Nymk spotted her target and spurred her newly hijacked griffon quickly towards it. The beast squawked in protest, but she twisted its feathers harshly to exert her dominance. Although she grew up amongst the Horselords of the Diamond Khan, the barbarian maiden was well versed in the handling of the lion eagle hybrids. She personally hated the horse eating monsters, but understood full well that they were the most reliable source of aerial transport in the north. That was something a person in her position needed to be proficient at.
The swordswoman had considered following the larger pride of Griffons to the east, but her instincts screamed at her to pursue north. Although the northern pass was defended by skyships, it was a vast area. The Broken mountain, or as the northerner's refer to as the Shattered Mountain or Shattered lands , was a vast range of ancient peaks that stretched from the Eastern Coasts all the way to Western Free Holds. It was riddled with ancient caves and ruins. Nymk had heard some of the mountains covered the last remnants of the Cruel Mow Dynasty, an ancient family of tyrannical pharaohs whose empire once stretched from the Sind desert to the reaches of what is now known as Northern Grom . An empire that predated the empire of the Sun before history was properly recorded. There were recent rumors that crumbling pyramids were hidden beneath some of the ancient mountains, which explained the difficulties of magicians and clerics to communicate and travel through the mountains. There were many opportunities for her prey to evade the sky ships but it was still a dangerous path. Who ever she was pursuing must have been extremely skilled , extremely confident, or most likely both.
The War eagle and the group of griffons that escorted it flew slightly west, a path that brought it tangent to a fish shaped skyship. The vessel predictably turned towards the group, while the group banked directly towards it. Nymk smiled at the daring of the small pack. A griffon exploded in fire as they flew directly at the Grommish ship, the swordswoman knew that they would suffer much more casualties if they deviated from their path even slightly. Their current path would bring them at the mercy of the fish shaped ship's fore guns but they would avoid a much more dangerous broadside. Another griffon fell from a volley of crossbow bolts but the War Eagle and its remaining escorts sailed past relatively unscathed. The fish ship could have turned and pursued but it turned slightly to intercept another wave of griffons who were less adept and daring then the first group.
Nymk knew there was no way the fish ship could know she was working towards the same end as the ship, so she began slicing the extra saddle bags off the griffon to increase her speed. She saw that they were full of plundered gold and jewels but did not hesitate to release them. Her foe had caught Sarin and she valued his life more then monetary treasures . She rationalized to herself that she had abandoned her orders to protect Zax because it served the Emerald Champion's best interests if his enemies did not have an important political pawn at their disposal. Nymk grinned as she realized she half believed it herself.
As the fish ship engaged another flight of griffons, it was serendipitously struck by a barrage of alchemist fire. The vessel was mostly fire proof , but the crew wasn't. The survivors of the attack retreated to the lower decks and resumed their methodical deadly fire at the griffons. Several Griffon Riders seized the opportunity and attempted a boarding action on the vessel, but close range turreted crossbows swiftly repelled the boarders with deadly efficiency.
Nymk spurred her mount once again and it shot swiftly past the smoked clogged ship. With sufficient distance between her and the Grommish vessel, she drew her bow and took careful aim at the griffon escorts she was trailing. The swords woman took pride that few marksmen could match her accuracy. Even the missing and presumably slain leader of the Knights of Winter, Sealhbach of the Mammoth, could only match but not exceed her skill. She quickly accounted for the wind, distance, velocity and direction of her mount and the speed and direction of her target. She released the arrow and it sailed seemingly at a random target in the night sky, but a few seconds later struck the rear escort squarely in the back. The rider seemed to spasm briefly from the hit, but another arrow struck him near the area of the first, and he slumped lifelessly into the saddle of his griffon.
The three remaining escorts saw this , and broke off to deal with Nymk. The swords woman knew her archery was still better then theirs, but she would probably only get one shot in before they were engaged in melee with her. Close quarters aerial combat was not her specialty and she knew she would be at a disadvantage. She twisted the griffons feathers once again and aimed herself directly at an intercepting knight. The man seemed ready for her and his lance and shield ready for their engagement. As they drew closer, Nymk shot but the arrow did not strike the knight. Instead it hit his griffon directly in its eye. The beast shrieked in maddened pain before it and its rider slammed into the mountain below.
