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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3735554" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>It wasn’t long into the day before Allyssa made her presence known. The first activity of Lord Ironblood’s day was his morning viewing. Each day Lord Ironblood appeared on a large porch that overlooked a public garden on the palace estate. The palace guards allowed a certain number of poor citizens access to the garden each day, and Lord Ironblood used the captive audience to spread his personal propaganda and a few coins. Of course, not all of his propaganda was false. Much of it was a means of bringing the common people to an understanding of his goals for the region of Tongra that was under his influence.</p><p></p><p>There was a healthy suspicion that this would be the event for the day that Allyssa would use for the assassination. There were a number of reasons that this timetable was believed. First, this was the largest public event on the lord’s schedule, so if Allyssa was looking for an event to spread the most amount of public panic this would be the natural choice. Second, an assassination in the morning would provide the maximum amount of time for gossip and panic to set in throughout Lord Ironblood’s region. Finally, the morning was a likely time for public appearances across the entire region. There was little doubt that the assassins assumed that word would spread quickly of an assassination attempt. The attempts would need to be timed accordingly so that they all had an equal chance for success. The morning hours and the rising of the sun provided a natural timetable. Of course, Allyssa couldn’t have known that her attempt was to be the only one.</p><p></p><p>This particular morning, Ischarus wrapped himself in the traditional robes that Lord Ironblood wore to make his balcony address. He gathered a few of Lord Ironblood’s coins and put them into his pockets. The coins would each amount to enough money for a family to eat for a week. Compared to the taxes that Lord Ironblood demanded for protection, however, this money was only a small portion. For the poor, the coins were a godsend. For the merchants and nobles, the coin was little more than a trifle.</p><p></p><p>He turned to the balcony and spotted Master Brandt standing in the wings. Brandt wouldn’t make an appearance, but he was waiting just in case. Ischarus smiled and nodded in the direction of the priest of Reah as the time for the appearance drew close. He breathed in deeply and prepared to step forward.</p><p></p><p>Semeion and Rhema mingled with the people in the midst of the crowd gathered below. They were dressed as palace guards and were busy searching the people. They knew that all of the people had been subjected to a search before entering the palace grounds, but Semeion and Rhema weren’t searching for weapons. Their eyes jumped from one face to the next in a search to recognize Allyssa. They knew that she would likely be disguised so that access would be more easily granted. As they meandered through the crowd, they did not see Allyssa.</p><p></p><p>It was actually Charis who spotted Allyssa. Rather than meandering through the crowd, Charis stood directly below the balcony on the top of a short set of raised stairs. Her placement made her appear to be a guard for the door that opened directly beneath the balcony. However, she really cared less about the protection of the door. Instead, she used her elevated position to search above the heads of the gathered poor people and out into the public garden beyond them. As her eyes slowly scanned the grounds, she spotted a subtle movement in the shadows of several four-foot shrubs.</p><p></p><p>Allyssa had chosen her position wisely. She knelt in the middle of a U-shaped formation of red berry shrubs. The dark green leaves that filled in the shrub formation almost completely blocked her from sight. It was only the slight movement of the tip of a bow that caught Charis’ attention. Had she not been at the right angle, it would have looked like a swaying branch in the wind.</p><p></p><p>Charis wanted to charge Allyssa immediately. She fought her instinct because she knew that at this point Allyssa could only be charged with conspiracy. If they wanted to put a significant nail in the Yrraxeans’ plan she would have to wait until her motivation was proven. She knew to wait for the assassination attempt before charging Allyssa. It was a dangerous game to play, but it was necessary.</p><p></p><p>Charis slowly made eye contact with Semeion and Rhema. Her look informed them that she had spotted their mark. She glanced in the general direction of Allyssa. Neither Semeion nor Rhema could make out the shrub formation through the crowd, but they could tell by Charis’ glance that Allyssa was not in the crowd. Both Semeion and Rhema moved to the back of the gathered poor as inconspicuously as possible. Once they were behind the people, Charis’ glance led them once more in the direction of the shrubs. They couldn’t see Allyssa, but they knew that the location made sense. It was going to be a waiting game.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus stepped up to edge of the balcony. The crowd below began to cheer, and Ischarus smiled at them. The disguise was working. As Ischarus looked down, he read the position of Semeion and Rhema accurately. The threat wasn’t going to come from up close. The fact that Semeion and Rhema stood at the back of the people meant that the attack was going to come from far off and likely on the tip of an arrow.</p><p></p><p>After making eye contact with several off the poor below the balcony, Ischarus lifted his hands in an open gesture. Lord Ironblood had informed him to wait until the very last moment before dropping the gold. The poor were already trained that if they wanted the gold they would need to listen politely to what Lord Ironblood had to say. As Ischarus’ arms drew wide open, the gathered crowd below him became silent. Their eyes fixed upon him, waiting for any sign of coin falling from above.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus began to speak with a confident tone. <span style="color: LightBlue">“People of Tongra.”</span></p><p></p><p>Those would be his only three words. Allyssa was no fool as well. She knew that the people would all be looking to Lord Ironblood at the beginning of the speech. The time to attack with the most potential was in the beginning of the address. A grim smile appeared on her dark lips. She heard the bowstring snap and felt the small breeze from the string sending the arrow skyward. It was a perfect shot.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus didn’t see the arrow splitting the air as it rushed towards him. For the sake of the disguise, it was fortunate that he was not aware of the arrow coming towards him. Had he seen the arrow, instinct would have forced him to dodge the incoming blow. As a result, Ischarus made no attempt to move out of the way.</p><p></p><p>The arrow stuck in Ischarus’ throat as he tried to finish the opening of the address. The blow caught him so cleanly that the air from his lungs that was supposed to form speech slipped out around the shaft of the arrow instead. The pain bit him hard, and he immediately dropped to his knees. He looked up to the sky and realized that the brilliant blue sky was quickly fading from blue to gray and then to black. He didn’t realize that he had slipped from his knees to a position of lying upon his chest. The force of the fall pushed the arrow shaft deeper through his throat and bent his head at an odd angle.