Cyran agreed that it wouldn’t be smart for them to engage with the wyvern without any of their weapons in a city that would be likely to collapse and trap them inside if they rocked the foundations too much. He nodded, still keeping his grip on his knife just in case. A small miracle- it looked like they wouldn’t have to return to the destroyed citadel, since a handful of kobolds were making a hasty retreat from the wyvern’s warpath, struggling to drag along a heavy chest of treasures.

They took a gamble, Cyran backing up Zarius from behind with a couple of well-timed blasts of dark magic that took out the kobolds attempting to jump Zarius from behind.^[1] Zarius threw open the chest, immediately throwing Cyran his daggers and other belongings, notably without his money. The case of the mysterious missing coin purse was considerably low on his list of priorities right now. He wasted no time strapping his daggers back onto his belt and immediately setting back off towards the exit, but not before witnessing the wyvern dive down and eat a handful of praying kobolds.

In the chaos, the criminal and assassin were able to stick to the shadows and make a dash for the exit, winding through the unfamiliar maze of streets until the scenery began to look more familiar. In their rush, they’d made it back to the partially-smashed home they’d been abducted from before.

There were no signs of Oriole, Snow, or Eirynor anywhere- Cyran could only hope they hadn’t wandered too far in and made it back to the entrance at the first sign of danger. The Wyvern quickly interrupted his worry as he let out a horrible roar from behind them before diving down, whipping its tail at a couple of kobolds that had been fleeing right on their tails. The force of the blow knocked down the wall with the dragon mural, pelting them with rubble. Kobolds went flying everywhere, squealing in terror. Cyran ducked away, shielding his face from a majority of the damage, but he still earned a few cuts from the force of the wall’s shrapnel.

“It’s going to destroy the city at this rate.” Cyran muttered to himself as the smoke cleared. It looked like the wyvern had already wrecked half of what had been left standing, bound and determined to turn this city into nothing more than dust and rocks. Perhaps if he had more time to mourn, he would feel guilty for the destruction of ancient history, especially considering he had been the one to trigger the gemstone’s ability… somehow. But he was too focused on getting to the exit unscathed.

There was only one problem with that- from here to the exit, there were no more buildings to hide in. They only had one chance to run, completely out in the open, with no place to hide. The both of them were stealthy enough to make the final stretch, but Cyran wasn’t going to take any chances. As the wyvern circled around again, getting close to where they were crouched in the rubble waiting for a good time to move, Cyran snapped his fingers and the sound of a kobold’s cry rang out from a destroyed building across the street.^[2] The wyvern immediately snapped its attention towards the shrill sound that meant more food, giving Cyran and Zarius a chance to move.

Cyran ducked from his hiding place and immediately started sprinting in the direction of the exit.

---

It was hard to make anything out at first. Oriole strained his ears and listened for anything approaching like Snow instructed, but all he could hear was the distant sound of screaming, the wyvern’s roar, and the crashing sound as buildings were knocked down in every direction. Snow was poised to strike with more flaming arrows in case any more of those kobolds made a repeat appearance. There was another roar, and then silence.

He couldn’t make out much in the dark, but if he squinted he could make out a couple of figures in the distance from the dim light of the fire flickering on Snow’s arrow. Hope blossomed in his chest- could it be Master Cyran and Zarius? Oriole tugged on Snow’s shirt, getting their attention before whispering urgently, “I think they’re coming.”

---

1. Chaos Bolt
2. Minor Trickery

"I will be honest, I am less concerned about the city and more concerned about us!" Zarius whispers with a hiss in his voice.

This whole situation was out of their control. They had to escape before something worse happened. Cyran's distraction seemed to work well enough for the time being, and they make for the cavern entrance. If only they had gotten slightly better luck.

Just as they're entering the mouth of the tunnel which would eventually open up into the desert air, the wyvern's nostrils flare as it catches onto a particularly pungent scent on the wind. The Ashland Jackal musk that Zarius had used to mark the buildings. Wind coming down through the tunnel picked up the odor right towards the winged beast and its attention was drawn there way. It just spots them with its reptilian eyes and it roars in rage as the larger prey attempts to escape its wrath. 

"Dammit, run!" 

The tiefling sprints forward as the wyvern chases after them. They had no way to outrun it for long, the best they could do was hope to find some cover outside which...also was not promising considering the wide open dunes of the surface. Different plans race through the tiefling's head as he tries to come up with any strategy to escape from the creature. All of his ideas were coming up as duds given the factors he had to work with. 