Before Nymk could get another shot. A lance came down directly at her. She twisted from her saddle, and the weapon bit into her mount instead. The wounded monster bellowed and twisted in midair to rake savagely at its tormentor. The swords woman wasn't secured to her saddle and barely hung on as the knight aided his griffon to strike hers down. The four combatants seemed to be wildly exchanging blows with each other as they were locked in a death grip. A sharp talon struck the barbarian in the arm in a wild frenzy but despite the deep and jagged wound she did not release her grip. The knight stabbed once again at the woman, but she vaulted upwards at the last moment, landing briefly on a thrashing wing before flipping once more behind the lance armed knight. A slash with her scimitar and a stab with her dagger quickly dispatched her foe, as he fell along with her former mount from the sky.
The third griffon rider was nowhere to be seen, but his location was quickly deduced when an arrow struck the swords woman's leg. Nymk saw it was a barbed arrow and knew it was going to require magic or a lot of pain to extract it later. She saw another arrow arcing towards her , but she swiftly changed direction to avoid the shot. She knew it would be impossible to return fire as both of them were now flying erratically in the sky. She simply cut the treasure laden saddle bags once again and continued her pursuit of the War Eagle. She knew she could swiftly outrun her opponent and she hoped that he was more attached to his loot then she was.
Once again Nymk was in pursuit, specifically after the now escortless War eagle. She could sense her prey was aware of her presence as it changed direction and flew low towards the mountains. She gave pursuit even as the giant eagle dove into a low bank of clouds.
Nymk dove right in after it, but a second later was met with a pair of massive talons. Nymk barely had time to comprehend that her target and somehow changed direction in the clouds and flew directly at her, before smashing directly into it.
"Who are you again?", asked General Olive with an authoritative tone to her voice while her blades were still at Baalphzon's throat.
Baalphzon looked at the blades and saw they were both silver with holy symbols inscribed on them. The blades would hurt a lot , they might even kill him he thought.
"I'm Baalphzon! You remember me right?", replied the Pitfiend incredulously.
"Nope...be more specific. ", replied the diminutive general in a cool controlled tone.
"General of the Dark Eight... Pitfiend Duke... Lord Marshall of Baator?", answered the imp.
"That's the Warmaster's imp. The mouthy one.", replied a fiendish looking pixie behind Olive.
The small general looked over her prisoner and a look of recognition crossed her face. "Ahh, the delusional imp. I remember now. ", she said while sheathing her weapons.
Baalphzon breathed a sigh of relief as her blades were withdrawn. Most people still thought he was the Warmaster's familiar still and he did nothing to dissuade them of that opinion. He could have tried to teleport away , but by observing her previously displayed speed he had doubts if he was able to intone the spell in time before her holy silver blades struck his throat. He nodded in admiration at her prowess.
"Is Fetch here? I thought he was in Narwhal Hold or something like that , dealing with the giant problem.", asked the general with a more whimsical tone.
"Too my knowledge he is. I'm just here to check on his daughter Hush. She came here to study at the academy . I checked there first and found no sign of her. The city is rather chaotic right now, and I think the least I could do would be to make sure she's safe.", answered the imp .
The general recalled Hush fondly. She only met her once at a wedding, and remembered she was a precocious young girl who was full of life. Olive nodded in agreement. Mainly out of concern for the young girl's safety , but partially because she needed the Warmaster to be firmly in her faction. The general's future plans hinged on support from the various Knight Kingdoms, and the Warmaster gave her instant credibility on that front.
"I did not know that Hush was in the city, but it makes sense the Warmaster would send her away to the Academy while he was off up north. Your loyalty to your master does you credit. ", commented the general.
Baalphzon thought to correct her about his relationship with Fetch, but decided against it. Her fiendish pixie butler approached him with a plate of crackers with some type of meat spread on it. The imp took an appetizer while he sneered at the servant. Baalphzon wasn't sure why, but there was something about Olive's retainer that didn't sit right with him.
