The Arresters swept through the muddied streets of the Kilnspire District towards the Pleasure House owned by the Cult of Rakdos, their silver armor glistening in the evening sun and the fires of the forges nearby. The deep blue of their capes was the only real color in the district that was a change from the reds, yellows, and grays of the buildings. Arriving at their destination, the hussars and arresters took up a defensive position around the only entrance to the obviously Rakdos-controlled building. Hussar Modar approached the door straight ahead as his men surrounded the only entrance on either side, and he could smell blood in the air. As he got closer, he could begin to hear the clattering, laughter, and screams of the cultists inside, the din getting louder and steadily more fierce. This was definitely where their convict was hiding.
Modar had gotten an order from an Azorius Senator regarding concerned citizens living in the district after the Rakdos Cultists wrested control of the area from the Golgari who'd held it. He was told that a high-profile and dangerous criminal by the name of Asgoth was taking up residence in the newly-appointed headquarters deep in the Kilnspire District. If the arresters let him slip away now, he'd go back into hiding and be that much harder to track down and apprehend for his transgressions. It was now or never.
One of the arresters fidgeted a bit against the wall to the left of the door and shot Modar a nervous glance. "What is it, Bretis?" he asked.
" Sir, Asgoth is reported to be using a new weapon not under any registration lists in the Azorius or Boros files, and we have little information on it. Shouldn't we have gotten help from the Legion for a breach operation such as this?"
Modar shook his head. "Calm yourself. I'd wager it to be nothing more than another Izzet contraption that was stolen during it's testing. You can't trust the madmen there to handle anything cautiously. We can handle this ourselves." The arrester seemed to relax a bit at that remark, and resumed his preparations. In actuality, Modar had been pondering the same thought himself. This weapon, or whatever it actually was, had been responsible for numerous deaths in the district since the Cult took up residence. Most of the victims had deep incisions and severed limbs, which suggested some strange and sharp contraption from the Izzet, or possibly a beast captured from the Gruul that Asgoth has been setting loose at night to terrorize the folk. "No matter," he thought to himself. "The wards and law magics at our disposal will make short work of it."
"Arresters! Ready defensive barriers and have restraining seals at the ready! Hussars! Draw your swords and be ready to breach!" Modar began barking orders. The call to action was now. All of the enforcers took on a light glow as the Arrester's shields overtook them, and the hussars leaned forward, the pointmen with hands on the door. Modar breathed heavily, anticipating the coming chaos. Everything was silent for a few moments.
"Now!" The signal rang out, and the door was blown open and the Hussars, followed by the Arresters, all stormed the derelict building.
It was dark. Too dark, especially here in Kilnspire District. Modar conjured a small ball of light to hover in front of the group. Illuminating the inhabitants in the middle of the building, he saw him.
Asgoth turned slowly, a hulking figure covered in chains, scars, and spikes typical of a Rakdos cultist. He was standing in the middle of a small circle made of bar stools and benches that was obviously serving as a sort of gladiatorial ring. Other cultists stood around the ring and they seemed shocked that the Azorius would break up their party. Goblins, Ogres, humans, all manner of races and decorated in similar styles as their massive leader. They drew their crude weapons and began to charge, leaping over the walls of the ring and each other in their eagerness to feel the pleasure of battle and the exhilaration of death and pain.
"Cease this at once, you fools!" The voice boomed like an explosion from a Boros grenade. The smaller cultists shied away immediately. Modar took note of this peculiar action, as it was far from the norm for the Rakdos to follow orders from any but their demonic Parun himself. Asgoth stepped forward slowly but surely, spiked flails dragging along the ground at the ends of the chains around his arms. He flashed what Modar could only guess was meant as a smile, but all he saw were jagged and dirty teeth resembling more of an animalistic grimace rather than anything else. Modar stepped foward, expecting a duel. "Asgoth, the Unleashed, you are hereby under arrest for the murders of 17 Ravnicans, and under Article IV, Subsection 5.3.28, you shall be tried before the Council of-" Asgoth's distorted laughter cut Modar's speech short. He held his ground, and prepared to order his men to attack when needed, drawing all sources of white and blue mana he could muster this far into the Kilnspire in preparation to unleash seals against the cultists.
Asgoth dropped his chained flails to the ground and took a step back, raising his hands in a dramatic gesture. "You idiotic lawmages won't be able to bring me in alone. You'll need to take ALL of us!" He then stomped his foot on the ground, the floorboards groaning under the sudden pressure. Modar pressed on. "Hussars, arresters, bring them all in!" As fighting broke out in a sudden burst, Rakdos against Azorius, the lawmages began hearing a chittering sound, surprisingly loud above the din of combat in the enclosed space. Modar took no heed of it at first, but then he noticed them, and probably too late.
They weren't like any creatures Modar had seen before, not like the ragebeasts of the Gruul, nor the weirds of the Izzet. They were small, lithe beasts with hooked talons and angled heads, and there were many of them. Oh, so many of them. Impossibly much. They all looked different, but the same, and they rushed forward to meet the Azorius arresters head-on. At first, the shields and magics of the lawmages held firm, but then more creatures joined the fray, even more strange in appearance, and suddenly, the magics were nullified, the steel rendered useless, and they began to win. One by one the arresters fell, with only minimal losses on their part from the hussars blades. Modar turned towards Asgoth only to see him walk through a large set of double doors on the opposite side of the room, disappearing into the dark hallway along with his cultists, towering over them. He had his back to Modar, but looked over his shoulder with that same dark smile, taking in the beautiful gore that his pets were enacting, watching them overrun Modar as he tried to fight back. Even has they drove their hooks into his back and chest did he fight and press his way onwards towards those same doors Asgoth walked through, until finally, his wounds were too many, and the monstrosities around him too fast and brutal, and he collapsed under the weight of his own armor. He felt such pain from the bleeding holes and gashes on him, and his vision went black as he saw the horde draw back into the doors under the carnarium, and he knew that there was no fighting them without much more help. Bretis had been right to want assistance, but Modar died before any chance for a message to Isperia to be sent.