Dreadlords Bros Before Gallows

[Edric]

Velen

Edric lay draped in a heavy canvas tarp Vance Calgrave besides him. Heavy clay roof tiles sat beneath them, and just over the peak of the roof they had a perfect view into the town square below.

A dozen men were milling around the marbled cobbles, most of them carrying heavy beams of wood. The rain steadily pattered down onto all of them, dingy clouds above doing nothing to increase the mood of the day. Edric pulled the binoculars away from his face, offering them over to Vance with a quiet grunt. "That'll be the gallows."

In a strange sort of way, he was glad that it was Vance with him on this mission.

The two of them had always been rivals, taking to the blooded grounds of the Academy more often than any other pair of Initiates in their class. They had fought one another to a dozen standstills, and of course spotted those draws with dozens of victories and losses for either side. He was pretty sure Vance had stabbed him through the chest more times than some of the Proctors.

Still, Edric liked him. If only because he knew just how good he was.

"Should be done by dawn. He remarked quietly with a frown. "Just in time for our friend's execution."

He still wasn't entirely sure that this would work, but Vance had pointed out it was easier than breaking into a prison. Saving a man right before his execution was bold, dangerous, but trying to break him out of jail was all but impossible. Especially when he was a former Dreadlord, and was being kept in the deepest part of the dungeon.

Least here they would have the chaos of the crowd.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

Vance wiped water droplets from his face before peering through the binoculars. "They could hurry up," he grumbled. The canvas had taken the worst of the wet, but it was still cold, dark, and damp on the rooftop. The humid air wouldn't do him any favors, either.

In typical fashion they'd been given only the bare-bones information they needed for the job. The "why" had not been provided, and neither Vance nor Edric had been fool enough to ask. As two of the older initiates, within spitting distance of true Dreadlord status, they had also endured the worst that the Academy had to offer. Their brutal rivalry had almost certainly been the intention of their proctors, and while one could only guess at their motivations, it had forged a cruel sort of battle bond between them. "Friend" is not a word Vance would have used. There were no friends in the Academy.

"What sort of Dreadlord can't break himself out of the gallows?" he muttered irritably.

 

[Edric]

It was a good question. One that Edric himself had wondered more than once. They hadn't been given any sort of details about the man other than a few identifying marks, and even that had been rather lacking. That was nothing new though. Most of the time they just threw them into the shit and expected it all to work out.

"An incompetent one." Edric grunted in response.

His lips thinned for a brief moment as he watched the gallows come together, glancing over towards the roof tops opposite them.

He frowned. "If we wait for nightfall we can string a line between here and there."

Something they could use to zip down into the center of the square.

Between the two of them Edric was confident they could make it to the Gallows. Once there freeing the Dreadlord wouldn't be too hard, and getting out? So far they'd decided on using the chaos of the crowd stoked by explosive runes placed before hand. It wasn't a complex plan, but it would work.

At least he hoped.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

Vance exhaled, passing the binoculars back to Edric and trying to somehow sink lower beneath the tarp. It wasn't the cold or the damp that really bothered him, physical extremes were pretty much old news at this point in their "education," it was the waiting.

"Could do," he said, peering around the gray square. "Unless they have archers." Seemed like overkill for a public hanging, but this guy was a big shot. He hoped they didn't have archers. He wanted to use the zip line.

"If we blow the runes at those streets," he pointed to the two largest roads leading in to the square, "we can funnel the crowd towards the gallows and then..." he traced his finger along and out one of the side roads, "we ride the current away."

So long as they weren't trampled, but if Edric was good for anything it was being large and all but impossible to knock down.

 

[Edric]

Edric nodded.

It was a solid enough plan. Though he knew it likely wouldn't pan out the way they wanted. Things like this rarely did. A lesson he'd learned after his first few missions. Plan for the best, but be prepared for it all to go to absolute shit at the drop of a hat. "If they have archers I'll just go first."

The Initiate remarked as he took the binoculars back. A few arrows wouldn't kill him, and with an entire crowd surrounding them he could draw enough life from those below that it wouldn't kill anyone.

"We'll bring an extra cloak for him." Edric said as he pulled the binoculars into his pack, sealing it shut so the contents didn't get wet. A glance was spared back down into the square, a long sigh drawing from his lips. Then he too shifted a little bit more beneath the canvas.

