RP:Gualon Plaza: The Next Day

Part of the Siege of Gualon Arc

Tristram was lying on the floor of the cage in the fetal position, as if his body was instinctively protecting itself against whatever potential assault might come next. The dragon was out cold, but shifting restlessly in his slumber. The ogre standing outside his cage was dozing as well, two arms folded across his chest, and another hanging limply at his side; one was missing entirely, courtesy of one of the Rocs that had descended during Diyuir's valiant attempt to free the exiled leader. Helich's illusionary self had melted into the crowd and disappeared, before Diyuir could get to him. The wood elf had managed to take down a cohort of undead minions before he was run off. He had managed to escape capture himself and as far as Tristram knew (before losing consciousness), he had taken refuge somewhere within Gualon. While walking that thin line between consciousness and sleep, Tristram's thoughts turned to Terra.

Hours later, Tristram had managed to pin Helich down to the floor of the cage, and was straddling the drow's chest, keeping the dark elf's arms pinned to his sides. There was no mercy to be shown. The dragon's muscles rippled as he punched the drow, over and over again, until Helich's blood was coating his fists. There were murmured oaths and curses, mentions of mothers and sisters, but Tristram kept going, giving in to his hatred of the other black, and years upon years of aggression toward those of his own kind. A stretch of the chain linking his wrists to the bolt in the floor was pulled across the drow's throat, and the exiled leader held it there, staring into the drow's eyes and leering at him as the last bit of life drained away. Helich raised a hand, a beckon for mercy, perhaps, or a plea for a last word, but Tristram only pushed down harder, until the usurper was dead. A grunt was pulled from his lips when a pail of ice cold water was thrown over across his sleeping body, and he struggled to pull himself upright. It had been a dream. There was no dead drow in the cage, not even the undead ogre, who stood outside and grinned with dual chipped tusks.

Terra had tried to find Helich. Gualon was not a small town by any means and the options were endless. The first place was Tristram's Estate and it seemed that the bastard had started nesting there with plenty of willing hands to be at his beck and call. This evening Helich had not returned home. So then it was the grogshop, the clinic, the arena, the empty house that had been listed for sale for months. Any possible option was explored until there was no energy left in her to run so she turned to the one safe place she knew of here and was given the rude reminder that it had been violated by Helich. That every person that remained in that building had not stood and fought. They were not valiant or loyal and there was no mercy to be spared for any that allied themselves amongst Helich's ranks or regards. Mindful of the patrol that went up the streets of Gualon and towards the gardens she'd slip around. With Darian as her Sire, a few good things had been learned and gifted and one of which was the ability to blend in with the dark - a place she belonged, no doubt. Cold fingers gripped the steel handle of the door and a quick tug granted entrance. Still left with the impression that the imposter Black was not here (though he could be lurking, she hoped) she'd make a run for the room with the largest fireplace. The crackle and hiss of the sizzling flames only stoked the silent fire, encouraged the nearby furniture to be tossed towards it, and an arm to be risked to grab a broken chair leg that was dropped on the plush rug. She didn't even stay to watch the fire catch on as the door was shut to keep in the scent of smoke for as long as possible. If this place was not Tristram's, then it was not home. Their privacy that was once so valued had been breached and she'd rather see the place in flames, in ashes, then to live with the knowledge that Helich had once occupied it. Now to find its owner and apologize.

Lines were blurred during war. Would this be considered a war? Then again, they had a hostage that she was willing to commit acts of arson in the name of. A child was lured to a nearby ally and neatly tied to the tree. Ogres like children as food, right? So she killed the poor child out of mercy and attempted to bribe the ogre away with food and a chance to be cruel things that they enjoyed without second thought. As soon as the creature was gone she pressed against the cool bars and felt for the figure in the shadows, found puddles of cold water and flinched. "Trist!" A sudden exclamation because their time could be limited. When was it not? "We have to get you out of here. Tell me how Trist." Helich seems to appear from out of nowhere, spontaneously generating next to you.

The ogre wasn't interested in the sharp cry of a child from down the alley, except to twist his head in that direction and snort a putrid breath into the cool of the night. The berserker stayed where he was for a long time, until eventually, the humid breeze of Gualon carried the scent of fresh blood to his post. The undead was easily manipulated and controlled, but still ruled by basic instinct, and soon enough, he was lumbering down the alley way toward the sacrifice and beating off other interested parties in his effort to secure it for himself. The saurian turned his head one way, and then the other before locating the source of the voice. "Terra." He cringed at the effort speaking her name took. His head swam and he steadied himself with one hand placed flush to the floor of the cell. The wave of pain eventually receded, and he straightened with a groan. "How?" Were there keys? Where was the door? How did he get in here in the first place? He hadn't the foggiest idea. "Didn't I tell you to stay away?" His body swayed, and he forced himself to focus on her; she looked different, darker. Swollen eyes narrowed, and he sniffed. "What did you do?"

Terra had to shut both eyes for a long moment. There were moments that would haunt you forever but this seemed to be the night from Hell, one that would never be vanquished entirely. But if it were her behind the bars would Tristram not burn the place down? Confident in that even if it was only that, she'd breathe a small bit of the harsh air and turned to look towards him once more. "That doesn't matter right now. I'm going to get you out of there." By now it had been repeated so many times it sounded like the words to a chant, less of a reassurance. If only she could feel him just this once. "Trist, I need you to focus. How do we get you out of here? Are you not able to transform?" Around the cage she walked, found the locked door and gave it a hard tug as though her strength alone would budge it. "Keys... where are the keys?" More movement, unable to sit still with him caged like a common animal and displayed for the cruel amusement of a dragon that would soon meet his demise.

Tristram could see smoke billowing from a building that suspiciously resembled his own, and decided he didn't want to know. His body hunched, and he slumped forward. There were disturbing shades of blues, purples, and sickly greens painted across his torso, a protrusion that angled itself out from his ribcage, and he found himself unable to take deep breaths because of it. His breathing was shallow, and his words reflected his discombobulation. "Transform? Maybe. Need a new body." His head was beginning to clear, and information began to trickle into his consciousness. He looked around again, and a cloudy gaze was far more alert now. "Larry Three-Arms has the keys to the cell," he was beginning to return to form. He jerked at the shackles, forearms straining. "I don't know if they open these as well. I assume not. I think he has them." His head jerked toward his manor, though he refused to look at it. "I told you to stay away. This is not staying away."

Helich :: A quiet night. He'd been rather pleasantly walking around - by luck avoiding Terra - until he did a defensive check. After Diyuir's little stunt was more on edge than usual since capturing the city. So empathically he'd recently been sifting through the mill of the city. She stuck out like a sore thumb. Her. The one. That girl. That....thing that always brought him to a state of...feeling things that he typically didn't allow himself to. A few past experienced were reflected upon whilst he made his way into the plaza with a trio of -living- ogre on his flank. A personal guard, no doubt - for he was not in any position to fight. In his drowen guise his face was fully bandaged - the only exposed area being the nostrils and eyes. His torso was the same and he was this eve bare chested. The way he stood, arms crossed gently over chest, suggested he was in a rather smug - if not pained - mood. The smoke was ignored. This was all a ploy however. Quite a busy thing, running a city. He found his gaze on her. He could feel it swelling in him, something that distracted him from the burns that caroused most of his body. One of the ogre grunted - Helich smiled from beneath the bandages of his face. "Pleasant evening isn't it?" A rather formal greeting. He prayed she would stay away - if anyone in these lands could hurt him, make him something he was not - something good - it was this woman.

Terra would confess to murdering a child, to setting his estate ablaze, and every other sin that weighed heavily on her conscious as a result of this evening alone. "And I told you I hated you. This is me hating you." A few stray hairs were brushed back from her forehead as she craned her neck, tried to see behind a building as the clouds of smoke continued to roll in the distance. Now, there were very few things that should scare a vampire and the sudden roll of Helich's voice was enough to do just that. It wasn't exactly the form of the dragon or his disguise or the threat he posed... no, it was the type of person she would become in his presence. The very same thing that he feared. "What have you done? What have you done to this man? When he had the chance to kill you, to behead you on the very same ground you walk, he did not. So why is he in a cage?" And yet again this being had the ability to sway her to tears because she's damned near that point. "He doesn't belong in there."