</p><p></p><p>Brandt charged from where he was waiting. He knew the sign. The way Ischarus’ head snapped back was not a good sign. The green poison that dripped from the wound onto the ground was also not a good sign. He bent down and only a few moments later rose to his feet. <span style="color: Lime">“Guards! Our lord is dead! Find the assassin and bring her to me alive!”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema knew that those words were the command to get Allyssa. But there was certain seriousness on his face that she had not expected. Something was wrong with Ischarus, and she knew it. She forced her eyes away from Brandt and toward the shrubs that Charis had indicated. As she ran, she spoke under her breath. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“You had better not fail me, Reah. You had better not fail Ischarus.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema and Semeion led the charge away from the palace balcony. The attack was strategic. They had assumed that the people would begin to scatter upon the declaration that their lord had been assassinated. In the panic, the palace guards would stay to protect the palace, specifically the palace balcony and the doors below it that gave access to the staging room above. The capture of the assassin would be up to Rhema, Ischarus, and Semeion.</p><p></p><p>Rhema made the short sprint between the balcony and the shrub formation before Allyssa could fully extract herself. In truth, Rhema was surprised that Allyssa was not using teleportation magic. However, she realized that Allyssa was likely counting on the fact that the guards would not know where to find the assassin until she began to flee. Fortunately for Semeion, Rhema, and Charis this was indeed the case.</p><p></p><p>The back of Allyssa’s head popped out of the shrub formation just enough for Rhema to see it as she closed the distance between them. Rhema’s rage surged through her mind and for an instant her eyes rolled back. She forced her anger into a mental strike and pushed it in the direction of Allyssa.</p><p></p><p>Allyssa shrieked in pain, but followed the shriek with a loud growl. She spun around and faced Rhema. The look on her face confirmed what Rhema already knew. Allyssa had shrugged off the mental attack. It had no effect upon her.</p><p></p><p>Semeion was right behind Charis. He called upon the magic deep within him. <span style="color: Plum">“Thin Zhendahl quas Fashiir!”</span> Allyssa saw a mischievous grin cross his lips as he opened his mouth to expel something growing deep within his chest. A burst of freezing air blew out of his lungs and shot straight through the protective shrub hedge. The pine needles upon the shrub collected a thin layer of frost as Semeion’s breath passed through them. Allyssa’s skin felt the chill of the breath beat upon her skin.</p><p></p><p>Charis was not about to be outdone in the category of magical effects. <span style="color: Orange">“Daancrah Egro Teos!”</span> She was quick to follow up the magical command with a tactical assertion. <span style="color: Orange">“Tinko and Hubrah, prevent her retreat!”</span> Semeion smiled when he heard the names. He knew what to expect.</p><p></p><p>Rhema also knew what to expect. Wordlessly Rhema focused once more onto Allyssa. This time, Allyssa was not subjected to one of Rhema’s stabbing mental attacks. With this new assault, Allyssa merely vanished into thin air.</p><p></p><p>Semeion and Charis both stopped in their pursuit. Neither of them was aware that Rhema had caused Allyssa to vanish. Semeion spoke first out of his confusion. <span style="color: Plum">“Did we just lose her? I didn’t see her do anything that could have provoked a teleportation.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema spun around on her heels with a wide grin on her face. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“I sent her forward in time a few seconds. Semeion, that draconic breath you just fired needs a bit of time to recharge, right? And Charis, the servants of Bemme that you just summoned will need a bit of time to get here? I just bought us that time. Be prepared, because when she reappears she won’t know that she was sent forward.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion waited for Charis’ summoned servants to appear and moved into a position so that his magical draconic breath attack wouldn’t affect them. Rhema also moved into a new position so that she might catch Allyssa by surprise. Charis waited until her summoned friends arrived from their service at Bemme’s side. She then positioned each of the divinely inspired giant beetles so that they would block Allyssa’s retreat. Allyssa would now need to banish them or fight her way through the shrubs. Either of those options would take time.</p><p></p><p>Allyssa reappeared in a matter of seconds. Semeion was waiting for her to reappear and he unleashed another fearsome blast of cold air from within his lungs as soon as he saw Allyssa take form. More frost gathered upon the needles of the shrubs, and Allyssa’s protective armor began to crack under the sudden chill. It was trying to shrink under the sudden temperature change.</p><p></p><p>Charis directed the beetles. <span style="color: Orange">“Attack her, my brothers! She serves Yrraxea and is our sworn enemy!”</span> Each of the beetles nipped at Allyssa’s ankles, but she was able to evade their less than subtle attacks. However, they had served their purpose. They had distracted Allyssa long enough.</p><p></p><p>Rhema took full advantage of Allyssa’s distraction. She launched another one of her mental assaults in Allyssa’s direction. This assault brutalized Allyssa’s mind and she crumpled to her knees. Through the use of clever tactics, Allyssa had been brought to her knees without ever allowing her to retaliate. Rhema stood and glared at Allyssa before glancing in the direction of the balcony.</p><p></p><p>Charis quickly went to work. <span style="color: Orange">“Thank you for you service, Tinko and Hubrah. Give my regards to Bemme when you return.”</span> The giant beetles vanished as Charis dismissed the magic that had brought them from Bemme’s existence in the heavens to her side. Charis quickly knelt down to bind Allyssa.</p><p></p><p>Semeion approached from behind. <span style="color: Plum">“You had better check for any magical trinkets she might have been carrying. I wouldn’t want her suddenly teleporting out of custody because we missed a ring.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis nodded at her husband’s suggestion and began removing as much jewelry as she could. There would be no harm in removing the jewelry; the prison guards at the city jail would only do the same. Charis looked up to Semeion, and only then did she notice that Semeion wasn’t really watching her. He was watching Rhema.</p><p></p><p>Rhema had waited only long enough for Charis to demonstrate that Allyssa was under her control. Once she was sure that she was no longer needed, Rhema ran towards the palace. She called out to the healer as she ran. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Brandt? How is Ischarus?”