Vennik started quickly up the stairs.  They swept around in front of the broken windows and lush vines, circling up to the next level.  His opponents were no fools.  They'd be coming around to this side of the castle right now and Vennik wanted to get up on even ground before they did.  He held a short sword in each hand now and still had his own in its scabbard.

He came up onto the next landing.  The Lantern was just on the cusp of a mountain and would set fully soon.  He'd have to find something to light his way before long.  He looked around and listened.  The landing had the same dirty feel to it with debris in the corners and some kind of faded, rotting tapestry barely hanging on to a wall.

Vennik moved into the next room.  It was a large sitting room with broken and dusty furniture.  A rippled, moth eaten carpet covered the center of the floor, smelling of must and mold.  He crossed quickly and approached the high, open entranceway to the next.  Everything was still dimly lit from openings to an outer hallway that curved around the rooms.

He heard them just before they pushed doors aside and came in.  Two Rennon with the same grey clothing and short swords as the other two.  Expressionlessly, they moved towards him without hesitation.  Vennik could tell by their steps that the two were practiced at working together.  They stayed close but not too close.  They kept their fronts facing him and swords back, ready to thrust.  The man on the inside slowed slightly to keep the man on the outside in parallel.  

Vennik took the initiative and moved decisively.  He leapt forward and angled to his right, forcing the outside man to react.  Charging with one blade up and the other held low, Vennik brought both swords together and with a mighty clang sent the outside man's weapon twirling into the air.  He kept moving before either of them could react and slashed the man's neck open as he jumped past.

The man clutched at his throat and dropped to his knees.  He let out a gagging, coughing cry of pain.  Vennik and the remaining man began circling around him while he slowly swayed back and forth.  

Then Vennik felt a shudder go down his spine.  The other man paused slightly, eyes revealing he felt it too.

A long, dark, snaky tendril came down out of the ceiling above them.  No, it didn't come out of the ceiling, thought Vennik, it came through it.  Ghostly.  Semi transparent.

With a flick to one side Vennik watched the tip of it stab through the man on his knees.  But it didn't rip flesh and bone like a spear.  It just slid through him like he wasn't there.  Or it wasn't there.  Vennik watched while he toppled over, turning grey as ash before hitting the floor, a shriveled husk of a body.  The tendril pulled back out of him.  

Vennik edged to one side but had barely moved when a large black creature dropped through the ceiling and thudded onto the floor on four very powerful and very solid legs.  The tendril was its tail which now coiled back behind it like a cross between a rattlesnake and a scorpion.  The creature crouched and let out a screech like a horn blast before lashing out with its front leg.  It had a massive, cat like paw with claws as long as Vennik's hand. 

Vennik jumped back but slammed into a stone wall.  The remaining man put his forearm up but was knocked down to his hands and knees, his arm taking huge gashes and splattering blood on the carpet.

The chill down his back was almost paralyzing but Vennik darted forward with his sword.  He aimed for the creature's shoulder but felt the blade whisper through nothing.  He brought his arm back and prepared for another strike when he saw the slight change in color of the beast's leathery skin.  Vennik could see slightly through the whole thing to the mouldering furniture behind it.

The creature ignored him.  It jumped after the other man and opened its long dragon like jaws. It's color changed again as it solidified.  With a powerful strike, it clamped down on the man's head and snapped his neck with an aggressive shake.

Vennik made a run for the door. The creature snaked its sinewy body around and leapt after him, tail following like a bullwhip.  Again, it went translucent as it moved.

Vennik almost ran straight into two other men coming into the room.  They weren't as tall as him or anywhere near as stocky.  He thought he could just see the golden skin that marked them as Lasskyrs before the one in front shouted, "Get down!"

Vennik dove to the floor, feeling the creature's jaws targeting the back of his neck.  The Lasskyr made a throwing motion and something flew from his hand, spreading out like a net.  Vennik slid across stone and looked back to see a web of metal filaments wrap around the creature.  There were sparks of Arcanum crystals, loud snapping noises, and flashes of rainbow light.

The creature stumbled and pulled its legs up protectively.  It shuddered and spasmed, twisting like a fish on a hook, and bumping against the floor very solidly.  The Lasskyr pulled out a longsword and stabbed it straight into the beast's head.  The creature convulsed twice and died, black blood draining out onto the carpet.

Vennik rolled over and got up on his elbows, trying to ignore the pain in his wounded shoulder.  The Lasskyr pulled his sword out of the creature's head and looked down at him.  Now Vennik could see that he wore the armor and insignia of a Palan Ranger.  He was taller than normal for his kind and carried a rugged strength that suggested he was accustomed to violence.  "Hello there," said the Ranger, speaking Lasskyr with a low born accent.  "I think we're all on the same side but we should probably establish that before we go much further."