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"Come on out, we promises we won't kill you" the voice said from behind the heavy wooden door, the three people who were the intended targets of the mocking plea worked fast to locate another escape route. For many of the council chambers residents the attack came as a shock, the only warning they had was the sound of armed men thundering down the corridors killing any who opposed them and capturing others. A good ninety percent of the council chambers residents knew that this was a planned hostile takeover by the Chancellors personal aid and adviser Nagrath thanks to intel provided by Shadow Blade operatives within the council's personal guard and had taken leave to get to a safe place in case things turned out to be worse than feared, others were willing to stay at great risk and now the hammer had fallen and the fight to escape had begun.

"Jade, have you found it yet?" Saria Dark Scale asked in a fluster of panic, she was the council's lead Cleric and Religious representative with a calming and kind word but the coup had rattled her to the core.

Saria was a fully grown Komodo dragon with a very district colouration of void black scales along her back, her experience with faith magic made it almost impossible for her to fight back but she was able to mess with her assailants mind, under normal circumstances she would have the two attackers trying to get in scurrying away in fear but for some reason she was unable to use her powers. Her daughter Jade looked as quickly as she could to find what they needed to find, she was not as tall as her mother and looked like any other Komodo Dragon except her eyes were as green as emeralds, this made her very attractive to most lizard species living in Obsidias but also a bit deadly as well.

"Don't worry I'll find it just try to focus" she replied and moved some more boxes away, it was when she pushed several crates of clothing material aside that she found what she was looking for. "I've found the switch" she called out and pulled on what looked to be a piece of a shelf that wasn't repaired properly.

There was a laude clunk and a section of the wall that faced them moved aside revealing a hidden passage. The passage was not well lit but it was now their ticket to safety, and if luck was on their side it was a straight shot to the tunnel network and then on to the safe house the Crimson Eye had set up.

"We better move before they bust down the door" the third person said, the small Raccoon was using all her strength to move a stack of crates marked as Blacksmith Materials in front of the door.

She was one of the Shadow Blade Agents assigned to protect the Red Claw family under the direct command of Tatherus and she was doing a darn good job at it providing the resent turn of events, as if to speed things along Jade quickly came up beside her and pushed as hard as she could, the added strength was all the needed to fully block the door.

"Ok we tried it the easy way, now were going to have to go in and drag you out" the voice on the other side of the door called out then came the repetitive thumping sound of a battering ram being used on the door.

"Let's get out of here" the agent breathed as the group entered the passage way, closing the door behind them, the group didn't look back they just ran, after all their lives were on the line.

Jade took the lead as the group heralded down the passage, the passage seemed to wind and shift like a writhing snake twisting up and down and side to side as it followed the inner wall cavity, outside the three of them heard the screams of people who were not so lucky and were ether getting brutally butchered or being dragged away to become slaves. It took them a few minutes before they arrived at their final barrier, Jade found the switch and gave the pull leaver a tug. There was another clunk as gears began to move and the wall in front of them slid aside to revile the Council citadels kitchens, Jade and the Agent looked into the large stone room to see if there were any hostiles.

"Were clear for now, you two get the hatch open, I'll check to see if there are any more traitorous bastards nearby" the racoon said and went to a door, she opened it slowly and looked out, as expected they were in the clear and she tuned back to where her charges were busy trying to open the pantry door. She was just about to give them a hand when the latch clicked and two hulking bears walked out grabbing the two lizards, the two brown behemoths gave a grin as they pulled them in and held them there.

"Sorry, can't let you do that" one mocked, "orders were to take you to the courtyard so we can get you ready for the slave markets" the other was about to speak when a series of throwing knifes wised past his head, the Bear shoved his captive over to his companion and stormed over to the Raccoon his fist now ready to knock her out. The agent ducked the first two punches and landed a hit in the stomach before the Bear landed a well-placed back hand which lead to the his intended effect "we'll be back for you later" he said and with a snort the two bundled the Komodo Dragons out of the kitchen and down the hall.

