For The Republic, Part 2

As they moved across the city, they saw it. Soaring high into the sky, made from light grey stone, placed so perfectly that only the arcane could be responsible for its construction, a massive tower that was boasted to be among the oldest buildings in the city. A group of soldiers stationed in front of the tower, clad in black armor with a gilded rest symbol across their breastplates, pointed towards the four of them as they approached. One began to shout, but in an instant his cries were drowned like a bucket of water poured onto a fire. Three daggers flew from the hands of a Drow man, a grizzled yet determined look in his eye. Aside him, another Drow fired off her cross bow, shooting right into the throat of the man who had begun to speak. With her, bolts of magical force raced across the street, skipping along the stone streets until bouncing into the heads of even more men, shot from a woman with golden blond her, dressed all in white. They continued to move forward, but the last of them, an older woman of great wisdom and power, raised her hand. Pulling back the string of her gilded longbow, an arrow knocked, she muttered the smallest of words, and the shot came to life with magical power, flying towards the door of the tower. The arrow did not collide, instead moving through it just as its door was opened, a body falling limp onto the ground, the shot piercing his heart.

"Not bad!" The Drow woman, Solis, shouted. Though the words came out slowly, they did come. She gave a thumbs up to the Archer, who gave a short smile in return.

"You have much to learn, young one. You may do well to take notes." She said, an air of nobility surrounded her with each word. The Drow man gave a small chuckle, turning to the woman in white.

"And not too bad either, Connie. We'll make a hero of you, yet."

She shook her head, resigned to her current situation, and somewhat amused. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Ailred nodded, his daggers reappearing on his bandolier with a simple wave. Lady Katherine, leader of the team, waved the rest of them forward, They approached the tower cautiously, armaments and magic at the ready. The interior was mostly empty, save for the dead body at the door, but it was as though the rest of the tower had been cleaned out of anything useful. Now, only a series of wooden shelves and a matching counter were on the first floor, long since unused. Katherine motioned towards the stairs leading upwards, but before the young Solis could take a step, Ailred placed his hand in front of her, shaking his head. With a snap of his fingers, a light appeared in his hand, which illuminated a small silver string. From his belt, he pulled out a small circular tablet, gently tapping it to the wire. It circled around it, forming a protective barrier that reached to the floor, He tapped it with his boot, then stepped on it, and over it, as the others followed.

With Solis taking point, a longsword and crossbow in either hand, the floor above would have been faced with a flurry of bolts, magic and otherwise, but the four members of the Strike Team only found strewn about bodies, each marred and broken. Constance kicked one over, eyeing a black pustule on the neck of a woman around her age.

"He is here. Or at least, he was." she said, looking around the room on the cusp of nervousness. Lady Katherine, weary of the girl but sympathetic, placed her hand on her shoulder.

"We will find him, young one. Worry not; lest your nerves get the better of you."

Constance looked up at the woman. She opened her mouth to thank her, but the room erupted in a sea of fire.

As the flame died down, Ailred removed his cloak from Solis, having wrapped it around the girl with only a split second to react. Despite his charred hair, and burnt skin, he still had more than enough strength to throw a dagger at the figure that had descended back down the stairs, catching him in the leg. They heard the sound of tumbling as they quickly licked their wounds, drinking potions and casting spells of healing, taking positions to destroy their attacker. Master Venhana leaped out the door way onto the stairwell, but saw nothing but a trail of blood.

"He's gone downstairs. Solis, with me. You two, take up the rear." He whispered, receiving a nod from them all. Though Lady Katherine was in charge of this operation, she knew Ailred to be a veteran of many centuries of battle against this foe. If there were any who could hunt their prey, it was him.

Quietly, they descended, into the massive expanse of a basement below. In truth, it was a demiplane of great magnitude, sculpted and given form by the original owner of the building. The four of them knew this, but this knowledge did little to ease the tension in the air. Weapons still drawn, they surveyed the depths they know delved into; walls of stone forming countless corridors, each leading further and further below. As they crept along, the trail of blood abruptly ended. Solis crossed her arms.

"Trying to trick us? Get us split up?" She whispered to Ailred, which received a nod. Lady Katherine knocked another arrow, shooting it into the floor beneath them.

"Bre'lae-Kondenor", She uttered, "He'll find his tricks have little effect on us. This way", she said, pointing to the corridor to their left, "And be on your guard."

"How do you know? Linhardt is not to be underestimated." said Constance, ever weary of the tricks her former allies are so fond of. Lady Katherine did not respond, only giving her a solemn, knowing look, to which the other woman had no retort.

