Just then the curtain to the booth opened, and in stumbled Rail, the leather greaves of his right leg soaked in blood. The rest of him looked even worse. All over his skin was cracked and oozing as if from some horrid disease, though Magus immediately recognized the signature signs of a brush with a Horrid Wilting. Rail barely managed to make it to a seat before collapsing.

"Go fetch a healer. NOW," Magus added, after sensing Virdel's initial reluctance. A dangerous glint shined in his eyes, and Virdel hurried away, deciding that he rather liked his appendages to stay attached where they were.

Virdel didn't wait around for Magus to keep talking. He was already up, and on his way out of the room to get help from Bernard. Even though the Drow wasn't panicked in the least, he did feel the need for urgency, and didn't dally in finding the Copper Coronet's Bartender. Bernard wasn't an easy man to miss, and Virdel didn't find it difficult to find the rotund man standing by the bar, barking orders to two of the serving wenches of the place. Virdel made sure his hood was pulled tightly, making sure his features, and ebony skin was covered, and he approached the man.

"We are in need of a healer" Virdel tapped Bernard on the shoulder lightly, as not to startle him, but enough to gain his attention. "A man who has just come in to join my associates and myself was wounded recently, and we need something to help him. Any healing salves, and assistance would be greatly appreciated." Virdel's eyes shown through the shroud of his hood, and bore into Bernard, unnerving the man slightly.

"Aw'right, den." the rotund man said. I can give ye' this potion of healing. Not de' best, but it should do." He reached behind the counter, and exposed a small crystalline flask filled with a murky blue liquid. He placed in on the counter, and looked to Virdel. "Dat'll be two-hundred pieces o' copper." Bernard waited for Virdel to, reluctantly, reach into his pouch, and scrounge of the hefty price. Obviously, Virdel needed to work on some of his people skills, as this was an expensive way to live. Bernard watched as the Virdel placed a few gold coins, mixed with some copper pieces on the counter, just barely enough to pay for the liquid. He scooped the money up, and quickly pocketed it. "As fer yer healer, I just hired a new kid. He says he's training with the Clerics of Ilmater on da' roof. I'll send him by."

Virdel nodded, and took the healing solution from the counter. He turned around, and made his way back to the room in which the others awaited him, and the potion. Virdel walked through the curtain, and into the room, tossing the potion over to Xandax, who deftly caught it, and opened the stopper in one quick motion. Xandax, having experienced wounds before, applied the liquid onto Rail's wound, which began to look a little better, after receiving the digested healing, and the salve.

"A healer is on his way, according to Bernard. He should be hear any moment. Virdel went to stand next to the entrance, making sure that they wouldn't be disturbed. Xandax and Thryn tended to Rail, while Virdel watched. He may've been a superb warrior, and excellent survivor, but rarely did he have to rely on field bandages, and healing salves. Being Drow, he was to full of pride to accept easy solutions as such.

As he stood next the curtain, a slight rustling interrupted his thoughts as someone came through them. In the blink of an eye, Virdel was up, and behind the person, holding the man's arm so it bent like the wing of some small bird wing, and the other hand held a dagger close to the man's throat. Virdel looked to Xandax, and Thryn, and saw both had looks of surprise. Virdel casually looked to the man's face, and recognized that of the Calimshite, Faisal. He loosened his lock, and let Faisal go, and waited patiently to find out what was going on.

-Don't tell me you're the healer- whispered an alien voice in Faisal's head; the voice of Void.

"Well, I'm kind of still in training," he responded sheepishly.

-Splendid-

"But maybe I can help." Faisal walked over and placed a hand on Rail's chest. His condition worsened before his very eyes. The color returned to his skin by the potion quickly faded away, and new rips began rending his flesh anew. His eyes rolled back in their sockets.

"Do something!" Xandax barked, pain and frustration seeking an outlet.

Doubt winding his stomach into knots, Faisal's training deserted him completely. His mind instinctively grasped out like a drowning child, struggling to cling to something, anything. Finding warmth radiating from amidst the dark emptiness, he groped desperately for it. It enveloped him, soothing his soul, lending him its power.

