Vermin Tide Quest
Chapter 25
Balthasar was organizing the equipment he found in the laboratory with several of the State Troopers with him, most of which he didn't recognize. Nonetheless, he was able to gather various beakers and burners using a gas he recognized as a methane product, phials of concoctions he destroyed by pouring them out what he guessed was the designated disposal area, as well as listing the chemicals and herbs he could identify within them. He had decided that if he was going to be stuck in here, he may as well look into developing weapons to fight against the Monsters with, and as it stands, he also found it useful as a way of partially translating the Monsters' language, which would be helpful information to disseminate to the Troops should he or his men encounter written communications between said Monsters. Looking at a box, he examined the writings on the label on it, and proceeded to open the top of it.
When the smell of rotten eggs struck his nose, he quickly closed it without seeing what was inside, lest it be some kind of poisen. Then, he pulled out a pen with a button on it, a particularly new addition of which one potential acolyte the College of Metal named Josef Fegelheim was developing, of which he made around seven such devices, and gave them to Karl Franz, Balthasar himself, Volk. When he pressed it, the tip came out of the end of it. And wrote out 'Sulfer?' on it in Reikspiel. Moving on to a jar next to it, he saw the glass container had formaldehyde or some liquid within that had a heart, which disturbingly looked Human from its proportions. Convinced it was for some sort of Dark Magic ritual, he grabbed it and passed it a soldier next to him.
"Toss this out." was all Gelt said, though the Imperial was already halfway thereto the disposak chute, and a loud cracking sound was heard as the jar shattered from being roughly thrown out. At that point, Heram appeared, and as the soldier came back the Shadowmancer spoke up.
"Supreme Patriarch." Heram said, bowing to one knee as Gelt ignored him. "Promesteins' back." Balthasar sighed, a long, drawn out breath.
"Really, is the fact I beat her ass into the ground not enough to get Illias to back off?" he asked. "Just blast her head off with a Dart of Darkness and be done with it."
"Um well, she happened to brought Teclis and a number of High Elves with him are also at our doorstep." Heram replied. Balthasar paused, and turned his head slowly to the Grey Wizard. "Yes, as in High Loremaster Teclis, founder of the Colleges." Balthasar proceeded to put the pen away, clicking the button again to retract the tip before putting it in his pocket. As he walked over to the entrance, he pulled aside the thick quilts that were put up to act as a makeshift door until Gelt had it replaced at some point. While walking out to the entrance of the main hall, he found the Elven Wizard sitting on a chair studying one of the books with Promestein in an odd armor reading it over his shoulder, along with several High Elf warriors, his escorts no doubt.
As he entered the room, he also noticed that Promeria was also there, as she flew overhead to the Loremaster and the Angel scientist, wearing a similar uniform as Promestein herself. As the Angels looked at Gelt, the three stared each other down, and Gelt tightened his grip on the Staff of Volens. Teclis quickly interjected, speaking to Gelt in a conciliatory manner.
"Now, before we end up leveling the the castle down, will you at least listen to their offer of a truce?" the High Loremaster asked, trying to peacefully settle things down. Gelt looked at Teclis, then pointed at the two Angels.
"And ignore what these creatures allowed the Monsters to do to the Humans of this world?" he snapped in response. "What did they tell about their attempts to make me submit to Illias?"
"I am aware of what has happened, including the fight between you and Promestein." Teclis replied. "Either way, I first came here to find and bring you back to help the Empire, but after what I have been told, you are doing fairly well despite the expectations of both the Angels and Monsters." Gelt, did calm down a little, though hearing about the Empire made him remember his duties to the Empire.
"So it seems. How has the Empire fared as of lately?" The Supreme Patriarch asked. "As of late, I have been stuck here in this castle, and while I have been more then able to weather several rounds of fighting with the Monsters, as well as slay one of the abominations' prominent warriors, we are stuck dealing with munitions running out." he then said, summering his time in the other world. Teclis sighed, and the serious look he had caused Gelt to already sense what he was going to say.
