A swift pull and jump had her flying into the air, just over head of the Target, and she launched a weak ball of red energy from her hand. If it impacted, his weight would double, possibly bringing him to his knees, giving Rex the perfect chance to finish the man.


For the first time in the duration of her time locked away, Aline could hear sounds from outside. The sounds of screaming and fighting. Something was going on, and she had a suspicion as to what that was. There was moment in the hall outside, and light crept into her cell as several pairs of footsteps approached. A sneering face appeared at the door. "Hello, milady." The man said. Aline could hear key's rattling in the door. "What's going on out there?" She asked as the door swung open. The man smiled grimly. "Rescue attempt. You're more valuable alive, but under the circumstances, Juresh will thank me for killing you." He drew his sword, stepping into the cell as two more men blocked the door. There was no escape. "I see. But you've made a mistake." Aline said, inhaling deeply.

"What's tha-" before he could finish his sentance, Aline unleashed her dragon breath. The powerful breath of air slammed the man backwards, and he and his friends slammed into the wall. "I'm not comepletely helpless." Aline said, smiling. She hopped over the prone men, and came face to face with a aqua green skinned undari. She was beautiful, in an ethereal way, but there was no mistaking those orchid eyes. She was one of Aline's captors. The woman drew her sword. "Move." She said. Ordered. Her voice was pure command, and Aline jumped aside, realising that the human who had attacked her was rising to his feet. "What are you doing here fishy." He said, raising his sword. His hand came away in a flash of steel. "Such a clever insult. Maybe try another." She said. "Fuck you whor-" the sword slashed across his throat, spraying blood on the wall. The undari let out a tch of annoyance. "Peasant." The blade flashed several more times as she finished off the other downed men.

Aline decided maybe now was the best time to sneak away, but before she could move the Undari's hand wrapped around her wrist. It was light, but firm. She had a feeling if she tried to resist, it would become painfully tight. "Return to you're cell. Wether you hope to be rescued or not, if you go running out there right now you're likely to be killed, meaning I have failed my job. I don't like to fail, Lady Aline." She said. Aline sighed and stepped back into the cell. "Why are you doing this." She asked as the undari locked the cell door. "I have my reasons." The undari vanished from the bars in the door.


Fools. Peasant fools! She'd warned them to stay away from the prisoner. Had they actually succeeded in killing her, Juresh would not be thanking them later. He'd be gutting them, slowly. He'd probably try to do the same to Talia, but at the very least she'd lose any promise of support. Talia scowled as she stalked down the hallway. She ripped open the door, slamming it shut behind her and locking it for good measure. As she pocketed the key, a body shot across her path and hit the wall, water sloshing down him. Incompetent morons, she sneered, looking over to see several more soldiers holding the line against a large woman in white, and an undari. A young undari.

The undari charged forward, ducking under the swing of a sword and driving the bident into his leg. The man screamed and toppled back, and the man beside him lashed out at the girl. She wasn't quick enough, a blow like that would be fatal. Talia had already thrown her sword, the blade slicing through his wrist and embedding in the wall. There was very few of her people left, and she wasn't about to let one die to a filthy human peasant. The undari turned deep blue eyes to Talia, and several expressions crossed her face at once. Shock, fear, awe, thanks. She quickly backed away from the screaming humans.

Talia walked forward, a tendril of water lashing out to grab the hilt of her sword and pull it back to her. The remaining humans were also glaring at her. "The Undari is off limits. Kill the other wench and be quick about it before the rest of you lose a hand." Talia's violet eyes scanned the woman again. Sword, shield, white clothing. A hero no doubt. A filthy human peasant. Talia ignored her as the guards charged forward, her attention going back to the undari. She smiled a friendly smile reserved for her closest companions. "Put down you're weapon, young one. It's alright, I won't hurt you." She said, stepping towards her. The Undari stepped back, scared. Honestly she looked a right bundle of nerves.

There was dark shadows under her eyes, and she glanced around quickly searching for danger. Even as she held her Bident up to defend herself, there was no authority in it. just fear. Talia was many things, but she had never hurt a child. Especially an undari child. Who ever had left the girl before her like this, would pay dearly. Talia's eyes went back to the human woman. The one who had brought the girl here. Talia took a step towards her and the undari flinched, then jumped between them. "Stay back!" The girl said, her voice quivering. Talia frowned. She stopped where she was, not wanting to scare the girl. Fine, let the woman come to her when she was done playing with the last of the guards.