His hands glowed with a green light that flowed into Rail's wasted form. His skin's crackling ceased as the light flowed over it, and his eyes returned to their natural position, staring straight ahead, unmoving.

Faisal collapsed to the ground, a greater fatigue than he had ever known weighing down upon him and preventing him from rising.

"He's dead," Xandax, thought, checking for a lack of pulse to confirm it. Astonishingly, it was there, weak and sluggish, but definitely there.

But so was the disease. Though his condition worsened no further, Rail's skin began oozing a terrible black bile, not dissimilar to demon's blood. Horrified, Xandax mopped it up as fast as he could, and his rag soon became black with the vile stuff.

Magus appeared, Aerie at his side. They exchanged a few words, and Aerie hurried over to where Rail lie, sprawled across the seat.

"It seems the illness has been slowed, which is fortunate. Otherwise I don't think he'd still be alive," she observed, carefully assessing his condition.

She paused for a moment. "Yes, I think we can cure him. But I'll need your help to get past the barrier of malignant magical energy emanating from him," she speaks, glancing at Magus.

He nods, and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder began chanting in the spidery words of magic. Xandax backed off to let them work. Rail's body shimmered as Magus wrestled the energy encasing Rail. Then Aerie laid her hand over his heart, closing her eyes in concentration, the chant beseeching her Goddess beautiful and almost musical in quality. White power coursed through her and directly into Rail, filling the room with blinding light, and suddenly an inhuman screech rung throughout the room.

A flash of crimson, and a gibbering demon out of a nightmare appeared before them, like nothing any of them had ever seen, enraged by the eviction from its host.

Faisal collapsed to the ground, a greater fatigue than he had ever known weighing down upon him and preventing him from rising.

Faisal said a silent prayer in thanks for his Goddess providing the aid needed at the time, and his faith in her now had was cast in concrete.

Smiling to himself, he was happy he could have helped and that his Goddess was with him.

But then a reddish glow entered the room and Demon stepped through. Faisal moved in a real hurry to get out of the way of the Demon.

Faisal saw that Xandax and Thryn had stepped forward to take care of the demon while Magus and the elf-lady tended to the wounded man.

"This is not the time to be tired," thought Faisal and with Goddess's aid I will not falter again.

Taking the image of the chat spell, Faisal moved behind the 2 fighters, but still on the floor to weak and tired to get up. Faisal sat cross-legged and started to shape the spell and had complete confidence that he could pull it off.

Walking towards the demon, Xandax noticed Faisal trying to cast a spell. "Foolish - he is too exhausted to fight" Xandax thought. "Get out of here Faisal, we'll handle the demon" Xandax yelled to Faisal, hoping he would do as told.

"No let him I'll make sure he is ok" Said Thryn, hurriedly standing up, his weapon drawn. He made his way to Faisal, in order to help the fatigued cleric to stand. Thryn draped the man's arm over his shoulder, and helped him make his way from the danger.

Virdel reacted instinctively, shouting out no warnings, no battle cries, and no orders. His scimitars were in his hand, and the words of a Globe of Darkness were already forming in his mind. He saw Xandax raise his shield, and sword, and prepare to meet this foe. He also saw Magus and Aerie standing protectively next to Rail's prone body, a mental and spiritual battle being waged between them, and Lazal's vile magic. Virdel crouched back a bit, tensing his legs, and shot a quick look to Xandax.

"Don't attack him yet." Virdel stated coldly. He had experience in fighting demons, and also fighting blind. He couldn't afford to have Xandax stumble into his way. He saw Xandax take a step forward, then reluctantly stop before charging into the battle. Virdel gave silent thanks. His mouth formed the words, and a Globe of complete nothingness rose around the group, and Demon.

Xandax had never actually felt the effects of this particular spell, and found it eerily empty. He didn't like not being able to see anything, and he felt a need to lash out, but restrained himself, using every fiber of his will. It was then he heard a high-pitched yell that grated on his nerves. He also heard the clash of steel as Virdel's weapons rebounded of a chitenous exo-skeleton that covered the demon. He wanted to fight, but something inside him just kept saying the Drow had a plan.

