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It was a rare night for rain in Sulburi. The sudden storms had created a deluge earlier in the afternoon which put the cities defense on it's front lines. Sariza had spent the better part of the afternoon in the midst of several hundred bodies, constantly on edge out of fear of being stabbed in the back by one of the very citizens she was trying to help. Still, she'd been 'guarded' then. A special task force that had followed her ever since this mess began had joined her unit without telling a soul so it was all so very natural. And now...now she was enacting a special plan to lure out the biggest predator of them all.

Under the pretense of taking a simple guard shift, Sariza patrolled the darkening streets atop Uovu with two of her unit some distance behind her. Three soldiers, three janarim, and six eyes between them. To avoid suspicion she insisted that her personal body guards stay back and that she should take her own soldiers. Since they had no idea there were assasins gunning for Sariza they weren't as sharp as the others, but Sariza felt confident in her choice. After all, even if she was the obvious 'bait', she wasn't alone in this.

Somewhere out there Faisal was making his own plans and soon enough they would have their mark.

Sariza would have been lying if she said she wasn't nervous. Every little sound had her attention, but most of it was the quips tossed back and forth by her subordinates. They were keeping an active eye on the city, but that didn't stop them from taking the occasional jab at one another.

"Okay, okay, so you're saying that if she wasn't single you would have gone home with her?"

"I'm just saying that I've seen better looking women crawl out from the crypt."

"Oh, like you can afford to be that pic-"

Before the statement could even be finished the guardsman jaw was blown off thanks to an explosive bolt of lightning that popped through the air. All at once the alleyway lit up purple before disappearing all together.

The guardsman herself was trying her best to scream, but all that came out was bloody gurgles. Her mouth was snarling and snapping at anything it thought was a threat while the other soldier took arms. Before Sariza could even make her way closer the woman had already choked on her own blood and was falling to the cobbles around them.

"Move!" If they couldn't be sure what direction the attacks were coming from the least they could do was make it harder for their assailant! Another concentrated bolt of lightning struck the ground near Uovu but thankfully Sariza pulled the reigns quick enough to avoid a similar fate.

Zyn Yauthlo.

Their research had led to some disturbing information regarding the assassins' former marks, but being on the receiving end of a living legend was terrifying. Sariza held fast as Uovu took a hard right around a corner, very nearly knocking her from the saddle, and narrowly missed a dagger that would have pierced her leg. While there wasn't anymore lightning - for the moment, at least - there was still the very real threat of weaponry. They'd taken the risk knowing that, knowing just how small the streets of Sulburi really were, so she steeled her nerve and kept him going to the designated location.

She was supposed to 'panic' and lead a chase. In reality, the chase would bring them to an area that Faisal and his guard could access, even if she were riding all out on Uovu's back, to try and trap him.

"Why is a mage chasing us?!"

Sariza winced. The only one who hadn't a clue was probably in the most danger, but she couldn't say anything. All she could do was to toss back an "I have no idea!" and keep moving.

What she hadn't anticipated was the arrival of others. She'd always known Zyn to work solo so the noises from above caused her teeth to grind. "Marko, fire!"

"On it!"

Her subordinate lifted his arrow and fired three arrows in an arch, aiming for those closest to Faisal.

So much was happening so quickly that Sariza worried their main target might have slipped away. It would have been easy in the chaos, and seeing as she hadn't gotten a good look at him to begin with she had no idea what she was even looking for!

Sariza could hear her husband, but due to the angle she couldn't see him. It was frustrating, but she had to trust he could hold his own while doing the same for herself. Marko's arrows were enough to keep any of Zyn's brood from getting too close, although that only spurned them to try distance attacks themselves. More than a few arrows came at them, bouncing off the janarim's thick hides and the Obans' shields.

A buzzing came from behind her. It started out small, just a faint fuzz that was accompanied by an odd scent, but one she'd smelled before. At all costs she had to keep Zyn's attention so that Faisal could do what needed to be done, but doing so came at such a high cost. By the time she turned around the sky had once again turned a bright white and she was barely able to avoid the strike once again.

