[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_hwU7irZTs][b]Château de D'Aubigne – Staircase Chamber - Noble's Quarter[/b][/url][/center]

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All at once, explosions and crippling small-arms viciously tore through the fully strengthed Sarifen battalion amidst a sea of several dozen, screaming Nezamni voices. The seemingly impenetrable wall of Sarifen steel shattered as limbs and innards ripped apart and scattered the many armored Sarifens like rag dolls. The various remaining Zhayedans' cohesion began to fragment in confusion, panic, and disorder as [b][i]an aristocratic gentleman[/i][/b] and various wounded Nezam warriors began to methodically pick off the surviving Azad officers with near-impossible accuracy.  

Independently, potency proved questionable, but together, the fatalities sung a chorus in the form of well-placed grenadier volleys and alarmingly precise marksmanship that completely dismantled the formidable Sarifen formations. Too late did the over-zealous Azads fully grasp their glaring, tactical failures before they found themselves a victim of their own successes; in mere minutes, victory became defeat as their attempts to form another rear facing, shield wall ultimately proved futile against the wave of Nezamnis crashing against their rear ranks. 

All the same, another large deafening commotion resonated from further down the hallway in what resembled several, nearly deafening chimes. The source soon became evident as a large gaping hole smashed through the caved in debris to unveil a large, albeit ruined harpsichord. Emerging through the gap, [b][i]Dae and various other surviving banquet guests[/i][/b] of differing allegiances seemed to have spared no liberties in exploiting the keyboarded instrument as a battering ram; after which the motley gathering wasted no time in ferociously rushing across the hallway to launch a determined, counter-attack.

In a moment it was all over as both Nezams and Banquet Survivors enclosed upon the over-confident Azad-Zhayedan ranks and cut them down them to a mere man. Battered, bloodied, and outnumbered, the Nezams suffered immense casualties, many of whom fought to the death. In hindsight, however, the crippling blows inflicted upon the now decimated Sarifen battalions, Paighan elements, and their Azad shock-troopers overwhelmingly exceeded their own as was evidenced through the macabre heaps of mangled, defiled, and utterly broken bodies littering across the entire hallway's length. Amongst the many hundreds of fallen Azads' aristocratic numbers, many included [i]the Houses of Baktria and its client vassals[/i].  

As Lucius wearily moved to reload his firearms, the walls suddenly shook again as dust and debris showered over their heads. A fresh barrage had begun anew, however, the intensity had seemingly devolved into something that seemed much less maddening or ferocious. One reality stood true and it was that they were still surrounded on all directions, and with no end in sight ...