“Though the journey might be considered far for many. If one should arrive in New Berenia, then they should take the time to appreciate the wondrous architecture that is the city’s ‘Suntouched Tower’. A large and very beautiful tower rumored to be older than the city itself. Made up of countless floors now repurposed into a museum, library, and administrative center; some open to visitors. Travellers should cast their eyes towards it at both sunrise and sunset to watch in honor of the ancients as the shadow it casts helps guide each hour of the day almost as accurately as most clocks even to this day. ”

  - Ignacio Raleigh, Pathfinder’s Guild, “The Berenian Experience: Traveller’s Edition”

  Arm stained red by her own blood, Sophie gripped it tightly to try and stop it from jittering. Thankfully, the initial shock of the pain had been mitigated by the inner void’s unfettered hunger for mana, no matter the source. The ache that now remained was annoying to be sure, but for her, it wasn’t anything new.

  Regaining her composure, she hurried to help her sisters. The effort they spent unlocking the main door’s mechanisms now being so quickly reversed. With a hardy clunk, the gears that helped lock the door fell into place, securing the interior of the keep once more.

  The immediate issue put on hold, Sophie turned her attention back towards what was perhaps an even more pressing matter. The others were locked into a brutal clash against the strange foes, the rot knights holding the Carradorians and the minotaur at bay. Thankfully, where Mila and Raylani were concerned, the abomination seemed to have breathed its last, dozens of open wounds now bleeding the ichorous sickly blood that powered the creature. Weakened by Sophie’s own powers, their combined assault had brought what was left of it down.

  The Inquisitor gave Sophie a brief nod acknowledging her presence. Whereas the dark elf barely did more than exchange a glance before searching for Elaria. Only when given the momentary reprieve did Sophie sneak a peek at Sophia with a questioning look on her face.

  What was that about? She asked.

  Not sure, they only said something about bad magic luring everything to the keep, then those stair fuckers showed up. My guess? Whatever those weird roof monsters we heard. Sophia answered.

  As if having listened in despite lacking the ability to do so, Elaria caught Sophie’s eye and gave her a quick nod. The final confirmation that something was headed this way were the discordant shrieks and clicks that echoed faintly in from the outside. They weren’t on top of the keep yet, but they were certainly close. And if the others were correct about their assumptions, it was yet another problem standing between them and leaving the town.

  A loud clang refocused her as her attention fell back onto the fight at the stairway. Aware that in a brawl they would be outmatched, the Red Hawk knights maneuvered around the heavy blows of the rot knights. In between their dodges and parries, Sir Taurox would try to hand a blow or two of his own, taking advantage of their distraction to strike at the knights. The rotted warriors however, were clad in heavy armor, and unlike the dead mage that lay at the bottom of the stairs, far more adept at combat than their ally.

  “Fools. You dare resist the grace of the chosen?” One of the rot knights roared.

  His voice was lower and almost scratchy. Almost like his vocal chords had been afflicted by the rot that plagued his body. It was this however, that made her remember. Of the voices she had heard, this was the one with a distorted voice. Well, at least now we know they were definitively with the enemy and hostile.

  “Beshdairite Heinaotus Helaotux.” Mila’s voice startled her.

  Sophie could feel that faint rush of something akin to mana as it flowed through the air and towards where the girl had cast. A brief, almost barely visible glow flickering over the allied fighters. One wouldn’t be faulted for thinking nothing of it if not for the fact that when the second rot knight attacked Sir Himmel, their gauntlet flashed brightly as they recoiled in some form of pain.

  “You four, there was one more, they headed that way.” Sir Himmel unexpectedly addressed the party, the man taking the moment of reprieve to point his sword towards the hall Sophie and Sophia had come from, “We’ll handle these two, go.”

  Sophie shot a worried glance towards Mila and Sir Taurox. But the minotaur was too busy contending with the first rot knight and the inquisitor just grunted as she maintained the divine spell.

  Emulating Eva’s habit of clicking her tongue when frustrated, she turned to look at the others. None of them seemed particularly opposed to the idea, though Sophia still seemed a bit frazzled. Searching their eyes for any outright disagreements and finding none, she gave them all a nod. They would put an end to this, or at least to whatever these defilers were doing within the city.

  “Got it.” Sophie replied curtly, scrambling over to the abomination’s corpse and retrieving her fallen blade.

  The others took up positions near the door that led back to the banquet hall. Their movements seemingly agitated the two rot knights as the accursed warriors renewed their assault with a fury behind their blows. If anything, it signalled to her that their fourth was the one who was the most important.

  “Let’s get this done, shall we?” Sophie muttered.

  The incessant clicking only got louder and louder the longer they spent within the keep. For all intents and purposes, it had been surrounded. Still, with no sign of them having breached yet, the four of them pressed forwards towards the one other place that would serve as a mage’s ritual zone. The throne room.

