Julian didn’t want to suspect the fox of treachery, but he had to admit that his heart dropped out of his chest the instant his sister vanished.

Granted, just because he hadn't been informed of a change in plans, doesn't mean there wasn't one. And Rowen couldn’t have been able to portal them out of the Sanctuary, not with the sheer amount of magical enchantments his mother had placed on the building.

“[Barrier].” He didn’t have time to properly set up protective shields around everyone, but he managed to erect individual shields on everyone in the front row and his own party members.

The entire hall erupted into chaos while he did so.

Luckily, at this point his mother gave him a reassuring look before turning to scan the room. As long as his sister was safe, Julian could focus on the matter at hand.

There was fighting near the back, and someone was sent flying into a stone wall - luckily reinforced for just that occurrence. His mother activated an enchantment and was suddenly riding a six foot tall stone golem and shooting bolts of electricity everywhere. It was for show, he knew, since her concentration was on maintaining the building enchantments.

It seemed not everyone was interested in winning a magical elevator from his mother. The hall divided. Anyone not engaging in battle moved against the left wall so that they were out of the way.

"[Barrier]." Julian put up a single clear shield around the non-combatants. He didn't bother even glancing at his character sheet, and willed three points of durability into the barrier.

He was just in time to block the plumes of poisonous smoke that started erupting all over the room. Already a number of beastfolk had fallen to the ground and were changing into their beastform due to the smoke, including Rufus. Julian assumed Their Royal Highness had cast invisibility on Chloe and Julia to protect them, and was relieved to see that the fox, wherever they were, hadn’t succumbed to the wolfsbane.

“[Lightfoot].” He landed on the dais and took control of the battle from the front. “[Battle Call], Queen Henrietta, the green dress on your right! Pram, ice the terrain! Visha, subdue the baron!”

Witch Agatha used her ice powers to seal the windows. She was a known lover of art and set about protecting the stained glass murals with a vengeance.

“Mother, to the left.” An attack hit too late and her golem lost a leg, slumping sideways. But Calisto wasn’t deterred.

She was, technically, one of the strongest people on the continent. She could sink this entire building into the earth, or obliterate everyone with one of her more powerful magically crafted weapons… but she didn’t.

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After careful consideration, she'd ordered that everyone on the list who was going to be here today - and who could be trusted - should be informed. They were reminded that it would be a kindness to Her Grace if there were some Blackfog left to reanimate.

Julian's job was to protect the non-combatants. It wouldn't do to accidentally scuff a dignitaries shoe with debris and risk trade agreements.

Even now, the guests off to the side of the hall waited patiently for the battle to end. One fox girl, Lady Brittany from Peldeep, fanned herself while watching her husband fight the baron of Tour on Marsh. An elder fae with a pixie on her shoulder calmly leaned against a wall. The pixie summoned a floating tea set for the pair. And snacks.

Just then a black-haired woman with light brown skin made a squeaking noise as the baron of Tour on Marsh crashed into the barrier just in front of where she was standing. She was obviously in a panic, because she ran out of the protective shield, ducking closer to the front of the hall and squeezing herself beside the stage.

Julian sighed, adding her to his multi-cast single shields. He spent the extra mana to make her personal shield up to 3 durability.

And then he popped a mana potion.

The Baron of Tour on Marsh was bested by General Visha, who trussed him up like a floofpoof at feast. Her green hair was coming loose out of its bun, but Visha showed no other signs of a fight.

“Ack!” Visha grunted. The baron, whom Julian had otherwise assumed was subdued, dropped a sac of potions that exploded all at once, sending more plumes of smoke out over the sealed room.

It hit the barrier nearby and dropped the durability to one in a single hit.

Visha’s shield went out from the force of the blast and she took a faceful of deadly poison. Julian flinched; the others were going to have a field day teasing her for letting her guard down.

Especially since the fight was practically over. Battle was winding down, having lasted only a few minutes. The poison was one last attempt to defy the inevitable. Whatever the Blackfog had attempted to do here, it wasn’t anywhere near enough to defeat his family.

From his vantage point, Julian saw a number of poison victims miraculously heal right before reaching their untimely demise. Some unlucky few, his vanguard included, had to be revived.

His sister-in-law was still here, hidden but keeping everyone alive. That meant Julia was also here, probably on guard, keeping Chloe alive.

A glint of light on metal drew his eye.

Through the smoke, Julian saw Gerda wielding a battle axe as she brought down the blunt end of the base onto the black-haired woman beside the stage. The human lifted her arms daintily to defend, but that wouldn’t stop the troll. Instead, the shield he’d cast deflected the blow, and the recoil sent Gerda reeling back.

That one hit was enough to knock out the shield. Julian promptly created a new shield to replace it.

“That’s enough.” He stated firmly, already jumping from dais. “Gerda, stand down.”

He assumed that would be enough to settle the matter. As much as he had a strange feeling about the troll, she had so far proven cooperative.

“You again!” The human yelled, and pulled out a decorative fan. A deadly decorative fan.

“Me again.” The troll agreed. Unfortunately, his faith in Gerda faltered as she re-positioned her weapon. It was time to change tactics.

He narrowed his eyes. “John, manacle those two.”

Even if she was innocent, Gerda had discovered all of those traps and attacked a guest unprovoked. Either she was on their side... or Julian had found the person Greyson had warned them about.