The group met in the same building Tahir had been taken to when Namilah first apprehended him, this time to discuss the upcoming raid. They’ll have a couple dozen guards as well as members of Nagyermend’s Council’s private military, but none of them could really go above gold in rank - leaving Tahir’s group, along with Merui and Namilah as the key agents of the operation. They spent a couple of hours going over their role in the operation, the general plan, and a few specific contingencies depending on what they think might happen. The homes of the merchant princes were certainly the least regulated of any building or structure in the city, so they had to prepare for anything from traps to a hidden military force outside of the spirit mages that Osman might have lying in wait there.
When the sun hung low in the sky, Tahir and company moved over to a hideaway near the merchant prince’s home. Tahir briefly pondered who he should summon, but ultimately he decided to go with Mikharma. Partially because he didn’t want to get any of his spirits mixed up in the possible melee that would follow between the guards and the spirit mages. Unless someone had the soul sight spell or divine sense, they couldn’t even tell that Mikharma was a spirit, which Merui and Namilah confirmed.
Night fell, and as people cleared away from the streets around Osman Buraale’s impressive estate on the outskirts of the city, they moved in. They needed to apprehend or disperse the spirit mages, find the source of the material to conjure and bind spirits, find how they’re contracting spirits without using a leyline crossing, and apprehend Osman himself.
The unit moved quickly, their steps muffled by a spell cast by Merui until they reached the building itself. The doors were blown in by the guards, waitstaff thoroughly terrified, and every floor of the house searched. Tahir, Theo, Meti, Hasio, Shukri, and Mikharma were asked to wait in the lobby and listen for any alarm or the start of any confrontation, which mostly resulted in them standing on edge for a few minutes before a call for everyone to gather toward the back of the manor had them moving quickly toward the noise.
They made their way into a crowded storage room, where a collection of crates had been shoved against the walls to reveal a trapdoor that opened up to reveal a set of spiral stairs, torches on the walls illuminating the way down. “Seems like we’ve found the real hideout.” Merui said, after examining the passage and determining that the first several feet down weren’t trapped. “We found a couple of people that couldn’t reasonably be maids or regular laborers. They’ll be questioned to make sure they weren’t spirit mages, but with that in mind, we can expect the bulk of them to be holed up down here.” He waved for the group to continue forward. “Tread carefully everyone, we’re officially heading down into the lion’s den.”
As they moved down the stairs, quicker than Tahir liked but slow enough for Merui at the lead to determine if there were any actual traps on the way down, Tahir noticed the subtle transition from limestone to some kind of marble. The abrupt change of the sound of their collective footsteps and the change of the way the torchlight bounced off the walls clued him in. He’d seen this before, traveling down the great ruin he’d been in just a day prior. “Did we just move into a ruin?” He asked Meti, who was right in front of him.
“I wouldn’t find it a surprise if there were several underneath Nagyermend.” She replied.
Tahir remembered reading about the ruins scattered about the desert. Barring the massive ruin, which seemed to just appear out of nowhere, one of the desert’s notable dangers were sinkholes leading into ruins. He supposed Nagyermend being on top of some of them made sense, but he couldn’t imagine finding a ruin underneath one’s home and deciding to attach their place of living to it. Unless they cleared it out completely, he supposed.
“Careful, there’s movement up ahead.” Mikharma warned. Sure enough, the sound of shouting and a rumble from the impact of likely some kind of magic rang out ahead, as people streamed out from the stairway into a larger room that had several people ready to intercept the crowd of guards and soldiers.
They really had found the hideout. Tahir drew his blade, ready to join in if he needed to, but he had a different role to play, and a reason to avoid fighting, at that. He quickly located Merui and Namilah, fighting their way through to another passage on the opposite side of this fairly wide room. He, and nearly everyone else in his immediate party, followed close behind, ducking and dodging through a rapidly growing melee as more of the spirit mages summoned their spirits and caused them to rampage. Theo, however, stayed behind, calling on elemental energies and immediately drawing attention to herself, waving everyone off and giving a thumbs up as they moved further into the ruin.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, most of those I’m bringing with us won’t even come close to platinum Redclouds. While you aren’t one yourself, Theoris, we’ve been told you are certainly qualified if you put your mind to it - so in the event that it does turn into a larger confrontation, could you give them your support?”
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Merui had asked one of us to stay behind in that case, and the group settled on Theo, and now everyone else continued to follow the rest of their objectives. With seven of them assembled, Tahir quickly cast the soul sight spell, keeping it active to make sure that no spirits trailed behind him from the larger chamber, and so that he could detect any ahead of them that might be out of sight.
