As Zan turned the corner of the tower a horrific sight greeted him. There was an army waiting outside. He wouldn't have been that bothered if it had been an army of living, breathing beings, but this was worse, much worse. The poor guard didn't stand a chance as Marilak descended upon him.

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"Get in defensive positions! NOW!" Entreri roared. They were being attacked, but not by stealthy assassins. This was an army of undead.

They had only started learning defensive positions, but assassins and thieves were quick learners. Only a few people needed help in finding their positions.

The moment that all the others had figured out where they were supposed to be, Entreri went to his own position, which was the meeting hall of the Citadel where Avariel and Cletran were waiting. Jarlaxle had already been sent off, and Entreri suspected Jori would be able to help fill in the gap left by Cletran's absence. As soon as he entered the room Entreri knew they'd be adding one more to their company.

Sure enough, mere seconds after Entreri had entered the meeting hall, Nova appeared.

"Why is she here?" Entreri demanded.

Nova just smiled. "I'm an expert at dealing with even the foulest undead. Without me you can't even hope to survive."

Entreri growled. She sounded so smug. All the others raised an eyebrow. The growl sounded more…catlike than human-like.

Artemis Entreri took a deep breath. "You believe you know where he is?"

Cletran nodded, and down into the catacombs they went.

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"Let me get this straight," Kimmuriel Oblodra began cautiously, "You want to send Bregan D'aerthe's top members, myself included, into Del'Armgo."

Jarlaxle merely smiled and nodded.

"Why?"

"Let's just say that they are meddling too much in the affairs upon the surface," Jarlaxle said calmly.

Kimmuriel shook his head. "You know I respect you, Jarlaxle, but I need you to give me a better reason than that. This is the second house." Kimmuriel put emphasis on "second" to make it clear that he'd need a very good reason.

Jarlaxle took a deep breath. The realization was that Entreri's life, and possibly Jori's sanity, rested on him getting this aid. "Bring in Tiriche."

Kimmuriel looked at Jarlaxle for a moment then closed his eyes. "Marilak killed Tiriche," he said quietly.

Jarlaxle nearly fell out of his chair. " Tiriche," he said quietly. He looked at Kimmuriel and said softly, "This is now personal. Many of the better men would agree with me that Tiriche's death must not be left unpunished, and one way to make that clear is to do what I am asking."

Kimmuriel smiled and nodded.

Jarlaxle sat in his chair wondering how long it would be before Kimmuriel would arrive with the drow troops. They needed to hurry.

"Oh well," Jarlaxle mumbled. Now was probably a good time for contemplation. Unsurprisingly, the first thing he thought about was the upcoming battle.

The only way to destroy the lich was to either destroy its organs or its phylactery. He had no clue where the phylactery was and so was aiming for the organs. That was where Entreri came in. Destroying the organs would only work if the lich was already weakened. Entreri also had to keep the thing occupied. Jarlaxle just hoped he wasn't sending his friend into a death trap.

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"Skeletons," Avariel signed, "and a lot of them."

"How should we deal with them?" Entreri questioned.

The group didn't want to make too much noise before finding the lich and so far had sneaked past all of the guardians. They were now standing in front of a heavy oak door.

"I could turn them," Cletran offered.

"You'd have to stay behind," Nova said sharply.

Cletran nodded and looked at Avariel who opened the door.
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Dread Lord Athos watched as Cletran turned the undead. He had been waiting for someone to enter the room and was thrilled that Daggerlord Entreri was among them. He wasn't so thrilled to see Nova, however. Sighing he zoomed his scrying in on Entreri…and nearly lost control of it. He knew Entreri had been Aramil's apprentice, but…

"Gold flecks," he whispered, "five in each eye."

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"We're ready," Kimmuriel informed Jarlaxle.

Jarlaxle looked up. "No we're not," he said quietly. Then, he stood. "Let's go."

With that the troop from Bregan D'aerthe headed off.

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"That's big even by giant standards," Entreri signed as they stared at the massive vampire.

"Not an easy fight, but together we can definitely win it," Nova noted.

Avariel was shaking her head even before Nova had finished. "We'd all be so badly injured we'd have to try to rest here."

"Are you suggesting that one of us lures it away?" Entreri asked.

Avariel nodded. "I'm even volunteering myself."

"You can't!" Nova hissed. Entreri and Avariel gave her a sharp glare.

"Very well," Entreri said. "Nova and I will try to sneak by while you distract it."

Avariel nodded and headed out. All Entreri and Nova saw was its huge bulk as it attacked the tiny elf.

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"We've spent hours exploring this place," Entreri groaned. Not only had they spent hours off course, they had avoided several undead, and Entreri figured he was beginning to have an allergic reaction.

"Very well," Nova conceded. "We'll rest here." She veered into a small nook that most undead would be too dumb to figure out how to get through and sat down. Entreri followed suit and pulled out his rations.

Nova watched him eat the hard tack silently and sighed. There was only enough space in there for them to sit, and it was fairly tight.

"Artemis, what part did you play in Aramil's death?"

Entreri looked at her, startled by the sudden question. He had just finished eating and had been preparing for a nap.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Tell me the story of his death," Nova said. Blood red tears formed in her eyes.

He looked at her. She had been Aramil's lover, he knew that, but he still didn't want to tell her.

"Please," she pleaded. "I need to know."

He nodded and sank deep into thought. At some level he would only be describing what he saw. Some of it he had really seen other parts of it he just knew had happened.