By the time nightfall took the city of Velen the square beneath had become all but silenced. The gallows were nearly finished, needing just a few touches before they brought out the prisoner. Two guardsmen remained standing near the wooden platform, likely just put there so no one tried to steal any of the wood.

Rain still fell, a constant deluge that made the tiles beneath their feet slippery. "You wanna go over or should I?"

Edric asked Vance, hefting the length of rope.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

"If they have archers I'll just go first."

Vance smirked and huffed a short laugh. "Obviously."

The next few hours were just as dreary as the first. There was nothing to discuss, they'd gone over the plan a few times already and, chances were, they have to adapt on the fly anyway. When Edric offered a chance to actually move, Vance took it.

"I'll go," he said, pushing himself up and feeling his muscles unsettle themselves. He put up the damp hood of the drab cloak they'd been given and took the coiled rope over his shoulder. He crawled towards the edge of the roof. "Don't let it slip," he quipped before lowering himself down, using the rope to rappel his was to the street with Edric as his anchor.

Darkness was his friend now, and he kept to the shadows of building faces as he crept around the square. If he reached the corner of the far building they could raising the rope without alerting the guards, then he would just need to walk it over so that it ran right over the gallows.

He moved low and quick, letting only as much rope out as he needed to keep moving. Once across, he ducked behind the building's corner. The hard part was next: scaling the wall.

 

[Edric]

Edric didn't offer any objection as Vance volunteered.

It didn't make much of a difference for him which of them went. So as the other Initiate slipped out of the canvas tarp Edric's fingers wrapped tightly around the rope. He felt it tense as Vance bounded down the wall, the sound of his landing drowned out by the fierce rain which continued from the clouds above.

His eyes flickered almost immediately into the square, not searching for his companion but instead keeping his eyes on the guards.

Vance could handle himself, there was no doubt about that, but a dead guard would draw attention they in no way needed right now. Better to keep a lookout and draw attention elsewhere if-

"Shit." Exactly what he had feared seemed to manifest. On the opposite side of where Vance was heading a group of guard began to move, clearly meant to relieve those at the gallows. Their path would take them directly by where his companion now was. Edric cursed, quickly tying off the rope and pulling himself free from the canvas.

He wrapped a cloak around himself, grabbed a small sack of coins they'd been given..

With a jump he clattered down into the square, bracing his muscles with a touch of his reserve. Then he began to run directly at the Gallows. His form flickering obviously even through the deluge. One of the guards noticed him, shouting.

"HEY YOU! STOP RIGHT THERE!"​

Edric turned on his heel 'accidentally' dropping the coins onto the ground as he rushed away. The guard behind him quickly caught up, calling to the others.

"THIEF! GET HIM! HE MUST HAVE BROKEN INTO ONE OF THE SHOPS!"​

 

[Vance Calgrave]

"HEY YOU! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Vance tensed and faced the voice. There was no way they had seen him, he had made sure of it! Relief at seeing the guards facing the other way quickly fled as he recognized the burly figure of Edric, cloak or no, fleeing the scene.

He caught the troop of guards turning to follow him, too, and recognized the service the boy had done him. He would have to pay it back, and undoubtedly endure a fair helping of ridicule for needing the assistance.

Alright, up now. At best Edric's distraction would be temporary, at worst it could draw more guards. Either way, Vance needed to get to the rooftop. With the rope firmly over his shoulder he began to climb. The hand holds were slick from the rain, and his wet cloak dragged on him, but he was able to scale the building without being seen.

He pulled the rope up as quickly as he could. There would be a horrible minute during which it would hang low between the buildings, easily seen. He thanked the darkness for what cover it could give, and he looked around for Edric.

Once the rope was at height he would just need to move so that it ran directly above the gallows.

 

[Edric]

Edric ran as fast as he could, which was luckily quite fast indeed.

Magic pulsed through his veins, drawing from his reserve and pooling into his muscles. As quickly as he could the Initiate darted down the street, his boots thundering against the cobbles as he rushed forward. The guards behind him continued to shout.

They called for reinforcements, yelled for him to stop, but all of them were ignored.

Edric moved down the main street, giving the men behind him the opportunity to follow his steps. One of the guards pulled out a crossbow, leveling the weapon and firing off a shot. The bolt slipped through the air, flying just over his head.

A curse echoed from his lips, and then suddenly he broke left.

On the drop of a dime Edric turned, ducking into an alleyway as the guards suddenly split off. He rushed forward as fast as he could, half stopping only when one of the men suddenly appeared at the end of the alleyway.