</span> She got no reply.</p><p></p><p>Rhema was allowed access to the doorway underneath the balcony. She burst through the doors and quickly turned to the stairs. She took the stairs two at a time as she ran up them. She cursed as her eyes took in the scene. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Reah, I trusted you!”</span></p><p></p><p>Brandt and Ischarus were no longer present. The only evidence that they had been present on the balcony was in the process of being cleaned by the palace servants. A small puddle of green poison had been mixed in with Ischarus’ blood. Rhema watched as a servant dragged the head of a mop over the area several times. The marble soon looked as though it had never been covered in blood and poison.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>It wasn’t long into the day before Allyssa made her presence known. The first activity of Lord Ironblood’s day was his morning viewing. Each day Lord Ironblood appeared on a large porch that overlooked a public garden on the palace estate. The palace guards allowed a certain number of poor citizens access to the garden each day, and Lord Ironblood used the captive audience to spread his personal propaganda and a few coins. Of course, not all of his propaganda was false. Much of it was a means of bringing the common people to an understanding of his goals for the region of Tongra that was under his influence.</p><p></p><p>There was a healthy suspicion that this would be the event for the day that Allyssa would use for the assassination. There were a number of reasons that this timetable was believed. First, this was the largest public event on the lord’s schedule, so if Allyssa was looking for an event to spread the most amount of public panic this would be the natural choice. Second, an assassination in the morning would provide the maximum amount of time for gossip and panic to set in throughout Lord Ironblood’s region. Finally, the morning was a likely time for public appearances across the entire region. There was little doubt that the assassins assumed that word would spread quickly of an assassination attempt. The attempts would need to be timed accordingly so that they all had an equal chance for success. The morning hours and the rising of the sun provided a natural timetable. Of course, Allyssa couldn’t have known that her attempt was to be the only one.</p><p></p><p>This particular morning, Ischarus wrapped himself in the traditional robes that Lord Ironblood wore to make his balcony address. He gathered a few of Lord Ironblood’s coins and put them into his pockets. The coins would each amount to enough money for a family to eat for a week. Compared to the taxes that Lord Ironblood demanded for protection, however, this money was only a small portion. For the poor, the coins were a godsend. For the merchants and nobles, the coin was little more than a trifle.</p><p></p><p>He turned to the balcony and spotted Master Brandt standing in the wings. Brandt wouldn’t make an appearance, but he was waiting just in case. Ischarus smiled and nodded in the direction of the priest of Reah as the time for the appearance drew close. He breathed in deeply and prepared to step forward.</p><p></p><p>Semeion and Rhema mingled with the people in the midst of the crowd gathered below. They were dressed as palace guards and were busy searching the people. They knew that all of the people had been subjected to a search before entering the palace grounds, but Semeion and Rhema weren’t searching for weapons. Their eyes jumped from one face to the next in a search to recognize Allyssa. They knew that she would likely be disguised so that access would be more easily granted. As they meandered through the crowd, they did not see Allyssa.</p><p></p><p>It was actually Charis who spotted Allyssa. Rather than meandering through the crowd, Charis stood directly below the balcony on the top of a short set of raised stairs. Her placement made her appear to be a guard for the door that opened directly beneath the balcony. However, she really cared less about the protection of the door. Instead, she used her elevated position to search above the heads of the gathered poor people and out into the public garden beyond them. As her eyes slowly scanned the grounds, she spotted a subtle movement in the shadows of several four-foot shrubs.</p><p></p><p>Allyssa had chosen her position wisely. She knelt in the middle of a U-shaped formation of red berry shrubs. The dark green leaves that filled in the shrub formation almost completely blocked her from sight. It was only the slight movement of the tip of a bow that caught Charis’ attention. Had she not been at the right angle, it would have looked like a swaying branch in the wind.</p><p></p><p>Charis wanted to charge Allyssa immediately. She fought her instinct because she knew that at this point Allyssa could only be charged with conspiracy. If they wanted to put a significant nail in the Yrraxeans’ plan she would have to wait until her motivation was proven. She knew to wait for the assassination attempt before charging Allyssa. It was a dangerous game to play, but it was necessary.</p><p></p><p>Charis slowly made eye contact with Semeion and Rhema. Her look informed them that she had spotted their mark. She glanced in the general direction of Allyssa. Neither Semeion nor Rhema could make out the shrub formation through the crowd, but they could tell by Charis’ glance that Allyssa was not in the crowd. Both Semeion and Rhema moved to the back of the gathered poor as inconspicuously as possible. Once they were behind the people, Charis’ glance led them once more in the direction of the shrubs. They couldn’t see Allyssa, but they knew that the location made sense. It was going to be a waiting game.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus stepped up to edge of the balcony. The crowd below began to cheer, and Ischarus smiled at them. The disguise was working. As Ischarus looked down, he read the position of Semeion and Rhema accurately. The threat wasn’t going to come from up close. The fact that Semeion and Rhema stood at the back of the people meant that the attack was going to come from far off and likely on the tip of an arrow.</p><p></p><p>After making eye contact with several off the poor below the balcony, Ischarus lifted his hands in an open gesture. Lord Ironblood had informed him to wait until the very last moment before dropping the gold. The poor were already trained that if they wanted the gold they would need to listen politely to what Lord Ironblood had to say. As Ischarus’ arms drew wide open, the gathered crowd below him became silent. Their eyes fixed upon him, waiting for any sign of coin falling from above.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus began to speak with a confident tone. “People of Tongra.”</p><p></p><p>Those would be his only three words. Allyssa was no fool as well. She knew that the people would all be looking to Lord Ironblood at the beginning of the speech. The time to attack with the most potential was in the beginning of the address. A grim smile appeared on her dark lips. She heard the bowstring snap and felt the small breeze from the string sending the arrow skyward. It was a perfect shot.