The Tower of Matthas was easy enough to find. Walking four days east of Sartull into the wilds of the Eastern Wood, his compound was one of the only things to exist on the path between Sartull and the far kingdoms of the Darivians. A touch of local history identified Matthas as an arrogant dropout of the mage's guild, a man who had spent his youth expanding his father's shipping fortune with a side business enhancing magical baubles and trinkets for the wealthy guild lords and ladies of Sartull and Cattras. His tower, a den of hedonistic pleasures and questionable magical experiments, sat but two days ride East of Sartull where it enjoyed a semi-celebrety status. Matthas had, in his day, thrown the most lavish parties, invited the most powerful and seedy of characters to revel in his nearly sovereign keep well beyond the reach of any agency of Law, protected from the beasts of the wild by powerful enchantments and incantations. It was here that local legend and history diverged. The end of Matthas' reign as the exclusive party of parties was as abrupt as it was unexplained. His yearly party of choice was at the new year until one went uncelebrated. Holiday after holiday passed without any news until finally a crew of longtime revelers sent a party to investigate the lack of parties. What they found was a locked and enspelled keep, silent and cold with a barred gate. No amount of effort would get them in, and several parties of looters were rumored to have spent fruitless weeks attempting to get past the walls afterwards. Of Matthas, nothing was ever heard again.

Jenk and Ren returned from seperate scouting trips to report the same thing. The keep consisted of a huge manor house and tower surrounded by a perfectly circular outer wall. The main gate was gone and nothing could be seen inside except a wilderness of feral lawn and statuary around the manor. And so, with a tangible sense of anticipation the party assembled on the edge of the woods and looked out across the unruly clearing of brush that now surrounded the outer wall of Matthas' Keep. The walls of the keep were a dark grey, almost black marble rising up twelve feet and topped with false battlements. The artistry and craft that had gone into the walls was evident even from their vantage point. Lines of scrollwork had been chisled into the stone, crossing mortar lines and curving upward to meet the fancy triangular and gold-tipped battlement pieces. The wall was a perfect circle, curving back around the clearing to meet beyond their vision, and its perfection was marred only by the archway over the single gateway on the westernmost edge.

Their approach was unheeded except by a swarm of crickets who were hiding in the tall wiregrass and brambles that had reclaimed most of the road leading up to the gate. The party's mood slipped from uncomfortable to wary in the silence, and as they gathered around the ruined hinges of the massive gates under the shadow of the archway, several people began to glance around apprehensively. Jutting out of the stone on either side of the gateway arch they could just make out the rusted remains of four hinges. Whatever had removed the gate had done so quickly and cleanly. There was no sign of bending or a slow forced entry, the thick tempered steel rods that had once supported the door were cleanly shorn through as if by a blacksmith at his forge. The tall weeds and brambles beyond the gate showed no hint of the doors, although they could easily have been hidden anywhere in the expanse of grass.

The manor house was massive, a black stone structure standing three stories high. Rows of windows lined each level and a huge entryway sat on the left of the main floor under a pillared breezeway . The top line of windows peaked through the roofline, which was slated and had intricate stonework lattice along the topmost ridges. Attached to the right side of the house was a monolithic tower made of the same dark marble, round and capped with four huge curved spikes. It had smaller windows around the outside and a ledge could be seen at the fourth floor. A huge cobblestone road had once led up a circular path to the doorway then continued on to a fancy wooden structure to their left that appeared to be a stable. The tops of several large statues and a large fountain peeked above the verdant grass and bushes and there was the constant sound of bugs and the occational rustling of small animals.

When they finished marvelling, they made their way across the grass and peeked into the stables. Most of the structural pieces were intact but the walls had collapsed beams in places that allowed angles of light to penetrate the gloom. The outside had four stall doors and a large carriage-sized door. When Ren opend the top half of a stall door slightly, the squeek and scurry of mice caused him to jump. Jenk chuckled a bit and they silently turned to consider the manor house.

The outer wall of Tivar fell quickly and the resulting panic threatened to overwhelm the guards as citizens and soldiers ran in every direction, preventing the Wards from assembling or properly manning the inner walls. Duke Malloy stepped out with his generals, bannermen and heralds preceeding him. The Duke knew if he didn't restore order in his troops, the city would fall in hours so he had assembled everyone into dress uniform and grabbed three random guards, dressed them in ancient armor and handed them flags. The precession was surprising, and had the desired effect. Wards rallied, with cries going out that the Duke had joined the battle. His banners fluttered in the wind and smoke as he walked quickly toward the Eastern Gates calling out for his troops to assemble.

The response was heartening, until he reached the top of the wall and looked out over the Tohri army. Thousands upon thousands of troops had come, not only from the hills and the gateway, but also from other gateways and the remains of Bridgetown. This was a siege of unheard of scope and the Duke hesitated in shocked silence.

The first waves had poured through the outer gates, killing the few who opposed them or had fallen behind in shock. The shanty structures were quickly demolished and the handful of stone buildings were overrun and looked like islands in a sea of helmets. Methodically, the army cleared every inch of space between the walls and started to form orderly lines, setting out siege gear in precise positions. Like clockwork, the lines finished and began to set up tents and campfires just out of bow range.

“By the hells, Kenv” he whispered. “What do we do?”

Kenv was stunned. He squared his shoulders and drew his sword. “Order it an I will empty the city, sir. We will make a stand to remember.”

The Duke paused, watching in horror as hundreds of small campfire fires appeared across the outer city. The remains of the shanty towns were heaped into pils and lit aflame and screams could be heard occationally as the invaders expanded outward. “Can we hold this wall?” he asked.

The general nodded sadly “For a while. A short while.”

The party stood for several seconds just under the front entryway of the manor, hesitating to continue towards the rubble that had once been two massive wooden doors.. The left door stood sliglty ajar, looking as if it had been knocked open when its sister door had been obliterated by some massive force. The two arched doors had once met at the center of the entryway, but the right side was a gaping hole. Doorframe and floor had been scorched and charred and debris blown into the house. Light streamed in and revealed a large room with marble flooring, which was now scored and burned in several sections. Pausing a moment to light a lantern, Tegg finally stepped forward into the doorway and looked around the room.