*****

As the Globe engulfed the room, Virdel sprang to his fight, and halfway across the room, his Scimitars brandished above his head, and ready to come down into the demons small body. His feet hit the ground, and his arms swung the two weapons in a downward arc, both connecting with the demon. His left scimitar was jarred strongly as he felt the magical blade hit the demons hard protection, but his right weapon; he felt nothing but the soft flesh being dug into. He heard a yell come from in front, and felt a something thud into his ribs, but shook it off in a manner he had learned to do so during battle. He locked his arm down, pinning the demon's tail in the process, and with his other arm, he swung violently down onto the creatures tail. He felt a lot of slack form, and he knew his sword had done what he wanted it too. He dropped the tail the ground, and leapt back a few feet. He muttered a few words, dispelling the Globe.

As the visibility returned, he was shocked to see that from the tail of the creature, another, smaller, thing was forming, quickly gaining appendages. The other demon cackled. It was slightly wounded on its shoulder. Virdel nodded to Xandax, and the two sprang into the battle, each taking on one of the creatures.

The dark energy Magus was wrestling suddenly focused, consolidating into physical form and creating a type of fiend even he had never encountered. Standing on two inward-jointed legs, it sported four long twig-like arms, each ending in a dagger-like claw. As if that wasn't enough, protruding from its rear was a thickly muscled tail with a heavy knob on the end, a built-in bludgeoning tool. But their task was yet incomplete, and Magus trusted his companions to keep the thing at bay for the moment.

The disease had maimed both the body and mind of his friend. As Aerie's healing magic spread through Rail's body, fusing skin and cleansing tainted blood, Magus sent his mind into Rail's, striving to restore lucidity to chaos and insanity. Incoherent images assaulted his senses, the product of a fevered mind.

-Pull yourself together Rail! - He implored, forcefully constraining the rapid-fire stream of thoughts. They began to subside, descending to a murmur then the silence of rest.

Suddenly Magus was seized by a mental jolt as the corrupting energies stormed his own mind. The sheer surprise and strength of the assault almost overwhelmed him. But he was no amateur in the psionic Arts, and he quickly contained it. Surrounding it, isolating it like an army does a smaller force, he systematically obliterated the foreign taint from the halls of his mind.

Eyes refocusing without, he saw Aerie's magic mend the last of Rail's wounds. Only sleep could purge the last vestiges of the disease now. They turned from him to confront the demon spawn, which now numbered two instead of one.

* * * * *

Void quickly decided his feline form precluded active participation in the battle. He dashed out of the way and waited to see if his aid would become necessary.

* * * **

Thryn barely ducked as a pair of claws speared towards his chest, broken bones and poison barely slowing the frenzied demon. But he had forgotten the other two, one of which tore a thin line across his cheek before he could roll out of the way. The fiend pounced upon him immediately like a rabid animal, devoid of intelligence, its tail swinging around to crush his head like an overripe tomato.

* * * * *

Xandax fared better, his plate mail keeping the razor arms at bay while he tried to figure out how to kill the blasted thing. Nonetheless, his opponent's speed and agility was astonishing. He kept his eye on the tail- club at all times, knowing a hit from that thing in the right spot would spell his end

* * * * *

Seeing Thryn go down under one of the demons, Magus flung a lightning bolt at it. It flew true and blasted it square in the back, sending the fiend sprawling. It leapt to its feet in an instant, the wound already healing, and sprang straight towards the offending mage. A swinging hammer of clerical force abruptly appeared in its path, smashing the monster across the room.

-Clear your minds. Apparently these creatures draw strength from your emotions-

Xandax heard this in his mind. Xandax mind was already free of emotion, he was in his enrage.

Feeling the demons attack on his body, he also felt it in his mind - but it didn't matter.

After doing this, almost dance, of parrying Xandax found an opening. When the demon lunged out whit its left claws, it usually used is tail-club thing afterwards in the same direction. Xandax bided his time, and true enough.