Tristram 's blood ran cold at the sound of that voice. Helich. He watched him approach, watched him watch her, and trembled in anger. Wrists pulled at the manacles, fists were clenched, and every muscle in his body was taut. If the disguised dragon came a step closer, he would tear his arms out of their sockets to defend the vampire. "Stay back," he warned, and his voice dripped with venom, while dark eyes flashed, perhaps more disturbing than they had been during the siege. His eyes were leveled at the drow over the blonde's head, and his tone was icy as he added, "Not a step closer. I will tear you limb from limb, and the f--- your dead sister's body with them if you come one goddamned step closer." Terra was trying to add her own threats, postulations, and appeal, but he cut her off. "Shut up, Terra. Be quiet. Go home. This is not the place for you. You hate me, I hate you. Leave me alone. Leave." He kept his eyes on Helich with violent determination.

Helich cleared his throat. It was an awkward thing really. A filler to avoid her words. She just...always...did this! Every time! He actually felt -guilty- due to the empath. She was like an emotional thorn in his ass, but his ass was like a sensitive fifteen year old girl whose boyfriend has just broken up with her. So. You get the idea. The recoiling effect was a dropping of his gaze to the ground below, a shuffling of feet - slowly they rose with intensity in them. "You don't comprehend the severity of my situation, my reasons and my results. You are too young. He knows." A gesture toward the caged black - "And he still refused me. I will do whatever needs to be done, to even my own -brethren- to achieve the task that has been beset on me." An honest answer...these emotions, they swirled in him. She pulsed in him and he in her empathically. A ripple colliding with another ripple in a pond that was otherwise still - eventually the outer ring would reach the center and continue on, only to be replaced by another. Tristram's verbal assault cut off whatever was to come next - and his eyes narrowed upon Terra. The ogre on his left grunted, the one on his right scratched the back of his head but both nodded and began resting a hand against the crude shaft of a club. From the southern entrance to the plaza a few undead greenskins were beginning to wander in rather...aimlessly. A ploy, or was the saurian truly being so lazy with the control? "You strike me as the sort who doesn't let go of a grudge Darkheart." With her here - he couldn't do it. A constantly teetering arrogance with her around. Threatening to cut him down to size, "You - Ack!" A growl. So frustrating! "Y- Why. Answer me Darkheart! Why didn't you just pledge to Solaris?"

Teeh and Heeh were walking around, minding their own business, going to a regular training place one might say was his intent. But suddenly he hears voices in the distance. They become intrigued by what the voices may be saying, sensing some dragon blood coming from the area within. Step by step they move closer to them, unaware of what he may find. Finally he is able to hear what the voices are saying. Coming in at just the end of what Helich says to Terra. They don't make a sound for as long as he speaks. -Wait, Darkheart? Solaris?- a few questions left unknown to them. They think that it would be time for them to show themselves and slowly make their way to the group. Looking around, he doesn't quite like what he sees, but wait, the drow. With a draconic aura. -How does this sound familiar?- Teeh questions himself. Wait! Helich! A slight smirk wraps itself around Teeh's lips as he whispers to his brother who quarks his head and looks to the drow, then back to Teeh, and gives a final nod. Teeh looks to Helich, "Are.. you... Helich, by any chance?" He says rather slyly, only slightly aware of his abilities.

Kasyr is slowly working his way around the outskirts of the plaza. With care taken towards both lingering undead sentries and those individuals of a less cadaver-like status, the hybrid eventually finds a path towards that westernmost house. It's only when he's positive that he remains undetected, that he continues his journey through the shadows; to eventually slink to the back of that building- so that he can make his way to its roof and simply lurk upon his newfound perch. Now just to hope that Satoshi is discreet...if she's in fact follow after him.

Diyuir rushed through the city of Gualon. The Wood Elf’s plan had been foiled and Uviour had to fall back with his brothers. A large sum of Orcs and Ogres chased after the man with their clubs and blades thirsty for Tree Born blood. Diyuir continued down the well thought path and looked to a near-by building charging to the door he used his shoulder as a battering ram and splintered the door to pieces. He had forgotten how cheap Gualon was yet he pushed the thought from his mind as he rushed to the upper floor of the home and quickly thought of a plan. Turning to face back down the stairs orcs began to pile up the incline and Diyuir pulled out a small set of throwing knives chunking four of them with amazing accuracy directly into the skulls of some Orc blood. Rushing behind through a nearby bed room the Wood Elf jumped through the nearest window and collided to the ground below. The wind being knocked out of him as dust flew into the sky. Feeling disoriented Diyuir forced himself up and reached to the undead orc skin he had stitched into his own flesh. Knowing greenskins had low intellectual level he believed he would be able to avoid the beasts if he changed his appearance. He couldn't help but shout in pain as he ripped the first sleeve of skin from his own and he realized his mistake. The orcs that had piled in the house began pouring back out. Grunting to himself he began running back towards the plaza. Blood seeped from his arm as the wounded Elf tried to find a decent escape route. Yet his faithful guardian proved well once again as Uviour suddenly collided to the ground in front of Diyuir and began screeching to the orcs. The green skins halted their rush and began looking around in a dazed confusion. Diyuir looked to the Roc and smiled. "Good boy..." The other rocs were nowhere in sight yet the tree born thought nothing of it as he climbed up onto Uviour. The mythical roc hissing and swiping its massive talons towards any of the warriors who were foolish enough to approach. Slowly but surely the duo made their way down to Tristram's cage. Terra and Helich were paid no mind as Diyuir's soulless gaze set firmly upon Tristram. "So much for a quiet recon..."

Terra cursed them both. Aloud. It was a word that rarely left her lips even in the worst of pirate-company. But Tristram's growing frustration was coupling with Helich's and the outlet seemed to be the blonde caught in-between the two. "Is that why you've caged him? Because you think he's stronger. That he is. He didn't need to go to Solaris to accomplish any of this. He obtained Gualon without the help of Solaris. You were not strong enough to do that." A scowl. No matter how much she appreciated Gualon, there was no amount of land or title that would push her to these points. Then again, all it took was a caged dragon to start the slaughter of innocent children and set the Darkeheart estate on fire that still filled the sky with dark smoke. Then Teeh and Heeh appeared and she became distracted and scowled, turned to glance towards Tristram and the company he seemed to have gained during the short interaction with the other Black saurian. "I don't understand politics. I'm really not that smart when you get down to it but ... " she did not care if this was interrupting any of the other members of the crowd because they had all become faceless. "you and I both know that this is wrong. I know that you know that. I knew it the night I begged and pleaded for your life and the night we sat at the bar. Are you ever going to realize it?" There's no amount of rationalizing or reasoning with the orcs that seemed content to take a swing at her with those maces so she'd merely look towards Trist once more, tried to catch his eye. "Don't fight my wars for me."

Tristram was watching Helich's feet now, waiting for any excuse, waiting for him to shift the caged dragon's direction. The ogres went entirely unnoticed, except for a subconscious flinch when one of them shifted his grip on the dark-stained club he wielded. His hands were still balled at his sides, and kept his lips pursed throughout Helich's rant. Here was the dragon's weakness - the same as Tristram's own: Terra. Only it appeared that Terra turned Helich into a raving, disorganized, self-doubting child. Trist could work with that. "Look at yourself," he called, his tone still flat. "No wonder you gave yourself over so easily. You have the weak mind of the ancients, mere pets to the humans they served." Terra's cursing caused him to fall momentarily silent, and a muscle along his jaw twitched. Her frustration was fueling his own now, like a broken sound system receiving only feedback and putting the same back out. He cared about as much as she did about the growing crowd, giant feather creatures, stalking felines, and two-headed dragons alike. "I may be your war," he spoke, eyes narrowing on the blonde, while he pulled forward, stretching himself so he could be as close as possible to her when he added, "But this is not your battle. You're right. I should have killed him when I had the chance. And now I will when I get the next one." The dragon smirked at the drow, and forced himself to relax minutely. "How does it feel knowing you'll never have the one thing you crave the most? That keep you up at night at all? Thinking about her? Us?"