The room was astonishingly huge, nearly 30 paces wide by 10 deep and two stories high. The floors were a checkered pattern of white and rose colored tiles with a circle of colorful tiles in the center of what must have been a dance floor. The paneled walls combined light and dark fine woods, inlayed with stonework and gold. A massive staircase swept down the left wall, ending near the middle of the room and no doubt providing a means for grand entrances. The stairs led up to a balcony which ran across the length of the room. A huge stone fireplace sat next to the stairs, near the front of the house and huge stuffed chairs and sofas lined the walls. Massive paintings were hanging on the walls to the right, although they could not make out what any were in the low light. A harpsicord or piano had once sat in the far right corner but whatever it had been it was now a ruin of charred wood and wires.

Tegg took a few steps into the room, marvelling at the size and scope when he heard a harsh creak and noticed movement to his right. He jumped left and tried to draw his sword, only to slide on the dust and ash covered marble. Jenk and Talbert drew theirs, and everyone stared into the shadows in the corner of the room, searching for the source. There was silence for a moment, then the motion and sound repeated. Ren brought out his glowstone torch and revealed a massive metal statue in the corner, shaped to roughly resemble a man but made mostly of cylinders and spheres of brass. The statue, or creature was moving slowly, bringing up an arm and tilting the massive blank sphere that represented a head. It was both frightening and comical to watch the thing attempt to overcome rust and damage.

“Look at this!” Vallen exclaimed, bending down to pick up some scrap of cloth at the metal creature's feet. When she brought it into the light, it appeared to be a swatch of red and yellow, stitched broadly like a jester might wear.

“I think this is one of Matthas' devices.”, Ren marvelled.

“Its a construct.” Dar said finally, with a large bit of distaste. She and Arasen exchanged shocked looks. “Soulless creatures made of metal or stone and magic. They aren't alive and do simple tasks until their magic runs out.”

“Or they gather too much rust” Arasen added, examining the slowly moving arm of the creature. “We barely touched on this at the guild, and I never thought I'd see one. You know, I think... I might be able to fix it.” he said gingerly.

Tegg paused, gaping at him, then shook his head. “I don't think that would be a good idea. I like it right where it is.”

“Could it tell us anything?” Vallen asked.

Arasen shook his head “No, they're mindless. It does what its enspelled to do, and nothing more. Wizards are generally forbidden from making more than one, and never one that lasts this long. It could be standing here for a century.”

“It's already been standing there for half of one” Vallen said.

“A half century waiting to greet guests...” Jenk mused, putting his daggers away.

With the house's spell broken somewhat, they considered the available options. The huge room seemed to have two doors below the balcony, and they could see a hallway leading off of the upper balcony. Ren and Cathnoma moved to investigate the fireplace and stairs while Talbert and Jenk toyed with the metal construct.

Winstin headed up the steps, then called down “Whatever all that damage is, it continues up here.”

Most of the group moved to investigate. At the top of the stairs there were several small tables and chairs sitting on the balcony overlooking the great room. The stairs continued up to the third floor, and a hallway continued eastward, deeper into the house. The wall along the back of the balcony at the top of the steps had been utterly destroyed and the group could see through three former rooms and out a hole in the back wall of the manor house. Bits of furniture and wall debris lay in neat rows on either side of the hole, giving the impression of someone sweeping through the room and out the hole with a massive broom. They paused here until Vallen spoke up.

“So... Are we following whatever did this?”

There were several exchanged looks of worry until Tegg spoke up “I suspect this is all because of Vincent. He was chasing something... and it looks like he found it.”

Talbert bent down and picked up a chunk of wall off of the floor. He could see down through holes in the damaged floor and into the darkness of the rooms below. “But did Vincent do this to his daemon... or did the Daemon do this to Vincent?”

Ren set a torch onto one of the empy wall oil sconces and pulled out another from his pack and shrugged. Picking his way carefully over the ruined flooring, he reached the hole in the wall and peeked out. “Its a... or it was a garden back here. ” he yelled. After a few monents of looking around, he made his way back to the group on the balcony. “It must have been gorgeous once.” he said when he got back. “A hedge maze, gazeebo, fountains, pond. The works. Not much too look at, whatever happended in here, continued out there.” he said flatly.

Tegg nodded, “Unless we feel like jumping, we need to get downstairs and out back somehow.”

Once down off of the balcony, there were only two doors exiting the great room, both led east, toward the back of the manor. After a momentary pause, Tegg opened the leftmost door and walked into a large, well furnished room filled with trophy cases and heavy chairs. There was another door directly across from him, so Tegg moved quickly through the room, only to be stopped by Winstin exclaiming at something. On the left wall there was a large trophy case. It was made of fine woods and had metal rods preventing access to the fanciest helmet Tegg had ever seen. The helm was plate metal with a rotating face and eye guard and was covered with runes and golden lines. Sitting on stands in front of it were two swords, a longsword and long dagger, each decorated with similar etchings and gold veins. Winstin was holding one of the bars and leaning down to ogle the weaponry.

“Hey, lets grab these for our troubles”, he said with breathless awe.

Ren grumbled but Dar was first to speak “I wouldn't if I were you” she said in a mocking, motherly tone.

Winstin glared at her and gave the bar a little shake “And why, exactly, not?”

Dar shrugged and turned as if to follow Tegg to the door. “You're in the home of a mage who has brass constructs greeting his party guests. Party guests that are often thieves and murderers. I'm actually curious what he would use to prevent them from stealing his prized trinkets and trophies.”

Winstin winced visibly and let go of the bars as if they were burning. He glanced at his hands and wiped them on his dirty cloak. There was a muffled chuckle from the rest of the party before they all turned to follow Tegg into the next room.

The next room was the same size as the first, and apparently served a similar purpose. A large mannequin stood on a pedestal wearing green-tinted platemail, there was a stuffed brushcat in an impossible attack pose on the left wall and a long trophy case on the far wall full of an array of weapons, bits of armor, goblets and even what appeared to be a real human head in a glass tube. Tegg simply noted the items in the room before turning right to the only door. Most of the party hestitated to take in the odd menagerie of items, except Winstin who did not pause at all.

Beyond this door was a hallway heading left and right. Tegg looked right to the far door and estimated it would take them back into the great room. On the wall just across the hall were two doors and on his left was a large door that seemed to lead outside. Tegg turned quickly and headed for the door which opened into the back garden of the manor.

Ponsin took the field from his wagon, striding out behind his advancing troops in his battle dress, nodding at noone in particular and smiling with just the right amount of swagger and assurance. His walk took him along the rear line of the forward troops, who even now had broken through the outer gates and would be flagging archer ranges and set points. Something nagged at him, however. The attack was flowing smoothly, just as he had planned and predicted in countless meetings with other leaders, but the Dom were strangely quiet and focused. Their usual noisy singing was notably absent, a fact that Ponsin had initially attributed to the thrill of battle and release of getting out of the stifling campsites, but there was a growing unease that haunted his steps. He imagined several Dom cast sneers and sharp looks at him as he passed, an impossibility given their station and his lofty rank. He thought a few exchanged conspiratorial looks before he was fully within eyesight, and some even hesitated before answering his orders.

