New Friends, Old Enemies Part 2

(A JP with everyone)

"We still have a few tricks," Esteban said confidently with a sly smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crystal. The deep azure of the gem turned to a magenta color as he spoke into it, "Release the iron golems!"

“Iron?” Orla said, almost stumbling to get out of the way in atavistic fright.

Draken looked over, "Show me these Golems, I have an idea. Can these golems contain hellfire, and if they can, could they weaponize it?" He folded his wings behind the cloak.

~~

"Get these people to the keep!" Yelled the captain of the guard. Black arrows sped past his head as he waved people through. Shrieks of terror and agony filled the air as he watched a woman be yanked by her hair onto a cruel black blade from behind, Kragan savagely twisting back and forth before throwing the female to the ground. Nearby, the woman's child cried out in fear as the Kragan raised the bloodied blade in a ferocious lion's growl.

"No!" He yelled at the beast, charging with his longsword. The thing was quick as it spun to deal with him, parrying his blow aside. The human felt the shock of the hit ring through his arms even as he saw his blade notch.

The Kragan laughed at him, stomping forward as it bared sharp canines. It was then imps descended to harass the Kragan. The captain plunged his sword forward into the thing's gut. He was rewarded with crimson on the blade. The Kragan batted an imp away and seized him by his arms with one hand.

The child ran away from the combat as the captain stared in horror at the beast. It growled deeply as it forced him forward, impaled sword sliding deeper in. "Die, puny human," it laughed as it raised its sword.

A barbed chain suddenly wrapped around the top torso of the Kragan then, catching it by surprise.

"Fulgur manus," cried out a mage from behind. The Kragan roared as sudden electricity discharged across it. The captain was released even as he too felt the shock. He fell back, seeing that a chain devil held the other end of the captured Kragan. The sight alone was something to behold for the people here as the same demon and devilspawn they had fought dove to their aid. Other Kragan and abyssal creatures fought without abandon.

He watched as the chains crew tighter, rusted and bloody barbs cutting deeply and deeper still. It was not until the chains had ripped the beast raggedly in half did he regain his feet, the viscera joining innocent blood on the streets.

More Kragan were charging, to which the captain grabbed his sword. Already, other soldiers were rallying to his side. "Not one will we suffer to pass!" They shouted in defiance. Mages presented their fingers to the menace as grim determination took hold of the soldiers.

A cart sailed through the air over their heads from behind. It smashed short of the Kragan as the captain turned around. He smiled and cheered. "With the golems!" Five large iron golems lumbered forward, ignoring black arrows as they plinked against their magically hardened hides. The Kragan roared, focused on their foes. They were summarily flanked by more demons.

A boar headed demon rammed into the Kragan, gutting one of the beasts with its vicious tusk before pummeling it with its fist. Another Kragan stabbed it in the chest, resulting in the two beating each other with their fist. Demonic howls and lion roars came readily against each other as the start of the fiercest symphony of war.

A spined devil bombarded the Kragan from above, dropping all manners of demons and devils on the red skinned monsters. Yugoloths flanked the monsters, giving the people time to escape. Several bearded devils charged forward at the female mage in purple, letting out great war cries.

The woman had been walking leisurely through the reddened streets. Her arms gestured around her as she smiled and laughed. The pain was almost tangible, of wounds and suffering, of rage and fear; high was she from it all as the first of her spells lit across the scars of her chest. A purple-blue light crept into those scars as she called forth her chain lightning spell. Her veins became alighted by a bright purple color as the spell reached her hand, to which she simply lowered them with palms out.

Bearded devils were some of the more intelligent and durable spawn of the Abyss. But even they were surprised at the sting of her attack as she advanced calmly still. Their spiked beards twitched as they growled. Their glaives stood ready.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Liliana exclaimed in genuine glee. "Gluttons of violence! Come to me now!"

They answered by charging her with glaives. Instantly, she drew her rapier with a flick of her wrist. Reality snapped as the blade came to her hold, impossibly parrying the strikes aside. The metals rang almost unbearably loud.

As the devils fought the sorceress, a voice shouted, "Move!" They dodged out of the way as a lightning bolt struck the mage. Draken landed before the mage, his blade gleamed with blue electricity. As a Kragan charged at him, he sliced it's head clean off. He pointed at the woman, "I forget that Gelt doesn't care for his pawns."

