Nesha was in her bed, watching the bunk above her. Dull pain pulsed through her arm and sleep avoided her. After Inggison wrapped itself in the night, the six Asmodian women climbed on the upper bunk beds and huddled together. Even though their eyes preferred the darkness, they were afraid here. The door opened and dim light from the outside lamps poured into the room and two drunk men entered. Or more likely stumbled in.
"Hey, girls, come, have fun with us!" one of them raised a half-empty bottle.
"People want to sleep here, get out," Nesha got up and stepped in their way.
"Oh, hi, wanna have fun?"
"No. Get out."
"Come on, let us have fun, they are just Asmodians, no one cares about them."
"And they don't care about you. Last warning, get out."
"But..."
A bright pale blue light shot up from the main plaza and illuminated the fortress. The roofs, stairs, railings and other details that during the day made the place look like a dream, cast now ominous glitter and shades, as if in a nightmare.
"Shit..." the soldiers stared at it agape.
"What is it?"
"Alarm."
"I can see that. What kind of alarm?"
"Uhm... unauthorised teleport? I think..." one of the soldiers scratched his head. "Should we go there?"
"Yes?" Nesha grabbed her belt with her dagger and ran towards the plaza. After several steps she stopped and turned around. "Hey, you two are going too."
"But..."
"Oh, come on," she rolled her eyes. "If you stop acting like cowards, maybe in time you'll score with someone, who's actually interested."
A few seconds of silence.
"She has a point, right?"
"Yeah, if we're being invaded, I don't wanna get caught with my pants down."
~ o ~
The first thing Aielyn noticed was cold. And right after that sounds of fighting. I guesswe're in Beluslan. But when the aether settled, the place she saw was completely different than what she expected from the fortress frozen in time. They were in a room with too regular stone walls and no Abyss gate. The two Balaur they sent first immediately attacked, but Lonewolf and Tatran immediately killed one and Darrand the other. Darrand? What is he doing here? Where's here? The templar stepped aside and used his aether rope to catch a white-haired man in a black robe and throw him across the room.
"Mira! Where were you aiming this time?" Lonewolf shouted.
"I wasn't!"
"Go!" Darrand looked at them and pointed to the door. "Get Lady Cathy out of here!"
What? Cathy is here too? Aielyn found the girl sitting next to the wall and staring at the chaos. She ran to her, took her hand and pulled her up. Cathy focused her eyes at her and nodded and both ran, following the rest of the group. Darrand and Tatran ran last. The hallway outside of the room looked the same in both directions.
"Which way?" Lonewolf asked.
"No fucking idea, just run," Darrand said.
Lonewolf picked a direction and they all ran. Sigwyn disappeared in the shadows.
An ear-splitting noise rang through the entire building. An alarm, obviously. They reached another intersection. Lonewolf hesitated.
"Just show me which way is the outer wall and I'll make you an exit," Chroma grinned.
"There's a small window this way," Sigwyn appeared. "It's dark and snowing outside."
"Got it!" Chroma rushed in the given direction, loading pure red paint into her guns. Others followed her, hoping things would make sense soon.
"Darrand, where are we?" Tatran asked.
"Lepharist lab, no idea where. How did you get here?"
"Fucking lab again," the spiritmaster muttered. "Short answer, teleporting accident. Long answer can wait."
"And the Elyos?"
"Allies, for now."
"Alright, stand back!" Chroma shouted and as soon as they stopped, she shot several rounds of red paint at the wall with a tiny window. They exploded on impact and within a few seconds there was a hole for a person to get through. A bunch of snowflakes carried by wind burst inside. "At least the ground is not far," Chroma reloaded her guns and jumped down.
"It's really cold," Ortiz shivered. Mira was also shaking, but didn't say a word. Chroma reached into her bag and smeared pink paint on their cheeks.
"This should keep you warm for a while."
"I recognise these buildings," Lonewolf gestured at everything around. The stone walls and barred windows were lit by glowing crystals. "We're in Alquimia, in Beluslan. This way."
"They're here! Get them!" a guard shouted and was immediately silenced by Lonewolf's arrow. Aielyn barely readied her bow.
"Run!" Darrand yelled. "I'll hold them off."
"No, that's stupid," Chroma said. "All offence intended, my lord. You should run first and use that shield as a battering ram. I'll cover the rear."
"Lady Cathy and you, Reian, stay right behind me. Others, defensive formation," the templar commanded and then looked at Sigwyn. "You do the distractions."
The assassin nodded and disappeared in the shadows again.