Unless Cyran had some way to bring the tunnel down on it, their options were slim and they would have to try and ground it to stand even a slight chance of slaying it. 

---

Snow keeps a firm grip on their drawn arrow, keeping all their focus on the entrance to ensure they do not accidentally shoot either Zarius, Cyran, or Eirynor. They feel the tug of Oriole on their clothing. 

"Stay calm, stay quiet." The catfolk whispers. 

Last thing they needed was for the eager apprentice to jump forward and get snatched up in the fray. 

Eirynor spots Cyran and Zarius first. He drops his invisibility and quickly gestures for the pair to hurry up. Hearing the echo of the wyvern's hiss quickly approaching, they put both hands on the hilt of their drawn longsword, ready to strike should it get too close.

Zarius spots the half-elf and waves him away. "Get to cover! NOW!"

The half-elf nods and withdraws as Cyran and Zarius catch up to them and the three flee from the tunnel's entrance just as the wyvern surges out into the open skies. 

Snow unleashes his arrow at the creature. The arrow manages to hit an stick into the side of its chest but it hardly slows the creature down any. It does, however, make it even more angry. 

The distraction only worked for so long before the wyvern caught the two making a mad dash for the cavern that they had arrived from by the scent of the Ashland Jackal musk. Cyran doubled down at Zarius’s command to sprint, desperately trying to think of anything he had that could slow the beast’s progress, but he did not possess anything that would truly stop a wyvern. There was only one thing he could think of, and it would be a risky move, and would mean blocking the entrance to the city once more.

He supposed with a rampaging wyvern on the loose, they didn’t really have many options.

Cyran was right by Zarius’s side as the tiefling spotted Eirynor, shouting for him to take cover. Eirynor didn’t need to be told twice, immediately turning on his heel, and the three burst from the tunnel’s entrance with the wyvern, who had only been slightly slowed by the confined space of the cavern, spread its wings as it attempted to take off into the air.

Several things happened at once- Snow shot an arrow at the creature, only angering it rather than stopping it from making it fully out of the tunnel. Cyran whirled around, pointing his finger at the rocks above the tunnel, whose foundations were still loose and unstable after the earthquake that had opened up this tunnel in the first place. He took aim and set off a burst of dark energy, hitting one of the loose rocks, hoping that force would be enough to dislodge them and block the tunnel.^[1]

The rocks came loose, triggering a cave-in that just managed to catch the wyvern’s tail before it could fully escape the cavern, effectively pinning it down before it could fly into the air and escape. It screeched and thrashed, shaking its tail in an attempt to break itself free, but the rocks pinning it down were too heavy, and all it could do was thrash uselessly.

Cyran breathed a sigh of relief, but even though the wyvern was trapped, the fight wasn’t over yet. They had to take out the wyvern quickly before it broke free of the rubble. He raised his hand, waiting for an opening through the monster's struggling where he could attempt to quickly slit its throat with a death swipe, if he could even pierce its scaly hide.

Meanwhile, Oriole had just managed to take cover behind a nearby rock, unable to help Master Cyran and Zarius but grateful to see that the two were alive. All he could do was stay back and let the two of them take care of things.

---

1. Chaos Bolt

"Snow! Keep firing at its head! Aim for the eyes!" Zarius shouts across the sands as he skids to a stop and turns to face the trashing creature.

"On it!" Snow replies as they loose a few more arrows glimmering in the dark with blue fire.^[1]

"Eirynor, with me." The tiefling says to the swordsman who nods.

Cyran's quick thinking had slowed it down, but they needed to act quickly before it tore itself loose from the rubble. They had the advantage of numbers at the very least and Snow had some range to work with. So long as they could keep it grounded, they could fight it. 

Without hesitating, Zarius and Eirynor flank the wyvern from either side. The half-elf slashes at the wings, clipping the membrane in hopes of crippling its ability to fly away should it pull its tail free.^[2] It hisses in response and for a brief moment, turns its attention towards the half-elf and away from the tiefling circling around on its opposite side. 

Zarius meanwhile gets in close enough to be in striking range. The wyvern catches the blur of movement in the corner of its eye and whips its head back around. The tiefling dodges a few snaps of its gnashing jaws. As it comes in to bite him in half, he catches the top and bottom of the creature's jaws, keeping them pried apart as its hot, stinking breath hits him in the face.^[3] Gritting his teeth, he digs his heels into the sand as it bears its weight down on him in an attempt to sink fangs into him.