When he arrived at the foreposition of one of the sets, Ponsin called a Dom over to discuss his orders. Just as the Dom reached him, Ponsin noticed one of his aides moving away into the distance. The Dom was named Uron, Ponsin thought, a middle ranking Dom that Ponsin realized he had not seen for briefings in several days. There was a moment of confusion before the Dom he had called to interrupted him for orders, in a tone that was one half beat away from insolent.

“You have... orders for me, In'Tet”, the Dom asked.

Ponsin marvelled at the tone. He wasn't one to try and understand the singing nonsense of the Dom, but the man's voice seemed cold and angry. Ponsin let it go for the moment, larger events were at hand. “I want a report on the forward defensive positions, send it to my wagon.”

“Of course, In'Tet.”

Ponsin hesitated, and indicated he had more to say. It was a bit embarassing to ask this of a Dom, and Ponsin lowered his voice “The singing, why aren't you singing?”

The Dom brightened noticably, even smiling “There will be much singing shortly, In'Tet.”

The door led to a ruined garden path, exiting the manor just below the hole in the rear wall. They stepped out onto a flagstone path next to a low curved wall, topped with wrought iron work, behind which stood a hedge that was part of a large maze. The wall and path turned to the right, leading them along the rear of the manor toward a raised stone area with chairs and awning stands still holding tattered remains of colorful fabrics. About halfway to this patio the hedge and wall had been destroyed, leaving an ashen trail out of the hedge maze. On the back of the manor there was a low addition, a greenhouse made of wrought iron full of dead plants. The trail of ash and destruction led across the patio and into the greenhouse through a demolished wall. The climbed carefully over the outer lattice of wrought iron. Several bits of the lattice bits pointed upward to their missing kin, showing clear signs of being bent and melted. From here they picked their way over broken plants and upset bins of soil along the entire length of the greenhouse and found another hole. This inward hole went into the tower on the southern side of the manor house, the wall at this end of the greenhouse was curved and they could make out where it met the straight line of the main house.

Ren entered first with the torch and held it high so everyone else could scramble over the broken bits of stone. The room was large with a low ceiling and full of destroyed crates. Cloth and moldy foodstuffs filled the crates that had been damaged, although thanks to many years of rot there was very little left to smell. The damage within the tower was astounding. Sometimes they could clearly follow the battle as it raged back and forth through walls and down hallways. As they picked their way over the rubble the battle turned back towards the manor house and they found a large room that had been so immersed in flames that not a single identifiable bit of what had been in the room remained and the stones of the floor had clearly been melted. Finally, after climbing through a wall where some of the ceiling had collapsed, the group turned to find a large circular stone staircase in what they believed to be the very center of the tower.

Tegg paused on the wedge of floor and looked back and forth at the steps leading up and down. There was no sound, no light from either set of stairs and no indication which the battle had gone. The group behind him were stretching and adjusting their gear, waiting for him to come to a decision on which way to go. With an exhausted groan, he reshouldered his pack and pointed to the right where the stairs ascended. “I'm not interested in seeing whats underground... lets go up.”

The wide stone stairs circled around halfway and they reached a flat section with a hallway leading off. The stairs stopped here, although he could see the underside of stone steps above his head, there was no way to reach them from here. Tegg paused and stroked his aching calves, picking their way over the walls and rubble had taken its toll and he was tired. “Lets see whats on this floor... maybe we'll find somewhere to sit.”

A chorus of agreement met him from below, so followed the hallway, with no clear idea which way he was going anymore. The hall turned left and ran for a good distance into the darkness. Unlike the bare stone of the rooms below, this area was covered in fine woods, although not nearly as expensive as the great room had been. There were three doors on the left and another on the right, plus the hallway continued on into a darkened room. Tegg considered the doors, but decided ensuring the room at the end of the hall contained no threats seemed like a better option.

The walls of the room were filled with cabinets, which no-one moved to open. There were a few looks, especially by Winstin, until Ren finally used his staff to open one, revealing a row of fine goblets, heavy plates and utensils. Jenk laughed out loud and took one of the glass goblets down. “Dinnerware. For his blasted parties.” he said with a groan. Jenk set the goblet onto a shelf and turned and there was a sharp crash of broken glass as it fell to the floor. Everone froze and Jenk laughed.

“Shades, you guys. I don't think he's set traps on his dinnerware.” Everyone lauged until Ren bent down and picked up the glass, which appeared unbroken.

Jenk reached out to take it with a startled grunt, and Ren intentionally dropped it again. There was another crash, and the glass reassembled itself on the floor into a solid goblet again. “Shades and hells...” Jenk whispered “He's got unbreakable glasses.”

Dar laughed sadly and shok her head “All that magic and talent and he's used it to impress a bunch of whoresons and pickpurses.” She said with enormous venom. “I can bet if you'd taken any of his trophies, Winstin, you'd have died some ugly, amusing death. A very, very ugly death to amuse the rest of his guests.”

The only door from the room led them out into a hallway, now furnished in the same manner as the great room. The hall turned right, and split right again so they stood at the intersection of an upside-down "T". Ren opened the first of the three doors on the bottom of the "T" and announced that it was a sitting room. Vallen revealed the second door was the same, but the last was a surprise.

“Constructs!” Jenk shouted to the others investigating the remaining doors. The group gathered to gaze in awe at the twin rows of brass constructs running the length of a large room. There were six on each side, all dressed in various ridiculous outfits. Several wore rotting harlequin outfits which must have matched the construct at the door. Two were dressed in the remains of formal robes, impeccably detailed and comical on their large barrel shaped torsos while another wore what must have been a butler's finery. Two were undressed but the last few were wearing odd armor of some sort and had their hands refashioned into maces. The group spread out and examined the lifeless automatons, Cathnoma gave one a sniff and waited at the door in disinterest.

“Guards?” Talbert asked, leaning in close and waiting for the construct to move.

“Gladiators.” Winstin said with a bit of disgust. There was a long pause as everyone wondered, and then decided to move on.

There were three other doors to the hallway. The last sat across from the constructs and revealed a staircase leading down. The other contained a massive dressing room, complete with mirrors and immense wardrobes and the last was a huge tiled room containing a huge brass bathtub. This drew some appreciative and pleading glances from the dirty group, but Tegg put an end to it. “This is all interesting, but they clearly didn't come through here.”