She didn't know how long she was out but by the time she regained consciousness her charges were nowhere to be found, she remembered what happened with a sudden feeling of Dread. 'Damn, Tatherus and the others will need to know' the Raccoon thought and proceeded to the rondavel point, here legs moving as fast as they could to get to her destination, she was just one operative against a large force of traitors, A relative Army and there was only one thing to do she now had to turn to plan B whatever that was.

Several Days Later:

Tatherus was worried; this had all the obvious signs of everything going ass up, about two months ago an envoy from the Shadow Blades met him and his group at Hellfire peak and told them to wrap up negotiations as quickly as possible, the envoy told them things were escalating faster than they expected to and there was a slight chance things would go wrong and now they were sitting and waiting for information. The cave the group was hunkered down in was the perfect place to wait for conformation; it was well hidden from view and a good vantage point to watch the City of Obsidias for any change so far they nothing apart for the warning signal from the Crimson Eyes Headquarters. The cave was only a small indentation in the side of a cliff but it was enough to shelter from the elements and also any unwanted intruders, after all they couldn't be fussy about where they camped.

It had been about some time since Tatherus got word of the impending coop and he did everything in his power to set up safe guards, he also enlisted the help of the Shadow Blades to help with any unforseen obstacles that might crop up, even with all the resources at his disposal and all the contingency plans in place the cracks were starting to show. Tatherus sat in deep meditation in the back of the cave with a small glowing crystal in front of him, the crystal was a gift from his father Chancellor Solis Red claw which was now being put to good use as a form of thermoregulation a common use of the strange crystals for many reptiles in and around Obsidias, many people knew about them but no one knew how they were created or if they were even held magical properties. Next to him sat the large hairy form of Gorgon a Grizzly Bear who was busy maintaining his prised weapon a two handed war hammer that looked more for display rather than for practical use, outside the cave Talon sat on a large rock keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding area all the while he was steadily becoming saturated by a light drizzle of rain, his feathers were slightly ruffled and would need to be preened soon if he was to be able to fly at a moment's notice. The two other members of the group Zarasha and Sky had left some time ago in an attempt to infiltrate the city and locate any high ranking Crimson Eye personnel, Tatherus opened one eye and gave a concerned grunt when he saw that the two girls hadn't returned, this was replied with an agreeing snort from Gorgon.

"How long must I stand watch? I know I have better eye sight than you or Tath but I'm getting water logged here!" Talon said to Gorgon, he was obviously getting irritated after all he had been sitting there for hours.

"Till Tatherus is at maximum temperature" Gorgon replied and shot the Wedge Tailed Eagle a look that if it could it would turn him to stone.

"Ok, ok just calm down, I just wanted to know......" Talon began but was interrupted by the sound of twigs braking and the rustling of branches.

Talon quickly swivelled around to the direction the noise came from and spotted the tell tail signs of a group of people moving down a nearby road towards their hiding place. He gave the group the danger signal then jumped down from his perch; Tatherus hid the crystal inside his clock and sat motionless while Gorgon moved to a crouch, his hammer at the ready. Through the trees they saw a patrol march past, they couldn't see much but they could guess it was a group from the Cities own guard contingent as were many of the patrols this close to the city. As the troops walked by passed the group spotted a flash of clothing as two figures quickly and ducked off the road, a few minutes later the two came back into view checking if they were being watched as they emerged, form what the three knights could make out the two figures were both feline in appearance which was a surprise to them as most of Obsidias's feline population were more incline to join the Shadow Blades or one of the more disreputable guilds in the city, the two feline turned to each other and began to chat amongst themselves as if they were planning something.

"Can you make out what they are saying?" Tatherus asked but all he got was a negative from Talon. The three sat motionless watching as best they could, placing a hand on his chest he closed his eyes and preyed to Marcanthrus that they were friends and not enemy's.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before the knights got the break the needed, as the two felines talked amongst themselves two more figures snuck up behind them and caught them of guard, when the two newcomers were satisfied that their targets were subdued one of the two gave a whistle.

