Velka's forces had started another offensive early in the morning in an attempt to catch the knights off their guard. As it was at noon, the battle at the district boundary was still raging. Havel lowered his binoculars, concern wrinkling his features. His first instinct was to serve the Great Lord on the field of battle, being one of the most loyal subjects in all his domain, but an idea had come to him recently. Perhaps the best way to serve his Lord wasn't the most obvious.
Casper entered the room behind him and stood silently a little ways off, waiting for acknowledgement. Havel waved him over. "How fared your mission?"
By way of answering, Casper emptied the enormous sack he had been carrying over his shoulder. Several foul-smelling pieces of armor and cloth spread over the floor. "I recovered as much of the invader's armor as I could. This should be quite enough for what we need."
Havel gave a mirthless laugh and clapped Casper on the shoulder. "You did well, my boy." His eyes stared into space, his expression somber.
Casper's cloudy eyes stared at him inquisitively. "Are you having second thoughts?"
Havel's expression hardened, his eyes coming back into focus. "No. This should have been done a long time ago, and I fear our Lord is distracted by the war and disillusioned by kindness to see the snake in his midst." He began sorting through the armor, settling on a large cloak. "Assemble my men."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"No."
"I know what I saw, Artorias."
"No, there must have been…perhaps…it—"
Gough laid a hand on the distressed knight's shoulder. "Easy now, Artorias. I can attest to Ciaran's claim. She never forgets a face." He rubbed his leg, where the wounds had scarred. "I can say with certainty that she is correct."
Sif followed him closely as he paced. "She couldn't though, maybe the armor is controlling her?"
Ciaran sincerely doubted it, but she kept her opinion to herself.
Ornstein slashed his hand through the air. "Whatever the situation, I'm sure that we can agree that this movement must be put down! We're wasting precious time and men the longer we wait." He put his helmet on, and picked up Artorias's from the table. "Are you with me?"
Artorias accepted the helmet. "If we see Serafina, leave her to me." He stared them all in the eyes, one at a time. "Agreed?" There were curt nods all around. "Alright. Let's show them the fastest way to the grave."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The sun was barely hanging onto the horizon as Havel's men suited up. There were scowls on the cleric's faces as they slipped the occult armor on. This would be a new experience for all in one form or another without their stone armor.
The bishop stood before them, and their mutters were silenced.
He said nothing for a while, just looking at his group. Most of his battle clerics were on the front lines, assisting the silver knights, but he had his most trusted with him tonight. They were more than fellow soldiers. They were practically family, some literally adopted, in Casper's case.
"Men. We've faced long odds many a time before tonight." There were nods and murmured agreements. "This night we face perhaps our most troubling odds. Long ago, our Lord was assisted in bringing about the Age of Fire by a dragon, a traitor to his own kind." He began walking around the room, addressing each person as he neared them.
"The Great Lord hoped for a future that would allow Seath the Scaleless to exist peacefully with us. Some of us can see otherwise, not being misled by kindness." He laid a hand on a cleric's shoulder. "It has been slow, quiet work, but we've finally got him. No longer will people be taken from their homes in the night, taken off of the very streets to serve the crazed dreams of a deranged mind!"
He drew even with Casper. "I'm informed that Seath has the audacity to abduct the handmaidens of Gwynevere herself!" Casper grimaced and gripped his sword tightly.
Havel had come full circle around the room. "To lay things out; we storm the Archives. It will be a hard crawl, and we'll likely face plenty of resistance. The Archives are full of channelers, not that any would lend their assistance in this siege." There were sneers and angry growls at that.
"The acts we are about to commit this night will be treasonous. Of that, there is no doubt." His eyes were intent. "If you are caught, you will be killed. Do not allow yourself to be captured by Seath's forces. Be subtle about using miracles. Don't take off the invader's armor, we can't kill all of them. We may as well blame this on the invaders. Lastly, stay close." He hefted his massive dragon's tooth onto his shoulder. "We go to slay a dragon."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
There were channelers posted at every entrance to the Duke's Archives, but not in any great numbers. After all, the battle raged far away, down the mountain from here. Those posted at the side entrance learned that the battle had made its way to them when Havel's band crushed them against the wall.
"Good work, men. Remember, they can warp away when frightened, so you must slay them swiftly."
They began their run, battering down the double doors and sprinting into the immaculate hall. They were greeted by a horde of channelers combing through various tomes, speaking to each other in their odd, garbled tongue.
Before they could escape, Havel crushed one's skull with a swing as Casper ran another through. Chaos ensued as channelers began teleporting in and out, trying to figure out what was going on. Their confusion made for short work on the cleric's part. They left the white stones painted red and rushed inwards.
"This is odd, sir. I feel so light without the armor. This stuff is like paper!" A cleric leapt up several stairs, lopping a channeler's arm off and punching his throat in. His exhilaration was short-lived as he was hit with a soul arrow. He was staggered, but not badly hurt. Havel had blessed his band with a barrier that would lessen the bite of magic.
The channeler began to teleport away, but another cleric reached him first. He lifted him over his head and brought him down over his knee, breaking his spine with an audible snap.
Their path didn't stay easy, however.