"I don't know, I've never had the misfortune to find out until now. Guess we'll see, just be careful..." Rex had confidence in his friend, but still felt the need to emphasize care. She began her assault, almost immediately catching anyone's attention. Rex himself would move through the shadows, making his way down with a good balance of speed and stealth.

When he got down, he was behind the man, and would move to stay there and out of his peripheral vision. When the opportunity showed itself, he would move in to take the guy's head. Normally, he'd use his scythe, but since it was still behind him and collapsed, he'd use his sword. The scythe getting to it's full length would just make too much noise...

Kairi hurried inside the building with Arilia in tow. They made decent progress until they ran into a squad of mercs in the main guard room. Kairi nodded to Arilia as she transformed Starlight into its spear mode. "Alright, I'm with you." Kairi charged forwards in unison with the Undari, using her weapon's superior reach to out-thrust the first opponent she faced, who was wielding a sword. Making sure she stuck close to Arilia, Kairi bashed her way through with a powerful shield charge, battering guards aside as she went. She saw the Undari just ahead of her, just as a new unit of guards rounded the corner, along with a woman who stood at roughly the same height and build as Kairi herself.

The woman barked orders to the guards, and they promptly moved towards Kairi. She did note that they avoided Arilia altogether, as if ordered to do so. Kairi batted a guard out of the way and watched as the woman spoke to Arilia, trying to coerce her to follow. Kairi went to approach but was halted by the remaining guards, so she transformed her weapon back into sword form and dispatched them quickly. By the time she did, the other woman had begun to advance, but Arilia had jumped in the way to defend Kairi. Not wanting to leave the diminutive Undari to fight this new foe alone, Kairi backhanded the final guard and joined her. She stepped slightly in front of Arilia and looked at the Undari. "We'll do this together." She looked then to the woman, and lowered her weapon. "I don't know who you are, but I would ask you to stand aside. We just wish to rescue Ms. Drexara." Though her weaon was lowered, Kairi still mentally readied herself, not believing that the woman would do as she asked.


Rex's blade sank into the neck of Juresh Enyo, and severed the man's head from his shoulders. At least, that's what it appeared to have happened. When the man's head rolled to face its assailant, Rex would see that it was not actually Enyo, but a decoy. The real Juresh Enyo stood up, having received a magical signal that his decoy had perished. "So, they're here for me too. Fine." The man walked over and retrieved his two straight swords from the wall mount and strapped them to his side, before walking down to the main hall. He gestured to three of the six elite guards that were in the room. "You three. Go outside and see that no-one gets in." The three men saluted before marching out the door. Enyo then gestured to the other three. "You three, stay here. In case they fail." The three elites saluted and took up defensive positions around the entrance. Enyo bared his teeth. Whoever sets foot in here will pay the price. I swear it.

The heanta turned to follow Octavia as she shot past and fired her attack which landed easily and as his body started to crumple, Rex struck, taking the head from his shoulders. Octavia flipped and landed on the garden rafters, watching the blood spill from the severed neck. It was over, just like that. As she'd hoped. She knew one thing from her time in the military, nothing was ever as easy as it seemed. As expected, several seconds after what she had previously assumed was Juresh's head stopped rolling, a trio of guards in fine heavy armor, each carrying a halberd and an arming sword swinging from their hips appeared, backed by several other lesser armed guards charged into the garden.

Octavia shouted a needless warning, as there was no doubt Rex had heard them coming it was kind of obvious with the jingling chain and plate, and leapt from her perch. She whipped out a Kama on an ethereal chain, aiming a blow that bounced the handle off of several guards heads. It was quite a shot and sent two of them toppling and a third holding his helmed head in his hands. Octavia whipped the Kama back into her hand and landed just as the trio of elite guards charged towards Rex.