"Well she's not with me. The best I can do is inquire at the palace. The guards here seemed more competent then my reports gave them credit for. I see that they've managed to hold the north gate , and the city seems firmly back in our hands again. ", continued Olive.
Baalphzon nodded at the course of action, and surveyed the sacked city below him. The raid only lasted through the night, but large areas of the city were destroyed or burning. The pitfiend had lived here for almost a year now , and felt slightly attached to it. He wasn't sure if he was feeling repulsed at the destruction or appreciation for the level of destruction he saw.
Lionsong laughed as the War Eagle ripped the surprised Griffon into two. She didn't know who her pursuer was , but was fairly certain his body was ripped to several pieces and plummeting to the hard mountains below.
The griffon princess circled around once to see if somehow her attacker had survived. It was a slim chance, but she knew that slow falling monks, feather falling rings, or even flight spells could be employed. She saw the blood splattered ground below and noticed no signs of life. Satisfied that she had defeated her foe, Lionsong spurred her mount northwards once again.
The War Eagle she rode wasn't as fast as the swift Griffons that her order deployed, but it did have several advantages. First off was that they were fairly tireless. She suspected she only needed to land once maybe twice to reach the Northern Kingdoms. Secondly , its massive strength made it the only category of mount available to her that was able to transport her abomination captive.
She looked at her still sleeping prisoner and wondered if his capture was worth it. She didn't follow closely the schemes of her father and brother, but knew that they had shown their entire hand in the south with this raid. They had used their gnomish spies. They had called in favors from the various mercenary bands , and most importantly they had deployed their hidden Griffon troops that were serving with the Order of the Purple Griffons. Any spies, or hidden plants they might still have in Grom would be ruthlessly rooted out after today. She also knew that the Royal Adventurer's wouldn't be fooled by their deception. They would be bitter enemies with the Order of the Griffons after this day. Lionsong had no doubt the general populace would be tricked, and they would lump all the northern knights together to blame for this attack. The best case scenario would be that Grom would declare war on the North in retaliation , weakening Erland's hold as the Grand Champion . Her father would most likely seize that title , and be expected to fight a war against both the giants and the Grommers. It was a battle he couldn't win, but he would secure a few major victories to bolster his reputation, and the giants would wreck havoc on the coastal Order of the Narhwal, which would weaken his opponents once again. The worst case scenario of course would be that cooler heads would prevail in Grom. Even if they managed to control the angry mobs that would be sure to scream for retribution, it would be several weeks if not months before diplomatic relations between the North could be stabilized. In that time her father would be elected Grand Champion with the abominations help. Felwind would have to secure at least one major victory against the giants to cement his position , but afterwards he could pick and choose which cities of the Narwhal would fall to the giants. A much more dangerous game, but one she had confidence that her father could succeed in.
She looked at her prisoner once again, and strangely felt the need to touch his hair. It was warm, almost hot to the touch , which was a direct contrast to her cool dry skin. For some reason she desired to examine this creature more closely, but then felt the pressure of an attack aimed at her neck.
Lionsong pulled to the right, but a sharp pain struck her left shoulder instead. She glanced back and saw a dagger imbedded in her. She then saw a bloodied and battered barbarian woman rapidly climbing onto the tail feather's of the War Eagle.
"No touching Sarin. He's mine. ", the bloodied woman said grimly as she drew her scimitar.
Lionsong plucked the dagger painfully from her shoulder and marveled at how her foe managed to elude her detection . It would have been a lethal blow if she hadn't ducked , but the thought barely weighed on the Griffon Princess's mind. She produced a heavy mace and twisted on her saddle to face her enemy. The abomination was the property of the Order of the griffon now, and more importantly was her prisoner. She took no heed of the fact they were on the back of a flying War Eagle and charged her target.
"Death to thieves and stowaways. ", she yelled as her mace met the scimitar of her smaller foe.