She merely laughed, the pain of the spell already flooding her. As she straightened her dress, she looked to Draken with a sultry eye. Liliana was anything but a pawn. Her power proved that much. And so she smiled at The Diablo.

His golden eyes narrowed at her, "You sicken me, that fact you blindly follow someone and care so little for your comrades shows your true nature."

Liliana found that hilarious in itself. "Oh-ho! And pray tell, son of the fallen king, what would you know of my nature? Hmm?" She returned, slowly walking to Draken's left. Every sway of her hip seemed to speak volumes of want as she narrowed her eyes. "Would you believe me to be a forgotten mage of a forgotten time?"

She stepped one step closer as she still circled. As the sounds of iron golems smashing a wall down thundered from down the street, she spoke again; purple energy flowed along a fan of scars along the underside of both her arms and just within her pit. Her rapier gripped tighter as the silent spread of magic finished. "Would you believe me a lost girl, scrambling for the smallest crumb of food? A wife who loved so deeply that it broke her soul to see loved ones taken?"

She struck as she finished. Faint memories of a time she long cut off teased at her mind and how she hated it! And he would pay not only for this, but for touching her lord.

The half demon jumped up taking flight and blasted a fireball right at Liliana. She quickly riposted and swiped the flames with her rapier. Her counterspell came handily. He landed before her, his blade readied, "You speak of nothing meaningful. I have watched my loved ones tormented, slaughtered, and abused. My entire life I have been hunted, hated. Anyone who cared for me perished" He lunged at her, his sword at the ready. "Your pain fuels your power as mine fuels my fury."

She widened her eyes, a bit surprised at his words.

He kicked her side, "Then your blasted master calls me, thinking I would bow to him, become his pawn. I reject the idea of having no control on my destiny. I bow to no tyrants. Do you know what he did when I rejected his command? He nearly killed me, beat me until I was black and blue. He didn't stop there, he killed my companions, people who simply wanted to be freed from an oppressing force, men and women who had families waiting for them, slaughtered by these."

He snatched a Kragan and slit its throat. "So don't act surprised that I don't find your tale pitiful, you know pain, I'll give you that. However you know nothing of my hate."

He alighted the ground around them, keeping them surrounded by fire. "Gelt believes himself as a righteous ruler, destined to unite everyone. However he forgets something, everyone has their own ambitions, their own desires, we are not beings who mindlessly follow orders like the Kragan, everyone has a choice, and that is why, sooner or later, his empire he would have built would have crumbled away. There is a difference between unity and dominance."

~~

Reise smacked his lips once. “I think this is where we take our leave.” he suggested to his two traveling companions. “And before you try and argue, consider this. We are the only three to know about the book and if we die here, it falls into the wrong hands and becomes unrecoverable. So, let’s find a door I can use to get use out of here and Severos buddy, we can get your revenge later after we get that book back. Okay?” he said, grabbing Severos by the shoulders and giving him a friendly shake. Like a school friend telling him we need to leave before the prefects arrive.

Severos shook himself and nodded. As he ran past Esteban Soldor, he stopped short. "I apologize, my lord. Thank you." He then ran through the open door. The Hallway of Doors awaited them. As the door clicked shut, only then did Severos say, "Weren't we supposed to save people?"

Lenora awoke, her wounds were healed, as she sat up she realized she was chained up and couldn't escape. She had failed Gelt, she knew what that meant, she was doomed. She was going to be abandoned again or worse, tormented for her failure then killed. She had seen what happens to those who fail the Crimson One, and she feared it. She began to weep, "I'm sorry Leo, I didn't live as you wish. I became a slave and now I will die soon, hopefully we will see eachother again." She wepted, gone was the cruel assassin, the devious scout of Gelt, the true Lenora was revealed, a scared woman with no one to turn to. She was utterly alone.

She looked up at them, "Just go ahead and kill me, I failed Gelt. He will have me tortured for my failure." Two imps watched her, one of which looked at Soldor, "Draken is battling the mage, he's testing Gelt, to have him reveal his nature."

She chuckled, "It's not that simple, he will kill me. Just end my life." The imps looked at each other, "°Are you sure?" She nodded,"So be it." They raised their claws up and swung down on the vampire.