There was a grinding sensation below Typhus’s feet. He hoped off the dais to witness it sliding forward. He looked back to the entrance way where two of the Rune Guard stood. They weren’t reacting at all. In all his years of living in the city he never heard of sliding door in the floor of the council chambers. It was at that time he noticed a commotion coming from the house boxes. Typhus’s long years of adventuring told him he should get dressed quickly.

House Jinkbon’s denizens were shaking their patriarch who had seized up. He just stood there like a statue. There was a similar scene playing out in the Smitehammers box. The Tuskaxes were all standing back to back brandishing weapons over the body of Grimbor who was twitching on the ground. The Bloodbeards seemed unaffected by whatever was happening.

“Rune Guard, secure Typhus Bloodbeard at once,” ordered Venita Hascavir.

The guards stepped forward and grabbed Typhus from either side.

“What’s the meaning of this? My son just exposed a centuries old lie. How dare you take him into custody,” cried Kestus Bloodbeard.

“Be quiet, filth. Today is the day things all change. I’m taking over control of this council,” said Venita with a flourish of her hands across the declined console in front of her.

Red energy fields sprung up behind all the council members boxes. Effectively cutting them off from their exists. Then transparent barriers sprung up around the outside of the boxes facing the inner chambers. They were all trapped inside their respective seats of power. Suddenly a single row of runes lit up around the room in sequence. It stopped just beneath the support structure holding up the Hascavir’s box. Then there was the grinding of stone on stone as a figure emerged from the shaft exposed by the moving dais.

“This is madness. All the viewers above us can see what’s happening. These chambers will be flooded with soldiers from all houses. Stop this now Venita!” screamed Typhus who was being forced to kneel.

Above the council chambers in the viewing amphitheater all was calm. The spectators were watching a mostly procedural council meeting and gossiping about local politics. Ralph was making small talk with Tantus and Sophie before Tantus went still.

“What’s wrong?” asked Ralph.

“Take a look down there and tell me if you see anything odd,” replied Tantus as he pulled a small monocle from a pouch on his side.

“I see Typhus speaking with the council. He’s nodding his head along with what they are saying. Oh, look there’s Deacon… he’s wearing peasants clothing. Are those shackles on his wrists?” asked Ralph, confused.

“Yup. Notice anything else?” questioned Tantus.

“He’s being very polite,” Ralph half answered half questioned.

“That doesn’t strike you as strange?” prodded Tantus.

“Out with it. I’m not interested in a question and answer… what is that racket?” Ralph asked spinning in his seat to look up at the doors.

The doorway was filled with people pushing and shoving. As Ralph looked closer, he could see a woman in a cloak was punching out at two Deep Dweller guards who were trying to keep her from entering. The issue swiftly resolved itself as the two guards fell to the ground like two sacks of potatoes. A loud snoring could be heard from their bodies. Ralph immediately stood up and raced up the staircase. At the same time Tantus walked over to the velvet rope that separated the viewers from the glass partition. He affixed his monocle over his right eye and squinted the left one shut.

As Ralph bounded up the stairs he was met with comments from the crowd. They were telling him to sit down and be quiet. Apparently, they tied the disturbance at the door to the swordsman running up the stairs. Stepping over the bodies was none other than Amanda. Her eyes were wild and there was a bit of drool running off the left side of her mouth.

“Amanda! Where have you been? We were looking everywhere for you before the battle. What are you doing here? Why did you attack those guards?” asked Ralph in a rapid fire series of questions.

This was also met with shushing. Amanda took umbrage with it and raised her daggers to strike out at the closest complainer. Ralph grabbed her by the wrists to stop her from attacking. She dropped down low to the ground sweeping Ralphs legs out from under him and sending him tumbling down the flight of stairs.

Ralph popped back up to his feet and just stared at her. He knew the time had now elapsed on her Vendetta. She was always a handful but outright attacking bystanders, no this was another level entirely. As Amanda took each step the people in the rows closest to the stairs quickly gathered their things and sprinted for the exits.

Back down in the council chambers, Deacon had completely emerged from the shaft. His appears garnered gasps from the assembled family member who weren’t currently inflicted. Typhus struggled against the grip of the Rune Guard but as long as their armor was active, he wasn’t breaking free.

“Deacon! By the ten hells what have they done to you, boy!” screamed Typhus.

“Nothing trash like him doesn’t deserve. Now I’ll have an official ruling on the sentencing of the criminal known as Deacon, Champion of Chimera. House Hascavir votes death,” said Venita in her new official capacity.

All the troubled house members came back to their faculties in that moment. The young scion of House Smitehammer stepped up to the front of their box, eyes bloodshot, with a new red ring around his pupils.

“House Smitehammer votes death,” said Magrumin’s son through clenched teeth.

House Jinkbon was next, and it looked like Erlick had to force his way past his own guards to render his vote. They were holding him back. Magic spells swept over him with every step. It looked like they were trying to dispel some effect on him. They ended up resorting to physical restraints.

“There hasn’t been a death verdict in decades. The charges were not even spoken. The council is compromised. We must—” that was as far as he got before his body seized up.

“We are compromised. We can’t allow the armor to be taken. Enact emergency protocol zero one,” said the other guard.

They looked at each other and both spoke the shutdown phrase for their armor.

“Blathering Blatherskite.”

The runes on their armor darkened from head to toe. Their grip on Typhus did not loosen. It was as if they locked themselves in their own armor to prevent harm from being done. Typhus could hear them straining inside the enchanted gear. This didn’t help him much as he stared across the floor at his friend, bloody and trapped in some horrific device. He never thought something like this would happen in the heart of his city’s government.