The only option was to backtrack, so the group hurried back down the hallway, checking all the doors. The first pair were an office and a small, informal dining room, but the next door on the right was another hallway. Tegg sent Jenk to examine the last room, which turned out to be full of crates and boxes, and started down the hallway. At around 5 paces in, the hallway widened and revealed a pair of silver constructs standing at attention on either side of the hall. Their coloring and position camoflaged them, Tegg had believed them to be suits of decorative armor, but he slid to a halt when one turned smoothly to look at him.

The party behind him started to bunch up, trying to get a look. Dar finally squeezed forward and took a look at the constructs. “Steel...” she whispered in awe.

“And?” Tegg prompted

Dar seemed to shake herself. “Brass and bronze are easier to work with, but they rust and shut down. To create the steel required for these ... and then to animate them....” Dar paused, hugging herself a bit. “Matthas was more powerful than I gave him credit for. And these things are formidable threats.”

Tegg looked back at the construct, which hadn't moved after looking over at them. “Can we determine what will set them off?” he asked softly.

Dar shook her head “No. A legendary mage might figure out the magic, but only after prying them open.”

Tegg nodded and eased forward. The brushed steel "face" of the construct followed him smootly, but made no other action. Behind him, he could hear the soft scrape of its twin watching him as well. When he passed a certain point, the constructs snapped back to look toward Dar, and Tegg moved down the hall to make room for the rest of the group to pass.

When they'd taken a moment to recover, the group continued down the hall, which split right. Tegg glanced down the hall and saw two more steel constructs standing guard. As he moved down the hall to investigate, both of their heads swivelled towards him. He paused, then moved a slight bit forward. When he did, one of the constructs swung out a blade-tipped polearm that stopped inches from Tegg's face. The second costruct had drawn a weapon as well. Tegg swallowed and backed up a step, marvelling at the sheer speed of the things. When he had taken a full step back, both constructs returned to their initial waiting poses.

“I... don't think they went that way” Tegg stammered.

“Why, because the constructs told you”, Jenk teased softly.

Tegg gave him a slight frown “No, because if they had, those constructs would be piles of molten steel.”

The main hallway continued south, then turned east and away from the main house. There were four doors on the right wall, but their attention was grabbed by the remains of the door at the end. A steel construct lay in a crumpled ruin at the doorway, which had been blown away from them and further down another hall. The walls were damaged and several doors had fallen over. Without a word the entire group started to jog forward, carefully stepping over the damaged construct and following the hall, which turned back to the left. Looking down this hallway revealed more damage and a pair of damaged constructs, one knocked over and severely dented, the other had been melted down until only the lower half of the torso and legs remained. The hallway widened and decorative collumns ran along the walls, where paintings and portraits were hung. The party barely paid attention, rushing through a doorway and into a hall which ran a pace to the right to a pair of doors or a bit further to the left. Just ahead of them a straight set of stairs ran upward, and as they moved to look up them they could see more battle destruction at the left end of the hallway.

Ignoring the stairs, the group headed to investigate the damage and discovered the most opulent room they had ever encountered. Clearly a bedroom, every item was clearly intended to impress and defy the viewer to imagine the cost. From the expanse of bed, covered with a canopy of silks and hardwoods, to the massive dressers and wardrobes lined with golden trim and gem accents, it was less a room for sleeping and more a showcase of wealth. As they moved around, the group was dumbstruck. In turn, they each pointed out some new height of luxury, some new corner of wealth, until it became tiresome to even consider what this single room had cost. The scale of the room even managed to distract them from the battle that had taken place at the doorway in and the other doorway leading north. Tegg finally had to yell out to each team member to get them to ignore the room. All that changed when they entered the adjoining chamber.

Where the bedroom was lavish luxury and show, the laboratory was down to earth and practical. In the center of the undecorated stone room stood a massive stone dias, its entire edge covered in runes and incantations. There was nothing on the dias, it simply dominated the center of the room. Bookshelves lined the walls and there was a large desk and chair in one corner. Ren lit a large oil lantern, and the white stone walls shone fiercely, illuminating the area and causing everyone to squint. To one side of the dias there was a smaller dias, atop which a large book stand with a huge tome sitting on it sat. Ren and Jenk went to investigate, except that neither could reach the book. Each time they moved to reach across the edge of the dias, they encountered more and more resistance. At first it felt like reaching through water, then mud, then stone. The rest of the team took turns investigating, and Talbert discovered a similar circle surrounding the dias. Dar, meanwhile, had been hunched down trying to decypher the books on the desk and the runes on the outer edge of the large dias. Finally, she gave a sharp intake of breath, drawing everyone over.

“They're daemonic!” she exclaimed, covering her mouth in horror.

The group looked down at the strange symbols and waited for Dar to continue. “The circles are protection spells, defensive spells, holding spells... and the innermost one is a summoning circle. Matthas... he was summoning Daemons!”

There were a number of doubtful and confused looks until Tegg prompted her for more details. Dar was shaking her head and frowning in anger. “No, NO. I'm sure. This is one of the biggest summoning circles I've ever seen.”

Confused and concerned, the party searched the bedroom for clues, but there were no other exits and no further signs of battle. Tegg decided to work back down the hall, checking for clues. The first door on the left proved to be a shock. The room was ten paces square, and every inch was used to create an intricate set of circles until only a single pace of blank floor remained at the center. There were nearly twenty circles, and after the tenth, Dar refused to describe what they were. She turned, eyes squinted shut and face pale and fled the room.

They found a meditation room further on, full of pillows and candles, then they entered the room just past the staircase. Walking in, it looked to be a storage room with shelves and boxes stacked to the ceiling. Ren, however, noticed the worn summoning circle on the floor, covered over by furniture. They considered this, and were about to leave when there was a daemon suddenly blocking the door.

Ponsin completed his rounds and was nearly back to his wagon when he noticed the Dom surrounding it. He rushed forward, realizing that the Dom would misunderstand the occupant inside, but when he arrived the Dom all turned as one as if expecting him.

Elder Morsoni Adsentis walked forward as Ponsin arrived, rushing to his judgement. When the In'Tet started to speak, the elderly man signaled that he should be silenced and four large Dom grabbed the Siv and wrestled him to the ground. Between sqawks and yells, the InTet was finally brought to heel and a blade placed across his throat.

