Cielina and Devona make a power play, and have Arin killed.

Devona and Cielina have managed to perch themselves on a part of the cliffs, where you and noone else, other than the other Elvenfolk, can see them. All of the other women on the cliffs are busy finishing off the other Dark Elves, and going through their inventory.

"Do you understand common, Dark Elf?" Devona quietly asks the male soldier she's holding captive.

The Dark Elf nods, unable to speak with Devona's strong hand over his mouth.

"Good." Devona tells him. "You're going to do exactly as I tell you, or I will kill you right here, right now."

(Earlier that night.)

As you were helping Arin get prepared, you had no idea that Cielina and Devona had ventured off into one of the outer towers of the castle. Their fellow Amazons and Frost Knights had told others that they were trying to bury the hatchet. What they did not know, was that both warrior women were working on a certain plan, speaking in quiet voices.

"This has better be good, Devona." Cielina told her. "The deadline draws near."

"A good number of my people do not trust the people of Elilethiel," Devona replied, "nor do they trust Gaelica. My people are uncertain of what could come out of a marriage between our beloved King Bryce, and Princess Fiona. Yes, they have their strengths that could be beneficial to Itheria, but what if enough of Bryce's plan for rescuing Arinyagimli and Fiona go wrong, and those two maidens end up dead?"

"Are you telling me you want those two dead, Devona?" Cielina asked her.

"Aye, I do." Devona replied. "Me and my people share little or no love for Gaelica, for what they did to The Goldfields, west of here. Most of them are still feeling the physical and mental scars of their last raid, in which the parents of Duchess Irene Rabinne were killed. It will take another generation or two of peace between Itheria and Gaelica, before they can be trusted. As for Elilethiel, I can understand their reasons for asking for human help, but they are clinging to ancient traditions that are long dead. It is only a matter of time before they decide to abandon their forest, and make their migration to their distant refuge. The time of the Elves in these lands are over, Cielina. Let the Demons burn their forest, for all I care. Eventually, it will be humankind taking over Elilethiel. It may as well begin now."

"I find Surface Elvenfolk to be good people, Devona," Cielina told her, "most of them, anyway. How would the destruction of Elilethiel be beneficial to Itheria?"

"A way around The Great Wilderness to the north." Devona replied. "Although it is barely used by humankind, there are trade roads that cross the Elven forest. Those trade roads are the key for expanding Itherian influence, bypassing The Great Wilderness, and into lands further north."

"Yet you would have to drive off the Demons, before you can use those trade roads." Cielina told her. "What about Fiona's abductors? Do you know something that I do not know?"

"According to reports from my fellow Frost Knights in The Goldfields," Devona replied, "they're a group of mercenaries that were orphaned as little children by the last raid from Gaelica. They've posted a ransom for every gold from the king's coffers, and every gold from the coffers of every tribal leader in Gaelica, as reparations for the families that lost loved ones in the last Gaelic raid."

"I find that extravagant, don't you think?" Cielina told her. "No king would sacrifice all the gold in the world for the sake of one maiden. Do you know where they may be holding Fiona captive?"

"In an abandoned tower on the Northwestern tip of The Goldfields." Devona replied. "However, I have not informed King Bryce about this, not until the issue over Arin is resolved."

"You do realize that trying to ambush the Dark Elves on the cliffs will not be an easy one." Cielina told her. "If the reports from Bryce's lead spy, Akina, is correct, they have a good number of archers on top of those cliffs."

"Yet they are not expecting an attack from behind." Devona told her. "They will be fixed on Arin, and that will allow us to sneak in with our forces. If we find a suitable covert spot, we can make it look like the Dark Elves killed Arin, not us. We can do the same afterwards, with Fiona."

"Neither the Elves of Elilethiel," Cielina replied to her, "nor the Gaelic people will like it. I would rather have them freed, and let them complete their campaign for the throne. If Fiona dies, then the Gaelic people may try to invade Itheria."

"Let them try sacking a reinforced, fortified land this time." Devona told her. "Please think of my people, please think of your...siblings. Having Arin and Fiona eliminated will help us all. Besides, it is not like Arin will be missed by her family, being a runt of such a vast family. If the Demons' invasion does not kill Elilethiel, then their eventual migration will. Please think about that. Will you help me, Cielina, or no?"

(Now.)

"King Bryce," one of the disguised Elven maidens try to ride over to you, "something is not right in the cliffs! It is as if--"

You hear the whizzing sounds of incoming crossbow bolts, hitting those few maidens in vital areas. You turn quickly to see them collapse to the ground, essentially dead. The hissing sound of the succubus, Zrixsya, is followed by the increased struggle that a now enraged Arin is feeling, as she sees her fellow Elves fall.

"NNNNOOOO!" Arin screams. "Let me go!"

The moment you see Arin free herself, you draw out your longsword, and ride over to her as fast as you can. All of a sudden, she stops, just standing there in front of you. Seconds later, she falls to her knees, then completely to the ground, revealing the Dark Elven crossbow bolt...in the back of her head!

"Muhahahaha!" The matriarch's spokesman tells you. "Too late, human! We can't have her, and neither will you! Go home, and leave us--"

Suddenly, the male Dark Elf jerks, then collapses onto the ground, revealing a human arrow in the back of his head. It sends the remaining Dark Elves scrambling, and Zrixsya moving to scoop up the matriarch, and try to fly into the air. That's when a bluish streak flies overhead, and goes straight through the head of the succubus. It send the Dark Elven matriarch falling to the ground, only for a magical aura to surround her, freezing her in place, just centimeters from the ground. You turn to see who did it, finding a fast-arriving group of your elite troops--The King's Own--being led by Vessa, who's holding a longbow in her hand. It doesn't take long for the fight to finish, and you quickly dismount, rushing to where Arin lays. You turn her around, seeing her eyes already shut. You feel for a pulse.....there is none. You feel for movement in her chest.....nothing!

"By the gods!" Vessa rides over and dismounts, joining you. "They...they killed Arin, and all the Elves you took along?!"

"A precise shot, in the key part of her head." You tell Vessa. "The others...were hit in places that killed them instantly."

"Oh no!" Devona runs over, alongside Cielina. "We tried to get to the few stragglers that were left, but they had already fired their weapons!"

"M'lord," Cielina asks you, "what are we going to tell Elilethiel? How will they respond to what has happened here?!"

"Everything," you tell them, clutching the now-deceased Arin in your arms, "everything that has...happened here. This...this was an unfortunate turn of events."

"What now, m'lord?" Vessa asks you.

"We clean up here," you tell them, "then we go rescue Fiona, immediately."

"What about the matriarch?" Vessa asks you.

You turn to see that the Dark Elven matriarch was still in a state of stasis. With a nod, you have Vessa dispel the magic, making the Dark Elf fall onto the ground. As she struggles to get up, speaking in Drowish along the way, Devona walks up to her, and throws a punch at her, knocking the woman out.

"Put her in the dungeon." You tell her. "Elilethiel will have their vengeance on her, for Arin's ****."