The Assault on the Diabolists
"At the appointed time, Ivanor showed up with a contingent of 5 templars from his church under his command and he was met by Alexander, Pak, and a contingent of 5 Memnite Templars. Also present but not acting were two elders from the Church of Memnoch, twins named Valor and Armor."
"Curious names. So they met up at the Devils Cup and then what?" I stated impatient to here the resolution of these events.
He then leaned forward with an intent look in his eyes and suddenly his voice rang in my head telepathically.
Mere words cannot describe this event. I will instead telepathically impart what unfolded after they met.
The Devil's Cup is a two story building of wood and stone. The crowds that normally were in this establishment were absent on this evening. Outside a commmotion started as coming down the street, heads held erect and in perfect cadence with each other marched 6 Memnites behind a tall Blond haired and blue eyes Templar wearing black full plate armor with a red scepter emblazoned upon the breast plate. His deep black hooded cloak flared out behind him as he walked and his cold eyes stared challenge at anyone that stood in his way. Chained to his side, was Pak, the Kobold, Svirfneblin half breed. Needless to say the side walk cleared and the Memnites entered the Devil's Cup and waited.
The Memnites entrance while spectacular was not as impressive as the next approach. Ivanor led 5 templars of the Church of Cambion in single file down the sidewalk. The Templars, All draped in heavy black robes swayed as they walked behind him and they all hummed a deep bass voiced dirge. Their scythes were strapped across their backs and while the Memnites inspired fear, the Raven Priests inspired a deep abiding dread as they followed their Leader Ivanor, who was dressed in chaimnal and wearing a plain tabard, stoically down the sidewalks towards the Cup.
Ivanor and Alexander conferred then. Ivanor stated, " We should take some of them alive for questioning."
Alexander levelled a look at him and said, "You are of the church of the Dead.....Speak with Dead." He then turned and the two of them strode out into the dark muggy streets of Rath. Their various minions spreading out to cut off the exits from the building.
Walking side by side, The Memnite and The Raven Priest moved through the crowd in a bubble of solitude as their capes snapped and their armor glinted under the light from the faerie fire used to illuminate the signs in this area. The crowd stepped back at the arrival of these two and an expectant hush fell over them as they stopped in the center of the street.
Alexander undid the chain that Pak was on and pointed at the building where the diabolists were supposed to be and simply said, "Pak the door."
Pak suddenly began to polymorph and grow. His shoulders arms and chest became wider and boney protrusions and claws sprouted. With a feral howl, he charged and slammed into the dorr exploding it in in a shower of splintered wood. Calling upon the might of his deity, Ivanor broguht a globe of light into existance around himself and Alexander started walking, and drawing his long sword as he approached the now open entrance. The crowd began a frenzy of betting on who would come out of the building alive.
Inside the building Pak was in melee combat with two cultists, dressed in hide armors and wielding dirks and a third was at the stairs and ran up at their entrance screaming that they had been undone. Alexander stepped into the doorway and was confronted by another diabolist. With out missing a step the Memnite continued to advance and as he got close he struck. The Cultist swung with his dirk and the blade bent on the full plate of the Memnite. Alexander swung a mighty reverse stroke and which crumpled the Cultist.
Pak remained engaged with the two cultists he faced originally and Ivanor charged in and up the stairs after the other Cultists on the second floor. He came up into a room where a pentagram had been carved into the floor and the grooves were filled with blood which was boiling and smoking. There were 4 diabolists in this room plus another that backed up and begaun praying to the powers of hel for might.
Ivanor was immediately set upon by the 4. With his sword in hand, Ivanor batted down the attempts to hit him by the other three and whirling he spun and then slashed the fourth cultist in half at the waist. Ivanor stayed in his half crouch as the cultist he had wounded stopped suddenly and looked in disbelief as the top half of him tumbled bacward and his legs fell onto and down the stairs behind Ivanor. As this occurred the Memnite came walking up the stairs behind him. Three of the cultists shifted to face this new threat.
The fleeing cultist completed his incantation and hurled a ball of black despair at Ivanor. The ball sturck true and Ivanor sensed his own impending doom at this assault. Ivanor suddenly saw himself being confronted by fiends from Hel, and his resolve to fight began to wane. He rallied though as he felt a fell presence behind him and the sneers of triumph turned to chagrin as Cambion himself stood with his cleric. The powers of hel fled none of them being strong enough to confront a deity. The cultists that had cast this spell then turned and attemtped to flee up the stairs to the third floor.