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus didn’t see the arrow splitting the air as it rushed towards him. For the sake of the disguise, it was fortunate that he was not aware of the arrow coming towards him. Had he seen the arrow, instinct would have forced him to dodge the incoming blow. As a result, Ischarus made no attempt to move out of the way.</p><p></p><p>The arrow stuck in Ischarus’ throat as he tried to finish the opening of the address. The blow caught him so cleanly that the air from his lungs that was supposed to form speech slipped out around the shaft of the arrow instead. The pain bit him hard, and he immediately dropped to his knees. He looked up to the sky and realized that the brilliant blue sky was quickly fading from blue to gray and then to black. He didn’t realize that he had slipped from his knees to a position of lying upon his chest. The force of the fall pushed the arrow shaft deeper through his throat and bent his head at an odd angle.</p><p></p><p>Brandt charged from where he was waiting. He knew the sign. The way Ischarus’ head snapped back was not a good sign. The green poison that dripped from the wound onto the ground was also not a good sign. He bent down and only a few moments later rose to his feet. “Guards! Our lord is dead! Find the assassin and bring her to me alive!”</p><p></p><p>Rhema knew that those words were the command to get Allyssa. But there was certain seriousness on his face that she had not expected. Something was wrong with Ischarus, and she knew it. She forced her eyes away from Brandt and toward the shrubs that Charis had indicated. As she ran, she spoke under her breath. “You had better not fail me, Reah. You had better not fail Ischarus.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema and Semeion led the charge away from the palace balcony. The attack was strategic. They had assumed that the people would begin to scatter upon the declaration that their lord had been assassinated. In the panic, the palace guards would stay to protect the palace, specifically the palace balcony and the doors below it that gave access to the staging room above. The capture of the assassin would be up to Rhema, Ischarus, and Semeion.</p><p></p><p>Rhema made the short sprint between the balcony and the shrub formation before Allyssa could fully extract herself. In truth, Rhema was surprised that Allyssa was not using teleportation magic. However, she realized that Allyssa was likely counting on the fact that the guards would not know where to find the assassin until she began to flee. Fortunately for Semeion, Rhema, and Charis this was indeed the case.</p><p></p><p>The back of Allyssa’s head popped out of the shrub formation just enough for Rhema to see it as she closed the distance between them. Rhema’s rage surged through her mind and for an instant her eyes rolled back. She forced her anger into a mental strike and pushed it in the direction of Allyssa.</p><p></p><p>Allyssa shrieked in pain, but followed the shriek with a loud growl. She spun around and faced Rhema. The look on her face confirmed what Rhema already knew. Allyssa had shrugged off the mental attack. It had no effect upon her.</p><p></p><p>Semeion was right behind Charis. He called upon the magic deep within him. “Thin Zhendahl quas Fashiir!” Allyssa saw a mischievous grin cross his lips as he opened his mouth to expel something growing deep within his chest. A burst of freezing air blew out of his lungs and shot straight through the protective shrub hedge. The pine needles upon the shrub collected a thin layer of frost as Semeion’s breath passed through them. Allyssa’s skin felt the chill of the breath beat upon her skin.</p><p></p><p>Charis was not about to be outdone in the category of magical effects. “Daancrah Egro Teos!” She was quick to follow up the magical command with a tactical assertion. “Tinko and Hubrah, prevent her retreat!” Semeion smiled when he heard the names. He knew what to expect.</p><p></p><p>Rhema also knew what to expect. Wordlessly Rhema focused once more onto Allyssa. This time, Allyssa was not subjected to one of Rhema’s stabbing mental attacks. With this new assault, Allyssa merely vanished into thin air.</p><p></p><p>Semeion and Charis both stopped in their pursuit. Neither of them was aware that Rhema had caused Allyssa to vanish. Semeion spoke first out of his confusion. “Did we just lose her? I didn’t see her do anything that could have provoked a teleportation.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema spun around on her heels with a wide grin on her face. “I sent her forward in time a few seconds. Semeion, that draconic breath you just fired needs a bit of time to recharge, right? And Charis, the servants of Bemme that you just summoned will need a bit of time to get here? I just bought us that time. Be prepared, because when she reappears she won’t know that she was sent forward.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion waited for Charis’ summoned servants to appear and moved into a position so that his magical draconic breath attack wouldn’t affect them. Rhema also moved into a new position so that she might catch Allyssa by surprise. Charis waited until her summoned friends arrived from their service at Bemme’s side. She then positioned each of the divinely inspired giant beetles so that they would block Allyssa’s retreat. Allyssa would now need to banish them or fight her way through the shrubs. Either of those options would take time.</p><p></p><p>Allyssa reappeared in a matter of seconds. Semeion was waiting for her to reappear and he unleashed another fearsome blast of cold air from within his lungs as soon as he saw Allyssa take form. More frost gathered upon the needles of the shrubs, and Allyssa’s protective armor began to crack under the sudden chill. It was trying to shrink under the sudden temperature change.</p><p></p><p>Charis directed the beetles. “Attack her, my brothers! She serves Yrraxea and is our sworn enemy!” Each of the beetles nipped at Allyssa’s ankles, but she was able to evade their less than subtle attacks. However, they had served their purpose. They had distracted Allyssa long enough.</p><p></p><p>Rhema took full advantage of Allyssa’s distraction. She launched another one of her mental assaults in Allyssa’s direction. This assault brutalized Allyssa’s mind and she crumpled to her knees. Through the use of clever tactics, Allyssa had been brought to her knees without ever allowing her to retaliate. Rhema stood and glared at Allyssa before glancing in the direction of the balcony.</p><p></p><p>Charis quickly went to work. “Thank you for you service, Tinko and Hubrah. Give my regards to Bemme when you return.” The giant beetles vanished as Charis dismissed the magic that had brought them from Bemme’s existence in the heavens to her side. Charis quickly knelt down to bind Allyssa.</p><p></p><p>Semeion approached from behind. “You had better check for any magical trinkets she might have been carrying. I wouldn’t want her suddenly teleporting out of custody because we missed a ring.”</p><p></p><p>Charis nodded at her husband’s suggestion and began removing as much jewelry as she could. There would be no harm in removing the jewelry; the prison guards at the city jail would only do the same. Charis looked up to Semeion, and only then did she notice that Semeion wasn’t really watching her. He was watching Rhema.</p><p></p><p>Rhema had waited only long enough for Charis to demonstrate that Allyssa was under her control. Once she was sure that she was no longer needed, Rhema ran towards the palace. She called out to the healer as she ran. “Brandt? How is Ischarus?” She got no reply.