“Deacon, I’m so sorry. We’ll get you out of this, there is a viewing chamber above the council room. Someone has to be coming to stop this. Deacon, look at me,” pleaded Typhus.

“No one above us can see anything. We’ve taken care of that. There is an illusion woven into the viewing glass. All they’ll see is this criminal accept his prison sentence and leave the chambers. House Hascavir will still be the number one house and all will be as it should. Now I believe House Tuskaxe has yet to vote” chuckled Venita.

“They killed him, Ty. Right in front me. Like he was some kind of insect to be stepped on and discarded. I couldn’t stop them. She’s here you know, Ruby. Just below these chambers. Must be where the Deep Well is. They got my name. The one they tortured Sophie for. They got my name and killed him anyway,” Deacon mumbled.

“We’ll make them pay Deacon. Don’t you worry. You just have to look at me Deacon. Who did they kill?” asked Typhus.

He desperately needed Deacon to focus on him. Typhus’s plan could still work but he was going to need Deacon in fighting shape. Right now, he looked to be on deaths door. Then Typhus noticed Deacon’s right hand. It was fiddling with something under the wooden plank. That made Typhus’s level of desperation drop just a little. Then a door beneath the House Hascavir box slid open. Prior to there was only a solid wall there. Within the doorway stood Elder Ruby wearing immaculate red robes with the symbol of Hipag emblazoned across it. She just stood there sneering at Deacon.

“Come on House Jinkbon, we don’t have all day,” shouted Venita.

“House Jinkbon votes—” was as far as Erlick got before a snapping sound could be heard from the Jinkbon box.

A ring with a ruby setting fell to the floor. It bounced and slid on the ground stopping at the circular platform Deacon was kneeling on. The band seemed to have snapped. There was clear gap in the silver.

“House Jinkbon votes to dismiss all charges. If that cursed item can get through these barriers, so can we. I don’t yet understand what you’ve done Hascavir, but I’ll see you in chains before the day is over!” hollered Erlick Jinkbon from his box.

“You won’t live to see the end of today,” commented a smoldering Venita.

The rest of the Jinkbons in attendance all cheered at the declaration. Inside the Tuskaxe box, a fierce melee had broken out. The twins were attacking their father and Uncle Jared was running interference. The Bloodbeards were not idle this whole time. Kestus was attacking the barrier with a saber made of pure shadow, while Daskus was focusing on the corner where the box met the wall. There was smoke drifting up and above him while the gnome mage was looking around wild eyed.

“Deacon how far can you turn your head?” asked a desperate Typhus.

Deacon finally snapped out of his funk and tilted his head to look at Typhus. That was when Typhus mouthed the word party. Deacon stopped turning the bolt for a moment. He just now realized that his party skill didn’t require soul energy. That was a good thing since his soul energy bar was still greyed out, even up here. He sent an invite to Typhus. His health instantly began to regenerate thanks to his Triage perk. Tears in his skin began knitting closed and his bruising started to clear up. Then they heard a commotion far above them.

Typhus craned his head back to look up. Ralph was fending off Amanda who was desperately trying to reach the glass. The gallery had all but cleared out with the exception of Deacon’s team members and Sophie.

“Deacon, the Regulators are above us. Add them to your party quickly,” said Typhus.

At this declaration, the smirk on Elder Ruby’s Mulvarian face began to darken. She stepped out into the chamber and yelled up to Venita’s box.

“Hurry this up. We need to go,” said Elder Ruby.

“We need a three fifths majority vote. Then we can throw off suspicion locally. I’ve told you this and you know the plan. As a convicted criminal in this region, you’ll be able to strip him of his blessings much easier,” called down Venita.

Typhus scowled at that. He didn’t understand what that meant. Why would be a criminal allow them to take away someone’s holy blessings. That wasn’t something he could deal with right then and now. The Tuskaxes would vote as soon as their fight concluded. If they were under ruby’s control, they’d have everything they needed. There was no way his father would vote for death. Then a bolt fell to the ground. One of the planks of wood restricting Deacon’s right arm slid out of its housing and clattered to the ground. Then his right arm sagged as gravity pulled it off of the ruby needles with a wet squelch.

Deacon reached his right arm up and grabbed at the plank above his right shoulder. He tore it off of him pulling the anchors that were drilled into his collar bone with it. The top plank was the one connected the iron rod holding it up. That gave Deacon enough flexibility to turn his head slightly up and to the right. Now he could see the viewing amphitheater. He immediately sent invites to Tantus, Ralph, and Amanda. Amanda stiffened when she got the invite. They could all see Deacon’s status while inside the party. The fighting stopped immediately as they all looked down into the chamber confused. Deacon’s health was only at seventy five percent and that didn’t square with what they were seeing. The dam finally broke when Tantus yanked the velvet rope down and got right up against the glass with his monocle. He began pounding on the glass with little effect.

Deacon had one final option as he lowered his head. He looked across the room at Elder Ruby in the doorway and triggered Inspect.

High Priestess of Hipag, Ruby- Formerly known as Elder Ruby, the High Priestess of Hipag forsook her worship of the god of Amon in order to gain enough power to strike back at her enemies. Furious about being used as a steppingstone in another’s ascension, she plotted with the evils of this world to exact her revenge. Level 26/ Evolved Mulvarian.

As soon as the message propagated to all within his party, he heard an ear piercing screech. Glass above him shattered as Amanda dropped down in a superhero landing for the ages. Her body was suffused with a golden glow. Then her hood flopped back as her red hair twisted around itself into several long smooth tentacles. Each with a hole at the tip. Black and green gas started to pour from those ports in a wide area around her. She then sprinted at the now empty doorway beneath the Hascavir box.