"It's a Chaos damned waste on our world right now. The Ruinous Powers have sent aide to the Everchosens' forces, for for the first time since Chaos first invaded our world, their mortal servants are attacking from both the north and the south in equally great droves. The Winds of Magic are flowing rapidly out of control, and the Great Vortex is starting to die out. And that is not the worse of it." Teclis said, while Gelt took a seat. After several moments of taking in what he heard, Balthasar spoke up.
"So it's actually real then." he replied bluntly, and to the point.
"What is it?" Promestein asked. As Promeria and the High Elves that came with Teclis looked at the three, the High Loremaster spoke to the Angel.
"Our world is reaching a tipping point, a final war that may very well mean the destruction of it, or liberation from the hands of Chaos altogether." Teclis explained. "The Ruinous powers are unleashing their full fury on our world, seeking to finish their work of destroying it once and for all. My homeland was able to stop the tide of Daemons, their mortal worshipers, and their masters from overrunning the world the first time by creating a rift known as the Great Vortex. Basically, it is a storm created by one of our nations' greatest rulers and a team of Loremasters he assembled, and what this storm in the center does is vent the energies the forces of Chaos require to accomplish their plans back into the Warp. This prevents them from establishing a foothold on the physical world, but the Vortex is growing weak, and nobody in Ulthuan understands why." Teclis explained.
"As such, you came here to recover Balthasar Gelt and his men to help assist you in fixing the Vortex?" Promestein asked. Balthasar snorted as Teclis face palmed at the idea. His escort stared blankly at Promestein, while Promeria
"No, Balthasar would be obliterated by the sheer amount of power that he would be exposed to, same as I." the High Loremaster explained. "However, there only a few ways that the Vortex can be disrupted, and all of them involve conduits made to more effectively channel the Winds into the Vortex throughout all the world known as Waystones. Therefore, that has narrowed down who and what is doing this significantly." Teclis explained. Balthasar looked at Teclis, and then gestured to Promestein.
"So where do they come into this?" Balthasar asked, causing the red-headed Angel to frown slightly. Promeria however spoke up first, the Valkyries' voice indignant.
"we're right here you know." she replied. "As for why we are here, Promestein will explain it better then I can. I'm just here to make sure you don't try anything." Gelt stared at her with a look of amused doubt. Teclis stamped his staff on the ground, and made a bright light that flashed at the tip of it, causing Gelt and Promeria to flinch.
"Oooww! Fffuuuhhh..." Gelt groaned as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "I get it, you can create the Wind of Quayish, yadda yadda yadda..."
"I feel like my eyes just got burned with an acid covered rod of iron that was simultaneously stabbed into them." Promeria moaned. The various Elves looked at her strangely.
"That sounded vary, specific..." Aeclan said. "...Exactly how would you know that?"
"Necromancers in this world are weird, even by Monster standards." Promestein said, and saw this raised further questions. "...moving on to the topic of how the Angels can contribute, we can contribute to your efforts to fight off Chaos, both in this world and the other, through weapons such as these." she said, pulling out a pistol, and set it on the table with a gemstone of some kind. Balthasar, once his Witchsight enhanced vision cleared looked at the pistol, and examined it. It was more akin to a square block, and the barrel was blocked off with a lens, and when Gelt looked more closely at the gem Promestein made with it, the jewel shone with the White Wind of Hysh, then the Red Wind Aqshy, cycling through the other Colored Winds of Magic as Balthasars' eyes widen.
"What in the world? This, this is warpstone, but in a stable form!" he exclaimed pointing at it to Teclis, then looked at Promestein when she chuckled, a clear smile at the fact she got this kind of reaction out of him.
"No, not warpstone, but when Teclis and I first contacted each other, he did explain the Winds of magic to me and the other Seekers of Truth. When I learned about Powerstones, I managed to create this Powerstone of, uh..."