The group ran.
Soon they could see the exit from the stronghold. And two aethertechs guarding it, their armor shining in the light of several crystals. And a few dozens of regular Lepharists with bows, guns or aether-enhancing jewels. Darrand charged at the closest group of three, they fell in a blink of an eye. The rest started firing. Mira and Tatran created an aetheric shield. Aielyn, Lonewolf and Chroma returned the fire.
"We need cover. Chroma, clear those two over there and we'll hide behind those boxes," Lonewolf commanded.
"I can help, but please take these off," Cathy raised her hands and showed the aether-cuffs on her wrists.
"Not really time for that," Lonewolf kept shooting. Aielyn tried to concentrate on shooting too, but she was getting tired. And cold. It was too much without proper clothing.
Chroma shot her red explosions at the two Lepharists on the roof above a huge pile of boxes.
"I'm out of red!" she reloaded her guns with green and cyan. "But it's clear. Let's go!"
The group moved to the small cover and Tatran immediately started working on Cathy's aether-cuffs. They fell off in a few moments and Cathy gasped as aether returned to her. She started quietly humming.
"We have to get out. Sorceress, can you create a portal somewhere safe?" Tatran asked.
"Inggison?"
"Safe for us!"
"I already tried the Abyss, I'm not doing that again," Mira glared at him. "And if you want to go to Sanctum or back to Eltnen, just say so. Otherwise I'm going to Inggison."
"Lord Kaisinel is supposed to be still sane. I'd rather get arrested there than end up in a lab here," Lonewolf pointed out. "But we need to call Darrand and Sigwyn back."
Tatran shivered at the mention of the lab.
"Too bad, he's fighting Israphel," Chroma said as she shot cyan paint at a group of Lepharists running towards them. A wave of ice froze them on the spot. Lonewolf and Aielyn picked them one by one with their aetheric arrows.
"No fucking way," Mira cursed. "No way I'm creating a portal while he's here."
"Why not? They've already seen you with us," Aielyn said.
"That's not it," Mira objected. "He's the Lord of Space! You don't want to go through a portal that he didn't approve of."
"So we need to take him out?" Chroma raised her eyebrows.
"Saying it like that, yeah, it sounds insane," Mira scowled. "How could we even scratch him? He's an Empyrean lord."
"So is Darrand," Tatran uttered. "And this girl here."
"Oh... I-I'm sorry," Cathy yelped and the aether she was gathering wavered. "I know I should be strong, but..." her eyes darted between everyone around. "I'm sorry... I can't fight, but..." she clasped her hand in front of her and a golden curtain of aether rose from her until it surrounded the entire group. "This should protect us from aether attacks. But I don't know for how long."
"Thank you, Cathy," Aielyn smiled. The air under the golden barrier became slightly warmer and her fatigue slowly peeled away. She turned towards Tatran, whom she really didn't want to interact with, but couldn't afford not to. "Darrand is what?" And based on the expressions of Lonewolf and Mira they didn't get it either.
"Don't tell me you didn't notice all that aether that shines from him?" Chroma shrugged. "I thought it was obvious."
"It doesn't make sense, but he clearly has the power equal to an Empyrean lord. It's an advantage we have to take. We can ask how that happened later," the spiritmaster said.
"I-it was an accident," Cathy mumbled.
"Well, he got stronger, but I thought I was just tired," Lonewolf admitted. "Does it mean we have a chance?"
Sigwyn appeared outside of the barrier and entered.
"The guards in this area are taken care of," she stated. "Either by us or those two fighting. But there are more mobilising. The snowfall is getting heavier and that will delay them, but that also means we won't see Darrand anymore, if he gets too far, no matter how bright all those crystals are."
"You're very good at sneaking, right?" Chroma guessed and searched in her bag for a glass flask of dark blue paint.
"Yeah."
"Good, so Lonewolf and Tatran and I will join the battle and distract Israphel. Sigwyn, you will wait until the right moment and smash this over him, make sure you get it on his face," the painter raised the glass and sent quite a lot of aether to it. "It will put him to sleep, but no idea for how long. It should work even if I get knocked out, so don't worry if that happens."
"Why don't you shoot it?" Sigwyn doubted.
"Because from long range I could hit Darrand and we don't want that. If he falls, we'll be as hopeless as a qooqoo. Also, I'll be there mostly to cover you guys from the reinforcements."
"What about me?" Aielyn blurted out.
