About an hour had passed since Makon and Murik had been hiding on the roof to Lord Cepher's house, concealed from the party guests on the ground by their dark colored clothes. Their entire view was limited to the garden at the front of the house, and while most of the guests were seated there, Makon was not satisfied, because at least a few dozen guests were inside the main hall, just under them, and they could be up to anything.

"We need to find a way to see what's happening inside." Murik said, echoing his thoughts.

"Agreed." He said absentmindedly as he thought of a solution.

"Do you think we'll be able to blend in if we appear as guests?" Murik asked.

"Certainly not." Makon chuckled. "But we could blend in as servants. We simply need to infiltrate their quarters and grab some of their clothing."

Murik smile and shook his head.

"What?" Makon asked, grinning. Murik remained silent, Makon made his way off the roof and Murik followed him. There was a staff's quarter a few meters off to the side of the house, it was closed and dark because all the house staff were on duty in the party. Makon and Murik snuck to it and broke in. They rummaged through clothes, Murik quickly found his size but nothing fit Makon, who was six inches taller and significantly wider.

"Darn it." Makon complained. "Why are all of you so small!"

Murik laughed. "Well no worries, you can stay out of sight while I infiltrate. I will communicate to you whatever happens,"

"Ugh, fine." Makon sighed. "I will be back on the roof."

---

Murik Sterno walked briskly into the great hall wearing staff uniform. He deftly avoided the other servants who undoubtedly would be able to tell him apart, he moved around skillfully, greeting the guests and asking them if they would want drinks. Many said yes but would never get those drinks. He noticed Lord Cepher wasn't present. Where was that slimy crook? this was his party.

He'd talked to about four people before he noticed an odd pattern. About three people were definitely being followed and watched at a safe distance by three men. Murik couldn't recognize them. He approached one of the people being watched.

"Hello Madam." He said, smiling. "Would you like any drinks?"

The woman raised an eyebrow at him and glanced subtly behind her. She knew!

"I'm not with them." He said quietly.

"Oh?" She said.

"Murik Sterno. Sungan Mage." He said. Her eyes widened in shock.

"I thought..." She began.

"Some of us survived." He said. "Who are you?"

She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the entrance of the hall, at the same time, a few men broke away from the crowd and walked towards the entrance to block it.

"General," Murik said under his breath into the wave link between him and Makon. "We're under atta—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the roof exploded downwards into the room and General Makon jumped in, the crowd gasped and lurched away. He landed in the middle of the room on top of the shattered glass chandelier, amidst screams and gasps, and stood up to his full height. His presence was unmistakable. Everyone immediately knew who it was, but it was Lord Arabambi "Longbeard" who cried.

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"Rubric Makon! you're alive!"

Zeron's men sprung into action, There were seven of them and they immediately attacked Makon, and a brawl broke out. Murik, Lara, who was holding his hand, Kalum, and Mullam jumped to his defense.

Lord Arabambi realized just how dangerous the situation was for the guests. sparring mages, fully armored, had no problem deflecting hundreds of buddles of incinerating energy onto innocent bystanders, They had to get the hell out.

Follow me! he cried, running into the hallway that led to the back of the house. He was almost immediately vindicated as a mesmerized woman who had been watching the fight got her left hand sliced off clean by a rebounded green sickle attack spell Lara had deflected from one of Zeron's men.

She screamed in pain as blood splattered everywhere. attracting the attention of Mullam.

"Shit! Civilian casualty!" He screamed. He rushed over to her and grabbed her twitching hand from the ground as she grimaced from excruciating pain. The rest of the crowd was running away even faster now. Mullam encased the hand in a cooling spell and blocked the bleeding on her hand with a different spell.

"Take your hand and run!" He shouted to her just as another blast burned off a painting of Navonic horsemen, worth hundreds of thousands of coins on the opposite wall.

The woman, now sweating profusely, collected her hand from Mullam.

"I've stabilized it, find a healer immediately to have it reattached. Do you hear me?"

The woman's eyes lost their focus.

"Do you hear me?!" Mullam shouted again.

She fainted.

"Darn it!" Mullam screamed as he abandoned her to get back to the fight, Mullam had just breached the body armor of one of Zeron's men and had run him through with a magical blade, then flung him all the way across the room. He screamed in his deep battle voice and lunged at another man.

Kalum and Lara were locked in battle with one mage each. They were very good mages, but they were evenly matched by the mages they were fighting, Several energy blasts and sweeps were exchanged and deflected, burning and breaking things around the hall.

Glass cups were shattered, bronze and steel jugs were dented or sometimes partly melted, wooden tables were set on fire, cabinets were blasted apart, and fabrics were often incinerated instantly. Mullam had placed a body armor on the unconscious maimed woman, and it deflected spells onto the wall and floor around her.

Lord Arabambi rushed out into the garden crouching and immediately formed a wave link with his jetcoach driver.

"Bring everyone you can!" He screamed, he turned back to the crowd and screamed for them to duck.

"You think we're safe out here?!" he shouted. "keep your head down! An attack could breach those walls and come flying at us at any time. In fact everyone lie down!"

They all lay on the grass and stones as the first jetcoach came up.

"women first!" he shouted as he started grabbing the ladies next to him and hustling them into the jetcoach.

back inside the house, half the roof had been blown off, Segi and Zeron had damaged several internal walls as they kicked and blasted each other from room to room. Makon had killed three of Zeron's men and the rest were outnumbered and playing defense.

Zeron found his way to the main hall and noticed Makon.

"What?!" He screamed. "How are you still alive?"

Makon turned to him. "Who are you?" he asked, having never seen him before.

"Retreat!" He screamed and ran off. He and his men ran outside the house, past the garden, and jumped off the floater.

A second later, Segi rushed into the hall.

"Where's he??" She screamed.

"Retreated." Makon said.

"And you let them go?" she screamed, panting

"Your colleagues are depleted." Makon said quietly.

Segi looked around and saw Mullam, Kalum and Lara, they were bruised and panting.

"Zeron's men are formidable." Lara said. "Only Makon landed a kill, and he killed three people."

"I'm out of several blast spells." Mullam said. "This is why I hate field work."

Segi grunted. Then she relaxed. then she noticed Makon again.

"GENERAL MAKON??" She gasped. "You're alive!"

he nodded as she wrapped him in a hug.

"Oh my goodness." She said, wiping tears off her face. "How did you? What are you doing here?"

"I survived the massacre of my people." Makon said. "I found refuge here, In Navon, and I have been investing Ganz's activities here."

"We have a lot to discuss." She said.

They all walked to the back of the house where they found the crowd, still prone on the ground and hurriedly being evacuated by jet coaches. They were encouraged to stand up and relax. the woman who had been amputated was revived and they put her on a jetcoach, with Mullam who would take her to a healing center.

Lord Cepher's house was left in smoldering ruins, surrounded by an impeccably maintained garden and lawn. The man himself was never seen that night.