Ignoring the innefectual strikes of the cultists around him Ivanor moved with confidence and summoned the might of his deity and spoke a single word of power.
Ivanor could feel the blessing of his deity infusing him as he said, "STOP!" The word imbued with the might of his deity caused a visible ripple in the air as it moved to the fleeing cultist. it struck him and the cultists froze to his spot.
Ivanor began to approach the cultist he had ensorcelled and behind him, Alexander, with a look of contempt on his face fought the three that were in front of him. Working methodically, the Memnite worked all three of them high and then low. Suddenly in mid swing, he revered the grip on his sword hilt and drove it through one of the cultists and then in a mighty cleave, through a second one as well.
Ivanor reached the cultsit who by now was no longer under the influence of his spell and the cultists immediately began to bargain for his life saying that he knew where the sacrifices were. Thinking that Ivanor was of the Church of Memnoch, since he had no visible religious affiliation, the Cultists said that if he gave his word not to kill him he would tell him. Ivanor replied that he was of the Church of Death. All fight went out of this cultists as he realized that his fate was finally upon him. Ivanor cut him down mercilessly and behind him Alexander finished off the remaining cultist.
As one they marched up the stairs to the third floor. Another Pentagram was here but this one was made of metal and human skin and inlaid with powdered silver. In the center stood the master of this cabal and at the 5 points sat his assistants deep in meditation. The pentagram was glowing with an unholy blue fire and waves of energy were washing through the room. The Masters eyes snapped open as the Clerics entered and he said through clenched teeth, "No I will not be undone in the hour of my triumph!"
His voice then took on a strange hollow quality and he slammed his fists together and said, "MASTER, grant me a measure of your power to insure our victory!" He wild eyes flew open in triumph as a burst of energy again washed through the room.
Four of the assistants then sprang to their feet with a snarl as they ripped their dirks from their waists hell bent on stopping these enemies at all cost. The 5th assistant slinked back against the back wall and once he was in sight of both of them he squared his shoulders and turned his hands palm upwards in culred his fingers like claw. He tilted his head to the side as he looked at the clerics and said, " Taste the fire of Hel!" with that he threw a blast of hellfire across the room striking the Memnite full if the chest. Alexander staggered but did not falter under the blast.
Alexander ignored the cultists that were assaulting him and moved through them, realizing the threat the Infernalist inside of the pentagram represented he walked right up to the pentagram. Ivanor moved to the side of his compatriot, and immediately was engaged by 2 of the cultists. Three black balls appeared within the pentagram and then spread as they became wings and 3 imps, appeared.
Snarling the Infernalist spat, "Kill them ALL!!" The Imps immediately went after Alexander. Alexander nonplussed by the imps, drew upon the dark majesty of Memnoch, summoned the semblance of his deity. The terror this instilled drove all of the cultists that were assaulting him away and caused the imps to hesitate. Ivanor was beset now by 2 cultists but from his current position he could see that there was someone tied up in the corner.
The imps struck and struck again at Alexander who dropped to one knee under their assault. Bellowing he said, " I will not fail my god!" He then rose to his feet, drew his throwing dagger, and hurled it at the Infernalist missing but striking the wall right beside his head. This was enough to disrupt his control over the imps and they turned and began to advance on him.
Ivanor smashed another of the cultists to the floor in a lifeless heap and then came under assault from the Hellfire Acolyte. A blast of hellfire arced across the room to strike him in the back. Ivanor Singed and bleeding from many cuts, drew deeply on the strength of Cambion and his woulds eased somewhat.
The Infernalists eyes widen in terror and he screamed out his deifance. He them summoned all of his mental strength and ruthlessly crushed his will back down onto that of the imps reasserting his control. Then with both of his arms extended out before him like claws he made a pushing gesture at Alexander and screamed, "I will not be undone by the likes of you!" Alexander summoned the might of his deity and his sword burst into cold blue flames he then advanced to meet the imps. Ivanor meanwhile battled two of the other cultists. Seeing the body in the corner Alexander recognized her as the priestess that was missing from his church, the Bloody Bishop, Selma Chillheart. He then yelled to Ivanor, "There in the corner, Selma, she can help us!"
The imps then swooped in for the attack. Alexander was ready for them this time. Grabbing the hilt of his sword with both hands he drove it point first into the belly of one of the startled imps. As he did so he slowly pushed the now magical blade into his opponents and said, "Taste the power of Memnoch fiend!" The Imp scremed its anguish while its companions assaulted Alexander to no affect.