Helich :: Terra held him a moment longer. One of his biggest pet peeves - and one that seemed to get exercised quite frequently - was when the situation was not in his control. After all, the saurian was a rather arrogant bastard and to have a -vampire- or an -elf- catch him off guard was...deplorable. But she held him - held his gaze through Teeh's words, held his attention through Diyuir's sudden arrival on the scene - and all he could do in was sigh. A pained sigh. This was not acceptable. The lurker, the savior, the hydra, the leader in exile taunting him. "Darkheart. Shut your mouth for a few minutes and keep her safe." With Diyuir here - things were soon to be hairy at best. The living Ogre at his flank looked about. They were scared, heads darting left, right, behind them - from every crevice in the city they began to pour in. The saurian had been keeping close tabs on the party searching for Diyuir and had a little plan in mind if he were to pop his head up again. The greenskins. Every remaining undead greenskin he held in his control, from every alley and throughway. All had weapons bared, all prepared to descend and destroy anyone at the saurian’s command. Not even a verbal command - the control he held over them was absolute. Yet it did not end there - Diyuir was to plague him for the last time. An illusion was easy to believe if it's dissension into a scene was believable no? This was Helich's logic. From above the fog came the roars. More than one. Several. Every detail was perfect, from their life-like eyes to the breaths they took - they were perfect replicas in every way. Blues. The dragons swarmed like angry hornets upon Diyuir - and it was then the saurian let them go with one purpose: destroy Diyuir. This of course left them rather...palpable to defeat, what with a lack of a working mind to strategize they were in a complete berserk mode - lightning flashed out of each of their mouths, perhaps seven or eight - and each sought Diyuir and Uvior. Soon they were in pursuit. A rather...odd scene, considering how calm things had been before. The black eyed Teeh after things had settled, after the undead minions had gone stiff as statues. Helich himself was rather tense - "What do you want?" Irritated...annoyed, "And -why-" he turned to Terra suddenly, "The hell did you start his estate on fire?" His estate?

Diyuir sat atop of Uviour and hissed down to the greenskins before him. The Elven man feeling empowered as he sat atop of his beloved mount. Though something strange broke the feeling of being in charge around Diyuir. His eyes slowly looked up to the sky and his heart sank into the pit of his stomach. Gritting his teeth and growling the Tree born felt a rush of fear flow through him. Every hair on his body that wasn't strapped down by undead Orc skin was standing up. Yet Diyuir was never one to simply give in. His heart slammed against his chest over and over until he finally whispered to Uviour. "As the clan folk say. Tis' better to die a hero than to live a slave." Diyuir opened his mouth and released a blood curling scream and he jerked his sturdy willow bow from Uviour's saddle and jerked his quiver to his back. Pulling out two broad iron arrows he loaded his bow and pulled back the string allowing it to pop and send the projectiles towards two of Helich's illusions. The elven blood knew not that they weren't of true bone, flesh and blood but he cared no more or less either way. As Uviour jumped into the air above the legion of green skins Diyuir had little time to measure his previous shots. Reaching to his quiver he pulled forth two more arrows and launched them against his foes again. As Uviour flew like an ace across the sky Diyuir was ready and continued his fight against the Blue Dragons. Diyuir had come to save Tristram and liberate Gualon. This he was going to do. Else die trying.

Tristram said, "My estate is on fire?" His lips dipped in displeasure. There was going to be a lot of bloody reconstruction -- again -- when this was all over and done with. "Keep her safe." Helich had a lot of balls for that suggestion. She wasn't Helich's to keep safe in the first place. And if he wanted her safe, he wouldn't be summoning an army of blood-thirsty orcs to the plaza. Trist spat a couple of choice words toward the drow, and turned his attention toward the dark alley the ogre guard had disappeared down. "Hey. Pretty boy." His voice carried down the street, and he could hear the ogre grunt in response. "It's time for my hourly beating." In the same instant, he turned toward Terra and reprimanded, "Shut up. Don't even say it. Just stand there and look innocent. Er. Do your best. Whatever you can do." The three-armed ogre lumbered up to the cage and grunted at the dragon, and Tristram straightened. "Come on, then. Haven't got all day. Time is of the mother-bedding essence." To Terra, "Look away." There was no room for argument. The mindless ogre opened the cage door after tense moments of fiddling, took a swing at him and sent him sprawling across the floor. He got up, took another hit, and stayed down, closer to Terra this time. "Get yourself in here. He'll turn to the left when he closes the door. Go right. You'll be safest here."

Terra grimaced at the mention of the Estate. That little detail had yet to be mentioned to the owner of the building so it was hard to explain. A shoulder dismissed it entirely. "Why did you decide to imprison a dragon and take over what wasn't yours?" All logic seemed to follow the same route this evening and that was what made it that much harder to comprehend. Teeh and Heeh are both studied and it's all Terra can do not to squeeze into the bars, to play out the role of damsel. And then Tristram is whistling and calling attention to himself those things that she had wanted him not to do. Panic inspired her to follow the directions because they made more sense than walking away and leaving him here to rot as previously instructed by Gualon's exiled leader. So she walked in and remained to the right, pressed into bars. Not exactly how this evening was supposed to go but she was tired of debating it. They would either both go free or they'd perish behind these bars.

Tristram kept the ogre's attention - without provoking him - while he locked the door behind him, and shuffled back into the crowd, trying to keep the area immediately surrounding the cell clear, and not paying hardly attention at all to who currently occupied it. The dragon spit out a wad of blood and pulled himself back to his knees. A hand lifted to warn her from coming to him. "Stay back. It's dragon blood." He thought for a minute, and craned his head upward. "But stay toward the middle. I may need to use you for cover from bird crap."

Shaelus appeared quietly and out of sight, staying just on the fringes of the group for now.

Terra would have stayed on the outside had she thought this through. As far as bad ideas went... his taunts only caused her to sneer and kick a pebble towards him. Though the crowd only seemed to grow as the evening continued to drag on. "I'm starting to think it was safer out there."

Tristram tried to push his hair out of his eyes, failed, and huffed a sigh. "We've got another hour until he rolls back in here. Should make yourself comfortable. Do you like what I've done with the place?" He took the opportunity to rake his gaze over her body, then assume a pensive expression. "Listen. If you happen to have a cigarette on you, I will marry you right now." He wasn't about to send an orphan into his burning manor to sift through his study until he found his supply. Trist could only pray that Terra had enough sense to take what truly mattered out of his home before she decided to burn it to the ground.

Satoshi 's terribly late to the party--that she's equally terribly ignorant of--but at least she's as discreet as any tiefling could hope for when she weaves her surreptitious way through the crowd to eventually join Kasyr at his rooftop perch. "What'd I miss..?"

Helich growled. The illusions above took the damage as if they were real - even released a predictably loud roar of pain. Four had been hit already, one in the soft underbelly - the sweet spot - and was quickly falling behind in the pursuit. The remaining seven however, they were dead-intent on killing the wood elf and his mount. Lightning again shot from the mouths - some at Diyuir, some at Uvior, but all with the speed of real lightning and pretty accurate considering the situation. The saurian - guised as a drow - was still tense. Still uneasy, his gaze settled on Tristram, Terra, and after a moment the ogre that had been lured within the cage while the male was distracted left and closed the door that led into the small confine. Perhaps he should execute her as well. As a means to an end - an end to the festering acid that ate away the walls of his emotion that was the woman. It was being mulled over within his mind whilst he looked skyward to watch Diyuir battle his puppets. A sigh fell from his mouth, several of the greenskins were beginning to sheath blades and retrieve horse bows from their backs, and arrows were beginning to be nocked. The black changed his attention back to the duo in the cage. Over the noise of the battle above his voice beckoned, "Darkheart." A single word, a summons to cage's edge, as far as the chain's binding his wrist would allow him to go - and soon the male was slowly treading toward the cage with his Ogre guard in line behind.

Terra huffed and puffed and threatened to blow their house of bars down. Well, not exactly. But she had managed to snatch a few cloves and the cherished papers and simply tossed the container towards him with little affection or care for the contents. "I felt it was time to redecorate. Spruce the place up a bit." A casual shrug that went stiff as Helich started to approach the cage and uttered that single word. No, it was not her surname but she still approached as though it was. Even more curious than the cat and tiefling on the roofs.