Kirgi grumbled angrily as he rubbed his skin vigorously. The dwarf , knight , summoner and his eidolon were sitting in the lead caravan as it trudged its way slowly to Fortress Grom. Halvor's plan with the orange paint had worked, but it apparently had worked too well. The griffon riders were fooled by their deception and their ambush went off relatively as planned. The lost of Yperion or Big Zax as well as some of the other guards and mercenaries was a setback , but a minor setback in the overall scheme of things. Currently the dwarf seemed agitated over other concerns.
"I would have thought your blood lust would be sated enough that even you would forget your temporary orange skin. ", laughed Petrus at the dwarf. Although his barb was directed mainly at his short companion, Halvor and Adria both seemed equally annoyed at his comment, as they attempted to rub the orange paint off.
"Hey , first off, I don't mind the skin thing. I rather be orange then a corpse. Secondly , unlike my berzerker brethren I do not go into fits of blood lust. Its true I might enjoy a wee bit of mindless killing now and again, but I don't go bonkers over that sort of stuff. ", said the dwarf gruffly.
"So why are you so mad then?", prodded the summoner, a safe distance away from the dwarf's axes.
Kirgi growled ,"I'll tell you why I'm mad. If I wanted to mindlessly kill stuff , I would have joined the army. Instead I signed up on this caravan cuz I figured I'd get a chance to kill some weird stuff you know? Its not really adventuring, but I figure its a stepping stone to better things. I figure with the real Zax gone, we'd get our chance, instead we end up fighting some stupid military skirmish. ", complained the dwarf.
Halvor stopped his rigorous scrubbing . Normally the big knight would ignore his companions inane conversations but he was intrigued by the dwarf's logic. "Let me get this straight, fighting trolls is fine. Real adventuring right? Fighting griffon knights is not fine. Its soldiering according to you , correct? Please explain to me the difference. ", challenged the knight.
Kirgi shrugged. "Well its simple. Adventuring is basically fighting whacky monsters, while achieving stupid goals, and collecting boat loads of treasure . Well we certainly got enough of the weird critter part. Did you guys see that gorilla monster thing on the War Eagle? Scary stuff. The stupid goal thing is very open ended , we could be escorting girls taking food to their grandma's for all I care . However the thing that gets me is the treasure. The extra bucks from the Grommers is nice, but fighting monsters without loot is pretty stupid. Look at all the stuff we got off the trolls ! Gold, silver, gems, even some magic items. What did we get off those knights? Some beat up gear. Some pocket change.", the dwarf stated bitterly.
"Well if its monetary rewards that you are concerned about, you needn't worry. Some of those knights sported magical armor and weapons. One even had some rings and an amulet which I will attempt to identify later. So I'm sure you will be well compensated when we get the final tally. ", smiled the summoner.
"Nah...its not the same. Adventurer's should get paid with chests of jewels, or bags of gold. This..this is more akin to selling your dead relative's stuff at the pawn shop . I feel like those vagrants that I see in the slums collecting used metal for the blacksmith for a few copper. ", sighed the dwarf.
As the three debated , a shout from behind the caravan caught their attention. They looked and saw a huge War Eagle and several griffons engaged in a running battle with another griffon. The pursuing griffon's rider shot a perfectly aimed arrow at one of the escort flyers and it spun out of control wildly. The creature crashed heavily into the canyon wall and rained debris atop the caravan.
The three companions and the eidolon readied for another skirmish, but in a beat of a wing the griffons and the Eagle were gone. They waited for another pass but none came, and Halvor ordered the caravan to continue.
"Looks like you avoided another brush with boredom. ", chuckled Petrus. Kirgi ignored him and hopped off the wagon . The summoner looked at him inquisitively and saw the dwarf was attracted to some of the debris left in the wake of the flying battle above.
"Did you find an interesting rock or something?", asked the summoner.
Kirgi turned around and lifted a large leather saddle bag over his head. " In a matter of speaking I did! " , grinned the dwarf as he revealed the golden treasures inside.
