Onto the roof, into the pouring rain. Lightning exploded overhead. Gerrick did not flinch.

Ansley, Jonas, Fearghas, and Digs all poured out behind him. Hermann sneered at him, muttering a prayer. He raised one hand to them.

"YAHHH!" Gerrick threw all his furious might into a charge, hoping to interrupt the dark priest, but he was not fast enough. Like an explosion of bile in his stomach, the dark despair overtook him. He crumpled as if shot in the gut with a poisoned arrow.

Gerrick sat down in his father's seat at the head of the Inverray banquet table, a look of icy deadpan on his face. Jonas and Ansley took their places at his side, Jonas a look of grim pleasure, Ansley doing her best to hide a look of tear-stained determination. Below them, General MacAigh, Michael Scott, and Commodore MacBannion saluted dutifully.

Hermann grinned. "You learned nothing, boy."

Gerrick winced, silent tears streaming down his face. He resisted the urge to ask what the vision meant, even though deep down he knew--Malcolm and Da were nowhere in the vision. Next to him, Fearghas fell to his knees, wailing. Jonas fell to the ground shaking, and Ansley screamed in terror, thrashing as if fighting off an invisible attacker.

Gerrick closed his eyes.

Gerrick turned to face Ansley in rage. "She left this family exposed! She endangered all of us!"

Ansley looked at him in horrified anger. "She's yer sister, Gerrick! Call 'em off!"

"These particular visions are a new power for me." Hermann paced, flexing his fingers absently. "Something odd about time these days. Curious."

Gerrick shook his head. "What..."

Hermann stood over him. "Like it?"

Gerrick tried to shake out his head.

"Yes. Behold what you become. This is the path you chose, little viper. I'm simply being honest with you about it. In the end, you're just like me: a poisoner. A warrior in the shadows."

Gerrick stared up at him.

Hermann smirked. "So unlike your father."

Gerrick looked down in defeat. "What are ye gonnae do."

"I'm going to teach you the price of your arrogance." He drew a dagger and walked to Fearghas. "Starting with the traitor of the Brotherhood." He thrust down for the back of Fearghas's neck.

Like lightning, Fearghas's hand shot up, catching the priest's wrist. Fearghas grinned up at him in predatory glee. "Stop me if you've heard this one."

In a flash, Fearghas rose off his knees, a hard uppercut and a sickening crunch sound splashing blood out of Hermann's mouth. Hermann stumbled back with a surprised shout.

Fearghas drew his dagger, holding it up to his nose. "So a Dhunnic, a Kieran, and an Innesian go into a pub and order a beer." He feigned a lunge in for Hermann's gut, but instead pommelled him across the face. Hermann stumbled back against the parapet wall. "As they're drinking, a fly buzzes around and lands in the Dhunnic's beer."

Hermann lunged for Fearghas with a shout, but Fearghas twisted out of the way, grabbing his knife-arm in his unarmed hand and twisting it. With a painful pop, Hermann screamed and fell to the stone floor.

Fearghas grinned down at him. "The Dhunnic says, 'Oi, Waita, there's a bloody fly in my beer!'"

Ansley looked to Fearghas horrified. "Don't play with your food!"

Fearghas ignored her. "A few minutes later, a fly lands in the Kieran's beer." He kicked Hermann savagely in the gut with the toe of his boot as he tried to get up. "The Kieran picks the fly out and keeps drinking."

Hermann crawled over to a Parapet, trying to pull himself up, coughing weakly.

Fearghas paced over to him. "A few minutes later, a fly lands in the Innesian's beer. The Innesian grabs the fly by the wings--" Fearghas siezed Hermann's hair, pulling his head back, "--begins to shake him over the beer--" Fearghas drove Hermann's face into the parapet stone with furious force. The venomir's nose exploded in blood. He held his dagger to Hermann's throat.. "--And shouts, 'SPIT IT OOT, YA BASTARD!'"

Fearghas yanked the dirk across Hermann's throat with a tight, efficient motion. With a mighty heave, he threw the dead priest over the parapet wall and to a fate in some dark afterlife.

Fearghas raised his dagger triumphantly. "THANK YOU! BE SURE TO TIP YOUR WAITRESS!"