"Quayish."
"Yes that. The pistol I made there however was a separate project, one I was inspired from observing your Handgunners during the skirmish you had with the Heavenly Knights." Promestein said. "Speaking of which, nice job killing Erubetie. Your approach was rather, unorthodox to say the least."
"Thanks, but I never killed it for Illias." Gelt replied, as he examined the barrel from an angle with a mirror, that way he wouldn't have to stare down it. However, he turned it to face one of his pockets, as he and the room noticed that it was starting to turn blue. "Ah bugger." he muttered, and pulled out the mechanical pen. He saw that the tip was leaking, and sighed as he examined his stained robe. "Gaah, for the love of the Gods." he muttered, while Promestein picked up the pen and looked at it, her eyes practically starry eyed.
"Hmm, well now, this pen's an interesting invention you have here, even as faulty as it is." she said, suddenly taking it apart with a deft and agile blur of motion and examining the components. "Ah, this conical piece here loosen up, releasing the pigment which had apparently been stored here in this tube here, and uh..." the Angel trailed off when she saw that Gelt, Teclis, and the others in the room were staring at her. Promeria cleared her throat and spoke up.
"Promestein, I'm sure there will be time for you to nerd out later. As for the topic of the Powerstone?" the Valkyrie reminded the scientist Angel. Promestein then reassembled the entire pen as quickly as she did dissembling it, and placed it back on the table.
"Right." she said, then turned to Gelt and Teclis. "As it stands, I happened to be the leader of a group known as the Seekers of Truth." Balthasar then made a deep humming sound, as he remembered when she mentioned them. "As you may have guessed, we are in essence a circle of Angels dedicated to research about the hidden secrets of the universe and the like, and-"
"Wait, wait, hold on. What particular kind of secrets?" Gelt asked, hand raised up slightly. Promestein sighed.
"The kind that led to me discovering that there is more then four elements, and the like." Gelt leaned back and sat back down, though he still seemed a bit on edge. Teclis, who also reacted in a similar manner also relaxed.
"Funny thing about that, my branch of the Colleges of Magic, the Gold Order, also does similar research." the Supreme Patriarch said. "I reacted the way I did however, because 'secrets' can be rather broad." Promestein nodded.
"Chaos being one of them." she replied bluntly. "Well, before we get detracted again, these Powerstones, as far as I understand, normally take a long amount of time." Teclis nodded, and pulled out a green one from his staff.
"Correct, this one made from Ghyran the Wind of Life for example, took me about five days to create. With a Human Magister was to try and make one, it would've taken him or her weeks at best to make." the High Loremaster explained. Balthasar stared with what looked like envy, which Promeria noticed while the High Elves seemed to subltely enjoyed the look the Human Wizard had. "Essentially, Powerstones are solidified magic made from one of the eight Winds, while Warpstone is made from Dhar, the Black Wind of Dark Magic created from all eight Colored Winds mixed in a raw, unfiltered form, and is as unstable as the magic from which it has been made. Promestein, nobody has managed to create one made from Quayish, the Wind of High Magic created by weaving the Colored Winds together in a certain way, and this is the first time a Powerstone was made with all eight Colors without making Dhar... Promestein?" Teclis asked, noticing the blank stare the Angel was giving.
"Ok, I know you mentioned the Winds of Magic a lot, but so far I am merely working off of what I could observe from when Balthasar was here fighting the Monsters, and thus don't know much about them."
"What do you mean?" Gelt asked, then his eyes widened in horror, in the same manner as Teclis. "You mean you were using them without learning how to control them?!"
"What do you mean?" Promestein asked.
"The Winds of Magic often twist and turn with what can be considered minds of their own, which makes it difficult to combine them together to perform High Magic, and doing so requires a level of sensitivity that is beyond what a Human is capable of." Teclis explained. "When one tries to combine them, they will react in any number of ways that can end up maiming or even killing those who aren't properly trained in what they are doing with them." Teclis explained. "How exactly do you keep them from destabilizing?"