Kasyr lifts an eyebrow at Satoshi's sudden arrival then merely shakes his head, "Comings, Goings. The place es a bit too crowded to approach yet. ..Discussions seems improbable. A strike seems more appropriate. ...Though, not yet. It wouldn't be...efficient, a ce moment." The tiefling's words are hurriedly whispered to the feline, before he simply returns to staring at the unfolding drama- with a particularly catlike patience.

Diyuir began to feel cocky and even let a smile spread across his visage as he rode atop of Uviour. The man’s bow gripped tightly in his hands. He pulled forth another arrow from his quiver and lined it up with his bow string. Yet as he readied to pull a sudden streak of lightning landed into the man’s chest. A howl of pain escaped as he was launched from Uviour and sent hurtling towards the ground. The pain was so unbearable that the Tree Born lost his conscious state of mind as he fell to the earth below. Landing before a group of greenskins Diyuir body smacked with such force that the sounds of his bones popping could be heard all around the plaza. Blood trickled lazily from the man’s mouth, nose and even eyes as he laid in a well defeated pose. Nearly every bone in his body was fractured or broken from such a horrific fall and by only the grace of Sven the Tree Born was still breathing. As light as it was, it was breathing though the sweet cold embrace of death was not far off as Diyuir’s legs and hands twitched wildly. Uviour on the other hand was also struck by the bolt yet the legendary beast was able to take the blow in recoil before fleeing away to the north, heading back towards its homeland of Sage. There was nothing the Roc could do to aid his life companion. He would have to retreat and wait another day.

Diyuir shouted, "ARGH! God Dammit!"

Shishi hadn't the sense nor the care to approach on rooftops like some others have thought to. Attracted by flashes of lightning without rainclouds and other luminous light sources the vampire approaches at a rather heightened pace, mud covering his shoes and the bottoms of his pant legs as per usual with the trip through the swamp he takes to reach the city. His arms are folded at his chest, cradling a small, brown, fox-like creature that has purposefully positioned most of its body between Blue's shirt and the black necktie loosely fitted around the vampire's neck, keeping the fox from being illuminated by any light sources. The animals numerous 'yip's are likely drowned out by the sounds of battle and such as Blue approaches the scene and brings it into his field of view, again not caring much about staying hidden at all...

Tristram was so happy for that cigarette. If he possessed a tail, it'd certainly be wagging. He fumbled with the etched case for a good minute or so before the thing popped open and released one of his hand-rolled little pick-me-ups. And Lord knew he needed one. He was fiddling with a lighter when Helich called his name, and his chin lifted, eyes narrowing on the approaching drow. It wasn't easy, struggling to his feet, because the length of the chain running between his wrists and the floor was preventing him from making any real progress in the maneuverability department. He did, however, push Terra away, and place himself firmly between the two. He'd use his own blood to keep her back and away from Helich if that was what it took. "One more step forward. I dare you. I'll give your sister a new definition of fisting. My hand to god. Yours to her." His crassness was reaching new levels, but given the current circumstances, it didn't rank very high on the list of things he cared about. Diyuir's descent distracted him, and he flinched for the elf when he hit the ground. "Ohhh. That's not good. Let's hope something other than an orc or an ogre reach him first."

Helich :: Unfortunately the order Helich had given to his greenskins was that they were to fire their arrows at Diyuir. He didn't specify when. So each of the greenskins that had an angle on the man - it was pretty crowded in the plaza - were each drawing back strings and preparing to lose them. This however, would not be the end of Diyuir's life. Not at all. The greenskins paused. A typical statuesque pose as well, the minions - every one of them in the square - had an arrow pointed at the wood elf’s form. Even the ones that would not hit him with the others blocking the view. The black paused, listening to Tristram - a tiny bit of anger showed in his gaze that he had been trying to hide all night with every taunt the male vomited from his mouth - but he soon turned his back on the cage. A quiet moment goes by. Not a sound to be heard in the square other than the loud breathes of the living. The arrows were placed back within their proper places - Diyuir's former four armed (now three...) ogre was the one to scoop him up carelessly and start to bring him toward the trio. "Quaint." Attempts were made to push Terra out of his mind - or gut rather - as each pulse of the woman's empathy still egged him like an old man's house on Halloween. "Mayor. Exit." He turned to Tristram, the door opened. The three-armed Ogre with Diyuir was perhaps ten feet away still, shuffling between the minions, "Darkheart. You are soon to have company it seems. Mayhap I should just kill him now? As a demonstration of power? Yes?" It was then he paused - and turned to regard Shishi. Of all the people he didn't want to see, it was this man. "Stop or die." A quick command, for as he spoke every greenskin in the plaza was now gazing at the vampire. "Take your wife and leave. Now." Diyuir 's limp body rested atop of the massive berserker that was once his great ally. The duo had even fought side by side in the original battle for Gualon yet here he was. The blacked out, near dead Diyuir hanging like a piece of meat from this beasts shoulder.

Tristram said to Helich, "This man is going to die anyway. Your power had nothing to do with it. He was outnumbered."

Awne runs along the path of the city, towards the sounds of war, towards where her clansmate had made mention of people. And oh how right she had been! So many, how were they to find the elf? the white feline hardly paused her stride, scooting around people and ..things, yelling the sage elf's name; he couldn't be gone yet, he had to still be alive, he had to. Weaving her way, ducking under arms and hell even through legs if it meant getting to the center faster. Where was he!

Terra empathized with Helich on that one thing - Shishi's presence. It wasn't likely that the vampire would respond politely to the situation at hand. Previous meetings with Helich had ensured that his chances of survival were significantly lessened. Nearly every person who breathed was able to saturate the hatred that emitted for the disguised dragon. It went into their pores and Terra was not immune. His was just another scrap of advice ignored as she took a step back away from the door with her head shaking. "No, I will not leave him to die. None of them." If Helich knew her at all, even just the slightest, he had to know that answer was coming. A scowl. "Don't do this. Any of this. This is not the side of the war you want to be on." Then a semi-guilty, pleading look was shot towards Shish. Would he understand? Another step backwards and she found herself well into the cage now.

Solidad is just ahead of Awne in her entrance. She had stopped, eyeing the gathered crowd, searching for the man who had been described to her, a clanmate she had yet to meet. Then she saw the Ogre, heading towards Helich. 'Oh... him..' she thought briefly, but then she saw the mark of the eye of the limp figure. That had to be him then.. now how to stop this? So she raises her ebony staff, pointing towards the Ogre and focusing on the magical energy. Her mind was racing panicked. The best idea she had was to cause several strong thick vines to rise from the ground and tangle themselves around the Ogre's legs. Hoping that would be enough to prevent him from caging Diyuir the vampiress then steps into the shadows of the building, her black clothing making it more difficult to be spotted from there.

Shishi gave off the impression that he was rather unhappy with the drow speaking with him, the vampire's arms crossed as they were. There's a flicker of red in the assassin's eyes when he sees Terra in the cage behind Tristram. With a slight sneer towards Helich the vampire began to speak over the constant yelps of the fox in his arm, muffled by the tie flopped over its face, "I doubt she-" and Blue blinks once when Terra cuts him off with the answer Shishi was about to give Helich. Shishi sends a look around the drow-disguised dragon towards the female empath and frowns at the sense of unpleasant déjà vu he's feeling as she refuses to exit the cage. His eyes flash crimson again and remain that way this time, flickering shadows at his feet swaying unnaturally as the assassin speaks to Helich, "Might be a better idea if you were the one leaving, I think. This prolly won't end well for you if you end up hurting anyone further... You know?"

Odessa steps to where Solidad had been the moment she moves out of sight. The tall warrior woman stood over six feet in height. She wore loose clothing and a staff across her back which quickly made its way into her hand, raised as if she herself were the one to cast the spell.

Tristram | Terra probably found herself backing into him, as he positioned himself to catch her backward progress into the cage. "You need to leave. You need to leave with your husband." He could feel a slew of emotions emanating around him, through him, none of which seemed to be his own. He had felt indifferent toward Shishi, maybe even affable occasionally, but never this intense of a hatred, only to lose it a moment later and feel cool nonchalance once more. "His children ..." Being here with Tristram, was probably the least safe place for her now, though his loyalty was divided. If she stayed, he could use her to free himself. Helich was weak in that regard, and that weakness was utterly transparent. But if she left, she would be safe, away from here, and with her husband and her children, and far away from the orcs and ogres clamoring over themselves for a meal. His eyes sought Shishi in the crowd, and instead of issuing commands to the vampire, and pressed his lips in a thin line, and watched.