"You and Mira will stay here and guard Cathy and Ortiz," Lonewolf said. Aielyn shrunk a bit under the tone of his voice. "With the rest of us busy, someone will try to sneak here. And if shit hits the whirlwind and we fail, run. Lead them somewhere safe where Mira can cast the portal without Israphel's interference."
~ o ~
Lonewolf half expected Aielyn would talk back, but she only lowered her head and nodded. At least that was covered. He planted a few tripeed seeds around to give potential assassins a surprise and commanded the attack. Technically, he was still the leader, since Darrand was busy and Cathy, well, wasn't a command material. Chroma's plan, or rather idea, was as good as one could come up with, when trying to interfere with a fight between two Empyrean lords. Tatran, whom he let do the heavy lifting of distraction, summoned two spirits and sent them at the Lord of Space. Lonewolf ran towards Darrand. Now that he knew what to look for, he could see the aether intensity of the two Lords was very similar. And he recognised the shield. Izith. What the fuck?
"I told you to run," the templar grunted.
"Can't teleport now, we have to knock him down first," he explained in as few words as possible. "We need an opening for the assassin."
"Got it."
Before the war he never fought with Darrand side by side, but they didn't need to be extra synchronised and the templar didn't require lengthy explanations. He dashed at Israphel, who just destroyed one of the spirits, and punched him with the shield. Chroma fired green paint, which transformed into vines on impact and bound Israphel to the ground, but he flickered and appeared right behind her. Before he could shoot her with his own gun, she aimed the cyan paint at the ground and the ice launched her to the air. Lonewolf barraged the Lord of Space with numerous aetheric arrows. He blocked or deflected all of them and shot bullets of aether back at him. The ranger evaded, but a few of them hit him in the back and he fell. All that gave Darrand the chance to snatch Israphel with the aether rope and slam him to the ground. Aether coiled around Israphel's head as Tatran removed the air from him, but he flickered again and appeared on the closest roof, shooting barrage of aether at the spiritmaster, who got several cuts all over the front side of his body. Chroma fired a few more rounds of the green paint, which this time the Lord blocked with aether blasts from his own gun.
"The reinforcements are coming," she whispered to Lonewolf, as he was getting up. "I'll go greet them."
Instead of responding, the ranger shot several arrows at their target, his back protesting, when he pulled the bow string. I hope he's really getting tired and not just pretending. Darrand attacked with the aether rope again. Deflected. He ran, jumped and attacked with the shield, but Israphel dodged and part of the roof collapsed, along with both Lords. As Israphel got up, he reached behind himself, where the air rippled and Sigwyn appeared with her neck in his hand. The flask with the blue paint was nowhere to be seen.
"This was your plan?" Israphel laughed. "Sent a mediocre assassin after me?"
The snow in front of them exploded and a spirit made of snow and wind flung itself up and grabbed his face. There was a sound of a glass breaking and a blue paint splashed all over him. He wobbled, dropped Sigwyn and made a few steps around. He tried to get the blue from his face, but he only spread it further. Darrand attacked, but just before his sword could land, Israphel created a rift behind himself and disappeared.
"Where did he go?" the templar, and everyone else, looked around. "And what was the blue thing?"
"It was from Chroma, should have put him to sleep," Lonewolf said, as he ran towards Sigwyn, who lay motionless in the snow. Her neck was bruised and there was a blue splotch on her cheek, but she was breathing steadily. Only sleeping, good. He took a piece of cloth and wiped the paint. It didn't wake her up, though, so he carefully lifted her in his arms.
"Chroma? Ariel's Wing?" Darrand looked at him with suspicion.
"We should go," Tatran waved at them. "Darrand, we're teleporting to Inggison."
"No fucking way. How does that make sense?"
"That Elyos is the only one here, who can teleport and that's the only place she knows, where we won't get instantly killed. I'm not returning to any of these fucking labs."
"We don't have the resources to go anywhere else," Lonewolf added. "And Chroma and your new power-up could help with the negotiations."
"Fuck me, let's go. Once we're out of here, you'll explain all this."
~ o ~
Aielyn didn't really hate the waiting itself. Only when the waiting was combined with other people fighting. The tension inside of Cathy's bubble was so thick one could almost slice it. She could hear the sounds of fighting, but couldn't see most details of the battle through the infinitely falling curtain of snow. Something moved in the nearby shadows. She fired an arrow there, a person appeared and evaded, but stepped right into one of the traps left by Lonewolf. Vines sprouted from the seed, wrapped around the Lepharist's legs and Aielyn shot her again. And again. Until the assassin stopped being a threat. A lightning crackled behind her, as Mira fried another attacker.