"Long Live the Emperor! "
"Alphonso has returned! "
"Down with the Republic ! Empire forever! "
Earl frowned at the shouts that could be heard outside the palace. The assassin knew the cat was out of the bag, and it would be hard to maintain the secret for long. The siege golems revival and subsequent defeat of the raiding knights, had brought the people into a frenzy. Although the defenders suffered terrible casualties, the attackers were defeated and the city was firmly back into Grommish hands. From the reports coming in, Earl figured that over 3/4 of the North Gate guards were lost. Roughly several hundred assorted guards were lost in skirmishes around the city. Half of the First army company stationed in the city was destroyed from the initial surprise fire bombing and roughly all of the palace guards were slain or deserted. Even more troubling was their irreplaceable losses. The fact one of the palace's previously inert siege golems was destroyed was bad enough, but two skyships were gutted from fire, and one crash landed. The skyships were the backbone of Grom, and the assassin knew that they were literally irreplaceable. The capital was saved, but their ability to hold on it grew irreversibly weaker. Even more valuable then the skyships was the loss of his mentor Sir Karak. The assassin and the head royal adventurer was not on best of terms, but Earl did respect the man's power and loyalty. Even after the Emperor Alphonso disappeared several hundred years ago, the old royal adventurer kept his empire intact for his eventual return. Staving off both rebellion and old age till the true ruler of Grom returned.
Earl and Karak disagreed on many things. The main matter of contention between them was the issue of governance of Grom. Earl was a firm believer that the future of Grom laid with a return to the Republic. Alphonso's Empire achieved much, but its days of glory died when the Emperor vanished. The assassin believed it was time to move on. Karak however was a firm believer that the Emperor would return. It was an old prophecy , but the old Royal Adventurer firmly had his faith in it. The old man secretly tried to maintain and manipulate the empire as it slowly crumbled around him. The assassin had many allies and supporters in his quest to restore the Republic but they were sadly outmaneuvered by Karak. Many, including himself, were sent on a suicide mission to the northern mists, and they literally vanished from history. The magical mists that encompassed the north back then threw them several hundred years into the future. When he miraculously returned, Earl was shocked and deeply saddened at the state of decay the empire was in.
Southern Grom was a collection of city states barely held together by an overstretched army that had to contend with the city states petty rivalries and feuds and of course their southern neighbor the the Gnommar empire . Central Grom was a bureaucratic nightmare. Dozens of bloated institutions ran the heartland of the empire into the ground. Only the fabulous wealth of its merchant's kept Central Grom running. Rampant corruption and ingrained nepotism kept the wealthy region a prisoner of its own success. Of all the regions in Grom, northern Grom still was relatively intact. Despite its inhabitants complaints about tax collectors and corruption, the northern realm was relatively free and powerful. The only thing plaguing the north , was the ravenous hordes of monsters at its gates. It was similar to the southern Grom , save the army and the cities were working together not against each other. The Empire of Grom seemed destined to die a slow ignoble death .
Things of course changed a few years ago. General Olive and the Third expeditionary army returned after the magical mists were dispelled. She brought back not only 10,000 hardened veterans from the northern campaign, but dozens of juggernauts, golems , and of course a half dozen Grommish skyships. She quickly reestablished command in the fortress city of McDunnalds and was solidified her hold on the north. After the legendary victory over the Dark River Horde and the demon armies invading Lower Lueders the roads of Northern Grom were finally free of monsters. It seemed only a matter of time before Olive consolidated her grip on the north and reinstate the Republic to the south. Her early diplomatic overtures to Karak had failed miserably though, her envoy Reinhard was sent and was not seen again. It seemed destined that a civil war would occur.
Although the parts of the empire seemed amiable and cooperative to each other , Earl knew that a deep hidden animosity existed between them. The unification of the country seemed destined to lead to a civil war that no one wanted but everyone knew was necessary. Even as General Olive's path seemed set, the assassin made an amazing discovery. One of his associates comrades was revealed to him as the bloodline of Alphonso. This discovery gave the General and her camp a decisive ace in the hole. Not only for his ability to command his ancestor's creations, but it also gave them a legitimate claim to the empire. Olive decided to play it safe and cultivate his loyalties and await an opportune time in the future to reveal his heritage. She was confident that Earl could keep the heir safe from any dangers , and bided her time . However the raid on the capital just saw their carefully laid plans go up in smoke.