"It would be easier to show you then to explain it." Promestein said. "I happen to have a secret laboratory in a ruin city called Remina. Problem is, it's located on the other side of this continent. That, and there is another matter." Balthasar sighed.
"What is it, since I'm apparently going to become an errand boy might as well get to the point." Balthasar muttered in annoyance. The High Elves with Teclis frowned, while Teclis raised a hand towards them.
"I did come here with around two hundred other Elven soldiers, but they were scattered throughout the world. Currently, the Angels are gathering them up, but they intend to do so without the Monsters noticing, meaning that you and I will be searching for any within Hellgondo. Thankfully, Illias is willing to guide to them, so that will help us a lot."
"Provided you give her the respect she deserves, of course. That is the one condition she requires of you Balthasar, starting with a prayer of repentance." Promestein added, causing Balthasar Gelt to cringe, much to the Angels' amusement. However, seeing no choice in the manner, the Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic swallowed down the gob of bile that rose in his throat at the thought of giving any form of praise to the goddess, then replied in a manner that released his contempt for Illias in a controlled manner as he raised his arms and looked up to the ceiling.
"Oh my goddess Illias, wilt thou forgive me, thy unruly servant for the sins I have committed against thee?" he asked, as a pillar of light descended upon him, and a scroll fell out onto his hand, sealed with white wax that had a mark of a plain t-cross with Angel wings. When he opened it, it simply said 'thou art forgiven', and then Balthasar saw that the ink changed into a map with three continents on it. Promestein pointed at the northern most continent, which also had the thickest borders. As it shifted to show only that piece of land, but bigger, the Angel explained what he was seeing.
"That's Hellgondo, which also is lined with a range of mountains that cannot be climbed. That dot there is Remina, and these five symbols of Ulthuan are the High Elves that got trapped in here while they were scattered upon arrival. The houses represent the various Monster villages, so be careful when you approach them, lest you want to fight a horde of them and their spawn." Promestein explained.
"Welp, guess it's time to have my scouting parties get recalled." Gelt said, when suddenly a State Trooper barged into the door.
"Mi'Lord Patriarch, a flare was spotted in the forest, meaning we just encountered a Monster vanguard force. Shall we mobilize to intercept?" after a quick exchange with Teclis, the Gold Wizard turned to the soldier.
"Get a team ready, send a flare telling the scout patrols to come back to the castle, and we'll prepare to find some of our... acquaintances from Ulthuan. I'll be taking charge, bringing Heram with me."
"Yes sir." Balthasar turned to Teclis while the State Trooper left.
"I could use a distraction at one of the Monster holdouts, draw their attention away from the castle while I round up your fellow Elves. Promestein, any particular recommendations?" the Angel pointed at a house in particular.
"This place is known as Kentami Village. This one is close enough to the castle that it should get the attention of the Monsters, and is also where a group of strong Monsters are at, celebrating their common ancestry to one of the Six Ancestors, Minagi. She is the Ancestor Lord of all Succubi, Alma Elma being one of them."
"Who is that?" Gelt asked.,
"She was the Heavenly Knight that tried to take the castle on her own, only to run away a few minutes later."
"Ah, so the winged one then." Gelt replied. "Is she a prominent figure amongst them, and why did she run away after picking up Hans?"
"She is technically the Queen of the Succubi. Think of Monster Queens as the nobility of the Monsters, who are picked typically on who is the strongest among their number, and each sub-race has a Queen leading them that answer only to the Monster Lord. Though, due to some, political controversy concerning the current Lord of the Monsters, most including her are, interpreting the orders they are being given by her. That, and she is contantly having to deal with them squabbling amongst one another for one reason or another." Balthasar and Teclis listened intently as Promestein went into greater details to provide some context, a shared disgust towards the political climates of their respective nations shining though the facial features.