“You will all go to the pits for this...” he hissed

The elder stepped up to him and drew out his beads. They settled him, preventing the shakes he could feel in his muscles, his heart and his soul. To assault a Siv was a great dishonor and if they were wrong about this, the pits would be the least of their punnishment. “You are to be judged, your soul is heavy with the betrayal of your Ja.” The elder intoned, thrusting his hands forward in the symbol of judgement.

The Siv struggled, wondering what they knew, how they knew. “I have... you cannot do this” he said.

The elder turned and paused, looking at the wagon. “If they were wrong... ancestors help us”, he thought. “Open the wagon.” he said simply

Two Dom opened the doors of the wagon wide and stepped inside, only to fly outward again. A blaspheme emerged, extending its wings and howling in rage, drawing the eyes of every Dom in fifty strides. There was a moment of shock, and the blaspheme reached into a pack on his belt and vanished into the air.

In'Tet Ponsin moaned, looking down at the ground “You do not understand” he said softly “it... they were to help. We will conquer this lands for the price of a SWORD!”

The elder stepped forward and slapped him, causing Ponsin's eyes to widen in sheer disbelief. The elder leaned back and moaned, thusting his arms outward and howling at the skies. His arms slowly raised up like wings, sticking up and out with clawed hands in the ultimate sign of blasphemy. As Ponsin watched in horror, the Dom all around repeated the gesture, until a chorus of howls surrounded him. The two Dom holding him let go to mimic the gesture and he lept to his feet and raced blindly forward, cutting through the ranks and trying to outrun the wave of howls radiating outward from the elder and Ponsin's wagon. When he passed the last Dom and turned toward the fortress, he heard the Dom elder start to sing. It was a low, slow version of a battle song he'd heard before and the Dom all around the Elder picked up the song instantly. Normally rousing and rowdy, this time it sounded like the songs they sang at funerals. A cold chill ran down his back and Ponsin doubled his pace, knowing he had to get back to the fortress, had to warn the Siv command that something horrible had happened.

Tegg stumbled backwards into a desk and nearly fell over. Boxes and items fell with a crash and Tegg was on his knees, trying to find a defensive position for the attack he knew was coming. Winstin, who was standing behind the daemon in the doorway, yelped and disappeared into the hallway where he drew his sword. Ren rolled left to avoid any attack and came up wielding daggers. Vallen was knocked back into the hallway by Winstin, while Dar and Jenk found themselves cornered by the beast, who was rearing up and spreading his massive wings. The beast was a deep blood color, with black horns and claws, large black lidless eyes and a snout full of teeth. Its roar was deafening, at least until Jenk fired an arrow through the creature and it encountered nothing except the far wall.

There was a long moment of confusion until Ren walked into the illusion and it wavered out of existence. Everyone began to shout at once, until they were interrupted by yet another daemon standing in the same spot. This daemon was small, with barely vestigial wings and a snout full of flattened teeth and unimpressive hands with no claws. It gave them a forlorn look, flickering in and out of existence every few seconds. Ren gave Tegg a hand standing up, and they all stared at the illusion until they realized it was speaking.

“.. would have been much more interesting if you hadn't knocked over my sphere.” the daemon was complaining, assuming a position that indicated, of all things, a pout.

Ren and Talbert had moved foward and were circling the image, which seemed real until it flickered or wavered. Talbert finally swiped at it with his sword, which passed cleanly through empty air. “What in the ninety hells are you?”, Talbert asked.

The daemon turned to give Talbert a grin and bowed. “My name, at least the one given me by your kind, is Two.”

“Two?!?”, Tegg asked, clambering to his feet.

The daemon turned and frowned “Yes.” The daemon pointed at its shoulder, where the number 2 had been tattooed into its flesh. “I, of course, demanded a name more fitting my station, but it is set”

“How did I ruin your fun?” Tegg interrupted.

The daemon frowned and pointed to the ground. Tegg looked and spotted a small milky-white sphere under a table. It looked to have been knocked to the ground when he fell backwards. As he retrieved it, the remainder of the party entered and Cathnoma began to attack the illusion furiously, only to find emptyness. Two seemed to enjoy baiting the dog until Tegg returned with his sphere. “What is this?”

Two started to hover, appearing to sit down in mid air with his legs crossed as if in a chair. “This is me. You're holding the sphere that contains me.” it said with a touch of mockery.

Tegg rolled it around and gave the daemon a foul look “And if I smash it?”

The daemon looked bored “Then I'd be most surprised at your ability to do so. Its not glass, you dolt. And I'd love it if you let me out, it isn't much fun to be in here, you know.”

Dar finally forced her way forward, looking furious. “He summoned you into a crystal?”

Two started to make a comment, but his face changed when he saw Dar's fury. “Yes. It amused him, I suppose. Between this idiotic shape and the ball, I'm having a wonderful century.” Two complained.

Tegg finally decided to set the sphere down and noticed an small, empty crate on another table. When he put the sphere inside, however, Two vanished. Tegg jumped, then retrieved the sphere.

Two glowered at him “Put me in a box will you! I'll...”

Dar interrupted “You'll nothing. You can't do a blasted thing can you.” This seemed to cheer her up immensely, and depress Two equally.

“No... I can't. ” Suddenly Two brightened up “Except help you! I have immense knowledge about my breth...” at which Two paused and considered them.

“Bretheren?” Dar said, aghast “How many!?! How many of you are there?!?”

Two looked panic stricken “A deal! Make a deal with me. I can do it, within my current deal! I can help you, with my knowledge... and the little powers I have. It could be very useful to you!”

Dar grabbed the sphere from Tegg and shook it “AND IF I DROP YOU DOWN A WELL?!?”

Two yelped as his image rattled and flickered “Please! I have nothing here! Years and years of bare walls! Idiot bretheren who can barely form a coherent thought! A DEAL! MAKE ME A DEAL!”

Tegg finally took the sphere from Dar, who fell into Winstin's arms, crying. “What kind of deal, daemon?”

Despite the protests, especially by Dar, Vallen and Ren, Jenk decided to be the one to make the deal. When Two discovered they were looking for Vincent, his position improved dramatically, as he claimed some knowledge of the battle and ultimate fate of Vincent. Further, his knowledge of the other daemons that had been summoned and their fates made it imperative that they work something out. In return for travelling with them and a promise of safety, Two swore to reveal everything he knew short of his true name. He would do nothing directly or indirectly to hamper their quest or help their enemies. He made a litany of promises to not bring harm upon them and repeated the same deals in six different forms, just to be sure. Finally, Jenk agreed and bound himself to the daemon and Two spent several minutes, in a new illusionary form of a human, celebrating.

