Invaders

Lord Regent Mangal stepped over the bloody bodies of the last line of defense before the Gelian royal vault. Gold paint covered his flesh while carefully drawn makeup was added to give him the perfect face capped off with an ornate headdress making him unusually flashy for a mage. At six foot eight, he was tall and slender with flowing robes of black, gold, and crimson that sparkled with arcane runes as he moved. His painted hands trembled slightly as he raised his plain bronze rod to point it at the door. Sparks shot from the countless protective wards shielding the large ornate metal door making a shiver of anticipation run down his spine. "Hess, Sa'dali come give me a hand, our prize is finally within reach." Behind him, the arch mages from both Kindrak and Shemil stepped away from the corpse of Gelian's lone arch mage.

"Do you think their wards will prove any more challenging than their arch mage? I'm starting to think combining forces to defeat these Galian's was a waste of my time." Sa'dali was a tiny ancient woman. Standing four foot ten with a darkly tanned face so wrinkled she looked like a shriveled mummy. Wearing a robe of rough plain cloth so basic it might have been burlap she shuffled towards the door. A mage of Kindrak showed off their power by dressing as poorly as possible. Their belief being that they needed no ornaments or decorations, that their power alone would serve to distinguish them. She looked up at the towering Mangal with more than a little disdain in his flashy outfit.

"I'm certain you would have done fine against them alone. It is not the combined might of three arch mages against one that made the victory so easy." Hess was a fat mage wearing common clothes with an open robe of bright yellow thrown over. His huge gut pushed out the perfect white shirt despite walking through the bloody scene. His skin was a dark chocolate brown while his curly black hair bearing a white streak around his crown was neatly trimmed. Without the robe, he would look no different than one of the countless traders from Shemil. With a condescending smile, he gazed down at his rival from Kindrak as he stepped up to the vault door.

"No bickering. Remember, once we have the god in our possession our lands will be merging into the new Eastern Alliance. Let your old squabbles go!" Mangal condemned the two other mages getting glares from them but little else. "Now help me open our prize!"

Together the three arch mages applied their combined might against the wards protecting the vault. Sparks flew and the air shimmered with the heat coming off. Rugs and tapestries burst into flames while the corpses closest to the door shriveled up before turning to ash. With a horrendous sound like metal being torn apart, the wards finally gave under the power of their combined might. Stepping back the three arch mages watched as the still glowing hot vault door swung outwards revealing the contents of the vault. Gold, jewels, artwork, and even artifacts of great power filled the huge space beyond. Yet, as they stepped over the threshold to look around none of them saw what they were looking for. Gritting his teeth Mangal was about to start cursing when laughter drifted in.

Propped up against one of the final barriers holding in the last of their life blood from seeping out of their mortal wound, was King Melian. He'd struggled through pain and blood loss, clung to life just for this one moment. When he could witness his enemies despair at finding they had been tricked. "Did you think we would really keep them somewhere so obvious?" Laughing caused him to cough up blood yet his face bore a huge grin.

"I knew there were spies watching. But I never guessed you'd try such a heavy handed attempt… Or that you would have come yourselves. I have to thank you." Smiling, the King of Gelian watched the three enemy arch mages try and leave the vault only to be stopped by a barrier. Lifting his hand from his wound he watched them curse as he sighed contentedly letting the last of his life's blood seep away. Within the vault the trigger for the final defense was met, the vault door was open and the king dead. Melian's smiling corpse watched with glassy eyes as all the hidden wards inside the vault detonated.

**********

Larian halted the group following behind him and raised a quick barrier moments before the entire castle shook with enough force to knock Jane off her feet. Fire roared past them just beyond the barrier to disappear down all the other corridors. Blinded by the sudden burst of light and deafened by the explosive roar the group stopped to regain their senses. Only Larian who'd braced for it and D who was able to recover almost instantly spotted the group of three people coated in a shimmering mass of energy crash into the hall before them.

