The instant Keystone made a move, the crossbows twanged sending bolts at the monk. None of them hit the large man, the four bolts striking the wizards instead. With horror in their eyes, the Red Wizards watched the bolts go through their magical defenses, leaving holes in their robes as if their bodies were nothing but air. The burly guards reacted quickly for their size, but had no hope of catching the agile monk, opting to try and shield the dead wizards from more attacks. The escaping prisoner was the last of their thoughts as the assailants focused their efforts on the burly guards, more crossbows plunging through the plate armour as if it was made of parchment.

None of the assassins seemed to pay any attention to Keystone, but he could feel the eyes on him as he sped down the alley. A few shadows seemed to move as he ran past them. Soon, all of the alleys sounds were drowned out by the sounds of a fight near the merchant's castle, the ring of swords and crackle of spells carrying far across the city. The guards were clearly too busy to bother chasing their initial target, if any were still standing after the first few salvos.

The city came to life as news spread that the attack was over. Passing some crossing alleys, Keystone could see the street he initially came from: guards were running back and forth, yelling instructions and cleaning up the bodies with some wizards. Nobody seemed to pay the running monk any heed.

Soon, the streets were once again teeming with life, if one didn't pay attention to the occasional procession of monks and guards carrying bodies of fellow combatants, as well as zombies, out of the city for burial. One such group consisted of weary guard veterans, carrying upon their shields a familiar face. Raa, the half orc paladin, had more than a dozen deep cuts and bruises along his chest, neck and legs, but his face was still pristine and bore a slight smile. The paladin was no longer bleeding, his blood spilled on the stones of the same street Keystone had fought. The guards carrying him were grim faced, but stood tall, allowing no-one to touch the body.

Back at the Xiang Temple, GrandMaster Shein-Fang watched the bone fragments he had picked up, turn to dust in front of his eyes.