The first few Butchers approached the door and pushed against it. The door ground its way inward, revealing a torch-lit passage. "Someone brought torches and lit the sconces," One of them loudly whispered back to those behind them.

Tristan's vision was unimpeded, regardless, and he barked out an order. "Halt! Not a step further." He approached the doors and pointed down the hall, "There are tripwires set up, with crossbows aimed toward us on pedestals. In between the torches, where illumination fades."

"Good eye," Tisha said. "Want to take the lead?"

"Not really," Tristan replied. "I'm paying for your help – but I don't want to die."

"Fair enough. Perry! Time to earn your keep!"

The half-breed Springthaw Elf came up and sighed, "Always sending me into trap laden barrows."

"You got them eyes," she replied back. "Plus you're skinny and light weight."

"Don't remind me," he grumbled as he made his way into the tunnel, stepping over the trip wires and reaching into his pocket as he did so, sprinkling some fluorescent powder onto the lines. It shimmered and reflected the light of the torches.

Tisha tapped Tristan's shoulder and he glanced at her, "Do you want to wait out here while we get your friends?"

Tristan shook his head, "No. I need to help save them."

"Fair enough. Stick towards the middle of the column." She waved her Butchers forward, and the group began their plunge into the dim passages. Perry stayed a good twenty feet ahead, marking out various traps, tripwires and the like.

He's skilled, Tristan thought as he tried to pay attention to the way the half-breed Elf moved. How he seemed to anticipate the tripwires, and then his rapid disabling of the ones that could be disabled. I need to consider picking up some Ledgermain skills of my own. Or, maybe I could task Felicity with that.

She had recovered from her hot desert tracking and was alert, sitting upright on his head and making small paw-claw biscuits on his skull. She was once more invisible, as was her fatter companion. "I want to offer to scout further ahead, but this is scary," she whispered into his long ear.

Tristan nodded, "We are definitely falling for the bait."

"Of course it's a trap," Tisha replied. "If you are as rich as you seem, then I would wager they got your friends and then took them to ransom them back to you. This is just their hideout away from Plinth proper. Lots of ruins buried in the desert sands. Never seen this one before."

The tunnels abruptly ended, and they reached stairs going down. "This is abnormal," Perry stated. He looked around the chamber, and Tristan glanced around as well. "It's all shaped stone – a construction. But the buildings up here on the plateau pre-desert were all on the surface…at least every other ruin I've been inside of."

Tisha pushed past and looked down the stairs, "Pitch black. What do you see?"

Tristan peered over and saw the stairs going down, "Just stairs." He still felt his essence draining, and he was at about half capacity as he fueled his spells that needed to have a constant upkeep. "They go left about twenty feet down."

"Okay Perry, take the lead," Tisha ordered.

Perry grumbled and began descending the steps. While he did so, Tisha produced a torch, and one of her companions walked over, striking flint and steel to light it. She handed the torch to a Butcher who followed Perry down the stairs. Tristan waited until about half had begun their descent, and then he, too, descended.

They emerged in an enormous rectangle chamber. Tristan saw Obadai and Shandra – both chained to a pillar in the center of the room. Perry had stopped just before the threshold, and was glancing to both sides of the room. "Something is off," he stated. "I can't see the walls."

Tristan followed his gaze and saw nothing but blackness in all directions. The entire chamber was a rectangle with black walls, the pillar in the center of the room, the floor and the ceiling. It must be some spell at play, he thought.

The stairs behind them turned to smooth stone, and the last few Butchers slid down into the room with shouts of surprise. Tisha glanced back and sighed, "Should have expected that, given the events on the market edges." She looked up at Tristan, "Definitely a trap."

Tristan pointed at the pillar, "Those are my friends."

Perry kept glancing around, "Something feels…very…very wrong here."

Tisha nodded, "I agree. This place gives me the creeps. And leaving the prisoners out in the open? I'd expect an ambush." She brought a shield to bear – a shell of some type of enormous insectoid monster. "Everyone, bulwark formation."

Perry pulled back and all of the Butchers formed a tight circle. Some had shields, some presented their heavier armored plates towards the outside, and some pointed bristling tips of weapons to the exterior. The whole circle had formed up around Tristan. "And move," Tisha stated.

The circle began moving to the center of the chamber. They reached the pillar without issue, enveloped it, and Tristan chopped at the chains, dropping his two allies to the ground. Shandra groaned, but Obadai stayed still.

Tristan reached out to feel for a pulse, and pulled back. "Barely there," he whispered. He reached for a panacea elixir from his bandolier, gently turned Obadai face-up, and saw his jaw had been broken – it hung limply to a side. To prevent essence-weaving, probably. He poured the panacea elixir down Obadai's throat, safe in the knowledge that Felicity should have two more in her extradimensional storage.