Octavia threw her other Kama and wrapped it around the halberd of one of the gaurds, pulling him away from Rex. With his attention firmly on her, she closed the distance while taking serveral swings with her Ethereal chains at the other guards, trying to lure some of their attention. Several of the underlings went after her, Leaving Rex to deal with a few more and the two Elite Guards.


Arilia watched the other Undari warily. She'd never met another undari before. Everything she knew about her people she'd learned from her Mistress, and that pertained to little except how her abilities worked, since without them she was useless to Lina Hargrave. She was told her people were cruel and evil, and while the woman before her was keeping the Leader of Edaria in a cell, she didn't seem all bad. What's more, she seemed to be showing genuine kindness towards Arilia, leaving her in a strange position. She didn't want to fight one of her own kind, but at the same time for the short time she'd known Kairi, the woman had been nothing but nice. She didn't want to let her down, and there was always the fear of what her Mistress would do if she abandoned her allies now.

Kairi appeared in front of her, and promised to face the woman together. It was enough to steel Arilia's resolve, as Kairi asked the woman to step aside. The undari smiled, a dazling smile that revealed her razor sharp teeth. "Allow me to introduce myself, peasant. I am Talia Ver'Kanos. As in, the Princess. Now, I suggest you turn around and leave the way you came. I'm feeling generous today so I will allow you to leave with you're life and deign not to hunt you down later for you're insolence." Arilia tried to hide the shock on her face, but it was not easy. She wasn't facing down any random Undari, she was facing down a Princess. She couldn't decide if that was relevent or not. Their poeple were destroyed, after all, but she didn't know if she could fight her.

The woman looked at her. "You atleast, are safe. Step aside, little one. Turn and leave, or stay. I can protect you from these vermin." She said, with a nod of her head towards Kairi.


Talia watched as the Undari tried to sort out her emotions, and after several seconds, the girl dropped her bident and backed away from Talia and the human. "Kairi I'm sorry I can't... I can't fight her." the Undari managed to say. Talia shifted her weight slightly, reaching back to pull her Adasma shield from her back. If the human went for her new Undari friend, she'd take the woman's head off before the blow could fall. Talia gave the peasent, Kairi, a sneering smile. "Come on then, attack me or Leave. I haven't got all day, milk maid." Talia mocked. She shifted her stance, ready for the attack that was surely about to come her way.

Rex stared. Something didn't sit right with him. He heard the clanking, and took out his scythe, extending it. After the head stopped rolling, it became apparent that it was just a decoy. Great, they'd been had. Turning around, he saw three guards in heavy armor and halberds and more small fries. As soon as the guards made a move against him, he started twirling his scythe, deflecting and parrying any thrusts against him. While some of the small fries moved around him, Octavia moved in, getting some to go after her...including one of the larger pains in the asses. A few from behind him charged as he deflected more thrusts of the pole arms.

He blocked two of them with his long sword, and spun away from them, cutting off both of their heads. He dived into those few that were behind him, leaving the two big boys alone to cleave a few more of the normal guards, chopping off a few heads and using one as a spring board. He swung his scythe at one of the big boys, the "head" of it extending out into a chain, and promptly left an elite guard without a head. The second one was quick enough to use his pole arm to block Rex's sword strike when he'd landed and charged.

He ducked and darted past, slicing some of the small fries' legs out from under them with his scythe. He quickly sliced at the armored man as well, only for it to not do much. Rex had to jump to avoid the counter attack, and sliced another guard's head vertically in the process. This better not take too long...

Kairi eyed the other woman warily. She grinned, showing a set of sharp teeth, and it was only then that Kairi got a proper look at the woman. She appeared to be an Undari, which would explain Arilia's curious reaction to her. The woman then introduced herself as Talia Ver'Kanos, "The Princess". Kairi was unfamiliar with the Undari hierarchy, but given Arilia's shocked expression she was inclined to believe her. This "Talia" certainly seemed to speak as if she was an authority figure, though Kairi was curious why the Princess of the Undari would be working for Juresh Enyo. She bowed her head respectfully to Talia. Even though the Undari were destroyed, Kairi felt she should still be treated with respect. "Forgive us, my lady. I am only here to do what is right, and that is to free Aline Drexara. I have no wish to fight you." Talia assured Arilia that she would be safe, referring to Kairi as vermin. The Human did not rise to the insult, instead looking to Arilia as the younger Undari dropped her weapon and cowered away from Talia.