</p><p></p><p>Rhema was allowed access to the doorway underneath the balcony. She burst through the doors and quickly turned to the stairs. She took the stairs two at a time as she ran up them. She cursed as her eyes took in the scene. “Reah, I trusted you!”</p><p></p><p>Brandt and Ischarus were no longer present. The only evidence that they had been present on the balcony was in the process of being cleaned by the palace servants. A small puddle of green poison had been mixed in with Ischarus’ blood. Rhema watched as a servant dragged the head of a mop over the area several times. The marble soon looked as though it had never been covered in blood and poison.</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3735554, member: 35788"] It wasn’t long into the day before Allyssa made her presence known. The first activity of Lord Ironblood’s day was his morning viewing. Each day Lord Ironblood appeared on a large porch that overlooked a public garden on the palace estate. The palace guards allowed a certain number of poor citizens access to the garden each day, and Lord Ironblood used the captive audience to spread his personal propaganda and a few coins. Of course, not all of his propaganda was false. Much of it was a means of bringing the common people to an understanding of his goals for the region of Tongra that was under his influence. There was a healthy suspicion that this would be the event for the day that Allyssa would use for the assassination. There were a number of reasons that this timetable was believed. First, this was the largest public event on the lord’s schedule, so if Allyssa was looking for an event to spread the most amount of public panic this would be the natural choice. Second, an assassination in the morning would provide the maximum amount of time for gossip and panic to set in throughout Lord Ironblood’s region. Finally, the morning was a likely time for public appearances across the entire region. There was little doubt that the assassins assumed that word would spread quickly of an assassination attempt. The attempts would need to be timed accordingly so that they all had an equal chance for success. The morning hours and the rising of the sun provided a natural timetable. Of course, Allyssa couldn’t have known that her attempt was to be the only one. This particular morning, Ischarus wrapped himself in the traditional robes that Lord Ironblood wore to make his balcony address. He gathered a few of Lord Ironblood’s coins and put them into his pockets. The coins would each amount to enough money for a family to eat for a week. Compared to the taxes that Lord Ironblood demanded for protection, however, this money was only a small portion. For the poor, the coins were a godsend. For the merchants and nobles, the coin was little more than a trifle. He turned to the balcony and spotted Master Brandt standing in the wings. Brandt wouldn’t make an appearance, but he was waiting just in case. Ischarus smiled and nodded in the direction of the priest of Reah as the time for the appearance drew close. He breathed in deeply and prepared to step forward. Semeion and Rhema mingled with the people in the midst of the crowd gathered below. They were dressed as palace guards and were busy searching the people. They knew that all of the people had been subjected to a search before entering the palace grounds, but Semeion and Rhema weren’t searching for weapons. Their eyes jumped from one face to the next in a search to recognize Allyssa. They knew that she would likely be disguised so that access would be more easily granted. As they meandered through the crowd, they did not see Allyssa. It was actually Charis who spotted Allyssa. Rather than meandering through the crowd, Charis stood directly below the balcony on the top of a short set of raised stairs. Her placement made her appear to be a guard for the door that opened directly beneath the balcony. However, she really cared less about the protection of the door. Instead, she used her elevated position to search above the heads of the gathered poor people and out into the public garden beyond them. As her eyes slowly scanned the grounds, she spotted a subtle movement in the shadows of several four-foot shrubs. Allyssa had chosen her position wisely. She knelt in the middle of a U-shaped formation of red berry shrubs. The dark green leaves that filled in the shrub formation almost completely blocked her from sight. It was only the slight movement of the tip of a bow that caught Charis’ attention. Had she not been at the right angle, it would have looked like a swaying branch in the wind. Charis wanted to charge Allyssa immediately. She fought her instinct because she knew that at this point Allyssa could only be charged with conspiracy. If they wanted to put a significant nail in the Yrraxeans’ plan she would have to wait until her motivation was proven. She knew to wait for the assassination attempt before charging Allyssa. It was a dangerous game to play, but it was necessary. Charis slowly made eye contact with Semeion and Rhema. Her look informed them that she had spotted their mark. She glanced in the general direction of Allyssa. Neither Semeion nor Rhema could make out the shrub formation through the crowd, but they could tell by Charis’ glance that Allyssa was not in the crowd. Both Semeion and Rhema moved to the back of the gathered poor as inconspicuously as possible. Once they were behind the people, Charis’ glance led them once more in the direction of the shrubs. They couldn’t see Allyssa, but they knew that the location made sense. It was going to be a waiting game. Ischarus stepped up to edge of the balcony. The crowd below began to cheer, and Ischarus smiled at them. The disguise was working. As Ischarus looked down, he read the position of Semeion and Rhema accurately. The threat wasn’t going to come from up close. The fact that Semeion and Rhema stood at the back of the people meant that the attack was going to come from far off and likely on the tip of an arrow. After making eye contact with several off the poor below the balcony, Ischarus lifted his hands in an open gesture. Lord Ironblood had informed him to wait until the very last moment before dropping the gold. The poor were already trained that if they wanted the gold they would need to listen politely to what Lord Ironblood had to say. As Ischarus’ arms drew wide open, the gathered crowd below him became silent. Their eyes fixed upon him, waiting for any sign of coin falling from above. Ischarus began to speak with a confident tone. [Color=LightBlue]“People of Tongra.”