The creature lunged out whit its lefts claws, the low one, the high one - Xandax parried the low one with his shield - feeling the strength of this demon, but himself still standing firm, then parrying the onslaught from the high one, Xandax parried this with his sword, cutting a long gash in the process, this didn't effect the demon much, then, as Xandax had predicted, the demon swung is tail-club. Still under the effect of his enrage - Xandax made a roll over the demon tail now facing the demons unprotected back - summoning all his strength Xandax slashed out towards the placed where the demons tail was fixed to its back, "Ferox" was glowing brightly, and was warm - the blade almost burning - and Xandax had no difficulty in forcing it all the way through the tail area, completely cutting the tail, and a piece of its back, of the demon. The demon screamed, the sound moving into the very bones of Xandax, but he shook the effect of him.

*****

Feeling a hand on his shirt, Faisal new that he was being taken out of the fight. Quickly trying to finish his chant spell Faisal hurried through it, but darkness took him just as the last syllable was uttered.

Thryn dragged an unconscious Faisal to Bernard and said, "Make sure he is OK".

"This kid is more of a burden than before," thought Bernard, "What are they involved in now? But it can't be good."

Bernard got one of the other lads to carry Faisal to the temple above the coronet, so that he could be cared for and rested.

Arriving there, Faisal was taken to his room and Ribald called at once. The old cleric checked Faisal for any injuries and curses, and found nothing. Relieved, Ribald noticed it was only exhaustion, which might have been due spell casting.

Faisal was left in the room to rest, as Ribald was sure he would hear all about in the morning.

*****

Virdel heard Magus's psionic message loud and clear, even as the battle echoed around him. His mind swirling with a mass of battle techniques, and ploys that had been useful during his brief stay in the Underdark. These demon creatures acted very much like Illithids, in terms of feeding of the mind, and it's emotions. He stood back a moment, assessing the situation, and calming himself. Around him, he heard the explosion of a magical bolt of energy from the Magus, and the ringing of chitenous claws and plate mail. He waited.

He heard Xandax's calls for him to re-join the battle, and he heard Thryn shout something towards him. Magus continued with his attack, more than likely aware of the Drow's plan. Virdel calmed himself completely, and placed his left Scimitar back into it's sheathe. He than calmly walked back into the battle, almost in a stroll. As one Demon lunged to attack him, the original, Virdel merely parried the attack with the hilt of his blade, and with his free hand, he grabbed the monsters tail, and held the heavy creature suspended in the air, safely away from his own body. Still not letting any emotions take over his mind, he flipped his scimitar in his hand, so that the blade was facing the creature's skull, and forcefully jammed it through the thick carapace skin, and through the brain tissue. The creature writhed for a moment before going limp. Without Virdel's emotions to empower it, it was unable to fight back properly.

*****

Xandax, watching Virdel as he did that, realized what he had to do in order to kill the creature. Though he was still enraged, he managed to control it enough to make another, more calm, attack on the enemy...

Xandax attacked cautiously at first, chopping off the monster's tail. The tail lay still and dead. Then seeing Virdel's success, he went in for the kill, suddenly finding his speed magically increased by the blonde elf maiden. Spotting an opening in another one of the fiend's frenzied assaults, he charged into it and sliced off the creature's head in one neat cut. It fell with a plop to the floor, the light gone from its eyes. Its body jerked only once before it too toppled.

* * * * *

At the last creature's collapse all traces of there bodies disappeared in a swirl of dissipating magic.

"No wonder I'd never seen one of their kind. Those monsters were magically conjured," Magus stated matter-of-factly before turning around. Rail slept peacefully, color beginning to return to his bodies somewhat, though it'd undoubtedly be a while before he woke.

"What happened to Faisal?" asked Magus, addressing Thryn.

"Bernard's taking care of him. He's going to be knocked out for a while," Thryn responded curtly.

"Then we might as well meet again tomorrow, when everyone will be present."

-We don't quite have that much time- Void whispered darkly.

-At midnight the guild war begins-

It was already 22:30.