Obadai coughed slightly and his eyes fluttered open. Tristan contemplated using a healing elixir, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a cackling voice that seemed to echo and resonate all around the room. A booming, maniacal voice. Speaking in Demon's Tongue.

"Alors, tu es enfin arrivé. Nous t'avons traqué." (So, you finally arrive. We have been hunting you).

Tristan gently put Obadai down and stood up, gripping his sword once more. "Who is there?" he shouted out.

"Celui qui cherche votre disparition." (One who seeks your demise).

"Incoming!" Tisha shouted. From all sides of the room, black cloaked figures carrying the familiar-to-Tristan gold-hilted daggers ran forward. They were silent wraiths who made no sound as they advanced. "Engage!" Tisha yelled.

The Butchers split off in pairs – two to an assassin. Twenty-four of them, twelve assassins. Tristan stayed on guard next to Shandra and Obadai, eyes scanning for any trace of a threat.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Above!" Shandra screamed. A shriek of terror. Primal fear. She began scrabbling backward toward the tunnel.

Tristan looked up and felt his heart sink to his gut. A creature from nightmare, wreathed in smoke and blistering flame crackled to life. It clung to the pillar – a cat-like figure that pounced down on him. Tendrils of black flame flashed outward as it flung its mass atop Tristan.

He got out of the way as Felicity flew off of his head. He brought his sword across and chopped through two of the tendrils, sending burning, black bursts of flame out across the stone floor. "Get him out of here!" Tristan shouted.

Felicity grabbed Obadai's collar and began dragging him toward the tunnel.

The creature snarled as it leapt backwards and circled Tristan, its smug voice coming out as a mix of a purr and sneering elitism. "Comme un chien attiré par un os, nous t'avons attiré. Maintenant tu meurs." (Like a dog to a bone, we lured you in. Now you die). Its tendrils regrew and the creature lashed out at Tristan.

He parried the flaming lashes and countered with sweeping, lopping strikes that cut off the tendrils, spraying yet more flame about. It even got onto him – but he did not feel it. The Armor of Ice took the brunt of the heat, but he knew his consumption of fire dragon blood would have kept him safe. He made an unexpected forward step and stabbed straight ahead, catching the thing in the shoulder as the blade sank down into the chest cavity.

The thing snarled and bit down on the blade. The sword snapped in two where it bit, and then its tendril grabbed the broken part lodged in its body and extricated it, dropping the weapon. The wound sealed over. "De l'acier avec des artifices ? Un matériau tellement pathétique." (Steel with artifice? Such pathetic material).

Tristan unslung the Starmetal Maul, running his left hand along it, "Feel the power I have claimed!" he shouted as he spun his crucible. About a third left, he thought as he measured his reserves. His maul crackled with sharp ice that exuded a forceful gust that caused the whiskers on this demon-flame-cat to hiss. Then, he pushed his essence into his fist, balled it, and brought the heel of it and knuckles against his chest armor, pounding his torso as he used Dragon Roar. "Flee from your death!"

The assassins, a few of them who were already ragged and on their last legs, began to flee – and were cut down by the Butchers who had suffered no losses thanks to their arms and armor. Those assassins who were struck down turned to dust, leaving behind their cloaks and daggers.

The cat thing let out a roar, "Je n'ai pas peur de vous! Frères, à moi!" (I don't fear you! Brethren, to me!).

The shadows around the exterior of the room were sucked inward towards six sources, and they were revealed to be other of these creatures – albeit slightly smaller. The Butchers let out a collective laugh, and Tisha barked out, "We've fought demon cats before! Get to it!" The group let out a war cry, and those groups of two split into groups of four to engage the cat creatures.

Tristan wasted no time in advancing, swinging the maul in a huge, overhead arc. The demon cat he faced dodged the initial swing, and Tristan switched his grip slightly to redirect his momentum. Spinning on the ball of his foot, he was able to bring the head down to his left, and through the spin delivered a wicked horizontal strike with even more force. It crunched into the creature's side and launched it into the pillar with a loud thud.

The thing let out a gasp of pain and its tendrils crackled with black flames as it struck Tristan all over. But he did not feel the heat, even as his Armor of Ice melted and his armor began to glow a cherry red. It spoke, and there was a trace of fear in its voice. "Qu'est-ce que tu es?" (What are you?).

"Un tueur de dragon" (A dragonslayer), Tristan replied. He brought the hammer down on the thing's back, and it let out a yowl of pain as he cracked its spine, disabling it. He followed up with another vicious strike to the skull. The flames went out, and he began looking around for his next foe.

The Butchers were making quick work of the demon cats, moving from one to the next. Tristan went to Obadai and Shandra, both of whom were at the base of the slide. "I've got you both," he said softly. "We'll get out of here and back to the ship."

Obadai reached forward, grabbed a supreme healing elixir from his bandolier, and poured it into his mouth. His jaw snapped into place and he let out a sigh of relief, "Why not do that from the get go?"

