Phagora hadn’t noticed at first that Ryleth had left, and the realization threw her into a hurried panic.Not bothering to get any supplies, she grabbed the nearest horse she could find and raced through the gates of Castle Bloodrose, with Sarah and Mary, the other two witches in the raid, hot on her heels.

Eventually, though, the horses just couldn’t keep their pace, and the trio was forced to stop to let them rest. Tying their mounts to a tree by the road, Phagora asked the other two if they had any plans for the attack. “Stealth and secrecy will be the keys to our success, I would think.” commented Mary. “I could open up a portal to Hell, we go through it, and then I create another portal right into their fortress. Could do it from here, in fact.”

Sarah turned to the little demonologist. The pair were a study in contrasts- Sarah stood nearly six feet tall, while Mary couldn’t have been more the four-foot-nine. The former witch had luscious black curls, whereas Mary’s hair was blonde, sparse, and straight. Yet they made a perfect pair in battle- Mary’s infernal summons were quite capable of causing utter terror in a foe, fears that Sarah could use to power her own spells.

 “I doubt that would work, Mary. Any sane coven would make certain nothing could enter from there without permission- we already do it back at the Castle. We’d be stuck there with whatever demons are in the area coming for us.” She shook her head in dismay. “No, I say overwhelming power would be our best option. Knock them to the dirt with our strongest spells, and make sure they don’t have a chance to get up.”

“I vote for scouting the situation, personally,” responded Phagora. “Don’t want to get tripped up by surprises.” At that moment, though, there was a large surge of magic that all three witches could feel, about half a mile further down the road. That could only mean one thing- Ryleth had found the other coven, and they had found him, too. “Looks like the decision has been made for us, ladies!” Phagora yelled as she untied the horses for what would probably amount to a cavalry charge. “Let’s go!”