“You've had your deal, daemon, now talk!” Dar growled at him.

Two stopped a cartwheel and resumed his seated pose. “Vincent was here, years ago. Long after Seven had taken the tower and killed Ma....” Two paused with a look of fury, his whole form flickering.

“Daemon!”, Dar warned.

Two stopped his growling and continued. “Matthas had summed only lesser Kaedenndos until he got to One and I.” Dar interrupted, and Two held up a hand. “Kaedenndos, you call us Daemons, but we are the Kaedenndos. This ... form you give us is ” Two uttered a word that seemed to be impossible to prounonce. “with your foul magics and circles. Locked into these forms we are tortured and bound until we agree to do your bidding. The spells prevent us from backing out of your contracts... and so for a hundred of your years we serve in these ugly lumps of flesh.”

Dar's eyes widened and the party members looked a bit embarassed. “Matthas was the most powerful ever” Two continued. “He built larger and larger circles. He summoned over a hundred lesser Kaedenndos”

Dar started to interrupt again, but Two stopped her. “I don't know how many survived. He numbered them, like this” Two pointed to his shoulder and continued. “and when he summoned me, I saw him kill a Kaedenndos in your daemon form with the number one six two on its arm.”

There was a long pause, Two seemed to be collecting himself. “When he summoned One, Matthas knew she was different. She was more powerful, more intelligent, she resisted him for a long time. When he broke her, he called her "One", and abandoned all the other research he was doing.”

Tegg and the others had gathered around the image Two had adopted, a young looking boy. Tegg realized it was a bit odd to have the sphere in his lap, but it made it easier to focus on the daemon this way. “You were the second?” he asked.

Two nodded. “Matthas had figured out some new .... method. He put me in the sphere because I was weaker than One and he disliked me. I was a mage, I had abilities and powers that he could not understand so he blocked me from interacting with your world after he locked me into it. Only a few of my spells can pass this sphere. Matthas continued his work, summoning the more powerful Greater Kaedenndos... until he summoned Seven. ”

The tone of this statement made everyone wince. Talbert finally prodded him, “Seven was different?”

Two chuckled “Seven is to Six what I am to One Sixty whatever he was.” Two said with a snarl. “A Lord Kaedenndos. Matthas was tired and stupid. He put him in a weaker circle and Seven waited... and killed him.” Two said this with visible relish, making everyone jump. “Seven gathered the lesser and greater Kaedenndos and they prepared to march forth on your world to claim it as their own.”

Everyone was staring with wide eyes, hesitating to breathe too loud. Two seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, but continued. “Matthas had the last laugh, though. Seven thought we were free of our circles... and we were... all but one.”

Everyone looked around in confusion. “What circle?” Dar asked.

Two smiled with an evil grin “You swore to take me with you. That was the deal! You must take me beyond the last circle to do that.”

Dar frowned and Jenk answered “What circle? What are you talking about.”

Two grinned “You're standing in it. ”

Everyone stared down at the floor and shuffled their feet, but aside from the old circle in the middle of the room, they had no idea what he was talking about until Dar spoke up. “No... ” She said softly

“What is it, Dar?” Talbert asked.

Two chuckled. “You really have no idea how powerful Matthas was, do you? Not the slightest CONCEPT of how powerful he was.”

“The whole tower.” Dar said. “The whole blasted tower is a circle.”

Two interrupted the silence with a cackle. “Can you imagine it? The power? The preparation? The WHOLE TOWER!” Two rocked back and forth in mirth. “Only Seven could pass it, and not easily. Dozens of Kaaedenndos died as they crossed, whole LEGIONS of troops. Of course little Two trapped in his ball was left behind... but I heard them. I heard them howl. They get to go home, at least. But they'll not forget such agony.”

Tegg shook his head. “We have to take you out of it?”

Two stopped rocking and stood up “YES!! No more trapped in this stinking closet to listen and ROT for Two! Laugh at me now!”

Jenk grumbled “It doesn't matter. We're taking you out anyway. What happened to Seven?”

Two paused, then sat back down. “Furious. He fumed and smashed things for a while. It didn't matter, though. He had other plans. He decided to take this realm on his own, and he was looking for things.”Two paused, considering.

“Things like what?” Talbert asked suddenly.

Two gave him a sly, measuring look. “Ahhhh. The Lady is it? You should know what things he wanted, Lambert. Things your kind stole from us long ago. Things we want back.”

Dar rushed forward past Talbert and demanded the sphere. “Give it to me, we have to destroy him!”

Jenk grabbed the sphere and blocked Dar. “He's my responsibility now. I agreed to the deal. What things is he talking about?”

Dar grumbled. “Daemonic things, things hidden from the world by the churches. Evil things that do not belong here.”

“YES!” Two shouted “Do not belong HERE. They belong with us... in our world. Seven went to find them.. but he found your Vincent instead.” he said, pointing at Talbert.

“And brought him here?” Jenk asked, stepping back from Talbert and Dar.

Two nodded. “Seven was weak outside the circle, but if he could draw him in, he could find a way to truly escape. To truly break free with those like me.”

Talbert shook his head “The sword. He wanted Vincent's Sword to get past the circle.”

Two grinned and nodded “Oh yes, and your Lambert was so ready to help him. Fought him to the top of the tower, ready to slay him. Seven, laying there... wounded...” Two mocked, pretending to fall back as if injured.

“What was the deal?” Talbert asked fiercely.

Two took up a mock tone, “A deal, a Deal lambert. Kill me now and only I pass away. But if you could undo all that I have done... think of your GLORY” Two paused, looking around the room.

Winstin spoke first “How would he undo the daemon's evil?”

Two frowned and Talbert interrupted. “It doesn't matter. He made the deal. Whatever the lie was, Vincent believed him and... made the deal.”

Two grinned and took his seat again. “ Vincent had assembled a device. Made it from bits of magical junk Matthas had left behind. Some shiny crystals, a few magical rods and a table.” Two chuckled and held his sides. “ Oho, what did he call it? Daemonic orthulcrum or Daemonic umberscrumber or something! Seven told your Vincent that if he destroyed the device, it would undo all the evil. All he had to do was make the deal and Vincent would reveal the secret. Vincent agreed.”

There was a long moment of silence until Talbert spoke up. “Seven used the sword to escape?”

Two nodded. “He took Five and Four with him. Dozens of the lessers escaped too, and the gateway through the circle closed.”

Talbert had sat with his back to the daemon, but turned around. “Just three? How many other greaters ... or lords are left?”