Shishi looked into the cage again with a cringe and asked uncomfortably, "Do you have to stay in the cage to prove your point, Ter?"

Tristram said, "No, she doesn't." Shishi said to Tristram, "Then let's get her the hell out."

Awne took notice of the familiar woman briefly before her sights caught sight of the one she was after "Diy!" she wasn't sure if it was relief or worry that flitted through her more, at least she had found him, now to get to him. She was running again, closer to the ogre green thing that held him "let him go!" She called to the green thing, unsure if she was heard or even understood really, she'd never met one like that before.

Tristram said to Shishi, "Sure, just let me finish my ciggy." His words dripped with sarcasm, and he pulled at the restraints until he could have sworn they gave a bit. "I don't have a whole lot of options unless you want me to spit at her, or projectile bleed at her."

Terra had to pause. Inhale. Exhale. Control was rapidly being lost. All these people. The constant swirl of emotion, the never-ending clatter of feelings and torments and taunts and conversation. A sudden bump into Tristram did not cease any of this but it provided a brief lapse into silence that was appreciated more than could be expressed. Instead of a grateful smile there was a scowl, eyes narrowed towards the both of them who thought this was about proving points, about cages and memories and pasts. "I'm not leaving until he does." Outside a war had started and she felt it safer on the inside anyway. "This all ends tonight."

Terra said to Tristram, "Shut up. Keep your blood to yourself." Tristram said to Terra, "Go burn down another house."

Shaelus appeared very suddenly near Helich. He seemed more or less uninterested in the various people and actions taking place around him. His glowing eyes stared out through his mask, briefly sweeping everyone and everything in a judgmental glance. This was all the attention they were given before he turned and allowed the judgment to rest solely upon Helich. The very presence of his body filled with his unnatural power distorted the world around him. Light traveling toward him bent and cast shadows at odd angles. Just the same, where there should have been light, there was shadow. It made him seem all the more imposing, being that it would hurt the eyes and heads of any who attempted to look upon him for long. His mouth didn't move, he didn't even breath, and despite this, his voice boomed from every direction all at once, lightly shaking small pebbles on the ground, "Where is my army?" Despite the tone, there was a reason for it, and the reason did not rest within Helich at all. Solaris had reasons upon reasons for even the smallest movements of his own body. He couldn't stop plotting and planning even if he wanted to, which he didn't, since it was all he could do to remain focused on returning to the realm he belonged to now. Such a show now may give reason for enemies to forgive one another once Solaris had completed his task and returned to the Underworld. Then again, perhaps it wouldn't. So long as the chance existed for the blame to be placed entirely upon himself, he would take action to make sure it happened exactly that way. Difficult tasks required difficult choices and Shaelus-Khar was never one to shy away from duty, no matter the cost.

Terra said to Tristram, "Which of your concubines?" Tristram jangled around a bit and said, "Oh, for chrissakes."

Terra gave a start at the voice and backed against the bars so she could be sure of what was behind her. "It couldn't possibly get any worse..." mumbled into the air as she started to slide down to the floor with legs stretched in front of her. "Surely."

Helich :: The living occupants of the city were now beginning to mill around the plaza - few could fit inside with the large amount of undead greenskins crowding the square - but those that could looked intensely toward their new leader, a few shouted battle cries at seeing a familiar form now unconscious - Diyuir - which only made the hive more full of buzz. Now Helich was rather distracted. Distracted was a bit of an understatement. Much too distracted to even fathom Terra's words for - it appeared an ugly scene was developing. A scene where several parties were likely to get injured, which didn't bother the black so much as he was rather vulnerable at the moment following his injuries from a few eves prior. Tristram was paying for those on a daily basis, with the beatings - at any rate. Solidad's grab made true with the ogre's legs - Diyuir went whirling out of his arms and into a heap on the ground. Helich's reaction was swift. The blues that had disabled Diyuir in the first place now swarmed the scene - followed by four new illusionary allies. The one that had taken the arrow to the belly -still- lumbered behind and seemed rather close to collapse and illusionary death at this point. The black dismissed them from his mind quickly and allowed them to strike out with lightning from their mouths at everyone they detected except for Tristram and Terra. And Helich of course. The scene grew more chaotic - the male's voice quickly bellowed through the entire city. A parlor trick on a grand scale, "My brothers!" what had he convinced these Orcs of? "They are trying to take Darkheart away! Destroy them!" Gongs tolled -- it was obvious within a few minutes that escape would be futile for Diyuir's rescuers - and several seconds later, the infantry was on the move. Every undead greenskin that crowded the plaza burst into motion before they had even unsheathed their scythe-like blades, rushing toward Solidad - Awne - Odessa, a wild charge, a careless thing - they weaved a wide girth around Diyuir. Apparently the black wanted the male alive for one reason or another. It was then, after all of this, after chaos upon chaos wrapped within chaos had exploded - he felt him. Solaris. It was a bath in ecstasy - the mark had its effects - he turned, grimaced through pain and extended a hand toward the scene before him. Casually of course. "Here." The roars of the living Orc and Ogre, the battle cry and cheers were beginning to rise from outside the plaza. "Behold, Solaris."

Tristram said to Terra, "Just did. You have impeccable timing, dove."

Diyuir 's lifeless body slammed to the ground and whatever bones were still intact now popped with a loud crunch. Blood continued to pour from the man’s eyes, nose, and mouth. The twitching had stopped and so far, so had his breathing.

Tristram rolled back on his feet and shifted his weight onto his calves. He looked around for his lighter, and handed Terra the pack of cigarettes. It didn't look like they were going anywhere now.

Shishi snowed off a fang or two in s alight sneer towards Tristram's sarcasm. Sunny is set onto the ground and Blue steps around Helich and into the cage, the fox following in his shadow. Crimson eyes fall on Terra as the assassin takes hold of one of her wrists, "Ter." he speaks in a low voice, reserved for when he's trying to show he's serious, "Let's go... Yo-" Shaelus's appearance, or more specifically the arrival of the darkness he brings with him cuts Shishi's speech short and his grip on Terra's wrist tightens slightly while his free hand rises to the side of his forehead, his balance faltering slightly.

Tristram said to Shishi, "Make yourself at home, kiddo. Have a cigarette."

Satoshi 's gaze flicks from tiefling to lyre and back before, lingering just long enough to plant a kiss to his forehead, she slips off the roof and behind the building. Requiem held tight to her chest, the feline makes as hasty a departure as she can from the chaotic scene.

Terra sat slouched and somewhat helpless as she witnessed what happened just beyond those bars. The cheers, the cries, the sound of broken bones, the scent of freshly fallen blood, and the constant static of victory and defeat that ranged on the minds of those ally and enemy alike. One knee is brought to her chest as she glanced towards the shackled dragon at his smartass remark and merely grinned, accepted the container just as her wrist was grasped in a familiar ring of skin and bone. When that grip tightened she was able to pull herself to her feet and gently prod, pull him back towards the bars and away from the exit. Such a thing didn't exist by this point anyway. "You shouldn't be here. This is ... this is not the place for you. Get Orange, get Yellow and hide. Just for a bit. Anywhere but here." Defiant, chin jutted and she'd gently start to pull her wrist away. "Things will only get worse and I'd rather have the knowledge that you're okay. That you are not here."

Awne watched the elf fly through the air to fall to the ground, no sooner though the lightening, she dodged to her best ability, her hands flying up in front of her, light emitting from them as she shields herself. Too slow as she was pushed back, tumbling over but shifting to the feral form of her lioness self and dashes forward. She was smaller now, quicker, she could move more easily then the lumbering giants above her. She was almost there, she could see him! Dashing through the legs of a greenskin she shifts again and slides, adrenaline in her system at least was keeping fatigue at bay. She was drawing on reserves she tried not to use to keep going but she had him! She grabs the body of the elf and clutches him tightly. "Diy..hang on..please please please.." even with the pleas for him to hold on the orbs were forming, rising from the feline herself and around, a slow whirlwind that grew and grew, the light blinding as it form a solid circle around the pair. The light grows brighter and brighter, inner light, holy light even but the flash lasted only second, an after image all that was left of the two.