"You're under arr-"​

Before the man could even finish Edric vaulted over him. His knuckles slammed into his face, the crunch of bone echoing out as he pushed him to the ground and jumped over him.

Seconds later he darted into another alley. Then another, and then finally scaled a high wall. His magic coursing through his veins as he launched himself back onto the roof tops.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

Vance was beginning to wonder what was taking Edric so long. Surely he could lose the patrols by now. The shouting diminished as the guards drew further away, and Vance thought that the commotion had ended.

He was proven wrong by a second bout of shouting and... fucking hell what was he doing now? Edric had just about flown back onto the rooftops. "So much for secrecy," he muttered, conveniently forgetting that Edric had performed this little distraction to keep him from being discovered.

He looked down at the gallows, only one guard had remained while the others had pursued. A few men continued to plod away at construction. It would be simple to remove them all from the equation... but the city would be suspicious at least if their gallows crew all vanished. They might even delay the hanging...

He cursed, turned, and ran across the rooftops himself. Moving as quickly as he dared, he vaulted over an alley and onto the damp shingles of an adjacent building, continuing around the square until he had moved far enough to avoid compromising their zip line.

He crouched low and focused on building charge upon a small area of the roof, about ten feet away. He took deep, focusing breaths, quelling the small hums from his armor beneath the wet cloak. Don't let it fire, not until the last moment.

It was a tricky technique, and one that had taken him years to pull off with any sort of consistency. Come on, he thought to himself, as a small flicker manifested from the rooftop.

He could feel it a moment before it happened, the breaking point in the charge, the metal scent on the air. He pushed it over the threshold and shut his eyes against the lightning bolt that crashed from the heavens and struck the roof with a deafening thunderclap.

He immediately tumbled over the far side of the roof, avoiding the eyes of the men who shouted "Fire!"

 

[Edric]

A fire in a city like this was as close to a death knell as one could get.

It had to be put out quickly, and it drew a hell of a lot of attention. On a night like this it was not so bad, the rain being enough to tamper down even a blazing inferno. Yet the men around the square still needed to tend to Vance’s distraction.

Edric heard the shouts, saw the men who had been chasing him depart.

Even one little flame was more important than some strolling thief. If the fire spread too far and too fast it would mean an utter disaster. Not just stopping the execution, but perhaps even bringing the city to it’s knees.

Thus the Guards broke off their pursuit, moving away from the alleyways and quickly moving to gather as many buckets as they could. The fire would be put out, but not before Edric and Vance once again disappeared into the night.

Edric found his way to his fellow Initiate eventually, crawling into place besides Vance as the rain pattered down. ”Get the line in place?”

He asked, as though nothing else had happened.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

Vance looked at Edric for a long, drawn out moment. Was that it? Damn, why did Edric always have to be so... what was the word Evangeline used... oh yeah, taciturn. He'd just run a loop around half the city while Vance ripped a lightning bolt out of the sky, but the line?

"...yes."

It was the whole reason for the distraction, after all. And... damn it all Edric had covered his ass. "Thanks. For stepping in." He said shortly. Competitiveness aside, Vance did recognize when he'd been done a solid, even if it were just for the sake of the mission. Plus, he also planned to use the other boy as a meat shield if archers got involved so best to stay in his good graces for now.

The fire petered out eventually, doused by the crowd of men and the rainfall. A couple of rooms on the upper story had been burnt out, but nothing further to the relief of citizens and guardsmen alike. To Vance's relief, it had not slowed the gallows construction significantly.

Daylight began to filter in to the dark skyline, turning the black to deep blue, then to pleasing shades of pink and orange. Vance cracked his neck and whispered "Any time now, let's get this done."

 

[Edric]

The Initiates managed to go undiscovered throughout the rest of the night. It was the fire that kept eyes away from where they hid, most of the guards either too distracted or simply not bothering.

He wondered if it would have been the same if these were Anirians.

As dawn came and ran over them Edric began to gently stretch his muscles. A frown pulled at his lips as he rolled his shoulder, eyes flickering over the square below. Their target wasn't out yet, but it was clear that time was nearly upon him.

A nod tipped his head as Vance spoke.

Edric found himself slowly leeching life from the crowd as people began to gather. It was a gentle, steady pull upon the flickers of their life. Not enough to hurt them, not with how many were already gathered. His muscles flexed, strained as he boosted his strength and prepared to heal himself.