Two gave him a foul look and shrugged “Only Seven is a lord. Three and Six are unsummoned... dead if you wish. Of the lesser Kaedenndos... perhaps ten escaped the circle.”

“He's out there hunting for theses items...”, Tegg said absently.

Two shrugged. “It is Seven's goal. The first is nearby, so he plans to raise an army to take it back. He just needs a greedy enough group of humans”, Two replied.

Looks were exchanged throughout the party. “The Tohri.”, Jenk said in a low sigh.

Tegg frowned “Vincent is our immediate problem. How many of the hundred and sixty are left in the tower?”

Two shrugged again “Matthas killed some of them through his ... experiments. Others were failures, misshapen lumps of flesh that he tattooed for his records and threw to the others as food. Dozens died trying to cross the tower's circle. I don't know how many are left. They hide in the dungeons, mostly.” Two spat and waved his hand “Just leave quietly and you'll never see them.”

Talbert shook his head. “No, we have to find Vincent.”

“He's dead” Two growled.

Talbert nodded “We still have to find him.”

Two grimmaced “He fought Seven on the roof. I suggest you go up quietly and leave quietly. You'll have to break the circle to let me out... your lady friend here can do that... unless you want to obliterate the circle and let everyone out.”

Everyone looked at Dar, She winced, then nodded “I can get him out. I have... something that will do it.”

The group filed out and turned up the stairs with Jenk carrying the sphere in his pack. At the top of the stairs they found another swath of destruction. The entire area had been demolished and they could actually see the outer wall of the tower curving in the distance across the mess. This also gave them some idea of how to find the central staircase, and after passing over various bits of masonry and ash, they were climbing upward.

At the top of the stairs everyone paused to marvel at the view. The staircase walls ended and revealed the layout of the entire floor. The stairs sat at the hub of wide stone hallways heading in eight compass directions, cut with pie-slice shaped stone walls. They could see out of the tower as each hallway ended on the upper balcony of the main tower. To their right, the peaked roof of the manor house was visible and the forests could be seen off in the distance through the other exits. A row of inscribed collumns ran down the length of each hallway and the floors were covered in runes and glittering inscriptions. Dar hesitated, then stepped off of the stair landing walked over to one of the collumns and stroked it gingerly.

Jenk walked over and she shivered slightly. “Is this the circle, Dar? This whole floor”

Dar shook her head, “No... its only a part of it. The circle will be upstairs... maybe even on the roof”

The next floor looked similar to the lower section, it maintained the same wagon-wheel layout and contained numerous circles. On the far wall between each compass direction there was a low platform, upon which was inscribed a set of concurrent circles. Above each platform a set of heavy chain manacles hung from large steel beams. Dar refused to speak and fled up the stairs.

The final staircase ended on the roof of the tower, which opened up dramatically on all sides. The entire surface of the roof was a massive circle and four stone towers rose up at the cardinal compass points, bending inward and nearly touching above their heads. There was no railing or wall on the outside, several people moved across the circles and peered over the edge from as far as they dared go. It was an unnerving sensation in combination with the strange pattern of inscription and gilding at their feet.

When Talbert's head crested the staircase, he immediately felt the presence of Vincent. He tried to brush it off as some figment now that they'd reached the finish of their journey, but it persisted and intensified as he walked out onto the roof itself. Dar, meanwhile, paused on the stairs and gaped in horror. Ren and Cathnoma had to move past her when she waved them off.

The group stood a bit dumbstruck at the view until Talbert rushed across the rooftop to one of the giant spires. “Vincent!”, he yelled, drawing his sword.

Confused looks crossed most of the party's faces, but as Talbert's sword came free there was a sudden, overwhelming voice in their minds. It shook them, and Ren and Winstin both dropped to one knee. “LEAVE ME!”

“No Vincent!” Talbert yelled, apparently unaffected by the mental forces “Show yourself! Stand and be judged.”

“leave me alone” the voice yelled, a tone of pleading seeping in.

“Stand, Vincent! Show yourself!”

The voice shifted to a pleading wail and a shadowy form emerged from the spire. “Why do you torment me? Leave me in my”

Talbert rushed forward to the shade and whipped the sword forward, halting at the shade's head. “You are pathetic” Talbert hissed.

“I am nothing. Less than nothing.”

“What else did you do, Vincent? Why are you a shade and not a rotting corpse?”

Dar had moved forward and drew a small gemstone out on a necklace. “He is soulless” she whipsered, moving up beside Talbert and holding the stone forward. Small flashes of light seemed to blink forth, barely visible and then gone.

The shade recoilled, hissing in agony “A doorkeeper!? YOU'VE BROUGHT A DOORKEEPER TO DESTROY ME?!?”

Talbert gave Dar a strange look, but she ignored him “Who has it, shade? Who has your soul?”

The shade hunched further and further down, crouching and shivering. “Diur... Diur has it”

Dar hissed, then put the stone away. “Idiot whoreson daemon!” she screamed, turning and marching back towards the stairs.

“I HAD NO CHOICE!”, the shade cried, falling onto its face and weeping.

Dar whirled back, her hands clutched into claws. She grabbed her crystal again and started to shake. “You abandoned one god to another? You traded your soul for a chance at VENGENCE! ” She thrust the crystal forward and it flashed a brilliant blue, pulsing rapidly. The light swung around at Vincent and focused, causing the shade to groan. Talbert resheathed his sword and joined the others who had encircled Dar. He pulled her hand gently and she blinked, then relaxed her hands. “He made two deals. When the daemon took his sword, he prayed to Diur.”

“Vengence” Ren noted, shaking his head. “A fickle god, not one I would think to invoke.”

Dar frowned and cast a horrified look at the shade, “No, but he was low on options. Diur would promise him his chance at vengence on Seven. It was a stupid gamble, but Diur is known for stupid gambles.”

Vallen reached forward and lifted the stone around Dar's neck. “You're not just a mage, then?”

Dar frowned. “I am a member of the Angelics, the Doorkeepers. There hasn't been a summoner of daemons in years, not a serious one. Matthas... ” Dar paused and looked around at the sheer scope of the tower. “Matthas is beyond anything I've ever heard of.”

A noise from Jenk's bag caught Tegg's attention and he opened it to reveal Two, sputtering furiously. “Your little gemstone trick is a problem, my dear.” Two said, looking around fearfully. “I think you should get about getting out of this tower, there's no telling how many of my brethern felt that...”

Faces flushed in fear preceeded a general scramble. Tegg grabbed Talbert, “What now, what do we do now?”