Diyuir offered no response to Awne. In fact, he only slid against the dirt as she walked with a corpse of a Tree Born in her maw.

Terra said to Tristram, "And you. Do something useful. Today."

Tristram fished around on the floor until he found his lighter, and dipped his head so he could light the cigarette still stuck in the corner of his mouth. He clipped the lighter closed, and tossed that to the vampire as well. "There. Good? It's the most productive I've been all day." He followed her with his eyes, and briefly considered the effectiveness of kicking her out with a barefoot to her backside. It would be decided upon while he enjoyed his cigarette.

Kasyr s' instincts are the only thing that save him in the following moment. One second, He's observing Helich, and the growing Chaos- and the next? The next the hybrid is moving to slam a hand into the roof- using the motion to send himself skittering away from the sudden discharge of energy. Unfortunately, the tiefling isn't quite as fortunate- managing to avoid the brunt of the sudden mass of lightning crashing into the roof-...if only to get pulled down into the building and when the tiles simply implode. ...This also has the side benefit of slamming the hybrid into the first floor of the building, as he impacts into (and subsequently passes through) the weakened floorboards of the second floor. Gradually staggering to his feet, the tiefling simply moves to draw in the ambient emotions in the area, To properly prepare himself for any would be investigators.

Odessa let her form grow, a deep growl rising in her throat as her form went from woman to a great muscular instrument of death. Gone was the blonde hair, replaced with black fur marked with white, tiger like markings. Her mouth and nose elongate into a lupine snout full of razor sharp teeth. Great claws grew on her hands. Over ten foot of muscle and speed stood now in the midst of those who dared to come close, and the six foot long quarterstaff spun expertly, knocking away any that got within its reach.

Tristram , upon hearing the destruction (inevitable, but still) of yet another building, groaned, "Another one? Really?"

Terra said to Tristram, "See what happens when you're mean."

Solidad presses herself more tightly against the wall. She was so very glad she'd worn the black leather that would allow the her hide in the shadows, with the hood of her cloak pulled low over her face not a sigh of her white flesh could be seen. Beneath the shadows her silver eyes burned with hatred for the dragon known as Helich. She wanted his head, but she doubted that would possible tonight. She was seriously overmatched, she knew that, but she would not leave, not when she had started this. Solidad d'Mor was no coward. So she merely watched from her place in the shadows, using some of her magic to hide her presence from the enemies, illusory and real. Her main focus was on Odessa, and a significant portion of her magic went to spells to help defend the werewolf. She couldn't use the holy spells to protect her, but she could damage many who tried to attack her. More vines to entangle a few, her own brand of lightening darting out and there, and walls of fire were the best spells she had, so she utilized them thoroughly. This worked well, until she began to draw more magic away from her own defensive spells to help Odessa and she found herself facing two rather large Ogres. "Crap," she muttered. Odessa would have to work on her own for a moment. Without warning the small vampiress pulled a sword from a sheath at her side, and within moments she was locked in a fierce battle for her life.

Tristram said to Terra, "I'm not entirely sure you're not to blame for this one too. Weren't you leaving?"

Terra said to Tristram, "As the person that I hate the most... I couldn't miss your funeral."

Shishi 's fox was having such a blast in the darkness brought about by Shaelus that it didn't seem to have a care in the world for the momentary plight of its owner. the assassin's own shadow rose from the ground behind him and made a kind of lunge towards Terra as she told Blue to leave, only to stop short behind Shishi and kind of melt back to the ground to form the vampire's flickering silhouette on the plaza floor. The reason for their halt and retreat is clear, to the empath at least, as Blue looks at her through azure eyes again and shakes his head, "Don't be so selfish. I can handle some danger too. Orange and Yellow are fine... far away from this. I'm not leaving without you, and you're too stubborn to leave at all... so..." Towards Tristram the vampire merely shrugs ambiguously and keeps any I-told-you-so's to himself regarding why Helich is still even living.

Terra found it best that they not stray into that conversation. After all, there were words inked onto wrists that served a blessing as often as they did a curse. Helich's position was still being balanced in mental scales to determine if the right thing had been done. When she risked a glance for the dragon she quickly looked away. It didn't seem the drow (or dragon, rather) that she had met was present. "Okay." There's really nothing more to be said on the subject. "Make yourself useful too. Find a way to get him out of those chains."

Shaelus looked away from Helich and to the roaring crowds of orcs and ogres. Though it couldn't be discerned from looking at him, he gazed at the army with approval. He truly hadn't seen such a sight since Kaizer and himself had led such an army against Crius. Something was missing from this army, however. Dragons. Solaris had asked for dragons. Perhaps he simply wasn't looking or feeling far enough. The power could actually be seen reaching out of his body. It snaked away in various directions as he began to fill the entire area with his presence all at once. He felt the very souls of even those around him, searching for those who might bear the taint of his power and influence. He still sensed none of the saurians he had asked for, try as he might to find them. Again, his voice shattered the very air as it swept in from every direction towards Helich, "Where are my dragons, follower? I asked for dragons." His body trembled as though he was having trouble maintaining it. Truthfully, it pained him to see such an army. The sight brought back old memories best left forgotten. People didn't believe him, but he wasn't the same person anymore as the one who had led that army with Kaizer. It was then that another thing began to tug at his mind. With his power touching so many souls all at once, he began to feel it stirring up within him. The Hunger. It demanded his attention, and it was not lightly ignored at all, even by him. He cringed ever so slightly behind his mask as his power receded back into his own body, where he could at least for the moment make certain he wouldn't become an immediate danger to every living thing around him. He had to forcibly turn himself away from the group and maintain focus upon Helich, awaiting a reply.

Tristram said to Terra, "If he looks at me like that again, I'm going to kick his ass." Tristram glared at Shishi. He was known to become a bit belligerent without food.

Terra mumbled something from her slouched position on the floor that sounded suspiciously like, "The only ass you can reach is yours" but these things could be hard to determine.

Helich wasn't easily intimidated. But Solaris ~ could bring him to his knees with a single spoken word. So it was with those disapproving words - regardless of the demigod's own approval - that the black allowed the minions attack Odessa at will. A huge number of them were rushing at her, constantly - there was no way in hell she would last long, even as careless as they were being she was just...far outnumbered. The ogre with Solidad on the other hand - well they were clumsily bashing clubs toward her instantly - and Helich, so caught up with Solaris, couldn't even spare a moment to hear talk of escape for Tristram. "Th-they still refuse." He began timidly, "I am going to execute Darkheart - to show them - to show them that they should join and....this army of mine is going to march and destroy. Until nothing is left but saurians and avians, Solaris. That should - that is my plan."

Tristram vigorously renewed his efforts to pull the bolt free from the floor.

Terra said to Shishi, "Hurry! We have to leave while he's distracted."

Tristram shouted, "The only thing you'll show them is that you're a bloody coward!"

Terra hissed at the dragon then.

Shishi turned to glance outside of the cage towards Shaelus and Helich, frowning slightly as he lamented not taking his precious shadow-ward scarf along with him in order to keep it out of the mud. To Terra the vampire puffs out his cheeks a bit as she asks him to try and get the dragon out of his restraints. Black hair is patted down with one hand as he says, "Eh... I'll try in a minute..." trying to put off activating his cursed eyes again with Solaris's darkness lingering. To Tristram Shishi sends a small smirk and asks, "Aren't you supposed to be president here or something? How'd you get all locked up like this?" Terra whispered to Tristram, "Shut your prideful mouth! Get out of here, heal, and then yell." Tristram wasn't helping his situation, granted, but he spoke his mind.

Tristram said, "Oh, that's it."

Odessa broke her staff over one such minion, it's head flying away from it's still fighting body. Her claws flashed with a speed and precision only rigorous training in the arts of hand to hand combat could provide. But even with all her knowledge and skill brought to bear, even using every available weapon she could, the numbers of the swarm still scored blows upon her flesh. She was creating a bloody mess of carnage and destruction in the army, but she knew her chances of victory alone against a horde were fairly slim.