Tristan helped him up, "I didn't know if I would need it for a more dire injury." He glanced down at Shandra, who looked like she was painfully sucking in breaths. "Obadai can heal you with a spell," he stated. "I don't want to use an emergency elixir when we have a capable healer."

Obadai nodded and began chanting in Heaven's Voice. Tristan turned to the slightly-injured Butchers who were dragging the demon cat corpses into a pile. They had suffered minor injuries – slight cuts, scrapes, and burns – but otherwise seemed okay.

Tisha walked over and ran a finger along the cut on the bottom of her chin, "That was an easy rescue, all things considered. Plus, demon cats we can butcher to sell."

Shandra let out a gasp of relief as Obadai finished his spell. He helped her up, and Shandra nodded, "Thank you for saving me," she said.

"No problem," Tisha replied. "Now, Lord Tristan, our payment?"

"Felicity?" he asked as he glanced down at his fairy dragon.

"Yeah. I got it. Another thousand gold?" she reached into her storage dimension and pulled out a sack of it, handing it to the woman before flapping up to take her place on Tristan's head.

"Much obliged," Tisha stated. "Any clues on how to reverse that spell for the stairs?"

Obadai shook his head, "No need. I can teleport us back to a familiar location. The docks at Plinth will do?"

The Butcher leader nodded, "That will work."

Obadai looked at Tristan, "It will be a high Order spell for this large of a group, but thankfully the distance is not too far. Less than a day, yes?" Tristan nodded and Obadai closed his eyes as he began making a complicated series of gestures and chanted in Heaven's Voice.

Tristan turned to Shandra while Obadai cast his spell, "What happened?"

"We were shopping and sampling wares," she replied, her breath still a bit shaky from the doubtless terrifying experience. "We reached a stall with some beverage called coffee, and Obadai tried some. It smelled revolting to me, so I didn't partake. He passed out, and then I was beaten – broke some ribs I'm pretty sure – and we were taken away through the desert."

"The assassins," Tristan muttered. "They couldn't find me, so they used you two to lure me out."

Obadai's spell concluded and the world shimmered gold around Tristan before it returned. They were standing on the docks, near the farthest edge, of Plinth's cove. The Butchers blinked a few times before saying their thanks, gathering up the carcasses, and hauling them into the market.

Tisha and Perry stayed behind for a moment. "Pleasure doing business," Tisha stated. "Glad we could get you out of trouble."

"Thank you," Tristan replied. "And thank you for not trying to turn on me to take my money."

"We make a good living. No need to piss off some Fey Lord. That might come back to bite us." She chuckled.

Perry smiled softly, "Helping people out is the right thing to do. I'm just happy no one got really badly injured. Plus, we got a massive haul." He turned to Tisha, "Come on, we should help with the butchering."

The two left, and Tristan spun his crucible to open up the communication network. He glanced down at Obadai's wrist and saw he still had the gold bangle, as did Shandra, which brought him some relief. No one is going to be listening in. Thank the gods. He cleared his throat, "Admiral? Send the longship. We're on the docks, and we are leaving."

"Aye aye. Sending the lads out to get you."

Tristan turned to Obadai, "I thought the assassins were after many prominent bloodlines. Why leave you alive?"

"An essence-weaver who cannot speak is helpless," Obadai stated. "One of the downsides of all spells having verbal components. It is also why artificers are so valued. Having access to spells without needing to incant the spell phrase is a life saver."

"I can do those spells, right?" Shandra asked.

"All Elves can," Felicity replied.

"I think when I get to the Citadel of Essence, I'm going to specialize in that," she stated. "I could make a fortune making artificed items."

Obadai frowned, "These assassins know that you and I are traveling together, Tristan. And they have some tie to the Demon Realm, given those demon cats. They wanted you dead more than me…so you are still the more valuable target."

Tristan looked off over the waters as the longship approached, "Why leave you alive at all? They could have killed you, killed Shandra, and then left a trail for me to follow."

Obadai opened his mouth to respond, then shut it. "I…I do not know."

"More evidence pointing to that it is Elves," Shandra stated. "Elves who don't want the Winterbloom around."

"Then why kill off other bloodlines of prominence?" Tristan asked.

"Maybe…" Obadai said as he rubbed his chin. "Maybe they…They want to eliminate powerful bloodlines…prominence does not equal power. Still does not explain why they would leave me alive. I'm arguably one of the most potent essence-weavers."

Tristan sighed as the boat got close enough that they could toss him a rope. He grabbed it from the air, pulled the longship closer to the docks, and then stood firm while Obadai and Shandra got onto the vessel. He hopped down a second later and they made for the ship. "I'm the more valuable target for whatever reason," he stated. "Which means that as long as you both are near me, you're in danger."

"What is the plan, then?" Felicity asked as she hung down over his head.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.