Snippet #1518023

The citizens, poorly trained and only half-lucid fell quickly to the soldier's onslaught. In moments most of the men and women held in thrall were on the ground groaning in pain or unconscious. One deep human tried to stab at Thanaros from behind was rewarded with a lightning-fast punch to the solar plexus. The half-orc dusted off his knuckles and watched the exchange between the Child and his general with wary interest.

Wrath looked up into the impenetrable darkness within the Child's hood. Behind the opaque layer, they stared back with a smile. The Child's chest expanded slightly, and although he could not hear it over the rain and blood pounding in his ears Wrath was certain it was readying it's breath weapon. He tensed to dodge and was subsequently knocked to the ground by one angry nightmarian. In his surprise he clutched at Neira's arms and dragged her down with him as the jet of fire, twice the size of anything a normal Child could produce, was ejected from the amorphous cultist. As the blinding flash of light and heat subsided and the legionaries found their eyes clear again, the Child was nowhere to be seen.

Wrath propped himself up on his elbows and creased his brow in confusion. "What the hell was that?" he looked to his troops, and then to Neira and realized how hot he felt. With strength he did not know he had left the halfbreed scuttled away from Neira and arose with as much dignity as he could muster. Not much at all, sadly. The rain was coming down harder now and it was hard to see more than twenty feet in front of one's face. Wrath glared out into the veil of water and at the pile of townspeople. He began to hoist one up and drag him under the awning of the nearest building. He glanced at the others. "C'mon. We're going to be blamed for this anyway. Might as well lessen the blow by picking their sorry asses up."

---

The Child stood in the darkness of an abandoned house not too far from the bar packed with legionnaires, staring through the patchy roof into the rain. The robes ceased in their swaying and drooped, beggining to contour to the individual's figure when another person suddenly slammed into the Child with wicked force. The two writhed around on the floor slashing, punching and scrabbling at one another. A nearby patrol of legionaries heard the struggles from within and rushed inside with weapons drawn. What they found was not at all what they expected. Iriana Kellas loomed over Mikana with the robes of a Child of Fire draped raggedly across her shoulders, gripping the elf's neck in a powerful vice.

"You little bitch, i'm going to tear out your liver and eat it in front of you, then pop out an eyeball and spread it over some of your skin on top of toast." the lamia was ranting in a half-mad daze, her eyes flaring in anger as she choked the life out of Mikana. SHe did not notice the soldiers converging on her and the captive elf, "Burning Dark, it's been ages since I had elf flesh. So delicate and lean, despite all that-"

Her words ended in a wet gurgle as one of the legionnaires drove his pike through Iirana's back in punctured a lung. The lamia twisted around and slapped her attacked away with her muscular tail, wheeling on another legionnaire that stabbed at her waist and opened a bloody gash. The ten soldiers tactfully brought down their larger foe with precise stabs and retreats. In seconds Iriana was lying motionless on the ground, bleeding from twenty-four deep wounds. Her eyes were calmer now, and although she could not move, the lamia stared wide-eyed at Mikana. As the last breath hissed from between Iriana's lips, she wondered if Sarish would think poorly of her. God he was a good screw...

"Are you ok?" a female orc helped the shaken Mikana up off the ground. The elf nodded uncertainly and rubbed her bruised neck. She was scared witless and wondering when Iriana had managed to drag her to this secluded place. How had nobody noticed? Why hadn't they helped...why did her friend try to kill her? Mikana stared at Iriana's inert form and began to sob quietly. The other soldiers frowned and spat at the corpse. "It's ok now. That damned fanatic is dead now. Who would'a guessed that a member of the Black Guard was a traitor?"

Mikana cried harder and fled out into the rain-slick streets to find Caine.

---

At the bar, Sid popped a special tablet that cleared the mind. Sober now, she stood atop the bar and announced through a speaking stone that it was time to leave. "C'mon guys and gals, that's enough for tonight. Retire to your tents or rooms and sleep this off. Gods know you guys deserve it." the halfling hopped down and patted Beelzes's rump. "Oi, get the kid to bed and keep her out of some man's tent." she caught Beelzes--who looked to be in her early twenties this night for some odd reason--eye Faera lasciviously and added, "Do try to keep her out of your bed as well..."

Sid yawned and watched the drunk and merry legionnaires funnel out into the rain. Some commotion in the doorway caught her eye, and the commander approached with a raised eyebrow. Not one bar fight the whole night, and now they choose to get rowdy? To her surprise, Darren, a harpy she'd sent on patrol pushed past the crowd and saluted. Sid waved the gesture away and waved for the woman to continue.

"Commander. I've come to report a death and a the location and neutralization of an enemy spy." the harpies voice was even enough, but there was a tremor of uncertainty in it. Sid's eyes grew slightly wider, then narrowed in suspicion.

"Are they for the same person?" unsurprisingly, the harpy nodded.

"Iriana Kellas was found attacking a fellow member of the Legion while in the robes of a Child, fully intent on killing Black Guard-Veria. We have already disposed of the body...commander?" Sid was looking away at something unseen. This was not good. Their first victory was marred by the revelation of a traitor in their midst.

"Fan-fuckin'-tastic...." she muttered. "Dismissed. Try to keep this as quiet as possible." the harpy nodded once more and left with the last of the troops. The town grew earily quiet, even the rain stopped as the soldiers fell asleep in their temporary homes. Despite the order for secrecy, by morning, most of the army was whispering of the traitor Iirana Kellas.