[/Color] Those would be his only three words. Allyssa was no fool as well. She knew that the people would all be looking to Lord Ironblood at the beginning of the speech. The time to attack with the most potential was in the beginning of the address. A grim smile appeared on her dark lips. She heard the bowstring snap and felt the small breeze from the string sending the arrow skyward. It was a perfect shot. Ischarus didn’t see the arrow splitting the air as it rushed towards him. For the sake of the disguise, it was fortunate that he was not aware of the arrow coming towards him. Had he seen the arrow, instinct would have forced him to dodge the incoming blow. As a result, Ischarus made no attempt to move out of the way. The arrow stuck in Ischarus’ throat as he tried to finish the opening of the address. The blow caught him so cleanly that the air from his lungs that was supposed to form speech slipped out around the shaft of the arrow instead. The pain bit him hard, and he immediately dropped to his knees. He looked up to the sky and realized that the brilliant blue sky was quickly fading from blue to gray and then to black. He didn’t realize that he had slipped from his knees to a position of lying upon his chest. The force of the fall pushed the arrow shaft deeper through his throat and bent his head at an odd angle. Brandt charged from where he was waiting. He knew the sign. The way Ischarus’ head snapped back was not a good sign. The green poison that dripped from the wound onto the ground was also not a good sign. He bent down and only a few moments later rose to his feet. [Color=Lime]“Guards! Our lord is dead! Find the assassin and bring her to me alive!”[/Color] Rhema knew that those words were the command to get Allyssa. But there was certain seriousness on his face that she had not expected. Something was wrong with Ischarus, and she knew it. She forced her eyes away from Brandt and toward the shrubs that Charis had indicated. As she ran, she spoke under her breath. [Color=PaleGreen]“You had better not fail me, Reah. You had better not fail Ischarus.”[/Color] Rhema and Semeion led the charge away from the palace balcony. The attack was strategic. They had assumed that the people would begin to scatter upon the declaration that their lord had been assassinated. In the panic, the palace guards would stay to protect the palace, specifically the palace balcony and the doors below it that gave access to the staging room above. The capture of the assassin would be up to Rhema, Ischarus, and Semeion. Rhema made the short sprint between the balcony and the shrub formation before Allyssa could fully extract herself. In truth, Rhema was surprised that Allyssa was not using teleportation magic. However, she realized that Allyssa was likely counting on the fact that the guards would not know where to find the assassin until she began to flee. Fortunately for Semeion, Rhema, and Charis this was indeed the case. The back of Allyssa’s head popped out of the shrub formation just enough for Rhema to see it as she closed the distance between them. Rhema’s rage surged through her mind and for an instant her eyes rolled back. She forced her anger into a mental strike and pushed it in the direction of Allyssa. Allyssa shrieked in pain, but followed the shriek with a loud growl. She spun around and faced Rhema. The look on her face confirmed what Rhema already knew. Allyssa had shrugged off the mental attack. It had no effect upon her. Semeion was right behind Charis. He called upon the magic deep within him. [Color=Plum]“Thin Zhendahl quas Fashiir!”[/Color] Allyssa saw a mischievous grin cross his lips as he opened his mouth to expel something growing deep within his chest. A burst of freezing air blew out of his lungs and shot straight through the protective shrub hedge. The pine needles upon the shrub collected a thin layer of frost as Semeion’s breath passed through them. Allyssa’s skin felt the chill of the breath beat upon her skin. Charis was not about to be outdone in the category of magical effects. [Color=Orange]“Daancrah Egro Teos!”[/Color] She was quick to follow up the magical command with a tactical assertion. [Color=Orange]“Tinko and Hubrah, prevent her retreat!”[/Color] Semeion smiled when he heard the names. He knew what to expect. Rhema also knew what to expect. Wordlessly Rhema focused once more onto Allyssa. This time, Allyssa was not subjected to one of Rhema’s stabbing mental attacks. With this new assault, Allyssa merely vanished into thin air. Semeion and Charis both stopped in their pursuit. Neither of them was aware that Rhema had caused Allyssa to vanish. Semeion spoke first out of his confusion. [Color=Plum]“Did we just lose her? I didn’t see her do anything that could have provoked a teleportation.”[/Color] Rhema spun around on her heels with a wide grin on her face. [Color=PaleGreen]“I sent her forward in time a few seconds. Semeion, that draconic breath you just fired needs a bit of time to recharge, right? And Charis, the servants of Bemme that you just summoned will need a bit of time to get here? I just bought us that time. Be prepared, because when she reappears she won’t know that she was sent forward.”[/Color] Semeion waited for Charis’ summoned servants to appear and moved into a position so that his magical draconic breath attack wouldn’t affect them. Rhema also moved into a new position so that she might catch Allyssa by surprise. Charis waited until her summoned friends arrived from their service at Bemme’s side. She then positioned each of the divinely inspired giant beetles so that they would block Allyssa’s retreat. Allyssa would now need to banish them or fight her way through the shrubs. Either of those options would take time. Allyssa reappeared in a matter of seconds. Semeion was waiting for her to reappear and he unleashed another fearsome blast of cold air from within his lungs as soon as he saw Allyssa take form. More frost gathered upon the needles of the shrubs, and Allyssa’s protective armor began to crack under the sudden chill. It was trying to shrink under the sudden temperature change. Charis directed the beetles. [Color=Orange]“Attack her, my brothers! She serves Yrraxea and is our sworn enemy!”[/Color] Each of the beetles nipped at Allyssa’s ankles, but she was able to evade their less than subtle attacks. However, they had served their purpose. They had distracted Allyssa long enough. Rhema took full advantage of Allyssa’s distraction. She launched another one of her mental assaults in Allyssa’s direction. This assault brutalized Allyssa’s mind and she crumpled to her knees. Through the use of clever tactics, Allyssa had been brought to her knees without ever allowing her to retaliate. Rhema stood and glared at Allyssa before glancing in the direction of the balcony. Charis quickly went to work. [Color=Orange]“Thank you for you service, Tinko and Hubrah. Give my regards to Bemme when you return.”[/Color] The giant beetles vanished as Charis dismissed the magic that had brought them from Bemme’s existence in the heavens to her side. Charis quickly knelt down to bind Allyssa. Semeion approached from behind. [Color=Plum]“You had better check for any magical trinkets she might have been carrying. I wouldn’t want her suddenly teleporting out of custody because we missed a ring.”[/Color] Charis nodded at her husband’s suggestion and began removing as much jewelry as she could. There would be no harm in removing the jewelry; the prison guards at the city jail would only do the same. Charis looked up to Semeion, and only then did she notice that Semeion wasn’t really watching her. He was watching Rhema. Rhema had waited only long enough for Charis to demonstrate that Allyssa was under her control. Once she was sure that she was no longer needed, Rhema ran towards the palace. She called out to the healer as she ran. [Color=PaleGreen]“Brandt? How is Ischarus?”[/Color] She got no reply. Rhema was allowed access to the doorway underneath the balcony. She burst through the doors and quickly turned to the stairs. She took the stairs two at a time as she ran up them. She cursed as her eyes took in the scene. [Color=PaleGreen]“Reah, I trusted you!”