Chapter 43: Worked Perfectly... Sort of...

Night fell. The manor household went to bed, all pretending things were normal. And to all watching eyes, Cerene was alone when she lay down to sleep.

But she was most certainly not alone. Hidden by magic, the four mages were in place as Cerene lay down under her covers. But she was very frightened, and unable to sleep.

Poor girl, Zentarou thought to the others, able to see decently via the pale light streaming in through the window curtains. She's wide-awake.

It's so dark I can barely see, commented Orko, and Vivi agreed.

How are we to make our move? the Black Mage asked.

I'll cast a light spell when we attack, Dregan said simply, as if he didn't want to dwell on the task at hand. The other three went to private communication.

Something's really wrong, commented Vivi, and once this is over, I sat we find out what. He sensed rather than saw their nods, but a split second later they all tensed, as a shadow crossed in front of the window.

With the ease of a master burglar, a circle of glass was but and removed, allowing access to the latch within. Vivi nearly gasped aloud as he caught a thought from Dregan, one not sent to them but rather broadcast, as if he'd thought it so strongly the pendant picked it up anyhow: for a brief moment, the elf considered repairing the glass circle with the culprit's arm still inside, not as much to trap it... as to sever it! But the thought quickly vanished, and the rapist was inside. The Bretheren Arcanum braced as the man crossed the room, a dagger gleaming in the moonlight. Closer and closer to the bed, tan steps away... seven... five...

Suddenly his foot hit the trapped area. He jerked tight, Dregan lit up the room, and the mages sprang. The plan called for Dregan, Zentarou, and Orko to restrain him, while Vivi got Cerene out of the room, as he was on the opposite side of the room from their target.

At least, that was the plan.

Dregan activated his light spell, right in front of the rapist's eyes to further stun and disorient him... and that's where things began to go wrong. The rapist, blind but no longer stunned from the trap, swung blindly as he realized he was in trouble, lost his balance, and fell onto the bed. Cerene screamed and scrambled out from under the sheets, at the exact same time as Vivi darting out from his hiding place, still invisible, and tripped on the rug. Thus, Cerene didn't see him in her frantic flight from her assailant, tripped on Vivi, and fell over on top of him so they were tangled in a heap and Vivi effectively out of the fight.

Meanwhile, Dregan's light spell had an unforeseen effect: Orko, and to a slightly lesser extent Zentarou, were also blinded by the sudden brightness. Dregan, his eyes masked by the gray shadow visual of another spell, was unaffected and already casting another spell, but it made no difference with the result. Trusting that their prey was still in the same place, not having heard him fall, the Trollan and the Sir'Kai lunged. Zentarou dived between the bedposts at the foot of the bed, narrowly missing the left one, and - thinking he was going to go too far to the side flailed out his left arm even as he collided with the man who was trying to sit up. Orko, meanwhile, was aiming for the man's gut, or where he thought it was were the man standing, and the top of his forehead under his hat cracked painfully - on both parts - with the man's jaw, and Zentarou's fist caught his fellow mage in the side. They all fell in a heap, stunned and disorientated, on top of each other, even as Dregan tried to stop his spell. Too late, as ropes of magic leapt up to grab their target... and a certain unfortunate pair of mages who were too close. The Dunedi lunged to try and pull at least Orko out of the ropes' grasp, but got kicked in the shin by the struggling man, tripped with a yelp, and fell right into the pile-up. Before any could blink, all four were entangled together, barely able to move. And, finally, in burst Alaric, Pyric, and a couple of city guards.

"What ?" one thoroughly confused guardsman stuttered. Vivi poked Cerene gently in the side, which counted as an attack of sorts and therefore dispelled the effect, and they untangled themselves. Dregan managed to twist his head so his still enchanted gaze fell on the rapist, and the shadow transferred to him and he went still, as if sedated. Then they elf dismissed the vines, and the mages slowly got up.

"He'll come to in about an hour," the elf informed them in a rather brisk tone as the guards arrested their prisoner, and Dregan pulled his hand out of his crystal pouch, shaking off the dust. He smirked at the others. "Not exactly what we had in mind, but it worked."

"I'll say, on both counts," agreed Zentarou with a laugh, rubbing his head. The guards left, and Cerene rushed over to embrace each Bretheren in turn, thanking them, as a low hum filled the air.

"Good timing," commented Vivi, as the mages gathered together.

"Are you leaving?" Alaric asked.

"Yes," answered Dregan, as the vertigo overtook them. "Farewell." And they were gone.