[color=A0A0A0][h2]Fleuri Jodeau[/h2][/color]

It seemed that the masked necromancer was prepared for Fleuri, having summoned a magical barrier to block both his and Fanilly's attacks.  Behind the conjured shields, their foe confidently announced that he'd kill everyone in the room, reaching for a vial.  Fleuri had no idea what those vials did, but it was clear that they were very bad news.

Before the masked man had the chance to make good on his threat, however barrier was struck and shattered by a spell cast by his own ally, the female mage.  Before Fleuri or Fanilly had the chance to strike the necromancer through the opening, a crossbow quarrel- specifically one of the bolts taken from Damon's corpse- struck their foe in the eye, killing him instantly.  With the man's death, the slime-like creature dissipated into a puddle of disgusting but otherwise harmless sludge, and the female mage surrendered without any further resistance.

It seemed that the fight was over.  The Nem's sister was rescued, the conspirators and their mercenaries were defeated, and the desecrated dead had been put to rest.  From the look of it, none of the other knights appeared injured.  It was another victory for the Iron Roses.

Fleuri had mixed feelings about the mage's abrupt surrender.  On one hand, he had hoped that they'd be able to take at least one of the conspirators alive, and the woman's abrupt double-cross suggested she was amenable to cooperating if it meant avoiding execution.  On the other hand, Fleuri was doubtful that the woman did this out of any moral compunction- she probably took exception to her companion's threat to kill everyone in the room and thus was simply seeking to save her own skin.  Perhaps it would become clearer after they searched the place and questioned her.

"The conspirator and mercenaries on the upper level are all dead, Captain," Fleuri reported to Fanilly, opening the visor of his borrowed helmet.  "What are your orders?"

[@VitaVitaAR]