Five minutes passed, and then the trumpets sounded. The horns began to echo out, and the crowd was parted as an array of soldiers brought out a cart. Upon it stood a single man, his face hidden by a black cowl. He wore the coat of a Dreadlord, marked with the patch over his breast.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

Long stake-outs were the worst. Despite their thick canvas and heavy cloaks the water had made it to Vance's skin through time alone. His boots were heavy, his hair pressed down, his expression dour.

Vance took note of the people gathering. Pitiful looking sort, equal parts soft and ragged. Those unblessed by magic who had to work with the mundane. He saw a gaunt, dirty man with baggy clothes, a burly young man with a lazy expression, and a fat woman carrying a baby while three little whelps trailed behind her.

Vance stirred and lifted himself a bit at the trumpets, watching the soldiers and cart come through. A hum ran through him in excitement, eager to get started.

It was definitely a Dreadlord, uniform and all. Seeing as no one who stole from a Dreadlord would live long enough to wear the jacket, that patch was a surefire indicator.

Hardly anything could be heard over the jeers of the crowd, but the hooded man did not move as things were thrown at him. Even when he was grabbed roughly by the soldiers he, somehow, moved smoothly. Proudly. He was a shit dreadlord if he had gotten himself caught by this rabble, Vance thought to himself, but even a shit dreadlord was far above peasants.

"Should we let them make their speech first?" Vance asked with a sideways sneer to Edric. He hoped they would say something foul about Dreadlords just in time for them to make their entrance.

The soldiers walked the prisoner up the steps, and pulled back the hood.

 

[Edric]

Edric glanced over towards Vance.

He did always have a flare for the dramatic, he supposed that was natural when you could call lightning down from the sky. "We'll let them start it at least."

His voice was calm, stoic, eyes fixed on the square below. The Dreadlord was lead onto the platform, slowly guided into place so that the rope was hanging just in front of them. One of the men, his clothes a cloak of gold and white stepped up before the platform.

"WE STAND HERE IN JUDGMENT!"​

The voice boomed out loud enough to reach the rooftops, continuing into a bellicose speech about the aggression of Vel Anir and the failure of the New Republic.

Edric didn't listen, instead he watched as the Dreadlord on the platform steadied himself. A soldiers hand still on his shoulder. After a few seconds the Guard took a step back, leaving the man on the platform with only his executioner.

Gently the Initiate nudged Vance, and then slowly moved forward.

Without hesitation he grabbed onto the wire, taking out a piece of wood. "Set the runes off."

Edric said as he threw himself forward and swung towards the platform.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

Vance's electricity jumped to Edric's shoulder as he was nudged, though the hulking initiate would not likely feel more than a pinprick from it. Vance's bracers weren't humming yet, but as he started to crawl forwards he could feel them drawing off the excess power that was building.

It was not an unpleasant feeling, in fact it gave Vance comfort. He could build up his charge without fear of harming himself or others and still have enough to electrify anyone in his way.

He followed Edric, getting to his feet as the life-sucker swung onto the zipline. Good thing there weren't archers, Vance would want to be closer if that were the case. All the same, he grinned with violent glee as he followed after, pulling a small metal talisman from him pocket that burned with a red, glowing symbol. He pressed his thumb to it, and muttered the short incantation to activate the connected symbols on the streets below.

One after another, explosions rocked the square. Three went off along the eastern roads, one to the north, and two to the west. They were delayed just long enough that as soon as one might be tempted to look away, another explosion drew their attention.

Vance leapt from the roof and slid down after Edric, whipping off his cloak and throwing it over the line as a handle. By the time anyone was aware of them, Vance was already letting go and dropping towards the platform.

He landed with a practiced roll and immediately sent a triple-pronged bolt towards the executioner and two of the nearest guards. He managed to miss the prisoner, though truth be told he wasn't trying too hard. He figured Edric would carry the man regardless of his conscious state.

The utter cacophony of screams, cracking beams, and licking flames was sweet, sweet music to the frenzied initiate. His bracers crackled, and he kicked a rushing guard hard in the knee, feeling a satisfying crunch under his boot while a white-hot flash singed the attacker's pants.

 

[Edric]

A bolt buried itself in Edric's shoulder as he slammed down onto the Gallows stage.

The wooden shard slammed through his flesh and cut through his shoulder. Head tipped for just a brief moment, a grimace flickering over his shoulders before Vance's lightning suddenly jumped forward and struck the man who had shot him.