"That's alright, Arilia. You've done enough. I will handle this." Kairi looked back to Talia when the woman tried to provoke her into action with a sneer and another insult. "I know not why you are working for Juresh Enyo, but know that his reign of terror is about to end. We have friends dealing with him as we speak." Kairi raised her shield, the tension slowly reaching a crescendo. "My mission is clear. If you do not allow us to pass, then I will have no choice but to force you aside." Kairi began to advance slowly, eyes fixed on Talia to see what the woman would do. Either the woman would acquiesce, or she wouldn't. Kairi was about to find out.


Miral hurried to keep pace with Bethany. Her partner was a whirling vortex of fire and destruction as they moved along the street. Suddenly, a guard climbed up onto the roof, directly impeding Miral's path. The Eldross' eyes widened as she stared as the man drew a spiked club. "Come here little knife-ear, now!" Miral looked down and saw Bethany continuing on, and knew her mission was of the utmost importance. She would do her part, whatever it took. The guard charged and swung, but the Eldross was too agile for him, suddenly appearing behind him and cracking him over the head with her bow. The man slumped to the floor and rolled off the side of the roof, crashing to the street below. Miral shook her head, before resuming her route.

The guards charged Octavia in unison, weapons scything for her. The hit air, as she launched herself up and flipped over them. Her Kama extended on enchanted chains lashed out, scything through two of her attackers before they realised what had happened. She landed lightly behind the elite guard as his cohort's bodies thumped to the floor, a flick of her wrists bringing her weapons snapping in. The elite guard spun, swinging his halberd and Octavia dropped backwards to avoid it, almost falling flat on her back. Palms facing the ground she gave a twin burst of air into the ground while activating feather to launch herself directly upwards like. Swinging her arms up over her head caused her to spin backwards as the force of the gust blasts launched her up.

She dropped as quickly as she rose, landing on her feet, as the guardsman began to recover from his heavy swing. Before he could bring his weapon to bear she stepped in and swung her Kama downwards towards his neck at an angle. One blade bounced off but the other found a space between his helmet and pauldron, the long curved blade piercing through chainmail and deep into his torso. She pulled the blade free quickly, a spurt of blood following it, and the man staggered back clutching his neck. He was dead in seconds, leaving her to turn and help Rex.

The Asentari had it handled though, so she set her sights on the doorway the men had come from.She moved towards the door, cheeks puffing out, throat glowing a greeny blue. Wind Asentari were often seen as comical because of their breath attack face, but that didn't mean they couldn't blow a door clean off its hinges and destroy the room beyond. Which is what she proceeded to do, revealing several shell shocked elite guardsmen who didn't have much time to process what had just happened before the blast hit them too.


Talia watched the human woman as she grasped who she was facing. She even threw in a "My Lady" almost appeasing Talia. Almost. She prattled on, claiming to have no wish to fight her. Of course not. She was nothing but a milkmaid with a sword, and Talia was a veritable Undari legend. At least the human managed to not quake in her boots. The woman went on, claiming that a team were on their way to kill Juresh Enyo. Talia smiled, revealing her sharp teeth. "A few humans will have a hard time dealing with Juresh Enyo." Talia said. If Juresh's death truely was imminent, that did put a kink in her own plans. However, she might be able to swing things in her favor. She'd already planted a seed of kinship between herself and Aline. Maybe a well timed change of heart would earn her a favor.  

However, she needed it to be believable. Simply stepping aside now would not work. "Regardless, I am not simply going to step aside. I don't take orders from the help." She said, reaching back to pull her Adasma Shield free. She raised it, poised to strike with the razor sharp edge, or defend herself. With a couple of careful steps, she moved towards the human, before suddenly bursting into action with a double strike, shield first in a jabbing motion, a minor distraction as she drew back her sword and slashed at the woman with cosiderable force behind the strike. She was very strong after all. Not as heavy as the human before her maybe, but then it certainty wasn't becoming of a Princess to look slovenly.


