"Vith!" The drow epithet burst from Hakar's lips with unusual force, even as he watched Kiiri withdraw her lance and leap back into the air...whirlwinds appearing and diffusing the storm of arrows that followed her, vanishing into the sky.

"I think we just found out what is 'amiss'!" Hakar snarled, drawing his blade. Grabbing ahold of the others, he closed his eyes and concentrated...the world seemed to shift around them, and then they were standing at the base of Ashtar's Citadel. Hakar reeled, transporting so many people at once was more difficult than it looked, but regained his senses quickly as he cast a second spell...rendering all of them invisible.

Ashtar glared over the balcony and swore. "They just disappeared? They couldn't have gone far." he sheathed his sword and turned to several of the guards. "No one is to leave the town square until they are found. Send out search parties to scour the city, then place the citadel on lockdown."

Striding off the balcony and into the citadel, he turned to Cerberus who was standing by just inside the entrance. "Notify Antarrak that we will be keeping the Avariel girl. I have new plans for her. Has he already launched his navy?"

The pale man nodded.

"Good. Launch the fleet imediatelly and follow them as per our plans."

Cerberus saluted and headed off to the lower levels of the citadel.

*******************************

Gabriel shook off the sudden disorientation and got his bearings. The entrance to the citadel was open and soldiers were pouring out. He unravled Gug and signaled to the others to follow him in.

"Now what?" Sarin whispered to the others. He had been silent for so long, the others might be surprised to still see him there. "Do you think we could finish this as quickly as we've seemed to try to start it?"

((Sorry, was at a con all weekend))

Laine reeled as a sudden onslaught of magic used assailed his senses. I know exactly where that came from. He headed for Ashtar's Citadel, itself dwarfing the sky above the surrounding urbanscape. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally throwing up a Flare, hoping against hope that one of his fellow Elementalists was here, and that they would see it. I need to find out where they are. For all I know, that could have been a teleportation spell. But, wait, the only person who could have cast such a spell would be...
"Hakar!!!!!!!!!" Laine yelled. He saw them now, still hundreds of yards away. They were at the base of the citadel. He leaped into the air, ignoring the pain that screamed in his wings. He had to get to them fast. He flew straight forward...

...and was met by a hail of arrows, all aimed at him.

Ooc: Warmage, make your way to the ground, I'll get you to safety from there.

Ic: Ashtar strolled down the hallway and into his quarters. He passed through the hidden tunnel and emerged once again within the antiroom which housed Kiiri. Already standing there were Jaral, smirking maliciously; and standing in parade ground attention, was Kiiri.

Ashtar clapped lightly. "Bravo. Now the populace will beg us to go to war with the Avariel and the Barbarians. You did well today." He reached over and pulled the dragoon helmet off Kiiri's head, revealing the Control Helm beneath.

"What an interesting mix of magic and technology you managed to aquire here." Ashtar commented. "It works quite well, I must admit. Back in the shackles."

Kiiri obediantly walked over to the shackles on the wall and chained herself up. Jaral then moved over to her and removed the helm from her head. She seemed to colapse completely, and lie unmoving on the floor, emitting the occasional weak sob.

Ashtar barked out a harsh laugh. "Jaral," he said. "I think I'm going to double your pay."

*************************************************

Gabriel nodded to Sarin. "Let's hope so. Everybody inside; split into two groups. Hakar, you take Alec, Gug, Mat and Jechir and track down Jechir's sword. Sarin, Jerick, Talos, Metrius and I will see if we can find Kiiri. Track us down if you find it and we'll all take on Ashtar together. Antarrak can wait. Something tells me that Ashtar is the greater threat."

He never saw Laine coming. His blind eye was turned to him.

"Let's move out." he said and strode passed the last few soldiers to run through the entrance, and into the citadel.

Jaral grinned wickedly, "That suits me almost as well as the agreement we made concerning my brother...he is mine to kill, I want to keep this a family affair." he laughed cruelly.

************************************************** ********************

Hakar shook his head, "Jaral will be guarding Kiiri, not some sword...I can find him, I can find her. Besides, I know how he fights, what tricks we can expect from him, and it is my duty to see this through...he is still my brother, despite everything he has done. I must be a part of the group that searches for Kiiri. Jechir, you can use, and thus detect Light magic...you go with Alec, Gug, and Mat to find the sword."

Gabriel wanted to protest, to say that Hakar was in no shape to fight his own brother; but he saw the steel behind the man's eyes. He gave a slight sigh and conceded. "Very well. I'll take the others to find the sword." he placed a hand on Hakar's shoulder. "But be careful. Those half-drow are not to be trusted." He said with a half grin.

He signaled Mat, Alec, and Gug to come along and turned to Jechir. "Lead the way." he said simply.

"And let those who betray a half-drow learn the meaning of fear!" he laughed, clapping his friend on the back as he walked toward the entrance to the citadel. His powers seemed to come easier to him now, he felt himself recovering more quickly than he had before.

"Does anyone have a plan for getting past the guards?" he asked suddenly, realizing that they had made no plans for confrontation, except against Jaral and Ashtar.

"They could always stop in their tracks," Jerick mentioned. He knew the guards were all wearing plate mail, which would make this easy for the balcksmith to do. With his idea put in, Jerick secretly put a magnetic shield around the group. He didn't want anything metal getting anywhere near them at this point.

Jechir was flustered momentarily. "I've never really used my magic to detect magic before, but I guess it's worth a shot..." Jechir closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. He reached down to that place inside of himself where he knew his magic came from. He concentrated, letting his magic fan out in all directions. He felt the warmth spread all throughout his body, and after a few moments, it spread out even further. More and more, he was losing himself in the inner glow. After a few more moments, he felt another, smaller glow pulsating. This had to be Flashblade! He opened his eyes, still feeling out with his magic. In a voice that seemed not his own, he spoke to the group with him, "This way..." He began following a twisting alleyway deeper into the citadel.