For example, the current Monster Lord had put a ban on attacking Humans unless it was in self-defense, which most Monsters have reinterpreted in various ways. She originally kept the dungeon full of slave specifically to try and placate the Monsters that were upset at not being allowed to raid Human villages that worshiped Illias, which failed spectacularly. That, among other things got the biggest reactions out Gelt in particular, such as how Alma Elma created a storm to keep Illias continent and Santora.
"By the Emperor, it's the bloody gods-damned Elector Counts mixed with a Slaaneshi Pleasure Cult." Gelt muttered, rubbing his forehead through the mask he wore. Teclis stared off into space, his own homeland and its political climate making him rage silently.
"What are the Elector Counts?" Promeria asked.
"Basically, the Empire has twelve provinces, each of which is led by a noble called an Elector Count. They are named as such because the Emperor is chosen from their number. The main difference between this Monster Lord and the current Emperor, Karl Franz is that Emperor Franz would have not put up with this level of insubordination from the Counts." with that Balthasar left the room, as Teclis continued staring off into space...
**POV SHIFT**
As Cassandra Nereneid woke up to begin a new round of experiments, she began to go over what she needed. The Nereneid Queen of Lady village chuckled evilly to herself as she recalled the news of Humans fighting and winning against Alice Fateburn the 15ths' servants and winning, the irony of her situation palpable and delicious to the black-hearted Monster, who was malevolent even by the standards of her kin. Ever since the Green Sky came, she could feel something had changed with the world and its latent magic, but what it was something she had been trying to figure out ever since. A strange being was somehow calling to her, and into this strange new realm that seemed to almost tense. However, she couldn't figure out how to access it much to the would-be Monster Lords' frustration as she tried everything she could think of, from offering small vials of male semen mixed with blood, to raping a man to death whilst covered in occult symbols she painted on her body, yet she sensed that whatever was there was not satisfied with her. The Monster frowned as she sensed one of the... things reaching out to her.
What in the hell do you want? Lily asked telepathically. She at this point was annoyed that she couldn't seem to understand the demons' demands, yet it understood her perfectly.
A sacrifice.
You keep demanding a sacrifice of some kind, but I have demonstrated my sexual prowess by raping the test subjects, and you barely acknowledge it. I have offered you tributes of samples of my research, and potent ones at that, and you turn them away. What. Sacrifice. Do. You. Want? I am giving you what you want, and you aren't listening! Cassandra snapped mentally. Suddenly, a voice screamed in her head, and the amoeba Monster fell to her knees, screaming in pain at the shrill noise it made. After a few seconds passed, it stopped, and Cassandra fell in a bow, her Monster instincts making her do so on reflex.
A sacrifice only you can give is what I want. Something whispered in her ear.
What? Cassandra asked, as she looked up, only to feel something push her head down, slamming it into the ground.
STAY. DOWN. The voice snarled. You were the one who did not listen, Cassandra. When I demand sacrifice, I do not mean the kind any second-rate Monster or Witch can give. Vials of semen and blood? Taking a man while he is tied up and bound, drugged beyond consciousness? What sacrifice is that? Cassandra worked up the courage to answer, as she felt the force on her head lighten. However, she did not dare to look up.
The kind that all demons love.
If I was from this or in my own world, then yes, maybe I would accept such a paltry and simple offering at first. But, if it was semen I wanted, don't you think I would have accepted it in the first place, or even yet, go to a completely different Monster to begin?
...Yes. when the demon put it like that, she realized that she did make assumptions of what she was dealing with, and felt idiotic. But then, why would you accept my offerings in the world you are from, but not mine?
How many Monsters are there that commit such acts as you do on a daily basis? You literally feed on the essence of male Humans, can squeeze it out of any man, and when I found you and asked for a sacrifice, you offer me this thing which you hold no value towards, and can be acquired by any Monster at any time?