Bethany wasn't the fastest, she wasn't about to win a foot race against Vala or Fayla, but she made considerable progress through the city none the less because anyone who got in her path was thrown from it bodily or burnt to a crisp. Fortunately most of the people who seen her were slaves, who were certainly not about to try and stop her which was just as well because she'd hesisitate to hurt them, or civilians, and promptly found somewhere else to be instead of in the path of the crazy woman swinging a flaming sword around. The only people who got in the way were guards, but they learned quickly not to try and stop her. Instead they began to fall back, grouping up as they prepared to attack in a unified front, or ran to her expected destination.

Chances were her distraction was working, possibly too well, and she and Miral were about to meet considerable resistance at the city wall. She'd set fires all along her path through the city, which would draw some attention away. Bethany's steady progress were suddenly halted as the unified front stormed from a side street to block her progress. She skidded to a halt, unsure how the guards had gotten around her so fast, but then a second group appeared behind her. Pincered between atleast fourty armed men. Not exactly a dream of Bethany's. And then something strange happened. It seemed like fighting broke out in the guards ranks, until she noticed the thin arms an emaciated bodies, and ragged clothing.

It was hard to believe it, but those were slaves attacking the guards. More slaves burst from the doorways of the houses along the street and joined the assault. This was good, as it gave her a way out, but also bad, because these slaves would be slaughtered. She needed to get to the wall and deal with the defenses but she couldn't simply walk away from this. Bethany looked up to Miral. "Change of plan. We can't walk away from this. Pick off as many guards as you can!" She shouted, then charged into the fray, twin swords swinging. The flaming blade of Asi scythed through the air as She did her best to kill a guard with each swing.

There was only the one heavy armored guard left and standard goon. The standard goon got bisected quickly. Rex charged the last guard. The man stabbed with the halberd, only for the Asentari to snap the weapon with his sword and knee, making the guard drop it and resort to his sword. Rex stabbed with the blunt end of his scythe, only for the guard to deflect it with his shield. In turn, Rex spun with it, deflecting the sword with rest of the scythe and then slicing the man's throat with the sword.

The blond quickly darted out of view and put up his hood. Decoy or not, their cover may not completely be blown. Plus the absence of one fighter may just be assumed that the guards got at least one of them. Octavia had already blown down the door and got the rest of the guards, so hopefully that left only Juresh. And hopefully this also won't take too long...

Kairi knew something had to give, but she hoped the Undari princess would see reason without coming to blows. No such luck. No luck at all. Kairi tightened her grip on her weapon and shield and clenched her jaw. "Not just Humans, but regardless, they will prevail." The woman paused for a moment, as if digesting Kairi's words. However, the time for words ended, as the princess reacted with indignation before moving into battle. The Undari's careful advance gave way suddenly to an attack, and Kairi was forced to block the shield jab, before using her own weapon to block Talia's sword. Kairi noted the sheer force behind the blow, confirming her suspicions that she wouldn't be able to simply overpower her. Kairi spun through the block, attempting to bring a shield-assisted backhand into play across Talia's head. She followed up by spinning again, low this time, and aiming a slash at Talia's legs. Kairi then raised her shield and weapon as she regained her stance and stood ready for the retort. She called to Arilia over her shoulder. "Arilia! See if you can get to Aline!" Kairi hoped the Undari would take the option to avoid the fight and try to complete the mission, while the Human watched Talia for any attempt to stop her, though she prayed that the monarch was true to her word.


Juresh Enyo judged by the sounds outside that the first three elite guards were unsuccessful in stopping the intruders. As he then flew through the air, protected only by his instinctive activation of his protective shield ability and witnessing the mangled bodies of the three elites who had remained inside flying with him, he judged that his door was unsuccessful in stopping the intruders. Then, as he brushed debris from his cloak and and stood to face the culprits, he judged that he needed to stop the intruders. A pair of individuals, one male and the other female, entered the hall. He looked at the fenroc rug that lay in tatters on the floor as he moved forward to face his would-be assailants. "That was an expensive rug. You'll be working that debt off forever. Or maybe I'll just make rugs out of you." He drew his swords and locked the pommels together to make one double-bladed sword, spinning the weapon around flamboyantly. "Well? Who wants to die first?"