  With the abomination felled, one more mage, and the two rot knights occupied, that was four of six that were accounted for. Including the potential mage that they were chasing, it made for five. Whatever the sixth was, the one who shrieked from the second floor earlier, remained unknown, though Sophie suspected that it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

  Rounding a corner, the party found themselves in an eerie empty hallway that led up to a set of double doors. Even in a side hall, the size and ornateness of them pointed to a decorative purpose more than practical. With the banquet hall already behind them, the only other thing that would inspire such extravagance was the place where the lord held court.

  Raylani was the first to reach the doors, the dark elf practically gliding across the dusty halls without making much of a noise. She then reached down to give the door handles a gentle push, not enough to make it squeak but enough that it moved. She turned to the rest of them and nodded. It’s unlocked.

  Knowing this, Sophie returned the gesture before motioning to Sophia, getting her sister to take up position on the opposite side of the door. She glanced back at Elaria who had remained at the rear, the bard only flashing her a wry grin entirely unsuited to the occasion. At least she was already at a safe holding distance. Barring Mila, they were about as ready as they could be when Sophie stepped up to hold the center of the doorway. She gave the two at her flanks a curt nod and they pushed it open for her to rush through.

  Inside, the scent of decay and rot hit her like a wall, halting her advance mid step as she had to fight through the urge to gag. Based on the few coughs behind her, the others were in much the same boat.

  The question of where had the keep’s defenders made their last stand and where were the rest of the bodies that were missing from the rooms had once again been answered. Though unlike the guard post or the guild, there was nothing noble or desperate about any of this. The hall was grand, to be sure, but not grand enough that the grisly remains of its inhabitants could be avoided.

  Where the few undead and traitors from earlier had been strung up like warnings or messages. The corpses here were ritualistically sacrificed. Torsos that were carved open, legs and arteries cut with inhuman precision, and other body parts molded together in twisted flesh piles at different points across the room. Worse still, based on the blood and splayed out bodies that now decorated the keep’s carpets, some of these victims were from a far more recent time than the fall of Eichafen.

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  Grotesque star shaped amalgamations were also embedded into the floor tiles at great force, the cracks filled with blood and turned into crimson red streeks that surged from the foundations. Flayed corpses were pinned upon those stars with crude implements. Swords, nails, wooden planks, pikes, whatever could be mustered up on short notice. If there had been any doubts that there had been survivors or abducted peoples in the city at some point, the freshness of these corpses were all the proof that was needed.

  “Hells.” Sophie swore out loud.

  Where stained glass covered the lord’s seat in a bizarre kaleidoscope of bloodied light, in the recesses of the grand room, two low groans escaped from half formed abominations. The monstrosities roused to alertness from her mere utterance. At the top of the steps by the throne itself, two robed figures were surrounded by a few skeletal guards. Both paused in whatever incantation they were chanting to turn their attention towards the interlopers. One, a more feminine looking mage though her face was veiled behind a mask and she looked to have a third arm hidden beneath her robes. The other, a face she was uncertain about but once illuminated by a stray beam of light, clear enough to see.

  “You.” She hissed.

  The green scaled reptilian’s unblinking gaze settled upon her. A hiss escaping its lips as a forked tongue tasted the air with a mixture of disgust and annoyance. It raised a gnarled finger and pointed at her, the moment of confusion flipping to some form of recognition.

  “Iss the marked one.” It hissed, a soft click like noise following its words.

  When it recognized her, she stiffened up, her hand now clamped so firmly around the hilt of her blade that it almost hurt.

  “Marked one? What do you-” Sophie began.

  “Needss time, I requiress” It spoke without caring about her.

  Before she could process the interaction, the other mage began casting an incantation of sorts. Not willing to let the momentum fade, a dagger flew directly at her only to impale itself onto an arcane barrier before clattering uselessly onto the ground. Saint damned hells, a ward.

  On their flanks, the two fleshy proto-abominations wriggled to life, their squirming malformed appendages spurring them between the party and the mages.

  “Tch.” Raylani scowled, her hand already busy reaching for a spare dagger.

  Get up and break it, we’ll cover. Sophia suggested.

  “Watch my back.” Sophie voiced the command out loud and charged.

  Beside her, Sophia and Raylani darted forward, the two moving to engage the flesh blobs with quick cuts that slowly dismantled them.

  Shrill cries of pain emerged from the few mouths that had unlife behind them, the twisted half absorbed heads heralding still maintaining some sentience even in this form. Unfortunately for them, Sophie had no time to spare. With her sister and the dark elf occupying their attention, she carved her own path straight down the center of the throne room. Her blade hacking and cutting away at whatever fleshy arm, head, leg, or blob that got in her way, ignoring the agonizing cries around her.

  As she reached the steps of the throne, the mage hissed and flicked her staff at her. A wave of unseen force sent her stumbling down the step, not enough to dislodge her, but enough that Sophie couldn’t just reach out to pierce the ward. Getting back to her feet, she felt a fell magic gathering just in front of her. Alarmed, she scrambled forward and emptied her thoughts, allowing the malevolent hunger to draw in the mana, shattering the barrier.

  “Duck!” One of the others called out.