[/Color] Brandt and Ischarus were no longer present. The only evidence that they had been present on the balcony was in the process of being cleaned by the palace servants. A small puddle of green poison had been mixed in with Ischarus’ blood. Rhema watched as a servant dragged the head of a mop over the area several times. The marble soon looked as though it had never been covered in blood and poison. [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] It wasn’t long into the day before Allyssa made her presence known. The first activity of Lord Ironblood’s day was his morning viewing. Each day Lord Ironblood appeared on a large porch that overlooked a public garden on the palace estate. The palace guards allowed a certain number of poor citizens access to the garden each day, and Lord Ironblood used the captive audience to spread his personal propaganda and a few coins. Of course, not all of his propaganda was false. Much of it was a means of bringing the common people to an understanding of his goals for the region of Tongra that was under his influence. There was a healthy suspicion that this would be the event for the day that Allyssa would use for the assassination. There were a number of reasons that this timetable was believed. First, this was the largest public event on the lord’s schedule, so if Allyssa was looking for an event to spread the most amount of public panic this would be the natural choice. Second, an assassination in the morning would provide the maximum amount of time for gossip and panic to set in throughout Lord Ironblood’s region. Finally, the morning was a likely time for public appearances across the entire region. There was little doubt that the assassins assumed that word would spread quickly of an assassination attempt. The attempts would need to be timed accordingly so that they all had an equal chance for success. The morning hours and the rising of the sun provided a natural timetable. Of course, Allyssa couldn’t have known that her attempt was to be the only one. This particular morning, Ischarus wrapped himself in the traditional robes that Lord Ironblood wore to make his balcony address. He gathered a few of Lord Ironblood’s coins and put them into his pockets. The coins would each amount to enough money for a family to eat for a week. Compared to the taxes that Lord Ironblood demanded for protection, however, this money was only a small portion. For the poor, the coins were a godsend. For the merchants and nobles, the coin was little more than a trifle. He turned to the balcony and spotted Master Brandt standing in the wings. Brandt wouldn’t make an appearance, but he was waiting just in case. Ischarus smiled and nodded in the direction of the priest of Reah as the time for the appearance drew close. He breathed in deeply and prepared to step forward. Semeion and Rhema mingled with the people in the midst of the crowd gathered below. They were dressed as palace guards and were busy searching the people. They knew that all of the people had been subjected to a search before entering the palace grounds, but Semeion and Rhema weren’t searching for weapons. Their eyes jumped from one face to the next in a search to recognize Allyssa. They knew that she would likely be disguised so that access would be more easily granted. As they meandered through the crowd, they did not see Allyssa. It was actually Charis who spotted Allyssa. Rather than meandering through the crowd, Charis stood directly below the balcony on the top of a short set of raised stairs. Her placement made her appear to be a guard for the door that opened directly beneath the balcony. However, she really cared less about the protection of the door. Instead, she used her elevated position to search above the heads of the gathered poor people and out into the public garden beyond them. As her eyes slowly scanned the grounds, she spotted a subtle movement in the shadows of several four-foot shrubs. Allyssa had chosen her position wisely. She knelt in the middle of a U-shaped formation of red berry shrubs. The dark green leaves that filled in the shrub formation almost completely blocked her from sight. It was only the slight movement of the tip of a bow that caught Charis’ attention. Had she not been at the right angle, it would have looked like a swaying branch in the wind. Charis wanted to charge Allyssa immediately. She fought her instinct because she knew that at this point Allyssa could only be charged with conspiracy. If they wanted to put a significant nail in the Yrraxeans’ plan she would have to wait until her motivation was proven. She knew to wait for the assassination attempt before charging Allyssa. It was a dangerous game to play, but it was necessary. Charis slowly made eye contact with Semeion and Rhema. Her look informed them that she had spotted their mark. She glanced in the general direction of Allyssa. Neither Semeion nor Rhema could make out the shrub formation through the crowd, but they could tell by Charis’ glance that Allyssa was not in the crowd. Both Semeion and Rhema moved to the back of the gathered poor as inconspicuously as possible. Once they were behind the people, Charis’ glance led them once more in the direction of the shrubs. They couldn’t see Allyssa, but they knew that the location made sense. It was going to be a waiting game. Ischarus stepped up to edge of the balcony. The crowd below began to cheer, and Ischarus smiled at them. The disguise was working. As Ischarus looked down, he read the position of Semeion and Rhema accurately. The threat wasn’t going to come from up close. The fact that Semeion and Rhema stood at the back of the people meant that the attack was going to come from far off and likely on the tip of an arrow. After making eye contact with several off the poor below the balcony, Ischarus lifted his hands in an open gesture. Lord Ironblood had informed him to wait until the very last moment before dropping the gold. The poor were already trained that if they wanted the gold they would need to listen politely to what Lord Ironblood had to say. As Ischarus’ arms drew wide open, the gathered crowd below him became silent. Their eyes fixed upon him, waiting for any sign of coin falling from above. Ischarus began to speak with a confident tone. “People of Tongra.” Those would be his only three words. Allyssa was no fool as well. She knew that the people would all be looking to Lord Ironblood at the beginning of the speech. The time to attack with the most potential was in the beginning of the address. A grim smile appeared on her dark lips. She heard the bowstring snap and felt the small breeze from the string sending the arrow skyward. It was a perfect shot. Ischarus didn’t see the arrow splitting the air as it rushed towards him. For the sake of the disguise, it was fortunate that he was not aware of the arrow coming towards him. Had he seen the arrow, instinct would have forced him to dodge the incoming blow. As a result, Ischarus made no attempt to move out of the way. The arrow stuck in Ischarus’ throat as he tried to finish the opening of the address. The blow caught him so cleanly that the air from his lungs that was supposed to form speech slipped out around the shaft of the arrow instead. The pain bit him hard, and he immediately dropped to his knees. He looked