Ivanor charged into the corner and cut the bindings on the Bloody Bishop who rose. The Infernalist was also in this corner but all of his focus was on the imps he had summoned and he didnt notice.
Alexander continued to battle the Imps and Selma, the Bloody Bishop entered the fray. Gesturing she summoned a scepter like field of force and smashed the hellfire acolyte to the floor with a single blow. Ivanor swung a mighty swing and struck the Infernalist in the stomach. As he pulled his blade free a shocked look came on the face of the Infernalist and he said, "why brother we were of the same faith..." A haunted look came into his face as the imps, now freed from his control flew onto him and began eating him alive and telling him in explicit detail what was going to happen to him once they took his soul to Hel.
Alexander advanced relentlessly on the cultist that did not flee the room and decapitated him with a single stroke. Meanwhile a cultists fled only to meet Pak on the stairs who summarily disposed of him. Pak had a pair of legs in his mouth and another body impaled across his back.
Freed Selma informed them that she was the last to be sacrified and that all of the others were dead.
Ivanor then Dismanteld the pentagram and they returned to the street where Ivanor saw a figure swthed from head to toe in red crouching on the roof of the Devil's Cup seemingly watching. The figure when they emerged turned and flew off into the night. The Scions priestesses then arrived and began to shake people down.
Blikning at the deluge I said, "That was extraordinary."
My guest seemed like he did not care as he leaned back into my couch and said, "Thats not all. Damien and Kalanaghar also had some rather pertinment things occur as well."
Gesturing I said, "Please do tell."
With a slight knowing smile he said, "They were asked on the same night as this just before Ivanor and Alexander arrived at the Devil's Cup by a coldly beautiful female who called herself Lady Ravensbrow."
"Is she the same as..." With a raised hand he silenced me and said,
"She had wavey waist length black hair, cold gray eyes, blood red lips and seemed to have been carved from alabaster and she wanted to talk to those two."
Taking a sip from his glass again he continued, " She wanted to hire them possibly. She then went off into whether they had seen any strange people in the city lately and with a look at his Bat wings Damien replied that they had not. His humor being lost on her, she continued and stated that she may have a job for them in the future."
"Rath seems to be a good place to get employment." I replied.
Snorting he said, "Only if you wanna be pressed into working on the Scion's New Temple. He has been buying up slaves like a mad man and even increased the numbers of press gangs in his city that "recruit" drunkards, and the poor for temple work."
"I think i will pass" I said.
"Somehow I figured you would." he replied and then continued, "Any way as lady Ravensbrow was talking to them a strange praying mantis like man came into the Devil's Cup. She immediately began to ease her way out of her booth and when the being was not paying attention she fled out through the kitchen. The insect man then came over and sniffed her seat and gave chase."
"Mysterious." I said ominously.
"Indeed it was. Kalanaghar and Damien though went and scouted the hide out of Kilgur Morcant for the assassination mission they had been given by the Disciple and indetified 4 guards who were simply posing as being passed out drunks. They then returned and decided to go ssee the Disciple for more money to hire some muscle."
"This disciple seems to have his fingers in everything." I commented.
"The Disciple directed them to the theives guild and from there Belg #6 directed them to the Faded Rose where the were to seek out Eddie 9 fingers who got them the muscle they needed and gave them some advice to help them survive on the streets of Rath."
"Like what?" I asked.
"If I told you, I would have to kill you." he replied sardonicly.
"When they were in the Underworld safe house, they also ran into Rat who was trying to get information on someone. Apparently there is a turf war brewing in Brickfaces district and someone is slinging around alot of cash buying up all the help in the area. Rat stated that the rival gang was calling themselves the Talons of Malice but he got no more from the Underworld."
"There seems to be alot going on." I said.
"There is and it only gets deeper." He said. "After meeting Eddie these two returned to the Cup where as they were talking Damien felt the presence of a magical spying device. Shortly thereafter, Elvira, the owner of the Cup told him in no uncertain terms that he was being watched and that if he had troubles take it away from her inn."
He then paused and took a sip from his glass again. He stood at this point and said, "look at the time. Dr. Zhindzhe, I will be back at a later time to finish this."
Looking at my own water clock i noticed that it was 0400 and I said, By the gods time has flown."
When I turned around again my mysterious guest was gone and all that remained to even acknowledge his presence was a faint cloying smell, a depression in my leather couch, and an empty glass.