Solidad knew she had to help Odessa. She had to, she couldn't lose that woman now. So she fought like a demon, slashing and hacking at the Ogres before her, determined to mince them to little pieces. She was ducking and dodging, twisting and turning. Oh they managed to land a few blows, and they hurt and stung, but they were not as tough as she had imagined they would be. That's not to say it didn't take some time to take them down, or that she was going to get through unfazed. She definitely felt like she had broken a rib, but she tried not to let it slow her down much. She was vampire and therefore graced with some pretty strong healing capabilities. Sword fighting wasn't her strong point, no, magic was, but she was far too distracted for that at the moment. So she slashed and hacked until one of the Ogre fell in a blood y heap before her. That left one, one more and she could fight her way to Odessa's side.

Tristram came very close to hauling the entire floor of the cage off its base with how hard he struggled. He could care less about Helich right now, even Solaris for that matter. The husband of his lover was sat there, condescending and showboating right in front of him. Unacceptable. Terra's whispered words of wisdom were completely ignored, and he was straining to catch hold of the other vampire, mocking him in his very own ... home - since his other one had burned down, apparently. "I'll kill you right now, fella. I was protecting the whole goddamned city is what happened. I oughta --" The three-armed ogre, now carrying yet another arm limply at his side, lumbered back into view, and Tristram contemplated getting the greenskin's attention to dish out a bit of punishment that the saurian couldn't.

Kasyr is simply ignored. Whether it's by providence, the assumption that whatever the dragons blasted is quite dead, or the simple fact that there was other more apparent targets running in the square; the hybrid isn't discovered by some hapless undead orc. Wasting no more time, the hybrid simply presses up against the door to the house, Gently nudging it open to allow himself a means of staring in the direction Helich rested. Beyond that, the hybrid simply remains still, majoritarily obscured by the darkness of the house, and the door, with his hands resting upon the blackened hilts of the Katanas at his side.

Shishi blinked once and kind of reflexively shifted his eye color back to crimson again, squeezing tears out from the effort involved when Terra told him to 'hurry!'. Shadows slithered on the floor towards Tristram, crawled towards the bolt in the floor that held him in the cage and dug beneath it, loosening the very ground that anchored the tether to the floor. Meanwhile Blue has his hands at his head again as he deals with the shadow's advice to -tear both of these dragons to shreds-.

Shishi bared fangs at the dragon he was attempting to help free while his shadows continued the work that would eventually let Tristram successfully lunge at him. For the moment it was merely a standoff, more darkness flocking to Shishi floating up from the ground to accumulate around his left hand, so eager to be used violently if Tristram followed through with his threat.

Shaelus turned his masked face towards those trying to escape. He raised a finger to point and bellowed towards Helich again, "Your example is escaping. Kill them all. Bring me their heads." With that, Solaris held his hand out to Helich for a moment. The mark he'd given the dragon glowed fiercely, even as Solaris lifted into the air with no help from his wings. He had far too many other things on his mind, and he was convinced of Helich's ability to handle the problem himself, whether or not he really managed to bring their heads. Solaris had to get away from everyone and everything before the Hunger drove him to consume everyone present, Helich included. His time was better served alone for the moment, where he could continue his searching for those beings who were his rightful targets for destruction, Arrecation and Xaen. A great tremor shook the ground for a mere instant. In that same instant, the world was filled with sound and light as Solaris spoke with his true voice. The sound had no sooner escaped from his lips than he was gone. The shaking stopped as soon as it started, not given the chance to cause much damage. As Solaris disappeared, so too did the light and sound created by his voice. His exit wasn't a moment too soon. Everyone had their demons, but most of those demons weren't capable of slaughtering people by the tens of thousands. Solaris would be able to return back to the public eye in a few days, only after a long bout of meditation upon his goal so that the Hunger would pose as little a threat as possible.

Kain , having remained incognito and out of the way, saw his opportunity, and rushed in. Hurling a stone at one of the foes attacking Odessa, he turned his attention to those in the cage. Years of smithing made it easy for him to find the weak points in the chain, and without speaking, he motioned for a little room, adjusted the chain, and brought his hammer down hard, then again, followed by a third swift powerful strike, distorting the link to the point it would snap far more easily. Bad Attitude also helped add a bit more confusion, as the wolverine tore into another of the minions assaulting the lycan, before turning to attack one of the brutes attacking Solidad. The stout warrior put his strength to bear, slipping the link, then hustled out to help cover their retreat.

Tristram said to Shishi, "Get. Her. Out. Now." Tristram shouted, "Go!"

Terra - If this had been any other situation she would have laughed. The taunting would have felt more light-hearted and could have been excused. But it was Terra's current reality and it took all she had to refrain from throwing a tantrum of two-year-old proportions. When at last it seemed that Shish was able to gain some control over the shadows and offer a helping hand a breath of relief moved through dead lungs and shifted shoulders, encouraged her to stand and watch the shadows slither and chains fall. "Stop. Stop now." The threat of execution and Tristram's sudden shout that she leave once more. A frustrated growl rumbled in her chest and the feral noise left her pretty features in a snarl that seemed all wrong. A hand wrapped around the space just above where the chains had latched and she tugged. She took some blood in the process and hissed at the sting of the acid but she would be damned if this was all for nothing. "You know where I stand. Go."

Shishi huffed and flicked his left wrist, dispelling the darkness gathered there at his hand when Tristram shouted his way. With a quick turn Terra's arm is grabbed again, with more determination this time as he starts moving once he has a hold of her, "We're going, Ter. Sorry." He didn't sound it as he apologized and pulled her towards the cage exit, "You can argue all you want once were out of here..."

Helich :: The bright light - such departure. Such power.....such an order. Kill her? The other two he could care less about - but her - she made him...feel things. But, as he would say in his overly zealous way 'the Will of Solaris' and such. So. He turns calmly - every motion was pained - and kicked the door to the huge cage shut. It locked automatically, oh my, trapping the now-freed Tristram along with the other three. "Going somewhere?" He spoke to Shishi - who had managed to make it directly to the freshly-closed door. Now any magically-prone (And who the hell in Hollow isn't?) would note, instantly, upon even grazing the bars of this impromptu prison that the bars were in fact warded. No magic could harm them. At all. None. Absolutely -none- no matter what was used, it just wasn't possible at all. Now that we have that established, physically speaking they are reinforced and pretty much impossible to destroy. A diamond compared to a typical coal, if you catch the drift there. At any rate. The black's response was a quiet shaking of his head - eyes on Terra and full of regret - he, rather satisfied he had things returning to control, returned to the battle going on behind him. They were easy to defeat this was true, when he was not in control of them - but soon strategy began to be employed. The greenskins pulled back, allowed Solidad to reach Odessa - and began to surround both. Now truth be told, the black was prepared to decimate the two for simply annoying him - the two girls were surrounded by over four hundred tightly-packed orc, ogre, and goblin - but, diplomacy diplomacy. His voice, or the voice he chose rather - none had ever heard his true voice - echoed throughout the plaza. "Give me two reasons not to end your lives now and I may consider sparing them." For every undead minion that had fallen, a living orc was taking its spot at the back of crowd - cheering. The front row of Helich's undead mass each pulled an arrow and drew, prepared to fire, arrow knocked. This of course happened after they had sheathed there weapon - a chance for the two to attack perhaps - but regardless, with the ever-growing crowd, with the city in an uproar, a few living orcs began to squeeze into the surrounding homes and businesses attempting to get a better view of the action. A group of three began to slide open the door that Kasyr was so sneakishly hiding behind, grunting amongst themselves and such.

Terra was being tugged in one direction and pulling from the other. There would be arguments about this and they would last for days... but their start was delayed when the sound of locks clicking into place was heard. Would it ever end? Evidently not... Both hands wrapped around the bars and she pulled herself towards them - towards Helich, towards the source of all this unease and their current situation. She knew what he was, he knew what she was, and she tried to play off of that. Every ounce of sadness possible was summoned and no matter what amount of training she lacked she felt pretty confident that if enough was gathered he would feel it too. Anything, any emotion, any real tug at what semblance of a heart still beat inside of his bruised torso would be better than ... this. "Don't do this." It's a half plea that may not be heard as he had already approached the other two who had come out of loyalty to their own ties. Forehead matted down with sweat and bangs and mud is knocked against the cool metal and appreciated for the shortest of breaths. "You don't have to do this." In all honesty she is utterly terrified. At this point she would not have minded being on the other side if that meant being free of walls with bars and these two, stubborn-headed males. "Helich!" A name she had heard, applied and used in this moment. "Just let us out!"