Chaos erupted all around them.

The crowd began to scream, people began to flee, and it was all that the Guards could do to control what was happening around them. Vance launched himself forward, taking up the focus of those around them as Edric raised himself up.

Bolt was yanked from his shoulder, dropped to the ground as he quickly stepped towards the man fated for death. A knife came up, swiping through the rope which had been affixed around the man's throat. "We need to go."

The initiate said, his hands reaching up to grasp the man.

"There's no ti-" Before he could finish the sentence the other Dreadlord's chained hands shot up. They clutched around Edric's wrists, tightening as though they were steal.

"No, boy."​

The words sent a chill down Edric's spine.

Slowly fingers unfurled from around the Initiate's wrists. Dragging away and pulling up towards the hood. The Dreadlord's head swiveled as he glared at Edric.

"We have all the time in the world."​

Amber eyes met pale blue.

"Kill as many as you can."​

The words were punctuated by the shattering of chains. Steel buckling, and crumbling to pieces as the man freed himself.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

With each heartbeat Vance felt more current running through him. The hair on his arms stood on end and his sword sparkled as it swung beneath a cloudy sky. He cut down one of the last soldiers on the gallows and turned to face the approaching reinforcements.

He caught sight of Edric from the corner of his eye, just in time to hear the shattering of chains from the "prisoner." Edric couldn't bend metal, so the man had freed himself? Well what the hell? Could have saved them a lot of trouble. Then again...

He chained a bolt of lightning across two breastplates and smelled the flesh burning beneath.

...this part made up for sitting in the rain.

The damp did affect things. Vance could feel more current that normal being leeched away by moist air and soggy boards. A few more sparks than normal discharged around the corners of his eyes and his fingertips, but overall it was nothing he couldn't handle.

He sidestepped towards the pair, still raising his sword to the thinning guardsmen.

"We going or staying?" he shouted over the din. Frankly he could stand to kill a few more guards. Let them see what happened when you messed with a Dreadlord.

 

[Edric]

The Dreadlord seemed to revel within the sparks of death that erupted all around them. He smiled as people screamed, as the echo of their calls began to ring within the square. A wolfish, predatory grin spread even to his eyes as he looked down at Vance.

"We're carving a path."​

A hand rose into the air.

Fingers snapped.

The earth suddenly began to twist and shake. Cobbles split and tore themselves apart, and the screams of terror grew even louder. The square seemed to buckle and shift, the ground pulling itself apart and rendering an ethos of destruction as the buildings began to crumble in upon themselves.

Edric felt his heart beat, pulse. The utter destruction that he man wrought more shocking than anything he had expected. Why hadn't he done this before? Why hadn't he fought for himself. A yell echoed out from behind him, and the Initate turned.

One of the guards had hopped onto the platform, charged towards the Dreadlords.

Edric's fingers flickered forward, his magic lashing out. There was a loud crunch of bones, and then the guard fell to the ground as he ripped free some of the organs sitting idle within his chest. A ragdoll'd corpse tumbled to the ground.

The Dreadlord chuckled.

"Very good. Let's go."​

He said with a wave towards the path he had carved through the market.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

Vance was delightfully confused. On the one hand: violence. Wonderful, blood-high violence. On the other: what the fuck was this guy?

He turned just in time to see Edric snap the encroaching guard’s life away before the dreadlord they were “saving” made his own way through the crowd.

Vance could have asked any number of questions. Why didn’t you do this earlier or couldn’t have saved us a trip? What he went with was:

“Where are we going?”

It was a stupid question, but usually the rescuers determined the escape route, not the prisoner in distress. Also, the path this man had made lead further into the town. Not exactly a good “escape” route.

He looked at Edric, meeting the other boy’s concerned expression with one of bewilderment, though not disappointment.

 

[Edric]

Edric's look was not one of excitement.

He had expected this to be a quick job of getting the Dreadlord and then getting out, not...not whatever the fuck this man wanted to do. A part of him was practically giddy at the idea of finally getting to let loose, another part?

Another part was worried about what the Republic would do once they returned. Their mission had been to free the man, not to burn down half the city in the Process. Would their be objections? Punishments? Would they be denied graduation?

A thousand possibilities sat within his mind.

"The Palace."​

For a brief second his steps stopped. Thudding into place as he glanced towards Vance. A quiet curse echoed past his lips, and then he fell into step. "Why?"