The creature heaves its body up and pushes down on Zarius. The fighter was waiting for this, he ducks to the side as he releases the creature and lets it slam its head down into the sand where he was just standing. He then snaps the wrappings around his arms around behind the back of its head and quickly drags it to the side, exposing its throat to Cyran.^[4]

It struggles against him, but he throws his weight down and keeps a firm hold. Black smoke pours from his mouth and his golden eyes flash blue as his muscles strain against it, somehow having enough strength to overpower it if only for a moment.^[5] He had one goal. Hold the thing still for Cyran to get in the killing strike on the throat.

---

[1] Fire; Unholy (Snow)
[2] Fire; Unholy (Eirynor)
[3] Iron Grip
[4] Constrictor Wraps
[5] Abyssal Infusion 

Cyran would not waste the chance Zarius gave him, the tiefling possessing more than enough substantial strength to wrestle with its maw while Snow and Eirynor kept it distracted. Cyran kept to the shadows, watching and waiting for the right opportunity to strike- his fighting style, while ideal for fighting humans, did not often lend well to monsters. But Zarius was attempting to give him an opening, and he intended to make use of it.

Zarius managed to slam its head to the ground, the wrappings around his arms leaping off and securing themselves around the wyvern’s face. He yanked, exposing the monster’s vulnerable neck, a soft spot that Cyran could exploit.

Cyran was already moving by the time Zarius’s eyes flashed blue, summoning enough strength to keep the creature down with his bare hands alone.

A dagger alone might not be enough- Cyran’s enchanted blades were good for people, but not strong enough to pierce the wyvern’s hide.

Distracted with Zarius, the wyvern did not notice Cyran’s approach until it was far too late. Cyran reached the wyvern’s neck, hand raised and ending in shadowy claws, dark magic tearing through scales as easily as butter to reach the tender skin underneath.^[1]

The wyvern struggled, blackened blood seeping from the corrupt wound, but its body was already growing weaker by the second now that it had been hit at a vulnerable point. It let out a shuddering, wheezing breath, muscles slowly relaxing, until it was no longer struggling against Zarius’s wrappings.

The creature was not quite dead- not yet- but it would not be alive for long.

Cyran pulled out Cold Steel and finished the job with another deep gash at the injured site.^[2] He didn’t like the idea of leaving something to bleed out and die a painful death when he could just as easily finish the job.

Once the wyvern’s eyes glazed over, finally dead, Cyran straightened and wiped a bead of sweat off his brow, turning to Zarius. “Thank you for keeping it distracted.” Out here in the middle of the day, without any darkness to blend into, he would have had a harder time getting close without getting noticed.

He turned his attention to the now-closed over cave, somewhat frustrated with himself that it had come to this. The destruction of the city, the cave in- all of those felt like things he should have been able to prevent. He was paid to do a job, and he hadn’t been able to carry it out to the best of his ability. There was likely still so much down there that they hadn’t been able to investigate that would have been of use to their client.

At least they’d managed to secure one artifact from the city, the gemstone currently weighing heavily in his pouch. He hoped it would be enough for the client.

Zarius was technically his employer right now, so Cyran would treat him with the same professionality as he would anyone he worked for. He bowed stiffly at the waist, an annoyed grimace painted on his expression as he uttered out an apology. “I apologize for any collateral damage that was caused. We were only meant to investigate the ruins, and the destruction resulting from our kidnapping-” And the gemstone- “Was an oversight on my part.”

---

1. Death Swipe
2. Ice Rune

As the creature went limp against his bindings, Zarius stepped back and released the wraps which retracted back to around his arms. He cover his mouth as he coughs a few times, puffs of smoke rising into the cool night air before his eyes return to their original color, like golden amber slightly glowing under the moonlight.^[1] 

Eirynor flicks the blood off their blade, scattering the black droplets across the sand before sheathing his sword. The half-elf walks over to Zarius and signs something to the tiefling who just nods in response as he steps over the still head of the wyvern. 