“Everyone alright?” Namilah asked. Fortunately, everyone got through the chamber unscathed, but they could still hear the roar of the fight behind them. Looking around, the ruin forked a couple ways, but the group followed the largest path, hoping it would take them somewhere important.
“I know I said this before, but I just wanted to reiterate.” Tahir started as they nearly ran through the hallway. “My spirit magic is different from standard. If the mage who summoned the spider spirit is here, and he could comfortably summon her at tier three, he’s probably a mage well worth his salt.”
“Most certainly, which was why I’m so very glad we’ve only lost Theoris for this upcoming confrontation.” Merui replied. “But all shall be well. Even a mithral Redcloud would have a fair bit of trouble with us as we are now, but we mustn't underestimate the advantage they gain by being in their base of operations. Frankly, it’s a miracle we haven’t run into any-”
“Wait! Stop!” Tahir called, causing the entire group to come to an abrupt halt, as they nearly ran into the chamber that the hallway finally emptied out into. He saw red lines running all throughout the room on his soul sight, which confused him at first, because they didn’t seem to have a source. Another second of thought, and it came to him as quick as a blink. “There are webs all over this room.”
“Aw, you ruined the surprise.” A voice drew their collective attention toward the ceiling, where the spider spirit slowly descended. “It’s so fun watching people cut themselves on the web before they even realize it’s there.”
Tahir remembered talking about this spirit earlier in the day, but recalled it leaving on a vague note.
“From our earlier confrontation with them, that spirit seems to be adept at evasion and stalling. Her threads are both magic resistant, especially to divine magic given her fiendish nature, and tough enough to not be cut by the simple application of bladework. Should we encounter her with her summoner, it will make the entire ordeal difficult but not impossible as long as we can dispatch the summoner quickly enough.”
They didn’t discuss what they’d do if they found her on her own, but Tahir had an idea of what was going on. Namilah stepped forward and moved to brandish her staff, but Tahir put a hand on her shoulder. “She’s acting as a warning and a distraction, but since she’s here, the path through this room is probably the right direction. You guys should get going, I’ll deal with her myself.”
Namilah opened her mouth to speak, but Merui cut her off. “I understand your animosity toward this particular spirit, but the mission must come first. Besides, all things considered, the target of your ire should be the summoner who set that spirit on your father rather than the spirit herself.” Namilah looked between the two of them, then back at the spirit, hands clenching her staff so forcefully it seemed like she might snap it in half.
“Fine, but will you really be alright on your own?” She asked Tahir. The spider spirit seemed amused at the thought, continuing to meander her way down from the ceiling without a care.
“The less of us who’re there to fight the mage, the more perilous it gets.” He replied. “Besides, it’s not like you’ll be losing the best card in our hand. I’m not volunteering myself intending to lose this fight, and I certainly won’t be able to stall as well as she can.”
Both Shukri and Meti put their hands on Tahir’s shoulders and gave an assuring squeeze. Mikharma said nothing, but gave an understanding nod. “You’re the expert on spirits here, we’ll trust your judgment.” Meti said. Looking forward, she spotted a doorway leading deeper into the ruin. “Tell me where, and I’ll clear a path.”
With his soul sight, he pointed out a general direction of strands of webbing between them and the path ahead, and seconds later, multiple spells, and a wave of aura from Shukri’s spear, cut through them with no issue. The group ran ahead as Tahir stepped into the room, with Mikharma ruffling his hair as she passed by. The spider spirit watched the group leave, shying away from Mikharma in particular as she walked by and out of the room.
“Oh dear, it would seem that I’m being ignored.” She said, looking at the passage they went through before turning back to look at Tahir. “Oh well, That old fart has seen you through my eyes, so it's his fault if they manage to get the drop on him.”
“You don’t seem to care for your summoner that much.” Tahir noted. “If he gets killed, he won’t be able to summon you.”
“He’s useful for letting me out to play every so often. But he’s also told me you mortals are adorably merciful. If he surrenders, he’ll just be arrested, and his employer will just use his connections to get him out in a couple weeks at most.” She said with a shrug. “Either way, he’s dreadfully boring. If he is going to meet his end here, I’m hoping you can provide me with some quality entertainment. Especially since you volunteered to take me all on your own.” With a flick of her wrist, Tahir noticed various strands of webbing infused with her mana moving in.
Tahir readied himself, with his sword in one hand and staff in the other, casting the soul flame spell and watching his blade light up with green fire.