"This place isn't as safe as it looked," the sorceress gestured at the boxes they were hiding behind. "We're covered from the main area, but we're pretty much cornered."
As if in response, a man in armor jumped from a nearby roof and dashed towards them. Before Aielyn could aim at him, he kicked Cathy to her stomach, she lost her concentration and the warm shield around them dissipated. Mira used the sudden cold and directed it at him in an attempt to freeze him, but he was too close. He slashed her with his greatsword, just a fraction of second before Cathy blasted him with pure concentrated aether. She looked scared and confused.
"Cathy! Heal her!" Aielyn pointed at Mira, who was bleeding from a long gash on her left side, reaching from her ribs down to her thigh. The young Lady blinked and nodded and started weaving the aether around the wound.
The Lepharist landed a few meters away from them, but quickly got up. Aielyn fired a few aetheric arrows at him, which didn't slow him down much.
"I'm so disappointed to see you here, little Lyn," he said. She recognised that voice and when she took a better look, even the face.
"U-uncle Herlen? What... are you..."
"Since it's you, little Lyn, I'll let you surrender. If you don't, I'll have to..." a splash of cyan paint hit his face and transformed into ice crystals. Two blobs of green bound his legs to the ground.
"Are you all alright?" Chroma ran to them. "Everyone alive?"
"Mira's injured."
"Can you still open the portal?"
"Yeah, if I don't bleed out and the pain stops," the sorceress replied, as the wound was slowly closing.
"Good. If you still feel dizzy or something, use this right before you start," Chroma handed her a pink bead. "Just splash it on your skin and it will make you nicely warm and fuzzy. Aielyn, we need to take care of..."
The ice on uncle's... no, Lepharist's, face shattered. He took a deep breath and cut the bindings in one swoop. Chroma ran around him in a wide circle and fired several cyan shots that created flat ice around him. Aielyn aimed. I can't... no, I have to... but…
"Aielyn!"
"Yes, sorry!" she shot three arrows and watched as uncle Herlen... no, the Lepharist! evaded all of them. She followed Chroma, who loaded her gun with orange and fired. She missed a few shots, that after hitting the snow and ice only fizzled and made colourful sparks. But when she finally hit, the aether coalesced around unc... the Lepharist and lifted him to the air. He twisted himself and sliced the aetheric bubble with his greatsword.
"Is this all you can do?"
"Why are you Lepharist?" Aielyn cried. "Why are you trying to hurt us?"
"I could ask you the same question, little Lyn, why are you against us?" he charged at them again. Aielyn tried to shoot him, but she was too slow. Tired and cold. She could still summon the aetheric arrows, but too late. He kicked her aside and struck at Chroma. She aimed the gun with cyan paint at him and got a good shot, but at the same time his blow landed and the gun shattered. Chroma dodged his second attack and shot from the other gun, what appeared to be a mix of orange and yellow. He blocked the paint bullet with the greatsword. It exploded with dazzling light and for a few seconds Aielyn was blind. As the world was regaining its contours, she heard the sound of a shattered glass and Chroma's scream.
"Chroma!" she crawled towards the sound.
Chroma lay on the ground, all her paints were splashed around her in the snow. She raised her hand, trying to aim her gun at the person looming over her. He kicked the gun out of her hand and raised his greatsword.
"Uncle no!"
The time slowed almost to a halt. The sword pierced Chroma's chest. A burst of red joined the other colours in the snow.
I'm out of red!
The Lepharist stepped over the still body and slowly walked towards her.
"Will you surrender now, little Lyn?"
"Why..." she couldn't take her eyes off the body. "Why isn't she... you have an obelisk here, right?"
"Oh, we do. Won't help with this sword. So, you surrender?"
The wind around them billowed and rushed toward the man, creating a cyclone filled with icy snowflakes around him. He gasped for his breath. He jumped back to get away from the whilrwind and slashed it with his greatsword as it followed him. The cyclone's form broke, but started reforming quickly.
"Aw, grandpa to the rescue?" the Lepharist laughed. "Well, it was fun, but gotta go!" without turning around he retreated.
"Get up," Tatran, whose face and arms had new cuts all over them, grabbed her arm and heaved her to her feet. He didn't have to say anything, she could see it in his expression. It's your fault. Again. He dragged her back to the group, just as Cathy and Darrand were stepping through the open portal.
"Hurry!" Mira shouted.
