Worthy Core

"Make sure the second floor garrison is prepped - once today's reinforcements arrive, we'll be pushing into Floor Three. If there's no other matters, then you're dismissed."

"Yes, ma'am!" The draconic officer gives Cerise Darktouched a salute before exiting her tent, leaving the demon alone with her thoughts. While there's quite a bit of competition for her focus at the moment, the thought which is currently winning is where is Lyota?

Like most fury demons, the agent has always been a stickler for rules and punctuality. Normally she'd at least have said good morning by now even if she then left to inspect the rest of the camp. It's not as if Cerise needs Lyota around to do her job, of course, but if something goes wrong the Emissary would like to know that her bodyguard is on hand. Deciding she can spare at least a few minutes to look into the matter, Cerise leaves her tent herself and begins to explore.

Her first check at the officer's tent where Lyota usually sleeps is a bust. Her bunk is empty, and none of those present recall seeing her earlier in the morning. Somewhat worried, she makes her way to the dungeon entrance, but fortunately the guard there reports that Lyota never went inside, at least. It's not until she questions one of the patrols guarding the top of the mountain trail that she finally gets a clue.

"Silverstar?" A young succubus in scout armor raises an eyebrow. "Right, the fury? We were told to keep an eye out for her. Apparently she went out with a squad in the middle of the night to hunt down a couple of..." The demon pauses to giggle. "Fornicators."

"Fornicators? Why would she - ah, of course." Cerise sighs, shaking her head. "I perhaps should have had her spend more time inspecting the troops for regulation-breaking, I imagine she's been getting a little hungry." She furrows her brow, glancing at the morning sun. "But the middle of the night, you said? That would have been hours ago?"

The succubus returns the confused look. "Huh, now that you mention it, I suppose so. Apparently she was going to do a patrol flight or something, and sent her escort back here on foot. Could be they were lower down on the mountain, so she took the unlucky pair to the checkpoint down at the bottom, instead of up here?"

Something about this doesn't sit right with the Emissary. Rounding up a few wayward soldiers should not have taken the experienced Challenger agent all night, especially when she could simply fly back to the camp when she was done. And going out on her own...

"...I don't want to sit around all day and see if she returns - if there was an injury out there, she could be in need of assistance." Her eyes trace the scout up and down. "We need a flight patrol out there. Do you have a wing transformation? Or - no, you need to stay at your post. Which squad is currently - "

The rest of her questions are interrupted by the sound of thunder suddenly rolling through the air...which is odd, considering it's a rather sunny morning. "...Okay then. We need more than just one patrol out there. Lead your squad down the trail! You! Squad Commander Henlisius!"

A red-scaled draconic caught poking his head out of a tent turns to face the demon. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I need every flier in this camp organized and ready to head out in - in two minutes! Get to it!" As the man quickly gets to finding his fellow draconics, and identifying which of the demons currently in the camp are capable of flight, Cerise gets to adjusting her own robes. Wings on demons have always been a bit of a matter of luck for some - arcane and fury demons tend to be born with them more often than not. Succubi and incubi are less lucky, although some do eventually gain the ability to temporarily grow a pair, given the right magics. Cerise is one of those, and with a quickly-cast spell her extra appendages begin to sprout from her back.

By time her wings have had a chance to spread out and stretch, the first hastily-arranged squad of draconics appears to have been gathered. Not wanting to wait any longer, Cerise snaps her fingers at the one who seems to be in charge. "Follow me! We're going to be investigating that thunder! Expect hostiles!"

While some of those present seem to not appreciate being snapped at by a woman not even officially part of the army, the prospect of a good fight seems to soothe their mood. Regardless, they follow her quickly enough as Cerise takes into the air, and as they start their descent Cerise begins casting protection spells on the group.

"Keep a watch out for a fury demon, she was last seen - "

"Ma'am!" One of the younger draconics interrupts her with a pointing finger. "Smoke in that direction!"

"Then we head that way!" The draconics are fast, to the point where Cerise actually struggles to keep up with them, but it's not long before the group begins to slow down. Coming to a halt, she can see why - whatever it was exactly that occurred, one thing's for certain - it was a disaster.

The next wave of reinforcements were about halfway up the mountain when a large chunk of it apparently decided to go rumbling down in a landslide. Except...as she looks at the wounded and the corpses, that doesn't seem entirely correct. Some of the dead are bloody messes, torn apart by shrapnel and impromptu amputations, not crushed by rocks. As she goes further, she sees another part of the trail - the former trail - marked by scorch marks, and a few soldiers clearly burned to death there.