Jonas was the first up, red-faced and sweating. He braced himself up on his knees, trembling. Gerrick rose slowly and went to him, reaching to put a hand on his shoulder. Jonas raised a hand to stop him. "Don't!--" He waved Gerrick away gently. "Just...don't touch me right now."

Ansley ran to Gerrick, giving him a desperate hug. He returned the sentiment gladly.

He then turned his attention to Fearghas.

Fearghas grinned like a cock who had just had his first hen. "It was the beer."

Gerrick started to ask what the hell that meant, but then realized. "The beer!"

"Aye!" Fearghas chuckled. "The blessing of the Jester Divine, and he was a priest of the Scarred Mother!"

Gerrick chuckled, offerring his hand. He embraced Fearghas as a true Troublemaker. "Good job, mate!"

Through the falling rain, they heard the roar of the black ships in the sky overhead. Gerrick could barely see the shadow of one as it lifted into the clouds. The alarm bell continued to ring.

Ansley went wide eyed. "The alarm! They thought it was fer an aerial attack!"

Gerrick squinted, then ran to the edge of the observation tower top, looking down on the gatehouse.

It was manned only by one lonely lookout with a horn in his hand and a minimal compliment of half a dozen guards. The others had all gone to the ships to repel an attack that wasn't coming.

"Holy Hells." He grinned. "Now's our chance! Follow me!"

Gerrick ran down to the state-room. The smell of smoke permeated the air. A black haze hung in the upper portions of the room.

Sine and Spider looked up from their place on the floor. "They're burnin' the door doon."

Gerrick smiled. "Right on time." He pointed to a porcelain oil lamp. "Make sure that's full, an' light it. Get Spider on that divan." He pointed to a brass serving platter. "Get 'im that. Spider, use that as a shield."

Spider grinned. "You got a plan, mate?"

Gerrick grinned at him. "Ye bet yer arse I do." He pointed at the chest of drawers in front of the door. "Clear that oot a' the way."

Jonas looked skeptical. "The barricade?"

"Aye." He narrowed his eyes. "I want it oot a my way when I get there."

Sine and Ansley helped Spider onto the divan.

Gerrick pointed to the center of the room. "Bring 'im here. Everyone make like pallbearers. Spider, ye're the batterin' ram."

Spider went wide-eyed. "That's uh...that's unorthodox."

Fearghas laughed out loud. "You are a mad-man." He stood ready to lift Spider on his divan.

"Timin' is everythin' here." Gerrick listened to the impacts on the smoking, blackening door. "When I shout, we charge, and knock them arse over tit doon the staircase before us and make fer the gatehoose. Sine, ye're the fastest, yer job will be tae get the gatehoose open for us. We'll clear the way with this 'ere Maskovy coctail." He lifted the oil lamp.

Ansley smiled.

Sine licked her dirk. "Always givin' me the easy work. When are ye gonnae challenge me?"

Ansley interjected, "When ma brother proposes tae ye."

Gerrick laughed, as did the others.

A loud wooden cracking sound startled them. Gerrick watched the door. "Steady..."

Spider said, "Hey Sine."

"What."

"Can I be maid of honor?"

"Shut up."

BANG!

"AYE!"

The troublemakers surged forward. The surprised faces of about half a dozen armored goblins and humanoids greeted them. With a metalic crash, they sent them flying backwards, rolling hard down the staircase, into about ten more behind them. Jonas and Gerrick were the front two pallbearers, kicking them further down as they went.

Gerrick threw the lever for the internal portcullis, and he and Jonas muscled the doors open, charging out into the now empty courtyard. Sine broke away to run up the stone steps to the gatehouse.

"RAAAAGH!" Gerrick lobbed the oil lamp at the guards as they charged. It burst with a satisfying rush of flame, coating them all. Gerrick, Ansley, Jonas, and Fearghas rushed to finish them. Ansley raised her crossbow and dropped the one lookout before he could raise his horn.

Spider looked up. "Uh, Gerrick, won't they be able to track us from the sky?"

Gerrick smiled as thunder rolled. "Not in this rain."

The gatehouse rumbled open. Sine signalled go.

Gerrick waved her back. "Let's go!" They pulled Spider up off his divan and ran into the protective embrace of a rain-soaked victory.