Just a few moments before they reached her, a sound of gunshot echoed through the area and the portal flickered, as a new wound appeared on Mira's left arm. Aielyn pushed Tatran through the portal and reached towards Mira. Another gunshot sounded. Mira gasped. The portal vanished.
Where are they? Aielyn looked around with her bow ready, but couldn't see anyone.
Mira collapsed into the snow. Aielyn knelt next to her, there was a new wound in Mira's belly. Aether sparked around them and something heavy landed on her back. Within a moment her entire world faded into black.
~ o ~
Nesha reached the plaza, and the two drunks mixed with the crowd of guards that was already gathering. Everyone was talking over each other, their voices were full of emotions. Anger. Curiosity. Caution. Maybe fear too? Even through her partial aether-cuff she sensed a huge amount of aether radiating from the center.
"You, get Lord Kaisinel, immediately," Ylrian commanded a young guard, who looked like didn't know if he should be glad to leave the plaza or terrified to go wake up the Lord of Illusions himself. "And you, get Outremus."
Nesha walked around the crowd and just as she reached him, she saw the reason for the commotion. There was a group of several Asmodians and one Reian around the teleporter tower, all together in a sloppy defensive formation. Their eyes were glowing red in the cold light of the nighttime fortress. Except for the Reian, he looked... relieved? Darrand was the first one she recognised. But something was wrong. He didn't wear any armour and was barely dressed. And the shield he held in front of him... Nesha gasped. How dares he come here wielding Izith?!
"What happened?" she looked at Ylrian. He was frowning and his right hand was ready to draw a gun.
"The world is ending," he whispered. It sounded like disbelief. Or fear? Anger?
She turned her attention back to the Asmodians. Lonewolf was also there, this time he didn't even look threatening, as he carried an unconscious woman. Was her arm glinting in the light? Next was an older looking man with long, tangled grey hair and beard, dressed in remnants of a lab coat. Was it the guy from the lab? She didn't take a good look back then, it could be anyone. The last person, who was in the middle of the group, shielded by the others, was... Cathy? What is she doing here?
"Please, do not attack," the Reian man raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "We don't mean any harm. We only wish to speak with Lord Kaisinel, it is... urgent."
"He's on his way," Ylrian stepped forward. Darrand and Lonewolf tensed, there was murder in their eyes. "So now you can put down your weapons and relax. Sounds good?"
"So you could slaughter us?" Darrand grunted.
"Nah, we don't want to fight here and be rude to the..." Ylrian looked over the crowd, "few people who are still sleeping. Right? Oh and I'm sure Lord Kaisinel will be interested in hearing what exactly happened to you and it's kind of difficult to speak with the dead."
"As he said, we did not come here to attack you," Darrand said. "And your lord should show up before someone loses their shit."
It took another several minutes, before the door from the main hall opened and Lord Kaisinel arrived, followed by his Wing Outremus and general Versetti. The crowd gradually quieted down.
"What's..." the Lord looked over the group. "What is the reason for your arrival?"
"We offer you valuable information in exchange for safe passage through Inggison," the grey-haired man replied.
"What kind of information?"
"It involves torture chambers in Elysea, the Balaur and the death of Lady Ariel's Wing Chroma," the Asmodian phrased his words very carefully. Clearly he had the most diplomatic experience from the group. Nesha had to spend a few seconds processing it. Chroma was considered missing since the end of the war, everyone assumed she was dead. Did it mean she had been alive all the time?
Lord Kaisinel gestured to Ylrian and they exchanged several whispered sentences. Then he turned to Outremus and gave him instructions.
"Darrand, is it?" the Lord asked.
"Yes, that's me," the templar said.
"You and the girl, Cathy, can follow me and we can discuss this matter. Without weapons, but bring the shield with you."
"And the others?"
"They will give away their weapons and will be provided with temporary accommodation in a holding cell. They won't be harmed and if they need any medical assistance, it will be given to them."
"Good for now," Darrand threw the sword on the ground. "This thing is crap anyway."
The grey-haired man removed the aether-enhancing jewel from his wrist and carefully laid it on the ground. Then he held the unconscious woman for a moment to allow Lonewolf take his longbow off his shoulder and throw it on the ground. The way the ranger looked at the woman was very gentle and loving, Nesha was a bit surprised by that.
After all weapons were safely taken from them, Lord Kaisinel, Darrand and Cathy left the plaza accompanied by guards. Outremus discussed something with general Versetti, who called other guards to escort the rest of them. Outremus ordered the officers to tighten the security around the fortress and after that's done, to wake up someone competent to see if there's something wrong with the teleporter tower. Since there was nothing exciting anymore, the crowd slowly dispersed. Nesha couldn't see the two drunks anywhere, so it was probably a good time to check on her wards.