Miral continued along her path as Bethany moved along the street below. She leapt over a parapet onto a balcony, stopping to look down to Bethany and gasping in horror. The Asentari was surrounded by a large force of mercs and guards. Before she could react though, a number of emaciated frames entered the fray, attacking the guards with tools and other civilian implements. The slaves! Miral could see Bethany was in the same moral predicament, debating whether to keep going or help the slaves. Miral was about to respond when Bethany did, making the choice for her. They fight. Miral nodded as Bethany launched into battle to help the slave group. Miral nocked an arrow and set about her task as efficiently as she could, making every shot count as she knew she did not have infinite arrows.

The beastly woman attempted to strike Talia with a backhanded shield bash to the head. Talia's shield intercepted the blow, the shields clashing with a thunderous boom. As if that would work, Talia sneered to herself. The milkmaid was strong, she would give her that. Talia punched her shield down, the edge of it slamming into the Woman's blade and knocking it away from her legs. The woman turtled up defensively, preparing to deal with a counter attack as she called to the other Undari to try and get to Aline. Testing Talia's word not to harm the girl.

Arilia looked between her and Kairi, then tried to run past. Talia backed up, blocking her path. "I promised not to harm you and I wont, but you will have to go through me to get to that door Arilia." She said. "Perhaps you should just step back and watch the fight, little one." She said. Talia smiled, and Arilia backed away unsure what to do. Talia turned her attention back to the human. "You should be ashamed, forcing a child to be here to begin with." Talia snapped. She surged forward and preformed a quick horizontal slash for the chest. "Don't try to drag her into this again."

With the distance closed, Talia raised her hand and unleashed a blast of heat and blue flames at the woman, hiting with enough power to deal average damage.


Octavia watched the room beyond the door carefully as the dust cleared. Three bodies lay in a heap behind the door, and a heanta was the only one left standing as a barrier of energy faded out. She glanced over her shoulder at Rex as he tried to sneak off, but the heanta seemed to have some sort of ability to sense others, because when he spoke he adressed them both, complaining about his rug. Octavia glanced down at the rug and snarled. A majestic beast used to decorate this bastard's rooms. He joked about turning them into rugs, and Octavia smiled, her tail lashing the ground. She didn't usually show anger visibly, but she didn't like animal cruelty. "Shut up and fight." She said.

Raising a hand, she snapped her fingers, and a dome of yellow energy descended over Juresh and a thirty foot area of the room, increasing the weight off all items and people in the dome by times two, excluding herself and Rex since she could exempt him from the effects. As soon as the dome formed, she stepped aside, allowing Rex to follow up with an attack of his own.


Arrow rained down from above, each finding a mark, each shot impressing Bethany more. Miral was an excellent shot. Timid as all hell, but she didn't shy away from violence atleast. The guards numbers started to thin, and as fast as it began they started to retreat. Only a small number made it away. Satisfied with her work, Bethany broke from the group of slaves and started to walk. The watched her go, and she frowned. "Thanks for the help, but go back inside before more guards come back. You're going to get yourselves killed." She said.

"Death is better than this life!" and older slave said. "You're fires have sparked our rebellion, Karcenak falls today." Well, fuck. But she didn't have time for this. With a great deal of effort, she started to walk away. "Do as you please, but It won't end well for you. No slave has ever escaped Karcenak." She was halfway down the next street, when the old one called after her. "That's not true. You did! Even if we die, we know there is hope!" He said. "Because you came back for us." Bethany stopped. They were going to get slaughtered, if she didn't do something.

She spun around, spotting Miral above her before she said to the slaves, "No, I didn't. You're nothing to me, I'm not here to save you all. Now shut up and get off the streets before you get yourselves killed." She spun, and started to run again. This was stupid.

Kronos had on a cloak that hid his face and part of his torso pretty well. His sword was at his side, and shield on on his other arm. He had heard the racket and everything. What he didn't expect was who it was and the rebellion. He had heard every word. And caused him to frown. He was only here to see if there was any halfways respectable mercenary work for him to do. But this was more important.