"That's the mission."​

The Dreadlord was curt, quick.

"Topple the government, and bring Velen back into the fold."​

Edric was about to say something, but before he could the Dreadlord once again snapped his fingers. The earth shook, split, and then the screams of a dozen men echoed out as the ground once again ripped itself apart, sundering a path before the Dreadlords.

The man stopped, then looked at Edric and Vance.

"Will you do what you were trained for, or have the Republic turned you into puppies?"​

He demanded sternly.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

Vance, initially, loved this guy. Wanton violence in the name of Vel Anir? In the name of saving a brother-in-arms? He could sling as many sparks as he wanted and hang the consequences. Even though the drizzling rain continued to leech at his power, and the sheen of wet upon the gallows sparkled with blue haze around him, he was pumped up enough to not even notice.

Vance did stop at the mention of the palace (though it was more because the guards had stopped approaching… or breathing). His gray eyes met Edric’s icy blue and the other boy’s concerned look manage to shake free a modicum of sense from Vance’s fervor.

“Our orders are to-” Vance’s words were lost as the square itself was torn apart.
“...our orders are to return you to Vel Anir after freeing you,” he said with about half as much authority in his tone as he’d intended.

He looked again to Edric. This was not the mission, this was not what they had been told to do… but something about what this man was saying felt right. Both Vance and Edric had been trained under the old regime. A campaign of blood and death had forged them for the glory of Vel Anir. For the superiority of Vel Anir and its people. With the new Republic… something had been lost. What had they endured all of that for, why had they become so powerful if they were no longer meant to use that power?

He felt anger swelling in him like an old friend. It found each frustration of the past year and consumed it as kindling. A sharp crack sounded as a bolt discharged from the back of Vance’s neck, stinging his skin.

 

[Edric]

Edric felt a charge run through his muscles, fingers tightening, lips thinning. What the hell were they supposed to do? Disregard orders from the higher ups?

Technically the Dreadlord was a higher up. At least in the new command structure. Vance and Edric were just Initiates, not much higher than standard Guardsmen. If the Dreadlord gave them a command, they should follow it.

And besides…the man was making sense.

It was just like Wissburg all over again. Except this time they could actually change what was going to happen. They were here, now, they could take Velen for the Republic and cut off any notion of a siege. They could save hundreds of lives, maybe even thousands. Wasn't that a good thing? Wasn't that why Dreadlord existed in the first place?

They were weapons.

Killers, but for Vel Anir. This would be for the best.

Edric looked at the Dreadlord, then at Vance. When he spoke his voice was cold iron. "Let's take the Palace."

He said firmly.

 

[Vance Calgrave]

Vance hadn't expected Edric to say that, but he didn't know what he'd been expecting really. He hadn't planned for any part of this new situation. Plans were for people who couldn't adapt. Vance could adapt.

He grinned, putting his doubts aside for all the good they would do him now. His cocky expression had returned, and he cracked his neck to the side. A blue light sparked behind his teeth and gave him an eerie, demon-like grin. "So long as we go back to Vel Anir eventually we're still following orders." They had not been given an explicit timeline, after all.

Vance hopped down from the gallows, the only structure within a hundred yards that still stood. The cobblestones had been tossed like sand and Vance stepped cat-like over them, taking care to avoid the deep fissure running to his left.

 

[Edric]

"Good lads."​

The Dreadlord said, a satisfied smile touching his lips as he took in a deep breath. The man gestured towards the broken and ruined streets. Edric offered one last look towards Vance, then bent down and picked up a Guardsmen's sword.

What followed was a cacophonous march of chaos.

The three Dreadlords moved through the streets of Velen like a force of nature. Dozens of soldiers tried to stop them, and they all lay either dead or unconscious. They did not take the streets, but tore apart buildings and ripped fountains to shreds.

A storm rushed through the streets, tore and bit at everything that came close until finally they stood before the Palace. Heavy wrought Iron gates stood in their way, armored horsemen waiting beyond them. They clutched lances, swords, waiting, watching as the Three Dreadlords stepped forward.

Fear hung in the air, the stench of it thick and overwhelming.

Edric took in a slow, dragging breath, and then without a word darted forward. He moved like a shade, dashing across the open ground and leaping up into the air. With one swift movement he was up and over the iron gate, rushing into the cluster of horsemen before they could ever set into a charge.