They turned a corner, and were instantly bombarded with a flurry of soul arrows. Two clerics were overwhelmed, and fell. The rest scattered, taking cover behind bookshelves. This didn't help for long though, as the channelers simply warped to a position to continue bombarding them from above.
Just then, the windows up on that level shattered, and several figures rushed in, tearing into a half of the channelers. The rest panicked and vanished.
When the soul arrows stopped coming, Casper peered around the shelves.
A man in rough armor stood atop the balcony, bloodstained spear and shield in hand. He gave a snide laugh and waved to the clerics below. "Hey down there! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to kill the Lizard without me."
Havel looked at Casper questioningly. "Is that…?"
Casper nodded. "Vaeldric."
"And his friends?" There were loud cheers and rude phrases drifting down from above.
"Assorted scoundrels."
Havel left cover and addressed the rabble. "We are the rebels, here to throw off the yoke of the Gods' oppression!" He spoke for the benefit of any troops that might be listening in.
Vaeldric squinted at him. "Uh huh. If you think labeling yourself as criminals is going to dissuade me, you're mistaken. It wouldn't be the first time I've been wanted." He tapped the side of his helmet. "I'm just here to see how well this place burns." With that, he conjured a fireball in his palm and tossed it into a nearby bookshelf which went up in flame.
Havel looked at Casper. He didn't care for Vaeldric or his associates, but they needed help, and Casper had stood up for Vaeldric before. They had already lost two good men, and didn't have many more to spare. Casper nodded, and Havel turned back to the group above. "Very well. You take the high path, and we'll take the low. Draw as much attention as you can."
Vaeldric stepped backward. "Crows take that, we don't answer to you. We've just got bones to pick." He disappeared from sight as his group moved on. "Hey! Lochlan, put those books down! You can't even read!"
Havel shifted his grip on the tooth. "Splendid. Onward men, nothing has changed."
The clerics caught a few channelers unaware, and slew them quickly. Casper parted a leg from one's body and stabbed through their chest while Havel swung upwards and caught another in the chin, throwing them up into the air.
Instantly, they were completely surrounded.
Sorceries rained down upon the group, and a cleric was blasted to the ground. He didn't rise.
"Get to cover! Follow me!" Havel sprinted to one side of the circle, intent on breaking it wide open. He shrugged off a blast and crushed a channeler's head down into his stomach with an overhead swing. Most clerics made it into the small hallway, but the last one lagged behind. He was caught when a channeler stabbed forward with their trident, piercing his leg. He cried out, but it was too late. Four more channelers came forward and stabbed him repeatedly, silencing him.
"Go, go!" Havel dragged Casper on as he started going back. "It's too late for him!"
They breached the antechamber to Seath's main chambers, weapons readied, only to find that dead channelers already littered the area. Chests were thrown open and shelves were already aflame. The six men didn't hang around to admire the fact. They smashed the latch on the huge double doors…
…and there he was.
Seath the Scaleless.
The bizarre figure was pure white, large silky wings protruding from his back. No eyes adorned his horned head, and three thick tails protruded from where his back half would be expected to be. Moonlight cascaded through tall windows to emphasize his color.
He exuded POWER.
Even standing in the midst of Vaeldric's rabble, he didn't seem the slightest bit worried. As the clerics approached, the reason became obvious.
There were about thirty in all, dressed in various ragtag armor sets. All of them seemed to be frozen, trapped in a moment of intense agony.
They had been turned to stone.
After the initial shock, Havel raised his club and gave a mighty cry. He leapt off of the shoulders of a petrified man and delivered a powerful blow to the white dragon's face.
The hit made Seath's head turn, but he made no move to retaliate. Casper covered Havel's fall with his shield and braced for a counter-attack that never came, the battle clerics forming up around him.
There was a brief span where no one moved an inch.
Then the pale dragon began to make an odd noise. It was a deep, rumbling reverberation, punctuated by weird piercing tones that echoed around the chamber.
The Scaleless was laughing at them.
"Children. Thou know'st not the depth of thine folly." There was a chilling aspect to the voice that froze the limbs and had absolutely nothing to do with sorcery. It was as if a voice were calling from a mountain or a valley itself, it just should not be.
The albino head dipped lower to closer observe them with its eyeless gaze. "Wail to thine gods, O ye mortals, for I leave thee within that cursed embrace."
Casper brandished his sword, and drove it into the cold being's abdomen up to the hilt.
What may have been a horrible mimicry of a smile twisted the dragon's face. No cry of pain came from him. In fact, as he looked to Casper, the sword popped out of his scaleless hide, clattering on the tiles. His wounds had sealed themselves quickly, without a sign they were ever there.
"Pathetic man of faith, I have existed before dark and light, bore witness to the birth of death and existed in a realm without life. I predate thine 'gods'."
Casper retrieved his sword hastily. "Havel?"
Havel appeared stricken, eyes wide. "I fear I have made a grave mistake."
The doors behind them were thrown open, and giant sentinels plowed inside, followed by silver knights and what was left of the channelers. "Halt! You are to be arrested for the committing of treasonous acts against the Great Lord's Duke! Lay down your weapons!"
Havel dropped his club and grabbed the front of Casper's cloak in the same motion. "Don't join me in my grave." He whispered.
With that, he gave a mighty spin and hoisted Casper off the ground, throwing him through the nearest window and out into the night.