Chapter Two
Moving along the corridor towards them the bloated Chancellor screams at the Ethari behind him to,
"Kill them all" he then appears to disappear through the heavy stone walls.
To the ring of steel on steel beyond the corridor & with no where else to go Keros watches in horror as the one called Lung hefts his iron staff & launches himself towards the demonic undead creatures. Cowering behind the Rosan King & the sorcerer, Mohimas, Keros desperately looks for a way out, as he darts along the corridor away from the fighting a glance behind him reveals the priest of Willowstar in prayer, The King joining Lung in combat & Mohimas raising his arms to launch some sorcery upon them, the priests accomplice's, Pelangor & Pelmar, unable to aid their friends greatly within the narrow corridor.
Finding his way blocked, Keros turns & pounds back towards the scuffle, unwilling to become directly involved but acknowledging that his fate is entwined with these people Keros offers what aid he can with his sling however between the warrior monk & the glowing form of the Rosan monarch the Ethari are soon diminished, indeed to Keros's eyes he is sure that the monster slain by the Archibald is absorbed into the blade thrust into its face.
Turning to face the party Archibald urges that they must flee from the city as there are many more of these demons abroad, almost pushing them along he tells that he can show them a way out if they will escort his daughter beyond the city & to his court at Rosengrad.
Pushing ahead they suddenly stumble upon the mutilated body of a woman over which the second priest, Lexian, is crouching, Keros, shaking, is told that it isn't the queen but a servant of Korvin by the name of Zelania, from a recess beyond Queen Gundren & a companion, Veli, as she is introduced, step forward out of the shadows.
From above, the screams of dying men & clash of steel grows louder, briefly Archibald & Gundren embrace before Archibald nods to continue on, Keros, his will near breaking is comforted, surprisingly, by Gundren, before Lung leads on he drops several items to the floor declaring that he no longer has need of such as these, despite his disposition, unseen, Keros snatches up one of the pouches as he hears Lung refer to it as some form of poison.
Lead by Lung & pushed on from behind by Lexian the growing party follow Gundred's direction through the weaving passages towards freedom, soon however Keros happens to glance to the rear & is sure he saw movement, whispering to the others behind, Lexian vanishes from sight as their escape continues. Seconds later however thier flight comes to a crashing halt as the sounds of battle echo from behind, turning Keros can see both Merlynar, who moments before had been behind him, & Lexian engaged with a Bretonian palace guard, all however is obviously not as it appears as Pelangor & Pelmas refer to a shape shifter by the name of Zelth, yet another servant of Korvin.
Before anything further can be said, the figure of Lexian crumples to the passage floor amidst a shower of blood, as Lung screams for those blocking his path to drop to the floor, as he pushes passed Keros & the others Pelmas disappears from view, Mohimas, Archibald & the others, unable to assist in the narrow confines of the corridor stand & watch the drama before unfolding before them.
Keros's nerve finally breaks & he tries to flee the scene however unable to force his way forward he turns in panic back towards the struggle behind, mumbling to himself about purification, he runs towards the struggle & raises a clay vessel above his head intending to smash it against Zelth, his ineptitude however misguides his blow & the flask bounces harmlessly away, before he can act further, pain erupts in his back as a blade, thrown by Pelangor, strikes from behind, furious, panic forgotten, he turns & hurls the volatile liquid at the incompetent fool, like most of his efforts so far however it smashes harmlessly against the passage wall, frustrated, Keros spins back to the fray & lashes out with his staff catching Zelth in the chest before the other, more capable warriors, take his place.
As the fight continues Lung, who had seemed to be in control of the struggle, drops, struck rigid, to the floor & Pelmas recoils blood spurting from the stump below bloody below his left elbow, eventually however the combined efforts of those crushing down on Zelth bare him to the ground & as the light fades from his blazing eyes his body seems to dissolve into the stones around him.
Urged to push on by Archibald, Lexian's pack & paraphernalia are ripped from his cooling corpse, Lung is pulled to his feet & forcibly pushed along whilst Merlynar & Pelangor quickly bind Pelmas's arm, again however as they squeeze along the ever narrowing corridor a third Ethari impedes thier progress, unhesitatingly Merlynar lets fly an arrow which pierces one of the creatures eyes, causing it to melt away before them.
Suddenly Archibald calls a halt to thier charge, ahead the passage rises to the surface, from above the sounds of battle drift to meet them, Archibald speaks briefly to his daughter & then to the listening party,
"No further may I travel with you, I go by another route which you may not travel, escort my daughter to safety & you will have my eternal gratitude"
With Archibald's final words Lung turns & moves towards the surface, as he does so, the queens maid, Veli, passes her hand across the corridor, the air shimmers & the image of a blank stone wall covers the passage & the thier flight, Keros, perpetually worried, just hopes that whilst the others are massacred he can hide.