Chapter 3: Lyrix Faces the Music
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	Lyrix stared thoughtfully at the entrance to the mausoleum.  It was
rather handy finding this 'Gogo' person; help was something that he hadn't
expected out here in the wild.  Still, it was a shame that he would have to
kill him, er... her, it didn't really matter _what_ it was.  Promises were
something he had no wish to be saddled with, and this little creature had
done nothing to gain his respect - a mimic has no talent, just those they
steal from others.
	"Lyrix.  We urge you to come out, now," the voice from outside
yelled.  "You can't hide in there forever, and I'm sure that your loyalty
to the chapter will drive you forwards."  The sarcasm in the voice was
obvious.
	Glancing at Gogo, he thought for a moment.  "They won't want to
come in here if they can help it," he mused.  "And they know that I won't
come out there to fight them."  He smiled, then, a rather unpleasant smile,
and said, "But they will _have_ to come in here eventually - Shamel will
make sure of that - and if they don't, _they_ will be the ones to suffer.
We might as well wait for them."
	Gogo nodded then, and inquired, "You have a plan?"
	Trying not to smile at Gogo's faith in his abilities, Lyrix
replied in as grave a tone as he could.  "Since they will eventually have
to enter, we must be waiting for them.  Tell me, how well do you know
this... this place?"
	"Not too well, I'm afraid," was the answer.  "I really only slept
here for the night.  BUT, couldn't we just wait and get them as they walk
in the door?"
	"Sure, and they're so dumb that they would fall for that one,
too.  Then again..."  He paused for a moment.  "Is there only one entrance
to this place?"
	"Sure, as far as I know..."
	"With the two of us, we should be able to send them to a glorious
death; their passage to the other world shall be as swift as possible,
despite the fact they are trying to do the opposite to me."
	Just then, quiet movement could be heard, as at least two men
circled the mausoleum.  Quickly, in long, quiet strides, Lyrix moved to
the entrance and gestured for Gogo to do the same. He withdrew a long
dirk and replaced his shortsword with it. Raising his blades in a ready
posture he froze, watching as Gogo followed suit.
	Both of them seemed as if they were a part of the furniture, so
still were they standing. A head slipped around the entrance near the
ground, and peered around. Both Lyrix and Gogo were wearing dark clothes
and blended into the shadows. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, the
head withdrew, and then two soldiers crept in.
	In a sudden whirl of action, Lyrix and the mimic swept into
movement, bringing their blades around in a short, savage arc which should
have connected with the backs of the soldiers' necks. However, the one
Lyrix was aiming for sensed something and ducked at the last minute.  The
blade clanged off the steel helm, and Lyrix, thrown off balance because of
his altered stroke, missed with the dirk.
	The man fell sideways to the floor, dazed, but still conscious.
The head of Gogo's opponent rolled along the ground towards him.  Stepping
forward, Lyrix moved to finish his opponent, dropping to one knee and
cutting the man's throat with his dirk.  Hearing movement behind him, he
turned his kneel into a roll, sliding forwards and to the side so that his
momentum would carry him out of harm's way.
	He came out of it facing the third soldier who had entered the
door, and swung his blades in a deadly arc of steel. The soldier parried
the sword, while his shield blocked the thrust of the dirk.  Lyrix was
already slightly out of breath, his energy expended by the crazed run
through the forest and his previous stay on the boat.  He could see Gogo
coming towards his opponent from behind, and he smiled grimly.
	A sudden explosion from above sent his gaze involuntarily upwards,
and the movement nearly cost him his life, as the soldier took his chance
and thrust for Lyrix's face.  Stepping backwards to avoid the blade, while
bringing his own blades up to block the thrust, he tripped over the body of
one of the dead soldiers.
	He stumbled and lost his balance.  Twisting wildly, he tried to
land so as to absorb the impact, but instead he hit awkwardly, driving the
wind out of his lungs.  Gogo moved on the upright soldier in a flash, the
sword biting deeply into the man's side.  Meanwhile, the two guards who had
magically blown the roof open dropped down on light ropes; one moved to
attack Gogo, while the other stepped forward with the aim of knocking Lyrix
unconscious.
	Lyrix could see Gogo's desperate attempt to challenge the guard -
no longer able to use Lyrix's movements.  He was unable to help at the
moment, furiously rolling to dodge the feet that were aiming for his head.
Suddenly reversing his direction, he knocked the unwounded soldier off his
feet, but, unable to press his advantage, he had to leave him and roll to
his feet.
	Now he brought his swords back into play, moving into an offensive
triple strike, his longsword flashing into the man's midriff, while the
dirk caught the other man's sword on the hilt.  The longsword was blocked
by the shield, so he immediately reversed the swing and went for the
throat.
	Meanwhile, Gogo had had a bit more luck with his opponent.  The
soldier hadn't expected his sudden emulation of Lyrix's movements - his
skill up to that point hadn't been too great.  He still managed to block
the first two strikes, but the third stroke manged to pierce his guard and
sliced the soldiers throat open.
	Blood spattered Gogo, and got in his eyes.  Unable to see, he
carefully stepped backwards, where his memory told him no one was.  He
wiped his eyes free, and in that moment, he saw the wounded guard trip
Lyrix, and then hold onto him as the second guard brought his foot into the
side of Lyrix's head.
	Gogo began to move towards him, watching as Lyrix stabbed wildly
behind him with the dirk, burying it to the hilt in the chest of the
soldier holding him. Springing forward with a bound, before the second
soldier even realized he was there, he plunged his blade into the soldier's
back as hard as he could.  With a grating noise, the blade passed through
the light chain he wore and protruded from his chest.  With a gasp, the man
started to turn, and then fell forward onto his face.
	With a feeling of triumph, Gogo quickly leant down and checked to
see if Lyrix was alright.  He had a nasty looking bump on the temple, but
apart from that, he seemed okay.  "Now," he thought to himself, "how the
hell am I going to get him out of here by myself?"  He sighed.  "Let's hope
he's not too heavy..."  He slipped his hands under Lyrix's arms and began
to drag him.