"Curse these damn Gelian's and their traps! Had we not already been linked we would have died for sure!" Hess pulled herself free from the tangle of the others' limbs to stand up giving a wheezing cough. As the other invading arch mages righted themselves they noticed the odd gaggle of people standing before them. Arch Mage Mangal's eyes settled on one he knew well.

"Pena, what are you… I see." His eyes took in the others shifting to Larian who was busy brushing dust from his sleeves. Then to the boy, he expected to be the monstrous being he'd been so excited to meet. Then his eyes settled on the sleeping child carried in the pretty young woman's arms.

"Excellent. You've done better than I could have ever hoped." Smiling Mangal took a step forward while the other two arch mages watched confused. "You must be Arch Mage Larian. I'm so excited to meet you, sorry that it had to be at such a bad time." He gave Larian a small bow before turning to D. "And you must be D. I've heard so much about you."

During this time both Hess and Sa'dali focused in on the child in Rachel's arms. Their eyes were filled with such unbridled hunger as to make the dorm mother move to the side trying to hide behind Larian. "We should get out of here." She whispered to no one in particular.

"Larian, D I'm sure Pena has told you all about my offer. Gelian is in ruins, the kingdom will soon fall. Come, join me. I have so many things I wish to discuss with both of you." Mangal smiled a very charming smile towards the group.

"Sorry, Lord Regent Mangal I belive we must decline. Hmm, that shriveled husk must be Sa'dali. I've never seen you before but legends of your hideousness has spread far and wide! Then let me see... is that Hess or just some two bit merchant. I can only guess who you are based on your robes, but I've heard he is so greedy he might have just sold them to you perhaps? Honestly, three arch mages invading Gelian. You must have been really scared of them!" Larian shrugged his shoulders with a cocky grin.

"You…" Sa'dali started to step forward while Hess was already muttering an incantation of his own when Mangal raised his arm up to stop them.

"Come now Arch Mage Larian. You can't really be picking a fight with the three of us? What point would it serve? You aren't Gelian and owe them nothing. Come, I'm sure I can find something to interest you." Mangal still had his pleasant smile plastered on.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid an old friend asked me to make sure things went a certain way. You see he did me a favor once and I hate owing anyone anything. So it is time to pay my debt." Throwing out his hand he pointed at the three arch mages. "Remember D, brains this time!"

D didn't hesitate to charge forward, he didn't know who the people were in front of him nor did he care. His only thoughts were how much he was going to charge Larian for this later. His form shifted and swelled as he tore down the wide corridor. Sa'dali and Hess both showed shock on their faces but neither hesitated as they unleashed what spells they had ready. Chains of light appeared to wrap around D's limbs before disappearing into mid air around the charging monster boy trying to hold him in place. Then his body snapped too and fro as dozens of condensed balls of air slammed into him. Both mage's cruel smiles faltered as D struggled forward, ripping free of the chains and shrugging off blows seeming unharmed.

"Marvelous. Absolutely marvelous. It really might be a Devourer after all." Raising his rod Mangal pointed it at D. Runes appeared on the surface of the bronze foci glowing brightly with prismatic light. In the back of the group, the hesitating Pena clutched her head as matching runes began blazing across her flesh. Throwing back her head in a soul piercing scream she felt the hold on her mind releasing. The memories of all she'd been through were no longer tinted by the compelled control and she was forced to live through all years of her subjection at once. All the torture, experimentation, and conditioning she'd been put through by the monster tamer before being sent to act as a spy were recalled without the forced emotions covering them. Collapsing into a sobbing mess Pena finally recalled that her kind master was nothing but a cruel slaver.

As D ripped free of the final chains his charge faltered as prismatic runes flowed around him before sinking down to his scaly hide. Screaming in agony he clutched his head while growing in size shredding his robes as he thrashed around. Mangal and the other arch mages stepped back allowing him to crash down to his knees right where they had been. In the back, Jane ignored the sobbing Pena and started to rush forward. Larian's arm shot out and gripped her painfully by the shoulder.

"Not yet, girl. I need you to do something when this is all over." Larian knelt down forcing the struggling girl to look him in the eyes. Her body went slack as he whispered instructions to her as D fought for his freedom.