"That's the all clear" Talon said before giving the two new comers a reply, the three Knights then proceeded to exit the cave slowly and carefully with weapons at the ready after all it could be a trap. Like a team of ambushing marauders the group edged out and moved into full view to see Zarasha and Sky standing by a tree with the two felines at knife point.

With a beaming smile Zarasha lowered her blade and looked her captive (a very muscular looking leopard) straight in the eye, "I think I made you soil yourself Malas, not bad for your little sister hay".

"True but you had help, and would you mind lowering your weapons? I'm not going to make a move and nor is my friend" Malas replied turning to Sky with her dagger firmly placed up against the caracal's neck.

The group lowered their weapons and began to approach in a more civilised way, Sky lowered her dagger and stepped back allowing her cloak to flap in the breeze. Zarasha walked up to Tatherus and gave him a hug before returning to her brother's side.

"So your Malas, I can say I'm great full to finally meet you in person" Tatherus said extending a hand out, the Leopard reached out and took it in a handshake.

"Likewise" he replied, his gaze washed over the others before returning to Tatherus "you probably want to know what's happening in the City, well just so happens me and my partner in crime here have the information you seek, but you're not going to like it"

Tatherus moved in closer and looked Malas in the eye, the leopard was a little taller than the Komodo Dragon and was more muscular in build, none the less he was obviously a bit intimidated at the fully grown Lizard now baring down on him.

"Tell me, I need to know" he hissed and listened to what Malas had to say like he was back in his first year of training back at the Crimson Eye Stronghold.

Hours later:

The stench of the sewers wafted around the group as they made their way to the citadel, Tatherus was moving at a pace that made a cheetah jealous, after all he needed to get to his destination quickly the lives of his family were at stake. It didn't take the group long to reach their destination but with one set back, as with all the sewers in Obsidias a small ladder lead up a shaft that in turn connected to the manhole on the surface, blocking the opening was a large Iron cover, under normal circumstances this cover was easily removed with a push but the one in front of them was bolted shut with a heavy padlock.

"Damn this" Tatherus cursed under his breath as he giggled the padlock trying in vain to dislodge the mettle it was clamped to "this is something I really do not need right now"

"Maybe I can try" came a voice from the shadows, the group jumped at the sudden sound, a few moments later a female Raccoon revealed herself, she draped in the same clothes a Sky.

"Mishra, Is that you?" Sky asked trying to identify the young Raccoon "by the gods you're a welcome sight, can you help us get this cover off"

With a smile the Raccoon walked up to where Tatherus was standing and asked him to hop down, after the large Komodo Dragon descended the ladder Mishra jumped up and produced a small vile of green liquid that gave off a faint illumination. With a quick pull of the stopper she opened the vile and placed two drops on the lock, within seconds the liquid began to eat away at the metal till the lock slipped off and fell to the floor with a loud chink.

"Ok I have to ask, what is that stuff?" talon asked now picking up the damaged lock, "because if you have another vile of that stuff then it could come in handy"

"It's called Iron Bain and that's the only vile I had on me" she said as she descended the ladder, "I could only get the one vile and I didn't have much time to go and ask for more to be made" she turned to Tatherus and hung her head.

"What's wrong?" Tatherus asked as and placed a hand on her shoulder "is there something you wish to tell me?"

"I'm sorry my lord, your family's safety was my responsibility and I was completely blindsided by the enemy" a tear rolled down her face "I came back to break them out"

No words were needed, Tatherus wiped the tear from her cheek and gave her a nod, he then proceeded to climb the ladder and with a push he opened the manhole cover and looked around. When he was sure the cost was clear he pushed the cover off the manhole and climbed out, the others including Mishra followed not knowing what they would find. It didn't take long for them to get their bearings and set off in search of the Chancellor and the rest of Tatherus's family.

To be continued.