Snow lowers their notched arrow and slowly lets the tension ease on his bowstring. They sigh in relief that the situation has ended with only the sound of the wind across the dunes being their company out here in the darkened desert. Turning their attention to Oriole, they smile a bit reassuringly. The situation must have been quite scary for the new recruit, but Oriole had done well to support any way they could and keep safe. At the end of the night, living to see another sunrise was what mattered most. 

Zarius flexes his hands a few times, the strength he had tapped into slowly dwindling. He still did not fully understand how these strange new abilities worked or where they exactly came from. He had meant to speak with his father about it, but has hardly had the time. They were both very busy. 

He looks up at Cyran as the elf bows to him and Eirynor and Snow both step over to his side. The tiefling tilts his head a bit then glances at the two who exchange a look then a shrug. 

The tiefling strides over to Cyran, raises a hand, and slaps him across the back. The hit does not do any harm but it was firm. 

"No need for that. None of us knew that thing was in there and our information was inaccurate. There is little more we could have done about the situation. We got something, and we lived."

"It was better that we were the ones to discover all that than more defenseless civilians." Snow offers and Zarius nods along with the catfolk's words. 

"They can dig the rest of the city back out more safely now." Zarius then looks over at Oriole. "You are in good hands. Cyran is an exemplary mentor."

He looks back at Cyran. "This was not a failure. Things get messy, especially in our lines of work and it will only get more complicated. Even the best plans go awry, it is how well you can adjust your plans that matters. I am pleased to have seen your skills put to the test. I am impressed and I look forward to seeing what else you can accomplish."

Snow smiles a bit. It was times like this that reminded the catfolk why they finally agreed to work with the tiefling. It was a decision they had yet to regret and they hoped that trend wouldn't end anytime soon.

Eirynor's situation was different as they were first and foremost Eameia's right hand. He had only agreed to work for Zarius at her request. Still, he appreciated not being talked down to. While they were employees, Zarius tended to treat those under him as on equal footing. It was refreshing.

---

[1] Dark Vision

Only once everything quieted down did Oriole crawl out from his hiding place, sneaking up next to snow. His heart hammered in his chest, so nervous that he almost missed the tabaxi’s reassuring smile. It calmed him down somewhat, relieved that the fight seemed to be over. He hadn’t been able to do much, but he was happy to be alive through it. He was new to adventuring, and it was difficult not to feel like a burden, but he was glad for the experience, and even more grateful to Snow. They’d gotten injured saving him, and Oriole would never forget that debt.

“Thank you for protecting me…” Oriole whispered to Snow.

Oriole joined Snow as they reconvened with Master Cyran and Zarius, where Zarius was in the middle of slapping Cyran in the back. He would have thrown the assassin to the ground if Cyran was not sure-footed.^[1] Even though the smack was not meant to hurt, he still rubbed at his shoulder as he straightened, suppressing his annoyance with himself as he listened to Zarius’s assurances that he had done just fine, and there was no need for him to be upset with the outcome.

“Be that as it may…” Cyran murmured, “I am used to handling things with more discretion, though I understand it may not have been possible in this case.” Despite his frustration, he was grateful that they had managed to make it out with no serious injuries.

“Hopefully not entirely defenseless… there are probably still surviving kobolds trapped in there, after all.” Cyran added with a small, wry smile.

Zarius’s praise of his skills made him flush- Cyran was not what one might call a self-deprecating man, but he was still caught off guard when others complimented his abilities. Zarius was a friend and a worthy business associate, and his words hopefully meant he’d deemed Cyran a worthy asset. Just as he was assessing Cyran, though, Cyran had been observing Zarius right back.

He had charisma, that much was apparent, and treated his men well. Most affluential figures Cyran had met did not possess the skills to back up their ambition, but Zarius clearly had strength in spades. “I appreciate your assessment. I look forward to working with you in the future as well.”

He turned his attention then to Snow and Eirynor before bowing to them as well. “My apprentice is young and inexperienced- I thought this venture might be safe enough for him to accompany me, but it turned out to be more dangerous than I thought. I cannot thank you enough for protecting him in my stead.”

That was a mistake he would have to rectify. Oriole claimed to despise using weapons, but if he was going to train under Cyran, he would need some method of self-defense. Maybe while Cyran was in Darkveil, if this working relationship were to flourish, the two bodyguards would not mind Oriole training under them.

But those were questions for later, back when they had returned to Darkveil. For now, the group would focus on returning to Zeinav City, where they would spend the rest of the evening before setting off back home.

---

1. Cat's Grace