Talbert paused, and Dar rushed up. “We go to Mogisor and... I suspect we will have to find a temple to Diur.”

Tegg nodded, and the group rushed back to the stairs.

The scramble down was organized until the first howls echoed up the stairwell. Whatever Dar had done, something was awake and looking for them. The group rushed out of the last landing and was headed for the straight stairs down to Two's closet when the first daemon attacked. Ren was first past the hallway intersection when a blur of red tackled him and he found himself lying on his side with a small, wingless creature slashing at his arm. The attack was ineffective thanks to Vallen, who drove a dagger into the creature's head just as it was bringing its claws down.

Ren looked up in a panic, and Jenk helped him to his feet. “Hopefully they're all like that.” he said simply

Talbert paused to look down, the daemon was the size of a child with grossly misformed arms and a bulbous head. The number "89" was tattooed on its shoulder and a maze of scars all over its chest and back. The group paused to look and listen for more, then rushed for the top of the steps.

In the hallway outside of Two's closet they heard the first sounds of footsteps and stopped. The hallay leading south was the way they came in, and the only way they knew of that led to an exit. Everyone hesitated, and Tegg had an idea. “Arasen, can you make a hole in the walls here?”

Arasen started to answer, then touched one of the walls and hesitated. “Probably. Once or twice, I think. But where?”

“If we go to the steps, they're going to find us. The tower is the circle, they can't leave the tower, if we can make it to the house, we'll be safe.”

“The manor house.... its north of us?”

Tegg nodded and they all turned. “Its that way”, Jenk said, pointing towards the bedroom.

In the main bedroom, Arasen walked up to a sofa and reached behind it to the wall. “This one?” he asked.

Winstin and Jenk grabbed the sofa and threw it back, giving Arasen room. From down the hall the sounds of footsteps and growling grew louder. Tegg and Ren took up positions at the door and Arasen got to work. He drew in his magic and reached out to the stonework. The heavy blocks felt like iron in his mind, his magic slipped into them slowly but steadily and he waited to feel the other side. The noises of the hallway drifted to nothing, and he pushed firmly.

The wall in front of Arasen seemed to bubble, then a small hole appeared and the stone seemed to flow into it, wrapping around the other side and moving out of the surrounding stone wall in rivulets. The party switched from watching the hallway to the hole, until Cathnoma started to growl viciously. At the end of the hall, two human-sized daemons appeared. Both had full wings, normal heads and eyes that revealed hatred and intelligence. They paused to locate the group and rushed toward them.

Arasen's hole was barely big enough to crawl through when Talbert shoved Dar towards it. She squeezed through, helped by the moving stone surrounding her, and was out and helping Jenk in a matter of seconds. Vallen and Talbert struggled through and Cathnoma happily jumped up and raced through when the first sounds of fighting started, and Arasen popped out describing Ren, Winstin and Tegg's defense.

“They said to run!” he yelled. “I don't have time to close the hole, hopefully those things are too big.”

Vallen had investigated the office they'd wound up in and discovered the door led to the hallway back to the house. “This is it! ” she yelled, glancing up and down the hallway. The rest of the party joined her and hesitated at the door.

“We have to wait for them”, Dar said, looking back.

Talbert looked back and nodded when Ren slid out of the hole and waved them off “We have to get out. They've gone another way!”

Sounds of growling alerted them to more daemons coming from the hallway, and they started to run. Ren described Winstin and Tegg running past the daemons as he jumped in the hole. “They're going around, the daemons have them cut off from the hole.”

Charging down the hallway, they burst into the pantry and Talbert felt a flash of heat through the scabbard on his hip. They continued trough the pantry and into the "T" shaped hallway in a rush, pausing at the top of the small set of stairs. Sounds of crashing and growling came from beyond the pantry and there was a sudden howl of pain. “We're in the manor.” Dar said softly “One of them just found the edge of the circle.” Talbert rubbed his thigh and nodded.

Tegg and Winstin had both bolted away from the hole at about the same time. They'd seen Ren dive in, which distracted the daemons long enough for Tegg to stab one vicously. The howl of rage was not what he'd hoped for and his instincts told him to flee. With Winstin keeping pace, Tegg rushed back toward Two's closet, hoping to find some way to get downstairs. Winstin had bolted when he saw Tegg run, recognizing a good idea when he saw one. Without a word they slid to a stop at the door to the southern hall, only to find a pair of daemons looking down the hall at them. Winstin reversed course and rushed up the straight stairs with Tegg only a half step behind him.

At the top of the stairs they turned left, making their way toward the central staircase. Tegg knew this was a useless plan, there wasn't much point in getting higher up, but any other direction could lead to a dead end. They turned left down the hallway, listening for daemons and were almost to the stairs when one appeared beyond the staircase. Winstin took the stairs, but Tegg dodged, running left down a new hallway. There were two small doors on the sides of the hall and a larger one at the end. Tegg burst through the larger one into the remains of a library, slamming full-speed into a tall bookshelf and toppling several books. A bit dazed, Tegg turned, desperately looking for a way out. He ran past the bookcase and turned again, spotting daylight in the distance. A balcony looked out over the woods and he mentally considered how high up he was when a daemon crashed into his back, clawing his side and slamming him into the floor. Tegg rolled forward to his knees and managed to get his sword out, but the daemon was faster. Tegg found his blade shoved sideways and felt a stabbing pain as claws found the lower edge of his armor. He fought to regain his weapon and felt sharp pains in his stomach as the daemon drove his claws through the padding below the chainmail shirt. Tegg tried to roll, but the daemon held him fast, shoving his sword free and striking him in the head with its forearm. Tegg's world went grey and there was a cold numbness in his side as he fell back and the daemon lunged forward, pinning him to the ground. He looked up briefly into the face of the monster and the world went black.

Winstin reached the top of the stairs, completely ignorant of Tegg's absense. In a blind run he left the stairs and ran north on the lowest circle level, charging down the long collumned hallway toward the balcony. He'd remembered the rooftop view from the steps, and had hashed out a plan during the flight. Without hesitation he dove headfirst off the edge of the tower and landed in a roll on the western slope of the manorhouse roof. There was a series of cracks as tiles gave way under him, and he found himself rolling and sliding headlong down the front of the manor roof. He caught just a glimpse of the peaked windows before slamming into them, rolling over and flying off the front of the roof. There was a moment of silence, then a sickening crunch in his shoulder and back as he landed hard in the grass in front of the manor house. The pain was brief, there was a slight breeze in the early evening in the grass and the world went black.