up to the sky and realized that the brilliant blue sky was quickly fading from blue to gray and then to black. He didn’t realize that he had slipped from his knees to a position of lying upon his chest. The force of the fall pushed the arrow shaft deeper through his throat and bent his head at an odd angle. Brandt charged from where he was waiting. He knew the sign. The way Ischarus’ head snapped back was not a good sign. The green poison that dripped from the wound onto the ground was also not a good sign. He bent down and only a few moments later rose to his feet. “Guards! Our lord is dead! Find the assassin and bring her to me alive!” Rhema knew that those words were the command to get Allyssa. But there was certain seriousness on his face that she had not expected. Something was wrong with Ischarus, and she knew it. She forced her eyes away from Brandt and toward the shrubs that Charis had indicated. As she ran, she spoke under her breath. “You had better not fail me, Reah. You had better not fail Ischarus.” Rhema and Semeion led the charge away from the palace balcony. The attack was strategic. They had assumed that the people would begin to scatter upon the declaration that their lord had been assassinated. In the panic, the palace guards would stay to protect the palace, specifically the palace balcony and the doors below it that gave access to the staging room above. The capture of the assassin would be up to Rhema, Ischarus, and Semeion. Rhema made the short sprint between the balcony and the shrub formation before Allyssa could fully extract herself. In truth, Rhema was surprised that Allyssa was not using teleportation magic. However, she realized that Allyssa was likely counting on the fact that the guards would not know where to find the assassin until she began to flee. Fortunately for Semeion, Rhema, and Charis this was indeed the case. The back of Allyssa’s head popped out of the shrub formation just enough for Rhema to see it as she closed the distance between them. Rhema’s rage surged through her mind and for an instant her eyes rolled back. She forced her anger into a mental strike and pushed it in the direction of Allyssa. Allyssa shrieked in pain, but followed the shriek with a loud growl. She spun around and faced Rhema. The look on her face confirmed what Rhema already knew. Allyssa had shrugged off the mental attack. It had no effect upon her. Semeion was right behind Charis. He called upon the magic deep within him. “Thin Zhendahl quas Fashiir!” Allyssa saw a mischievous grin cross his lips as he opened his mouth to expel something growing deep within his chest. A burst of freezing air blew out of his lungs and shot straight through the protective shrub hedge. The pine needles upon the shrub collected a thin layer of frost as Semeion’s breath passed through them. Allyssa’s skin felt the chill of the breath beat upon her skin. Charis was not about to be outdone in the category of magical effects. “Daancrah Egro Teos!” She was quick to follow up the magical command with a tactical assertion. “Tinko and Hubrah, prevent her retreat!” Semeion smiled when he heard the names. He knew what to expect. Rhema also knew what to expect. Wordlessly Rhema focused once more onto Allyssa. This time, Allyssa was not subjected to one of Rhema’s stabbing mental attacks. With this new assault, Allyssa merely vanished into thin air. Semeion and Charis both stopped in their pursuit. Neither of them was aware that Rhema had caused Allyssa to vanish. Semeion spoke first out of his confusion. “Did we just lose her? I didn’t see her do anything that could have provoked a teleportation.” Rhema spun around on her heels with a wide grin on her face. “I sent her forward in time a few seconds. Semeion, that draconic breath you just fired needs a bit of time to recharge, right? And Charis, the servants of Bemme that you just summoned will need a bit of time to get here? I just bought us that time. Be prepared, because when she reappears she won’t know that she was sent forward.” Semeion waited for Charis’ summoned servants to appear and moved into a position so that his magical draconic breath attack wouldn’t affect them. Rhema also moved into a new position so that she might catch Allyssa by surprise. Charis waited until her summoned friends arrived from their service at Bemme’s side. She then positioned each of the divinely inspired giant beetles so that they would block Allyssa’s retreat. Allyssa would now need to banish them or fight her way through the shrubs. Either of those options would take time. Allyssa reappeared in a matter of seconds. Semeion was waiting for her to reappear and he unleashed another fearsome blast of cold air from within his lungs as soon as he saw Allyssa take form. More frost gathered upon the needles of the shrubs, and Allyssa’s protective armor began to crack under the sudden chill. It was trying to shrink under the sudden temperature change. Charis directed the beetles. “Attack her, my brothers! She serves Yrraxea and is our sworn enemy!” Each of the beetles nipped at Allyssa’s ankles, but she was able to evade their less than subtle attacks. However, they had served their purpose. They had distracted Allyssa long enough. Rhema took full advantage of Allyssa’s distraction. She launched another one of her mental assaults in Allyssa’s direction. This assault brutalized Allyssa’s mind and she crumpled to her knees. Through the use of clever tactics, Allyssa had been brought to her knees without ever allowing her to retaliate. Rhema stood and glared at Allyssa before glancing in the direction of the balcony. Charis quickly went to work. “Thank you for you service, Tinko and Hubrah. Give my regards to Bemme when you return.” The giant beetles vanished as Charis dismissed the magic that had brought them from Bemme’s existence in the heavens to her side. Charis quickly knelt down to bind Allyssa. Semeion approached from behind. “You had better check for any magical trinkets she might have been carrying. I wouldn’t want her suddenly teleporting out of custody because we missed a ring.” Charis nodded at her husband’s suggestion and began removing as much jewelry as she could. There would be no harm in removing the jewelry; the prison guards at the city jail would only do the same. Charis looked up to Semeion, and only then did she notice that Semeion wasn’t really watching her. He was watching Rhema. Rhema had waited only long enough for Charis to demonstrate that Allyssa was under her control. Once she was sure that she was no longer needed, Rhema ran towards the palace. She called out to the healer as she ran. “Brandt? How is Ischarus?” She got no reply. Rhema was allowed access to the doorway underneath the balcony. She burst through the doors and quickly turned to the stairs. She took the stairs two at a time as she ran up them. She cursed as her eyes took in the scene. “Reah, I trusted you!” Brandt and Ischarus were no longer present. The only evidence that they had been present on the balcony was in the process of being cleaned by the palace servants. A small puddle of green poison had been mixed in with Ischarus’ blood. Rhema watched as a servant dragged the head of a mop over the area several times. The marble soon looked as though it had never been covered in blood and poison. [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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