"...I see. You want me to offer something I most dearly cherish for my goal, based on what it is. Now that I think about it, I also see that I was rude to also not ask of whom I am speaking to, my... liege. Cassandra whispered to the demon submissively with her telekinesis. With that, she could feel the demon enjoyed her humiliation.
Good. Now for introductions, I will be known to you for now as the Dark Prince. Now then, I want you to introduce yourself, and tell me what it is you seek and why you deserve it. If I am convinced that you are willing to do what it takes, I will consider accepting you at long last. As Cassandra was about to speak, a knocking sound was heard, and the Dark Prince retracted from her mind.
"Mother?" the voice of Emily, Cassandras' daughter asked. The Monster got from the floor, and walked to the door while composing herself from being too angry.
"Yes Emily?" she asked.
"Everyone heard you scream, and Emily wanted to check in on you." Cassandra sighed before opening the door, and stared down at her Scylla daughter.
"I'm doing alright, I had an accident." the Monster said to her child, before closing it on them. Cassandra herself was an Amoeba, which technically a flesh slime type of Monster but wasn't descended from Kanade, but due to having the strains of multiple Monsters running through her body, Emily was birth as one of the Scyllas, a breed of Monster which typically have their lower halves formed out of octopus or squid tentacles, and in Emilys' case, her hair as well. Emily was the latest of Cassandras' attempts to birth and groom a daughter that could exceed her in power enough to defeat the Monster Lord, so that the Nereneids' can both take their rightful place as the true rulers of the Monsters, and to enact the will of the Dark Goddess and her first planned act was to declare the Heavenly Knight known as Tamano a traitor to Monster-kind.
Ever since that Kitsune took personal charge in taking care of the education of the Monster Lords, the Fateburn line had become soft towards the Humans in how they enact their policies governing them, though one would only notice if you looked at their history and compared it to Alice the 16th today. Her ban on attacking Human settlements was a glaringly obvious one, as none of the other Lords with the exception of the 15th would ever have demanded the Monster Races not take what was rightfully theirs to begin with. They were the daughters of the Dark Goddess and her daughters, the rightful masters of the world! Why should they even entertain such ridiculous ideas like the ones Tamano were spreading throughout Monster society?
My brothers and I have made a conclusive decision. We'll consider your request to empower you. The Dark Prince suddenly said within her head, and Cassandra jumped.
What the hell? After calming down, Cassandra telepathically reached out to them, filing away to ask about the 'brothers' the Dark Prince mentioned. There's a catch to it, isn't there?
Correct. There is a servant of my brother the Raven God, who is going to gather those we deem worthy of our service. For now, take yourself and your daughter, and seek him out at Witch Hunt Village. He'll give further instructions, and one other grouping of our mortal servants from the other world will be chosen, both to take you to the places we demand, and to set an example of what we expect. That is all, for now. With that, the Dark Prince left Cassandras' mind, leaving her to her thoughts, before the Monster decided to seek this servant of the Raven God now.
**Bonus Short**
Authors Note: This chapter officially ends here, the bonus short is for those wondering what is going on in the Warhammer World. Feel free to comment if you want more of such shorts in the future, which will loosely follow what is going one beyond the main story line in the background. If you are wondering what Humans are doing in Khemri, the Tl;DR is that they got chased there by the Monsters. For context, these Monsters are from another timeline in a spin-off game I recently learned of. Basically, there is a multiverse of MGQ alternate universe, and if the timeline of the original game is not followed in any of the universes in it, that entire universe eventually suffers a sudden and fatal heart attack Monty Python style and deletes itself.
