Corvus Tonitrus-Gallus was right where he was supposed to be. Right where he wanted to be. He only wished he had killed more Harmony-worshipping dogs in that bar before they left.
The red flames of pure rage constantly surrounded his vision, and he drew from it always in order to be strong. He knew anger and the thought of vengeance consumed his every waking moment, directed his every decision, and warped his very perception of everything around him. But he would gladly be its slave if it brought him even one step closer to retribution against the people who murdered his family.
Many years ago, the Gallus family lived in the slums of the Cassian Kingdom. It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was safe. At least, it should’ve been.
Harmonyism was already set in stone by the time Corvus had been born, but being poor by itself didn’t make you an immediate target for ritual sacrifice. After all, his parents were grain farmers, who worked hard, 12 hours a day or more if needed be. So even if they lived day-to-day on grain rations and whatever food they could safely steal, in a little one-room shack that smelled like horse manure, they knew they were out of harm's way, since food production jobs were always important to Cassia.
But their luck, miserable as it was, eventually ran out. Some sort of accident happened at the farm. Corvus never found out exactly what, he was probably too young to understand, but it cost his parents their jobs, even though they pleaded and begged their hearts out; it didn’t matter. The blame had landed squarely on their shoulders, and the Gallus family had been made into scapegoats.
Without their employer to vouch for them, Harmonyist authority deemed them unneeded, unwanted, and primed for sacrifice. For many years after, his family evaded Cassian police and soldiers as it went from shantytown to shantytown on the edge of the cities. They constantly lived in a state of fear, and Corvus despised it- so he began training to fight back. His hatred of those in power who had ushered in Harmonyism made him stronger, but in the end, not strong enough.
The day his family was caught, Corvus fought back with all his might- an axe left idle served as his tool to bring down two Cassian inquisitors. But while his back was turned, his parents had been impaled by a volley of arrows. In that moment he cowered for his life, in utter despair of his loss- before an immense heat rose in his body. That was the first time he felt the flames of true rage.
Somehow a deep magical connection had resurfaced in his body. Fire burst from his hands and leapt onto his foes, driving them back and away for good. It was the first time he’d ever been able to use any sort of magic- perhaps this was a result of his emotions bringing out a power hidden deep within him. From Cassia, he made his way north to the Storm Empire, and lived as a refugee and a vagrant, training in the hope that someday he’d have the opportunity to tear the Kingdom of Cassia from the top down.
There was little sign of the Harmonyist militia they fought once they exited the bar doors. Night had completely fallen by now, and only a few candles and infrequent torches revealed the main pathways of the city. The streets were eerily clear now, with only a few lizardfolk remaining who dashed away upon seeing the adventurers run by. Corvus wondered if they were hiding from their group, or if it was the soon-to-be roaming Harmonyist zealots that were frightening them away.
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After a brief hustle, they reached the main square of the market, however now nearly all stores and shops had been packed up and closed. And in between Overlord and their wagon parked by the gate was 200 feet of open courtyard and about a dozen angry Harmonyist militants in the center. These ones, unlike the fighters at the bar, were unfortunately mostly sober.
“Plan?” prompted Tai.
“Aritian, Mbaya and Momo, set up the rocket tubes,” directed John Timber, “Aim for the enemy and the structures on the sides. Corvus, Pan, Tai, and myself will try to make a path moving from cover to cover. Even though it's nighttime, stay wary- the kobolds will be able to spot you in the dark just fine. But with any luck, the explosions and chaos will blind them before they can stop us- lets go!”
Corvus, who was quicker on foot than the rest of the party, charged ahead and took cover behind a booth before sneaking a peak of the opposition. They were clearly watching the exit out of town but hadn’t noticed the adventurers yet, and had just barred the gate doors. Damn, Corvus thought. He wasn’t sure if the others could see that right now- he’d have to open it himself, otherwise no one would be making it out alive.
A couple seconds later, a streak of smoke whizzed by his position and struck the fountain near the soldiers. In a forceful explosion, rubble and water splashed all around, as another rocket struck the pyre on Corvus’ right that had been used to sacrifice the civilian earlier- ashen wood splintered the air and made it hard to see as the lizardfolk warriors barked confused orders. Now’s my chance.
Corvus ran straight through a cloud of smoke and dust to surprise a Harmonyist grunt with an axe to the jaw. In a fury he spun, the kobold’s body flailing behind, and slammed the reptilian into a wall. From where he was now, two heavily armored soldiers gave chase, but Corvus kept on moving towards the bar holding the gate. In a quick swipe downwards he chopped the barricade in two, and took a look behind to see how everyone else was faring; to his surprise, most of them had run straight through the destruction and were halfway there, just barely avoiding the militia.
The two heavy-armored lizardfolk approached now as Corvus placed his back to the wall and shouted at them, goading them into an attack. One of their sword strikes got deflected by Corvus’ axe handle, while the other nicked his armpit. Pain surged through his body, but this only served as fuel to bolster his rage.
In a furious swipe he cracked open the chestpiece of one assailant and drenched all three of them in a spurt of blood. Before Corvus could lay into the other, he felt a hand touch his arm. He nearly struck the interrupter, which turned out to be Tai.
“Come on! Leave them, we’re getting out,” the cleric implored.
Behind Tai, Pan leapt into their wagon as John Timber hastily took the reins. Momo and Aritian dragged open the large wooden gateway doors as Mbaya caught up with them, looking like he wasn’t happy about leaving the fight just yet. Several crossbow bolts came flying in their direction only seconds later as Corvus himself tumbled into the back of the wagon bed. They were lucky that none had hit the horses as they scurried away, however a quick yelp revealed Aritian had been struck in the upper back. One final rocket tube that apparently John Timber had been saving got fired off directly behind them, causing the entryway to come crashing down. The main gate into Garaizan had been effectively sealed, and nobody would be chasing after them, at least for a while. Overlord slipped into the night, heading north now towards their next objective- assassinating the crocodile priest.