This time it wasn't just a simple dodge, though. One of Zyn's group had made it to the ground level and knocked her off Uovu. She hit the ground at a roll and was instantly involved in a brawl.

Sariza rose up just enough to slam her forehead into her attackers. It was enough to keep his blade from slicing further into her neck than it already had, but not enough to get him off completely. She couldn't get enough leverage to fully push him off-

-until it was done for her.

"Taiso! Thank you!" Grasping the matorian's outstretched hand, Sariza pulled herself up and whistled for Uovu. When the janarim started to come closer to her she shook her head. "Guard Marko!" When said archer turned her way she pointed to the rooftops, "Give them coverage!" It wasn't the best vantage point, but if he could just keep the momentum then it would make attacking Faisal and their forces all the harder.

When that same smell assaulted Sariza's senses she dipped down to snatch up her spear as quickly as possible, more than ready to run for her life, but just as quickly as the light started it faded. Though, not before she could see where it came from. Zyn wasn't nearly as high now as he had been in the beginning and the light came from the second floor of an abandoned building. She couldn't hear the fumbling he'd done in his attempt to flee, his movements clearly inhibited by something, or the way he'd nearly fallen through the open window. All she could see was his magic.

Sariza quickly elbowed Taiso, motioned with her head and took off at a run. The front door itself was easy enough to bust through and while the steps were very nearly too damaged to take Sariza ran up them, bursting onto the second floor where the snake himself sat.

Sariza never once lowered her spear. Whatever kind of containment they had on Zyn might fail at any moment and she didn't trust her reflexes in a closed space like this. "I'll heal." A few broken ribs, minor gashes and the wound to her neck; all in all it was a lot lighter than she'd imagined for an encounter like this. She'd gotten off lucky; her soldier not so much. "You?" She whispered back, taking in the sight of his arm.

"I don't know if I should be impressed or furious." Zyn broke the near silence around them and drew Sariza's attention to him once more. He was sweaty, clearly feeling the effects of using so many spells in such quick succession, but there was still a look to him that caused Sariza's blood to chill. "Who was your contact? Hmm? I want to thank them for their neat little trick." He motioned to the bola.

Zyn Yathulo was a lithe Oban who might have been able to blend in with normal society were it not for his eyes. A bright gold, brighter than the moon itself, with Matorian pupils.

"And now that you've been compromised I doubt your employer would want you back." When Zyn shifted Sariza brought her spear up nearly toward his gut. If he so much as sighed she would impale him.

"The two of you aren't wrong." At first she'd worried about his cohorts coming to his aid, but after this long it was painfully obvious that whatever 'loyalty' Zyn had inspired in them was short lived. He was a solo blade and if he fell then he went down alone. "Still, whose to say I'll talk? I'm more than confident I could take down one of you before the other finishes me, but I think that would be enough." He clucked his tongue with a smirk. "Enough to make the nobility talk, eh?"

Sariza gripped her spear tighter and clenched her teeth. She'd never been much for interrogations. All she was good for was the fighting part of it and knowing that was more of a frustration than her lack of skills to begin with.

"How are your sons, then? Well taken care of I'm sure."

Even though Sariza knew he would have known about the boys it didn't stop her gut from dropping. Without hesitation she dropped her spear and rammed it through his thigh hard enough that the blade became embedded in the floor underneath him. To his credit Zyn only cried out for a moment before composing himself as best he could.

"My husband isn't one for violence, but I am. " Sariza snarled.

"Of course," Zyn ground out through clenched teeth. "You weren't raised to be a lady, after all." He closed his eyes when she twisted the spear head inside of his thigh, but there was no way to hide the shivers that ran through the man's body.

She'd never wanted to hurt someone more than this man. It was as if all of her fears and frustrations with this entire affair were being channeled into the prone assassin before her.

"...I can give you a name, but it's likely fake."