The people know what they saw. The golems of the ancient heroes had arisen to drive off the invaders , the emperor had returned. Although Earl had come to like even respect the heir to the empire, he shuddered at the tyranny and woe if the empire of Demon Emperor was restored.
Although he was fairly influential, this was the first time Clovis had ever visited the Royal palace. The entire scene with the schmoozing and dueling seemed rather frivolous to him. It seemed more of a center of debauchery then buisness. Although Clovis liked his base pleasures, he liked profits better. As the Artificer took in his ruined surroundings he marveled and guessed what it would like like at its height. Now it was just another shattered and burned outbuilding. Despite its disrepair he was pleasantly surprised at the high level of their kitchen and remaining staff.
"Wow...so you're that Zax! I didn't realize who you were at first! I heard so much about you! ", said Clovis as he stuffed his face with a fish morsel on a wheat cracker.
Zax nodded and in turn sampled something called a chicken wing. " You know Clovis..I can call you Clovis right? I've heard of these cowardly chicken beasts but had never actually eaten one before. I'm surprised they taste so much like lemming. I heard a lot of stuff tastes like lemming actually. ", declared the tiefling as he savored the platter of finely prepared snacks.
Clovis was in awe of the short swashbuckling hero. Like most denizens of Northern Grom he had heard of Zax's heroics in Lower Lueders. He had defeated a nest of vampires , stopped the black carriage murderer, and even vanquished the hag queen. As a merchant he had also took note that an expedition under the tiefling's command finally opened the pass between Heldann and Grom City. Although his buisness was almost exclusively between Karlston, McDunnalds and Lower Lueders the fact that a trade route was once again open caused the Colonel to take note. To top it all off, Clovis had personally witnessed Zax challenge and defeat the Boar Lord to single combat. It was a thrilling display that sent a chill down the artificer's spine as he recounted the details of the battle.
Zax and Clovis exchanged several stories. The pair was surprised that both of them had a tale about defending a caravan against a goblin horde. Clovis's tale was a grim one, where most of his band was slaughtered. The artificer managed to stay atop of a wagon, and rained spells and crossbow bolts onto his enemies while his allies barely held off the green horde. Zax's tale was a bit more over the top. The tiefling recounted his tale where he fought off the horde by himself with just his rapier and dragon golem. He would have rushed to meet them head long, but he had to defend the frail Adria from becoming goblin food. Despite the degree of "realism" between the two stories, the tiefling and the Enginseer found the other's story fascinating.
"So , besides clearing the caravan routes and liberating the city, what brings you to Grom City?", asked the Colonel wishing to continue the conversation with such a mighty hero. Clovis had met many famous people before, but Zax was certainly the most flamboyant and larger then life hero he had encountered. The artificer wanted to get to know the young man better, partly as a tale for his memoirs, and partly to relieve his own adventuring past.
Zax smiled and pointed to a grey haired elven maiden behind him. She seemed to be conversing and comforting Fetch's daughter Hush. The artificer thought the elf was pretty but not stunningly beautiful , although she did have that exotic look about her that only elves possessed. Clovis nodded in approval , it was obvious someone as heroic as Zax would have both fine and eccentric taste in women.
"What do you think will happen now?", asked the artificer as he took a small sauce covered sausage from a platter. Clovis tasted it and gave it a thumbs up.
"I don't know. My guess would be to clean up the city. Maybe we'll have a nice parade afterwards. People love a parade. ", shrugged the tiefling .
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! ", cried the jubilant mob.
Olive dispatched several hundred marines to help keep order in the breached palace, but the crowd seemed restless and on the verge of a riot. Olive looked into their eyes and saw something she hadn't seen in a long time. Hope. The small general shook her head and wondered how beaten down the people must have been for them to look upon the Demon Emperor as a savior.