Kain , seeing the door closing, did the only thing he could. Throwing himself between the door and the latch, he yowled breathlessly as his armor caved in, stopping the door from closing completely. Gasping for breath, he tried to get to his hands and knees, hoping his ribs weren't broken.

Kasyr tensed at the creak of the door, before simply bursting forth from his hiding spot with an audible crashing noise. It's akin to the noise of a dam breaking, really, every ounce of power the tiefling had at his disposal from both consumed souls and ambient empathic energy being tapped into in that moment. The trio of orcs at the door doesn’t even have time to fully open the door before it's simply carved into little pieces, their bodies being in close enough proximity to share a similar fate. And it's that simple action which precipitates the hybrids next motion. Focused singularly upon Helich's essence, the hybrid streaks across the battlefield- quickly and efficiently shearing apart whatever beings stood in his path towards Solaris' minion. Orc, Ogre, Goblin....Even any of the would be rescuers wouldn't be spared if they strayed into the hybrids lunatic rush~ And it only grows more furious still, as the hybrid sheds his weighted trenchcoat mid-dash, so that he can leap unencumbered upon the shoulders of an orc- using that uncanny grace of his to cross that final distance between himself and Helich. Ever hastening, until at last he leaps towards this Interloping dragon- both Katanas flicking out in a blur of obsidian- the intent to maim the Dragon until he was no longer amongst the living. No expense in energy was spared in this moment- all the excess that remained exerted in an attempt to gorily decimate this invading legions leader.

Odessa ,her voice mangled only a little by her form, stood ready to protect Solidad. "You ask for two reasons. I give them. One, we did not come here to do battle with you or your city. We came for the elf, nothing more. You obviously wanted him alive. A messenger of your power perhaps. That is reason two. We can be that messenger. We alone cannot hope to defeat you tonight nor, obviously, can this city hope to be saved." She stood before him, unafraid and proud. "If you so choose to send only one messenger you will send Solidad, should you have even a shred of honor in you."

Tristram had ceased trying to end Shishi's life, and was busy flexing the very rigid, stiff muscles in his arms; he lifted his head just in time to see the cage door swing shut. With a groan nothing short of resignation, he pulled his arms behind his head, and declared, "Well, isn't this cozy. All one big happy family." Legs as stiff as his arms were suddenly forced into action, and with a tremendous heave, and a pained breath of air sucked into his lungs, he took a tentative step toward the bars - toward Helich - to prey on his weakness. "They'll die in here. She'll die. Have you seen a vampire die from contact with dragon blood? It isn't pretty. All that pain ... and you'll be experiencing it firsthand, won't you? At least then you'll be obeying your little puppet master's desires, won't you?" Leaning on the bars now for support, he couldn't help but give them a firm rattle. "And Tommy Two-Arms is about due for a visit. I wonder who he'll pick? Maybe he'll make a meal out of one of us." Trist was doing arm calisthenics in the cell now, trying to work some feeling back into his muscles.

Odessa said to Solidad, "Do not forget who you are, my queen. Do not forget your position among us. Should they fire upon us then I will guard you with my life and we will leave. Should he choose to hold me captive...allow him this. I am a wolf and warrior. I will survive. I promise."

Shishi wrapped one hand around a bar of the cage as the door slammed shut in his face. Crimson eyes glared out at Helich as Blue growled, "Open it!" The vampire didn't wait for a response as his shadow came to life yet again and splashed harmlessly against the bars of the cage before retreating back to their vampiric ally, reporting back to him, -Can't break it, Blue.- Arms fold, as Terra has already broken free from his loosened grip, and the assassin silently watches the empath's interaction. Tristram is eyed unhappily as he describes Blue and Terra's likely deaths should they be left in the cage with Kain and the dragon. The vampire keeps his mouth shut as he lets the others try and guilt trip or scare Helich into letting them out and Kasyr makes his brutal dash towards the dragon outside the cage.

Solidad doesn't reply vocally to Odessa's words. Instead she sets her lips into a thin line, keeping a steady hand on her sword. She was once again glad for the hood that hid the unshed tears in her silver eyes from sight. She still had a card up her sleeve though, one last trick of Odessa's words fail. She didn't like the thought of using it, but if it meant saving Odessa she would play it.

Helich :: The words were quiet - but filled every crevice of the plaza, like a whisper in everyone’s ear. Honor....He used to practice that. A long, long time ago. "Leave." So quiet, so full of the deepest sadness that even a being non-empathic would feel it down to the core. The word though was not directed at any particular party - but all. The caged, the surrounded. It was at this moment that something was hacking, slashing, heading straight toward him - he turned, eyes as wide as they could go and from beneath the bandages adorning the entirety of his face he gasped. Pure shock. Utter shock, contempt - there it was. Kasyr. Ashen himself, in the flesh - here to end him - he truly didn't have time to react until after the first slice of the katana met with the flesh of his shoulder, slashed downward and ripped a three inch deep gash from his collar bone to the top of his pelvic bone - the blood, the cry of pain - it was overbearing for that same whispered voice was being used. But suddenly he disappeared. Physically at least, after rolling to the side to avoid the amassed cuts and slices that were trying to rip him to shreds - as heel rolled and he found himself with his back to the tiefling he moved. Trackable yes, but by empathy and moist foot prints alone. Not the best of escapes -- but soon the entire horde followed. A pained voice roared through the city - illusionary but the voice they all knew him by - "All able bodied males! Prepare for war! Destruction!" Of the mass of undead greenskins, living greenskins...where could he have gone? "The world has thrown you all into the pits of hell and they call it Gualon! Take back what is rightfully yours! Gather your blade! We are on the march as soon as the sun rises!" Which was only several hours away at this point. Helich was gone. Somewhere in the city, bleeding, rather pissed off after Terra's little trick and Tristram's words had worn off but -- it would be rather hard to find him.

Solidad lowers her sword as the army follows Helich's hasty retreat. The sadness in his voice, that painful sadness at cut through her heart and forced those unshed tears to make their way down pale cheeks. Oh was she ever so grateful for the hood of that cloak now. She glanced around, her gaze lingering on Odessa a moment. Well, the werewolf would have to wait, she was going to be beyond angry at Soli for this. Instead she made her way carefully to the cage, wanting to check on Terra. This was largely in part to an alcohol clouded memory of the other vampiress calling her a friend. "Terra?" the question is hesitant. "You alright? Need any help?"

Tristram took a few halting steps around Terra, eyed the cage door up and down, and then pushed it open. "Huh. Right then." He gestured for Terra to exit, then Shishi, and wobbled his way outside. Walking took more effort than he would have imagined. Larry Three-Arms-cum-Tommy Two-Arms really knew his stuff. "I guess I'm going ... uh." He sliced Terra a stare, ducked his head, and started limping toward the smoldering framework of his estate. "To get my personal effects." And visit a clinic. His cigarettes were still sitting inside the cage, but he'd rather kiss an ogress than go back in that thing.

Odessa stayed by Solidad's side, her massive form quickly forming a shield between her and anyone she saw as a threat...including Kasyr.

Terra did not respond to any of this well. From being trapped in a cage (again) to the near brawl to the threat of execution and the fall of Gualon... And Helich's heart-wrenching plea for them to all leave. Everything was starting to take its toll on the empath and she frowned, bit down on her bottom lip as a few stray tears managed to work their way down flushed cheeks. Kasyr's cameo and presence in all of this does not go ignored but it's too hard to acknowledge that -to acknowledge him and that locked chest- when everything else has been an absolute mess. Without realizing who or what had happened the cage door she merely stepped through and kept walking. There's no direction or purpose to it but it offered her a sense of solitude that staying there and being reassured wouldn't. She did manage a wink to Solidad in the process but that was as far as her ability to converse would extend that evening. It had been a long night and she was certain that Gualon would be far behind her before the sun rose.