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Message: <blockquote data-quote="atraiyu47" data-source="post: 6059297" data-attributes="member: 41365">[h=2]Stolen Land:  Part 4Meric[/h] A light rain fell on Meric’s face as he looked over the ramparts of  the castle’s tallest tower – the highest point in Stag’s End. He’d been  spending more and more time up here lately, whenever he could free  himself from the meetings and trade agreements that had been  monopolizing his time over the past several months. Stormvale extended  as far as the eye could see in every direction. By now, he’d memorized  nearly every one of the rolling hills on the horizon. The work was  progressing; the road connecting Stag’s End to Restov was finished,  which should bring a fresh wave of settlers and an influx of trade  goods. The workers moved with certainty. They were people who had come  to build something for themselves. Not fast enough, he thought. At this rate, they’d never be a threat  to his cousin. Hells, the entire barony was barely the size of one  Chelish legion. He had to push Stormvale’s boundaries as far as  possible, as fast as possible – it was the only way to avenge his  parents, his grandfather, everyone in Cheliax killed during the  Pretender’s rebellion. He could feel his fingernails digging into his  palms. Raindrops began turning to steam as they struck his bare flesh. “M’lord?” A serving girl, her green hood raised against the rain. It  was coming down harder now. “Your council is asking after you.” He  sighed and nodded. The girl came closer to the ramparts. “I think you’ve got a few more minutes. Lady Siv’s bear got into the  kitchens and gave the scullery maids quite a fright. It will take a  while to get everyone calmed down.” A grin crept across Meric’s face,  almost against his will. “Not to worry; he isn’t dangerous.” Meric had once seen Barry eat a man’s face. “My thanks for the warning…” “Jess. It’s my pleasure, m’lord.” “You have an interesting accent. Where are you from?” She turned and looked out at the hills. “Westcrown.” “_What?_ Really?…What’s it like?” The maid bit her lip and squinted. “I don’t…it’s nice, in a way. The buildings all match. Everywhere  smells of flowers. It hums. There’s a humming.” She paused. “I like it  better here.” “Uh…that’s good to hear.” Listen to me. I’ve never even been there. They stood and looked out at Stormvale together in the rain. <img src="http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/133099/page_break.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> “Seriso synr asanm.  Mallik nonsomnys.”  The words rang out in  Meric’s mind as if they had been shouted.  He comprehended them  immediately, but it took a moment longer to realize they were spoken in  infernal.  “Awake young lord.  The mantis does not sleep tonight.”  A  sense of dread overcame him.  Scanning the room he perceived no one.  He  dressed swiftly and ran to his door.  Both guards he had stationed  there stood attentively.  He ordered the first to go rouse Dante, Siv  and Asta while the other followed him to Brook’s room. His heart dropped when he rounded the corner to her door and saw both  of Brook’s guards dead, their throats slit.  He threw open her door  expecting the worst.  She was nowhere to be found.  Meric found himself  thanking the gods for Brook’s insomnia.  There might still be time. He scrambled to the outer walls which would afford him a view of  nearly the entire castle.  Perhaps 40 feet in front of him stood Brook.   Unharmed and staring off across Stag’s End.  Relief was replaced with  terror as shadowy figure dropped down behind her and silently withdrew a  long saber-toothed sword. Meric couldn’t close the distance in time.  The Red Mantis raised his  blade.  Both were caught off guard when Dante tackled the assassin to  the ground.  The mantis quickly flipped back to his feet.  Dante stood  between him and Brook.  Meric’s priority was getting her out of harm’s  way.  He ran and cast invisibility on her. “Run!” He turned back to the fight to see Dante take a swing with his hammer  that the Mantis ducked under with ease.  This assassin moved like  liquid.  He carried his momentum from dodging the attack into getting  behind Dante.  He buried one of his blades deep into Dante’s back.   Meric used Ray of frost.   Dante’s hammer began to glow blue and he  smote the assassin repeatedly.  Meric was impressed by Dante’s  improvement, but he couldn’t defeat a red mantis.  This fight wasn’t  going to last long if they didn’t get help. Help came all at once.  Skyyd and Barry galloped up the stairs  towards them, and a huge Roc flew up and began attack the Mantis from  above.  He assumed it to be a wild-shaped Siv. It was astonishing how  long the assassin stood his ground against the onslaught.  Eventually,  the wounded Mantis leapt from the Castle wall.  Dante did not hesitate,  and jumped to follow.  Meric didn’t have time to warn him that the  Assassin had cast safe-fall before leaping.  He cringed as he heard  Dante hit the ground with a thud.  The others began to jump as well,  most managing to land more gracefully than the Paladin. In a desperation move, the Mantis cast a spell that surrounded him  with fog.  But there were no nearby structures he could use to give the  group the slip.  Meric couldn’t see through the fog whether it had been  Skyyd or Barry who had delivered the killing blow.  But he did see what  came after.  The assassin’s body vaporized into a red mist.  All of its  equipment remained, but gone was any hope of interrogating him to learn  more about the Red Mantis. “Is Brook ok?”  said Asta with concern.  Brook had already been made invisible before she arrived to the fight. “Yes, we got to her just in time.”  He grabbed the assassin’s helmet  and stared at it.  They would never stop hunting him and Brook.  They  would both be dead now if not for the warning he had received in his  sleep.  An infernal warning.  His blood ran cold.</blockquote>

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