  Without even hesitating, Sophie let her legs simply give out from under her, aware that the ravenous trance still had the rest of her in its thrall. A wet squelchy thunk followed as what felt like blood coated her skin in a series of both cold and warm rain droplets.

  “Abs…teamssum…” The mage gurgled as she collapsed.

  Sophie’s eyes slowly opened and saw the robed figure gasping for life in front of her. The mage lying at the foot of the throne as her spell was cast.

  Illuminated by the dull purple green of her accursed magick, Sophie shuddered as she caught sight of her features. Uneven eyes of different colors stared back at her, a hateful horror behind the gaze of the dying sorcerer. Thick blackened veins interlocked with almost gray mana channels flowed throughout the entirety of her face and arms, the traces of corruption having accentuated almost each and every vein within her mutated form. While the two humanoid arms slowly tried to pull her body away, it was the third that horrified her. What looked to be a beastman's paw was almost stitched on, but it was the same one which now held the mage’s staff pointing up to the ceiling.

  Dust and stray stones landed on her first. Following the trajectory of the magick, Sophie stared almost gobsmacked as the ceiling of the throne room started to crack.

  “Fucking move!” Sophia’s voice called out.

  Stolen from the moment, Sophie kicked off the steps and ran back through the proto-abominations. The creatures squealed furiously as they had been sliced open in multiple places by the others, the dark energies holding them together only barely sustaining them. Whatever resistance they could offer now barely required her to lift a hand. Two quick jabs in the back followed by Raylani and Sophia’s own last attacks quieted whatever complaints they might’ve had forever.

  The three pulled back a little further as a pale light shone through the ceiling. Pieces of rubble and stone being peeled away like an orange as more and more pieces came tumbling down.

  “What are they…”

  “They’re cracking open the roof.” Raylani calmly growled, the dark elf’s red eyes having narrowed on the opening, “I see. They must be hoping for help.”

  “Help? But what would be out there?”

  “The beasts.”

  Almost like she had summoned them through words alone, the remainder of the roof simply shattered into pieces, cutting open a wide oblong circle above the throne. Fog rushed in to fill the gap, the room growing damp and cloying almost instantaneously as the Mistveil earned its keepsake. But so too, did another unwanted entrant join the fray.

  Countless hybrid creatures clicked their mandibles incessantly. The source of the noise from earlier was now revealed in full. Strange greyish brown hybrids fluttered their elytra, drenching the room in a buzzing cacophony of noise. Their shell patterns and coloring explained much regarding their ability to stay hidden within the city. Hidden against the rooftops and covered by a grey layer of mist and fog, they had been so perfectly camouflaged that only now did Sophie catch a full glimpse of them. Although now that she had seen them, she sorely wished she could turn back time.

  The chitter beings carried themselves with beetle-like heads and torsos including the wings that could be wrapped around their arms and legs normally. Limbs that were distinctly more reptilian in nature, but unlike the abomination that seemed to have them haphazardly stuck on with no rhyme or reason, these had a purpose. As if someone had a grander plan to make them that way. A few even had human appendages instead, though compared to the robustness of their reptilian counterparts, Sophie guessed that these were either the flawed ones or last minute additions, neither possibility bringing her much comfort.

  Her gaze wandered back down to the lizardfolk mage, his forked tongue going in and out of his mouth as the second half of their dark ritual reached its conclusion. Covered by the shadow of the hybrids, a sickly black glow emanated from around him before creeping through the whole room. Dark red mana burst forth from the bloodied grooves in the floor, the sudden intrusion followed by the nauseating sound of flesh being torn. All across the throne room, the flayed corpses, some with their organs hanging limply under them like fallen clothes, broke free from their restraints. They shed whatever was left of their skin, forcing the sinewy muscle forward with a ritualistic glee. Each bloodied step powered by foul sorcery.

  “Hssk, the localsss welcome you.” The mage cackled, “Sssurender, marked one. And they can go.”

  Locals? But... oh Goddess, then these people... hells. Sophie snarled in response, “How about you surrender then? You’ve already sent this place to the hells. Any more and you’ll be joining them soon.”

  “Hssh hssh.” The mage chuckled, “An innssultt not worthy of thine masster. Great rewardsss have been promissed for you. Dead or alive, sso-ssak.” It squawked as it deftly dodged a dagger throw.

  “Tch.” Raylani chided herself.

  “You dare?!” It roared, “Insssolencesss will be punished! Witnessss your doom!”

  The lizard raised their staff and uttered indecipherable arcane words, the magic coalescing into a vibrant red glow before the same light reflected upon the many eyes of the hybrids. It’s staff then pointed down towards them before another strange word was chanted. For a brief second, there was silence, only the humming of elytra and magic. Then, the clicking and chittering rose to debilitating highs as the swarm moved to devour. Ahh, fuck.

  Sophie and the other two naturally fell into combat formation, preparing themselves for the combined attack.

  “Brace yourselves,” She muttered the obvious, “We just need to take out the mage.”

  “Easier said than done.” Sophia scoffed.

  Raylani just grunted.