Somewhere in Nehekara, on the borders of Khemri
As the forces of the Dark Goddess trudged through the other worlds' lands, enjoying their conquest of a Human city that seemed to highly value their dead, the Lilith Sisters were gathering information from what they could determine of this strange world. Ever since the Green Sky Burst, happened, the timelines were suddenly altered beyond what should be tolerable, yet Chaos did not erase them. Now curious about this phenomenon, the Dark Goddess sent them to gather Intel on what was happening, along with a large army Monsters to establish a military presence in the other worlds' desert, so that if the natives do not comply to their show of force, they'd be overrun in a matter of days by the sheer might of the Monsters. Suddenly however, one of the daughters of Tamano, a Were-Wolf looked up, and sniffed the air.
"What is it?" Lilith herself asked, the eldest of the three Sisters. She was brushing her light pink hair, and cleaning off her clothes after a particularly messy meal. Her sister Morrigan, who was her youngest sibling flew up to get a aerial view of the situation as the Were-Wolf spoke. As the Monster began to report, the blue haired and winged Succubus glanced in the direction the beast Monster sniffed.
"I smell a great wind of death, like we have stumbled upon a-"
"OH SHIT!" Morrigan yelled, as she dodged a glowing skull that shrieked as it flew past her. The bright blue missile struck a number of Monsters and Humans, and the most horrific thing happened in front of the Monsters that witnessed it. Their kin and their prizes alike dropped dead, as their souls were ripped out of their bodies, and could be seen screaming as they were dragged away to this worlds' afterlife. One of the Humans began to panic, and Morrigan landed and grabbed the babbling creature. "What the hell are those Undead, and who leads them!?" she shouted with rage, as the Human only screamed.
" TOMB KING! TOMB KING!" was all he shouted that they understood, as more of the screaming skulls were flying down unto the city, battering both Monsters and Humans alike. Suddenly the pyramid that the Monsters noted was a monument of some kind shot up a bright beam of light, and Astaroth, the third Sister who was the middle member turned a street corner, running as she held a bloody stump of an arm. The other two were shocked, as she was covered in bruised and bleeding wounds, as well as arrows that pierced her body. The other Monsters were shocked, as it couldn't be the Humans that she was chasing into the pyramid when they fell back to it.
"RUN! THERE WAS MORE OF THEM IN THE PYRAMID!" the red-headed Succubus screamed in terror, when suddenly a pair of Undead horses with a similarly mummified corpse rode up behind her carrying a chariot, of which several more followed, though those ones had archers, while the leader only pointed and yelled with a halberd of some kind. As it passed her, one of the blades on the chariots' hub caps sliced her leg off, and Astaroth fell on the ground with a shriek of pain.
"Astaroth! NO!" Lilith screamed, as her sibling was run over and trampled into a gory paste by the other chariots, their crews loading arrows and loosing them at the Monsters ahead. The Undead, like the city, were highly ornate in their clothing, so they were clearly prideful. Lilith was going to enjoy breaking them, as she flew towards them with a scream of anger and hate, followed closely by Morrigan. When the arrows flew, she dodged upwards, only to feel them still hitting her body, and from the cry of pain Morrigan let out along with the other Monsters who let out similar noises, they were hit as well.
What the hell? No arrow is fast enough to hit me! Lilith thought in shock, the surprise pain snapping her out of her rage. As another volley was loosed, a She and Morrigan dodged for cover in one of the alley ways, and watched as the Monsters with them tried to do the same along with the Humans caught in the cross-fire between the two factions. Much to her shock, many of the Monsters were still hit and a few were even killed, as the arrows visibly redirected themselves to follow and strike the Monsters as they ran. What magic is this?! I sensed no Wind enchantments from them! Who is this 'Tomb King' to wield such power? Lilith thought as her Sister Morrigan stared in shock. The chariots passed by them, but were then followed by a clawed hand grabbing the stone wall as a statue of bone, marble, and other materials with an eagle head looked at them with only looked to be contempt. It realized a screaming noise, and charged at them with a kopesh the Lilith Sisters as they cried out in terror, confusion and terror spreading through the ranks of the Monsters, as Settra the Imperishable unleashed his wrath upon them, and the Humans that dared entered his city while he was away re-securing his lands...