Marrow watched the raven fly onto the chimney of the rooftop they were on. When it was dismissed, and an ethereal Cromwell was suddenly in its place, Marrow prepared to counter him. Below them Veleria was nearly a vaguely human-shaped statue. Cromwell began to weave a spell, but paused when Veleria burned through the one used on her.
Soon after, Ezra joined them on the rooftop with mask in hand.
“He really thought about it just now,” said Marrow. “He would have destroyed the town.”
Ezra waved the mask into the ether. When it was time, it would be returned to Adrian Giarmund. As it was meant to be.
“Grounded though he is, Althalos Cromwell is still a lich.” Ezra stood beside her, the void of his face turned up towards Cromwell to watch the lich consider his options. “I do like a good tragedy, but I just don’t see the appeal of melting this place. They have some good kids here who will no doubt grow up to become dastardly good thieves.”
Marrow rolled her eyes.
She needed to focus on Cromwell.
Below them, Caellach encircled themselves in the remnants of the flames he conjured. He held his hand towards the burning brush around them, then pulled back in while making a fist. Each lick was extinguished and returned to the veil surrounding them.
Corvus could hardly believe what they were seeing. They now understood why Raker had retreated, why he considered Veleria an unknown variable. While they could run, they noticed Vos’iin choosing his entrance by the side of the house. He had not yet acted but, perhaps, with the two of them they could overwhelm Veleria and knock her out.
They had enough serum to keep her under for the entire return trip.
But they would have to survive first.
“You wanna tell me what the hell happened to you?” Corvus asked. They reached into the pack at their hip. There was no doubt what they would have to do. It was time to use the tools Alk’Hath had provided them. “Last time I checked you weren’t a witch or whatever the hell you are now.”
“We adapt to the circumstances surrounding us,” replied Veleria, although Corvus wondered if it was really her voice. She had been so meek before.
As cover, Corvus drew a sigil in the air before them. Numerous beams of crackling light condensed, then shot towards Veleria at lightning speed. As the woman was forced to dodge, or merely contend with their magic by meeting it with their flames, Corvus was able to pull out the source from their bag. It was a simple vial filled with a black liquid.
Blood of the Arbiter.
How the sorceress had gotten hold of it, Corvus would never know. They popped the cork and downed the entire vial.
Veleria fell to one knee before long. Five of those beams in and she faltered. Two holes in her arm, scrapes on her face, and one in her thigh lent her to the ground, although she felt her chest heating to an unprecedented temperature. The blood that coated the ground was nearly melting it, and as such Veleria was sufficiently healing.
Veleria.
Still on the ground, she condensed her flames and took a few shots at Corvus herself. The massive waves that Caellach controlled were beyond her, but Veleria needed to distract the sorcerer from conjuring anything more creative.
They consumed something dangerous.
“What!?”
Veleria felt the hard edge of an object collide with her cheek. She was immediately grounded, palms flat against the dirt, as Vos’iin crushed the small of her back with his boot. Trying to get up, she pushed Vos’iin back with a thin veil of fire. He stepped back but returned to pierce her shoulder with his sword.
Taken aback somewhat by the resulting warping of his steel, Vos’iin glanced to Corvus just as Veleria summoned an even weaker heat to deter him.
Corvus was not nearly as concerned. They approached, armored fingers tracing visual symbols as they did. While the origin of this woman’s magic was an unknown to them, it was clear that Veleria was still using something along its lines. The best approach would be to temporarily pause these abilities until they could drug her into submission. With the Arbiter’s blood boosting them, Corvus was certain they could bind her magic.
They stood beside Vos’iin but paid him no mind. When she tried to get up again, the sorcerer kicked Veleria down and aimed their finger at her spine. Just as they completed their incantation and a conjured needle black as the void pierced the woman below them, their eye caught something, and Corvus glanced skyward.
Hundreds of bright blue circles lit the night sky above them. The color was a dead giveaway, the most obvious tell that Cromwell had. A bombardment was coming, one that they knew they would not escape from in time. They were about to grab Vos’iin and at least attempt to flee with their target, but then they heard a sharp breath, a gurgling, and then a heavy thud as Vos’iin hit the ground beside them.
Corvus looked beside them to see Adrian on shaking feet. Directly at his feet was the body of the dark elf, his throat slashed by a dagger that Adrian held in a trembling hand.
While they stared at the man before them, Corvus did not see the whip of fire until it hit them in the face.