"So," Ylrian matched her pace. "What do you think?"
Nesha stopped and looked at him. He smiled, but that smile was clearly forced.
"It makes no sense," she said. "How did Darrand get Izith? Did the Asmodians have it all along, and we just didn't find it?"
"That doesn't fit. But I'm wondering more about why they got here. And how?"
"Right, only an Elyos could have sent them here. That means none of them can teleport, if they did, they would go to Gelkmaros. Did the Balaur attack Elysea and someone sent them here?"
"That's plausible. But how do Darrand and Cathy fit into that? They already were in Gelkmaros."
"I have no idea," Nesha shook her head. "Nothing makes sense to me anymore."
"You're not the only one," Ylrian laughed.
"What did you mean by the world is ending?"
"Ah, well, that's classified. I think. But everyone will find out soon, so just wait a bit."
"I keep waiting since I got to the Shelter," she grunted. "Seriously, would it kill you to tell me what's going on?"
"Nesh... I don't know what's going on, I'm as in the dark as you are," he rubbed his eyes and focused on her again. He suddenly looked exhausted. "Sorry, shouldn't have bothered you. Good night."
"Ylrian," Nesha reached for his hand. "You're not bothering me. You're the only one who's bothered to talk with me."
"We're both traitors, sort of. We must stick together."
"That's not funny."
"I'm not joking. Well, maybe a bit. But we both made decisions that corroded the trust other people had in us. We both had our reasons. Or maybe excuses, I can't decide. But... well, I think I trust you."
"Uh, thanks," she felt warmth rising to her cheeks. "That means... something."
"You're welcome," he kissed the back of her hand. "Good night, Nesh."
~ o ~
Cathy thought she saw Miss Nesha in the crowd, but when she tried looking for her again, she couldn't find her. There were a lot of Elyos around them and they all looked either angry or afraid. And the sudden change from the icy cold Beluslan to this warm and humid place was making her dizzy. Mister Lonewolf had a terrible wound on his back, but she was afraid to heal him, since casting any spells could anger the mob enough to do something. When the Lord of Illusions arrived, the tension shifted, but didn't disappear. They talked. Good. As long as they keep talking, no one's getting killed. At least according to commander Richelle. Then the talking was over and no one died. Darrand led her to follow Lord Kaisinel into the biggest building, while the others were led somewhere else. The fortress looked almost like a dream. The elegant shapes everywhere and stained glass windows were not something she had ever seen.
"You seem quite desperate," Lord Kaisinel started, when all three were seated on plushy chairs and a sofa in a fancy room. The pillows were so soft and comfortable, that Cathy wanted to just lie down and fall asleep. "So why are you here?"
"Our teleporter was an Elyos. This was the safest place for us she knew," Darrand said.
"And where is she now?"
"Either dead or captured by Lepharists."
"I will need some context for this."
"When an Israphel's spy in Gelkmaros was abducting Lady Cathy, I tried to stop them, but was transported with them instead. We appeared in the middle of their lab and were imprisoned. After they got bored of torturing me..." he paused and looked at her. "Lady Cathy, were you hurt?"
No, I wasn't, she wanted to say, but speaking aloud appeared so foreign, she couldn't remember how to do that. She shook her head.
"Good. One of their henchmen wanted to access the power inside Lord Zikel's sword by duelling with me. But they left this shield on the wall and when I got it..." he paused again. "My only goal was to protect Lady Cathy. And the next moment this power rushed into me."
"That makes sense," Lord Kaisinel nodded. "Nezekan was all about protecting others."
"I was Lord Zikel's Wing! This should not have happened! This is..."
"Humiliating?"
Darrand glared at the Elyos Lord.
"You're not the only one, it is humiliating for us too. To think an Asmodian could get the power from Izith..."
"That doesn't fucking matter!" Darrand shouted. For a few seconds there was an awkward silence. "After that the others appeared, no idea how, we were fighting our way out, but were cut off. So we teleported here. But we still were under attack and some didn't make it."
"How do the Balaur fit into it?"
"No idea, you'll have to ask the others."
"So what can you actually offer me in exchange for letting you go?"
"I can kill some Balaur for you. Give me a decent armour and sword and I'll clear any area you point me at. After that you'll let Lady Cathy and the others go to Gelkmaros. With their weapons."
"But not you?"
"No. I have a score to settle in Beluslan."