They raced forward, seeing what seemed to be a series of prison cells, causing a shudder to creep up Solis' spine. Still, she pressed onwards, sword in hand, eventually coming upon what seemed to be a gateway, suspended in the air. Through it, they could see the streets of the city above them. Pausing for a moment, Constance called out. "He's trying to trap us in here! We need to move!"

None had time to protest, as the demiplane began to shudder with arcane force, and stones began crumbling from the walls. In front of them, the gateway was moments from closing. Thinking quickly, Constance raised a hand, causing a typhoon of arcane force to push her companions through. First Solis, then Ailred, and Lady Katherine. Scattering onto the cobblestone streets of Westbrooke, Katherine quickly turned backwards, waiting for Constance to come through the gate, but it quickly closed before she had the chance. Solis tried to race towards it, almost getting her hand caught in the closing portal.

"What happen? Will she be okay?!" She blurted out, a worried look in her eyes.

"Oh, I very much doubt that my dear!" Called out a man, in his elder years, especially for his race. Green skin, and long, flowing black robes. He turned to Lady Katherine, an almost amiable look on his face. "Katherine! I did so regret being unable to speak face to face during my vacation to your little tower! Oh, and master Venhana, how wonderful to see you again! I do apologize for what happened to Constance, but im afraid total eradication is quite the mercy for her crimes! Now then, sh-"

His speech was interrupted by a dagger in his throat, and two lone words from Ailred.

"Stop talking."

The dagger vanished, back into the Drows hand. He moved to throw it again, but the Half-Orc whisked into the air, a burning hand across his throat managing to cauterize the nearly fatal wound. Lady Katherine scattered backwards, trying to maintain a distance from her other companions, now only two in number. Even if he did not immediately bleed out, the wound on Linhardts throat could break open easily. She resolved to break it open herself. Lightning crackled across the street, shocking Solis and Ailred and sending rubble and debris in the direction of Lady Katherine. Linhardt still held onto his throat, in immense pain, but ready to spread destruction to his sworn enemies.

Ailred darted up the side of a building with a quick series of acrobatics, vaulting himself upward using a flagpole, though it bore no banner. Meanwhile Solis raised her black cloak, transforming into a cloud of Ravens, mimicking Ailred strategy. Katherine fired off a burning shot towards Linhardt, narrowly missing him, but distracting him long enough for the other two to get into their positions, both letting off a shot themselves. Ailreds flew into the mans leg in the same spot he had struck before, almost severing it in two. Solis aimed for his heart, but Linhardt raised a hand, an invisible shield of energy deflecting her bolt. Pulling that same hand down, rasping out a few arcane phrases, a cloud of light-purple vapor surrounded his enemies, despite their attempts to scatter themselves. Even so, he watched in anger as Katherine placed a hand on her chest, which when removed revealed a glowing purple gemstone in the shape of an eye, which seemed to dispel the cloud of gas entirely. Undaunted, Katherine looked up to the sky.

"Joriel is with me! For the Martyred Saint!" she cried, knocking another arrow. Linhardt shot it from the sky with a sphere of ice.

"Your Saint cannot save you! NO ONE CAN SAVE YOU! AHAHA!" He called out, both hands now outstretched. From the sky, four massive portals opened, and on the other side, the three members of the Strike Team could see a midnight sky; an infinite black void dotted with stars. Then, in an instant, the portals filled, as from each of them a huge, flaming meteorite struck down from the heavens, boiling the air itself with its heat and raw energy. They shot down from the sky almost too quickly to notice, and each of them braced for the impact.

Suddenly, each of them, along with the portals from which they came, vanished. Linhardt was shocked, and looked around. His eyes narrowed on a white-clad figure standing at the far end of the street, a portal of her own behind her.

"Hello, Teacher!" Constance yelled out, her eyes now midnight black in their entirety. The man opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. No, his mouth simply dropped agape, eyes widened, as four portals surrounded him, instead. He tried to escape, to fly out, but he simply wasn't fast enough. Four meteorites, the same ones as before, rocked into him one after the other, burning and crushing Linhardt Kraushelt, until naught remained but ash and scattered fragments of bone. Ailred looked up, beaming.

"You're pretty good!" He shouted, to which Constance gave the most proper of curtseys. Approaching, she kicked the dispersed remnants of the man who had mentored her for so many years. Good riddance, she thought to herself. Lady Katherine gave a nod of approval, but signaled to the rest of the group to rally. The battle was far from over, and there was still work to be done.