Stepping around the corner, he spoke. "They're dead men and women walking whether they drop their weapons and go back inside or not. You clearly have history here, you know that. I don't know what your reason is for being here and causing a ton of chaos with your Eldross friend up there, but it started something. Take responsibility for it and help them get out alive. Since we all know this little rebellion won't work unless there's an army behind those walls, so best to get them going.

They saw the opportunity to turn their lives around, and they're taking it! When you see an opportunity like that, you grab it and don't let go, even if it kills you. Surely you don't blame them for that. I'll even assist. I may be a scumbag and a traitor to Edia, but damn it even I detest this practice!

I've been here long enough to know that there's a little known alchemic storage place nearby with lots of things that tend to go boom when fire so much as touches it. We can steal a few of those and use them to disable the defenses and destroy the gate. Then proceed to take them to the horses and carriages so they can ride to Mondolin and then to the Sunshield Hold. Whatever we can't take, we can just blow the rest of the storage place and cause even more chaos.

I'm sure Enyo will get in some massive trouble for this...so there's that too..."

He spun around, drawing his sword, and slicing a couple of guards, back with more friends. Licking his lips with his forked tongue, the blazing red head practically dove into the frey, tearing up their line...

~

Rex came out of hiding. Go figure, he'd already been spotted. He let Octavia take the lead again, and dove in swinging his scythe to claim the guy's head. He was vaguely familiar with the style of weapon that the Heanta wielded, since the current Cordus Rex had the same type. Nevertheless, he hoped the sudden increase in weight dropped his guard enough to make this quick.

If the swing was blocked, he'd move closer and spin away with a strike with his sword to split Juresh in half, while repositioning his scythe to stab with the spear like end towards the head. A smooth one-two punch...

Kairi watched with dismay as Arilia's advance was halted by Talia. Though she did not physically act against the young Undari, the elder Undari included enough in her warning to stop Arilia in her tracks. Kairi looked at Arilia with concern. "It's alright. Fall back, Arilia." Talia scolded Kairi for forcing Arilia to be present in the first place, to which Kairi responded with considerable restraint. "She is not obligated to be here. She came to try and help as we are under the orders of her superior. She can leave if she wishes." Talia then surged forward and attempted to catch Kairi with a quick slash at the chest, and Kairi jumped back out of range of the weapon as Talia warned her not to let Arilia get involved again, before she fired a blast of heat and blue flames at the Human. Kairi activated her Shield of Faith, covering her body with an armor-like energy barrier which protected her from Talia's attack.

When the smoke cleared, Kairi charged forward with her shield raised. At the last possible moment, Kairi dropped low and slid along the ground, transforming Starlight into spear mode and attempting to sweep Talia's base out from under her with the handle. Kairi used her momentum to handspring onto her feet. If the trip succeeded, Kairi would spin and try to mount Talia in an attempt to pin her to the ground with her shield and spear. If the trip failed, Kairi would instead spin with another shield backhand, followed by spinning the other way and aiming a ferocious spear thrust for Talia's leg, before raising her shield and preparing for a retort.


Miral was shocked at the scene below her. The slaves were fighting ferociously, but it was clear that they would be exterminated without help. Bethany was attempting to persuade them to stand down and head back to safety, but they were having none of it, citing Bethany herself as an inspiration for their revolt. Bethany was about to run to continue the mission, when a figure stepped around the corner and began to talk to Bethany about helping the slaves. Though Miral was unfamiliar with the newcomer, he did make a logical argument. The slaves were joined in battle, and it would doom them all if they left them now. Before she could offer any input, more guards arrived behind the stranger. Miral went to draw an arrow but was met by an empty quiver. She was about to warn the stranger, but he had heard them approach and began to cut them down quickly and efficiently.

Miral saw a figure emerge on a ledge below her, aiming a his bow at the stranger's back. The Eldross made her decision quickly, dropping down behind the guard as he was about to release his arrow and cracking him over the head with her bow. She removed the arrows from his quiver and stowed them in her own quiver. They were inferior to her own arrows, but they would do the job. She nevertheless made a mental note to return to Sindaron to get more arrowheads if she made it out of here alive. She scaled the scaffolding nearby and returned to her perch to resume her job of covering Bethany.