As her vessel hovered above the palace, she was given the unfortunate news of the destroyed skyship and the two that were gutted by fire. The damaged vessels could eventually be repaired, but the destroyed vessel was another blow to her dreams of unification under a Republic. By her count they lost close to five in the last few years. One to red dragon Dalton, one to the titantic monster known as the great squirrel, two against the Tiny Kingdom of Kalidon and one in this raid. That was 10% of their vessels . Grom's enemies would certainly take notice of such a loss. The general knew that the skyships were the only thing that kept the vast empire together, and wondered what would happen when they lost enough vessels so that they wouldn't be able to maintain their grip.
Olive pushed those thoughts aside, and told her servant Kube to have her General Staff explore that option. The general and her bodyguard stepped into a ornate basket and was lowered to the palace below. As expected, her confidant and co conspirator Earl was awaiting her. To her surprise and delight, the lost third member of her little pro republic group was also there. Reinhardt was one of the few people that she could trust and more importantly call a friend , and seeing his return brought a smile to her face. She was one of the few people that knew the exact nature of his true infernal alien heritage , but it did not matter to the General. She judged people more by their deeds and courage then any preconceived notions of evil and good.
"Reinhardt! ", she cried losing her formal composure. The girlish general literally hopped off the basket while it was still in the air, and plummeted towards the ground. Her bodyguard tried to stop her but she was too quick and nimble. They expected her to fall to her death, but the small general did a flip at the last moment and she landed catlike on her feet, before bouncing up and hugging the surprised blue haired, white skin tiefling.
"Olive...its good to see you too...and Lord Baalphzon ...is that you? ", said an exhausted Reinhardt. The imp merely nodded while landing lightly on the general's shoulder.
"I thought you were dead, slain by Karak to send a message to me. ", said Olive grimly.
"Tortured ? Yes. Slain ? No...do not worry I revealed nothing of importance to him. As a creature that has survived being tormented by Eight of the Nine pits of the damned ... it would take extraordinary efforts to break me. ", he said in a tired voice.
"Is Amirah...is she ok?", asked Olive with concern. Amirah was Reinhardt's strange eladrin companion. From her talks with her, she knew she was an outcast from the Court of Stars in Arborea, but she still did no know why the celestial would follow an infernal like Reinhardt. The two's relationship did not seem close or personal to the General, so she assumed Reinhardt must have some hold over her. She most likely assumed it was a debt, or perhaps something more sinister such as having knowledge of her "True name". A useful tool to have when dealing with outsiders.
Reinhardt shook his head. "I do not know her whereabouts or even if she is alive. I doubt she...I doubt she could withstand tortures as well as I can.", stated the infernal simply.
As they conversed the basket containing her bodyguards had finally caught up to them, and her men quickly surrounded her as to appear that they were still doing their duty.
"You heard the crowds right? The city knows. I think most of the soldiers know...even our own. ", said Earl coldly.
Olive sighed. The major stumbling to their plan was that despite his reputation, many people in Grom still looked up to the Demon emperor. Even in the north his name still held much weight. People saw in him safety and security and would gladly give up their liberty and freedom for it. "I did not expect our plans to come unraveled so soon. We can no longer hide him . I suppose we are faced with two decisions right now.", said the small girl sadly.
"Kill him or support him.", nodded Earl grimly.
"Well I don't suggest killing him, unless you want to make a certain high cleric of Rawk mad. ", interjected Baalphzon in the conversation he was not privy to.
"The crowds chanting is true then? ",asked Reinhardt. "I always wanted to meet the Demon Emperor or his heirs. He must truly be a powerful and terrible person, worthy to stand next to the Arch Dukes of the pit."
Earl chuckled, "Nah...he's a bit of a show boat who clings to his former glory. However the man is fearless . I've seen him face the Great Squirrel head on , and he was the one responsible for liberating the palace.", the assassin explained.
"The Enginseer? The guy stuffing his face with that Zax person ?", asked Reinhardt with an unbelieving look.
"Hail to the king Baby.", Earl said while a smirk.
