The threat becomes clear

The drake-tower is positioned near the curtain wall separating Relia's - your estate, really - from the even more affluent mansion that sits between the estate and the slow-moving river. In the eerie blue light, it's possible to see the bend of the great Elaina as it turns Southward towards the ocean giving the district its name. In normal times, the mansions that line the western bank of the river are some of the most coveted properties in all the city. Tonight though, emerging from the banks of the slow-moving water you can see even more of the giant slugs and dozens of the hopping bulging-eyed beasts.

Unlike the earlier scene you witnessed, where the slugs and toadmen swarmed into the undefended city chaotically, this group is moving with discipline and purpose. Directing the attack is a tall warrior striding between two of the largest slugs with a long thin curved blade in one hand and a capture net swinging from the other. The swordsman's armor is as alien as his weapon, a tunic-length sleeveless garment that hangs from his shoulders and looks almost like the overlapping scales of a snake. The target of the attack is Relia's neighbor and with a sharp command in a language that you've never before heard you see the **** begin.

"Look." Relia points to where a small troop of fighters are waiting on the walls. "Lord Markopoulos, was unable to secure an invitation to the Citadel, but he spent a small part of his fortune hiring private guards to protect his home." From the top floor of the drake tower, you can look down on the scene with surprising clarity. Unlike many of the 'fighters' you've seen defending the walls of Athenapolis, these men look like they know what they are doing. When the heads of the first two slugs top the outer walls, they were immediately chopped at with long-shafted glaives and the slow-moving slimy beasts shy away from the attack refusing to advance any further.

The guards are less prepared for the great leaps of the toad-men; several of the monsters land on the walls close enough to grapple with the defenders. Perhaps if the strange warrior had committed all his forces at once, the small troop would have been overwhelmed, but after a brief skirmish the amphibious beasts are thrown back from the wall and the eight remaining guards raise their fists in triumph. Their success however is short-lived; for the next **** the strange warrior rides up the wall on the back of one of the wounded slugs leading the unholy forces in person. This time even though the blades bite deeply into the slug's head almost decapitating the slimy creature the mangled body of the slug continues up over the wall and into the group of **** defenders. Under the circumstances, you are not surprised that the guards surrender after only a short fight and watch as the captured guards are stripped of their armor and secured with heavy manacles while the swarm of invaders continue on to the main house.

This time your view is blocked and so for a while you can only imagine what is happening in the neighboring mansion. Like Relia's house, the estate is built of thick stone walls with marble facing and red tiles on the roof. It is maybe half again larger than Relia's, with a main building that is three stories high with dozens of rooms, and at least three open atriums. To your humble eyes it looks more like a palace than a home and you can't help wonder how many people there are within those walls. You have not forgotten the two toad-beasts rutting on the woman kicking and screaming on the rough cobbles of the street.

"Who's in that house?" You ask Relia, "are there any women?" Her expressive eyes open in horror as the implication of your question sinks in.

"Lady Markopoulos, her two daughters and at least a half dozen servants..." Her hushed whisper is accompanied by a sudden flurry of activity on the balcony directly across from where you are watching. "Oh goddess, that's the girls now!" Two young women in sheer nightgowns burst through the doorway onto the high balustrade. The dark-haired sisters look perhaps three or four years younger than Relia, and you wonder how well she knew her neighbors. The pair rush to the railing and look down at the gardens below screaming for help, neither of the young women are as pretty as Relia, but in spite of that you feel sick in your stomach at what you fear is coming.

Sure enough, the young sisters are followed by the swordsman who has to duck his head to fit his elongated body through the door. At some point since you last saw him, he has lost his helmet and his long thin weapon is now dripping blood, but he still carries the net and with practiced ease he flips it over the taller of the sisters entangling her in the hooked mesh. With his face no longer covered, you can see immediately that this is no man like you. The warrior's eyes are large and black like a snake's, his nose little more than two slits and when he grins you see his broad mouth is filled with sharp teeth. You are not the only one effected by the warrior's alien appearance. The other young woman has climbed onto the low wall that encircles the rooftop balcony.

"Get back, creature!" She screams, "I'll jump ... I'm not afraid to die."