Juresh Enyo was no slouch in the combat department, but his style of fighting was extremely unsophisticated, and as such was reliant on power over finesse. Thus when he suddenly felt his weight increase and his mobility lessen, it was not good news for the ruler of Karcenak. However, his bullheadedness meant that he was going to plow on anyway, physics be damned. The male intruder came at him with a blow aimed for the head, seemingly unaffected by the energy field filling the room. Juresh was twice as heavy, so he used this to his advantage, lowering his head quickly to avoid the blow, but groaned as he stood up again. The man swung at his midriff, forcing Juresh to move his weapon to meet it, before ducking another blow aimed for his head. He knew he had to get out of whatever this energy was, so he backed off as quickly as he could towards the boundary of the yellow energy field, muscles burning from the effort. He kept his eyes on the interlopers, wishing a painful death on them once he got free of their tricks.

Talia looked between Arilia and Kairi as Kairi explained that Arilia had chosen to come. She didn't look like she'd chosen to come, half afraid to back away or approach. Whoever her 'Superior' was, they hadn't been kind to the undari. She was motivated by fear, something Talia was able to recognize, because she'd used fear to get what she wanted in the past. The longer this went on, the more Talia felt her sense of duty to her people dictating that she simply walk away and take the girl with her. If Juresh was as good as dead as this woman claimed, there was nothing for Talia here.

After Talia's blast of flame hit, the woman charged out of the smoke, weapon changing into a spear, and swept out Talia's legs. She used her advantance to leap on top of Talia, pinning her to the ground. Talia's sword bounded away, but she managed to get her shield up between hers and the womans. Her other hand grabbed the shaft of the spear, keeping it from getting to her neck. Talia sneered up at the human, as she activated her water manipulation. "Get off me peasant!" She snapped, water surging from a flask at her hip and around Talia's shoulders, then lashing up as several thin whips of water. She used the sudden attack as a distraction, all the while drawing more water to her, and aimed a punch at the human's jaw.

If she succeed in unseating the human, she would surge to her feet. If the human refused to move, she would pepper her with several more strikes to the ribs and side, and either way, on her feet or on the ground, would finish off with a spear of water to the chest, having gathered enough for a full assault.


The sound of the redheads voice stopped Bethany in her tracks. She rolled her eyes as he spoke.  "I didn't take you for a bleeding heart, Kronos. We have a mission, slave escape is not part of it. I can't take responsibility for them." Not with Aline's life on the line. She stepped towards him. "If they go home, they get to live another day. If they follow us, many will die. Humans aren't like us, Kronos. Arrows don't bounce off their bare flesh. Swords don't deflect." She could see Valette's head rolling across the floor as she said it, golden hair bloody. "I don't want that on my conscience. Not that you'd understand what a conscience is." She snapped. He had some nerve, considering he betrayed his own country and his friend. "If I may be so bold, Miss. We're not going to stop now." an elder slave said. He walked towards them, a longsword in hand. "We will fight and die for our freedom. You may not care for us, but there is a reason you're here, lighting the city aflame. If its not us, its something important. You could use a bigger distraction. So let us follow you."

Bethany rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. Lets all march to our merry deaths. Do you have a plan, Sparky, or will I need to come up with that too?" She asked, and Kronos mentioned a cache of things that go boom hidden in the city. "Alchemical fire? Really? You're likely going to get us all blown sky high." She said. "Fine, but we can't deviate from the plan. We need to take out the defenses on the wall, for air support." She said. Gesturing for Kronos to lead the way, She looked up to the Eldross. "Watch our rear. We can't afford to get trapped again." She then explained to Kronos what was happening, including that Enyo wasn't long for this world. "Rex and Octavia Velerious are seeing to that."


Rex shot past, attacking Enyo with vigor, giving him no time to adjust to the change in weight. Even so, the heanta managed to keep his head, backing away as he did to try and escape the energy field. Octavia wasn't about to let that happen. Dashing forward, she used feather to drop her weight and lept high over Juresh's head with several bursts of air from her hands. Feet hitting the wall on the other side she crouched and sprang back in his direction, spinning like a top, Kama lashing out on chains ten feet long to drive him back towards Rex. She snapped the weapons back to her hands as she landed, slightly dizzy from the spinning, but ready if Juresh came at her.