Of course, if there was any question left remaining in her mind as to whether or not this was an attack, that question is soon settled by the sight of a banshee hopping around the rocks, finishing off the survivors. The reinforcement wave should have held about eighty soldiers, which would be more than a match for Taly of Highfalls even at her best. Outside the dungeon, away from the strength granted by her home floor? A single squad should have normally been able to give the woman a pretty good fight.

But this isn't a normal arena. The trail up the mountain has always been narrow and winding, and after the morning's sabotage much of that trail no longer exists at all. Survivors have been separated by piles of stone or collapsed ledges, and between the rubble, smoke, and turns of the mountainside many of them can't even see what's going on. Of course, the Banshee Queen is doing all she can to aid in that as well - as Cerise watches on, a wall of shadow blocks the view of one group of survivors, and a panicked cry from another is quickly silenced by Taly's sonic magics. There's a few quick slashes of her daggers and then the rogue is on the move, scrabbling over the rocks to find her next target.

Of course, Cerise isn't about to let there be a next target. "There! The banshee climbing over those rocks - contain her!"

"On it!" The draconic commander leads his squad into a dive, and one mage in the group fires a blast of lightning at the monster. Taly had seen the fliers coming and manages to dodge the attack, but as she attempts to swap to her bow she practically has to fling herself out of the way of a set of draconic claws. For nearly any mortal it would be a suicidal move given the terrain, but Taly's agile and pain-deadened undead body manages to find new footing before she tumbles too far. The moment she lands she's already firing her shot, and one draconic yowls as the arrow lands in their thigh.

Even Taly can't run and shoot at the same time though, not out here on such uneven terrain, and not away from her floor. Cerise can see her hesitation, trying to decide whether to flee or to continue shooting, and that moment is all the Emissary needs. Swooping in a bit closer, she releases a spell she had been preparing and the banshee finds herself struck by a wave of magical energy that causes her to stumble.

"What the hells?" Taly waves an arm out in front of her, trying to grab on to a stone to steady herself with. "Feels like I just downed a dozen shots at the bar - and I don't even get drunk anymore!" Turning a bleary gaze onto Cerise, she frowns. "You're the lady in charge around here, yeah? Guess that makes you a pretty good target..."

She attempts to prepare another shot, this time at the succubus, but this time she completely fails to dodge the draconic that slams into her. She also completely fails to catch herself as the two begin rolling down the mountainside, both of them cursing. Sighing, Cerise begins preparing another spell and follows after.

The pair come to a halt on a ledge about forty feet further down, with one of Taly's arms broken and one of the soldier's wings torn open by her blade, but as the two prepare for a second round there's little doubt who the victor will be. After giving a roar of frustration, the soldier takes a brief moment to taunt her. "I'm going to mount your head on a stake outside my tent!"

Surprising him, the response comes from Cerise, not Taly. "Don't kill her! Take her alive!"

The order manages to confuse the soldier more than it does the monster, and Taly shoots her a grin. "Don't want me getting resummoned back in the dungeon, eh? I see how it is. Well, if it's going like that..." With her good arm Taly lifts one of her daggers to her own neck - only to freeze as Cerise's second spell hits her. Arcane chains burst from the stone around her, grabbing on to her wrists and ankles, pulling the blade away from her. Seeing his target caught and helpless the draconic again moves in with a blow that would tear out her heart, only to again be ordered back by Cerise.

"I said hold! I'll take it from here!"

Cerise lands between the two, and the dazed banshee gives the demon a bleary grin. "You know I've got more weapons than just my hands, yeah? Allow me to remind you - "

"SLEEP." The demonic word reverberates as Cerise utters it, and Taly collapses halfway through opening her jaw for a sonic scream. As her resistance fades away the binding chains continue to grow around her, wrapping her up like a cocoon, and Cerise whirls on the draconic standing behind her.

"This is our best chance at intel from inside the dungeon since we got here! Take her - " Cerise pauses, looking up and down the mountain and realizing that there's nowhere nearby suitable to keep such a dangerous threat, even one that's magically contained. "Take her to the Grassbrook fort! I'll be there to prepare a more specialized cell before these spells wear off. And don't hurt her!"

Taking a deep breath, the draconic eventually brings himself under control. "As you will, Emissary. What of..." The soldier trails off, looking back up at the devastation above. "What of what happened here?"

Cerise sighs, following his gaze. "I'll lead the search and rescue efforts, and make sure there's no other ambushers. Today's intrusion has been called off...indefinitely, most likely." The demon grimaces as her mind begins to calculate just how much damage this might do to her plans. "I only hope our captive helps offset what we've lost today."

As a thought occurs to her, Cerise has to make one addendum. "...Including Soul Lasher Silverstar."