//------------------------------//
// Baldur's Redux: Hands of Glory 
// Story: Dark Alliance: A Kirin's Tale 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

After speaking to Randalla for a time, getting some more information on the Hands of Glory, along with the fact that they had filled the void left behind by the disappearance of the Guild Rain was familiar with, Rain and her companions headed down the path that was to the left of the Church of Helm. Her friend had told her that the warehouse that was rumored to be an entry point for the Hands rested there, an area that they could hide out in and fortify against attack, while the rest of the guild was likely below ground, below the sewers and crypts that Rain had gone through last time. Their mission was to invade the hideout, free any and all captives that were being held against their will, kill the Leader, if at all possible since he or she might not be present, and gather any information that they could, since it might help the guards in dealing with any other events they might be linked to. Rain hoped the Leader was present during their invasion, because it would allow them to cripple their target's operations, or even flat out terminate them, and allow everyone to focus on other matters, such as the murders that were happening inside another part of the city.

Once they reached the outside of the warehouse, finding that none of the people bothered to go near it, either out of fear or because none of them cared about such a place to begin with, Rain drew her weapon as the others got ready, since there was no telling what might be on the other side.

"Hey! None of you are supposed to be in here!" a voice shouted as they entered the warehouse, where Rain discovered that there were humans in dark blue clothing, armed with daggers and clubs, who seemed to be guarding the area and, more importantly, they were hostile towards them as soon as they laid eyes on them.

Rain wasted no time in striking down one of the thieves, slashing the speaker in half as the others focused on the rest of their enemies, dealing with them like they had done to the goblins before this point, before discovering that the first group was only three foes and that each of them were dead in moments. With that done Dorn smashed his way through a couple of large crates that were in the way and found a hidden path leading deeper into the warehouse, where he spotted more thieves and rushed at them without delay, cutting them down as Rain and the others caught up with him. Rain would have thought that their foes would have been smarter than basic goblins or kobolds, as in gathering around them with superior numbers and attacking while their defenses were lowered, but, for some strange reason, they preferred to rush at them in packs of one or two. Such a thing made her think about the Guild she had brought down with her friends, about how smart they were in terms of dealing with intruders or even visitors to the city, even though they had beaten all of them in no time, and it made her long for the days before she discovered the alliance that was poised to bring down the city, before she shook her head and continued deeper into the warehouse.

In addition to the thieves there were some black hounds that were trained to deal with intruders, since they rushed at her and her companions, but none of them got close to the group as Shadow sprung out of the darkness and tore into each of her targets, allowing Rain to focus on the thieves.

During their assault on the thieves, earning them a good deal of coin and lesser gear in the process, Borador recovered a crowbar from one of their foes, which meant that the thieves had used it to steal from any merchants who stored their items inside this building. Allessia asked him why he even cared for such a thing, since it made it look like he might use it to steal some items to sell later on, and he informed her, along with everyone else, that it was enchanted, meaning it was a key to the hideout they were looking for. Rain chuckled as she heard that, as it was interesting to use an ordinary item like this as a key, especially since most people didn't have the critical eye for loot that Borador had, so another adventurer might have simply seen it as an ordinary crowbar and would have left it behind. With the item in hand the group went back to what they had been doing previously, cutting down the rest of the thieves, looting any chests that they had set up to hoard their treasure, and take down the hounds, the latter being a task left to Shadow like always.

The fact that surprised Rain the most about the Hands of Glory was that there were no traps in the warehouse, just in the off chance enemies came in while they were away or something, but it made things much easier for everyone as they kept tearing their way through the structure.

Eventually they found what they were looking for, a door that seemed to be more important than anything else that was in the area, since it had two heavily armed guards in front of it, which just so happened to be where the crowbar went, but even though it let them into a small chamber they found a staircase leading down into the earth. As Rain suspected it lead right to the hideout of the Hands of Glory, a structure that was well built and well maintained based on what she and her companions were seeing right now, though, unlike the Guild, the Hands didn't have anyone guarding the staircase, a flaw in her mind. The thieves that were beyond the entry point were clad in black leather armor and threw small knives at the group, why Rain had no idea, but they were fairly easy to take down and allowed the group to move deeper into the vast network that was the hideout of the Hands. While they started to travel through the hideout Vhaidra asked her about the old Guild, the one that held the city in such a state of fear that not even the guards dared to do anything, least they end up dead elsewhere in the city, where Rain informed her that she didn't know a lot about them, other than the fact that she and her friends tore them down for their various crimes.

There was also the fact that they were being controlled by a beholder, one Rain was able to bring down, though she was interrupted as Borador pointed out a statue that released fireballs in the direction that someone was standing in, where he approached it and touched it for a few seconds, before the weapon turned off.

"What did you do to it?" Rain asked, because this was the first time she had seen something like this, though at the same time it seemed like something that would have been useful during her first adventure, given the amount of traps she and the others had encountered.

"I'm a rogue, meaning I can take out traps and make things easier for us." Borador replied, though at the same time, as his companions started to get close to him, he pulled out his newest crossbow, a gift from some of their foes from the upper level, and fired a bolt into the chest of a thief, killing him in seconds.

Rain nodded as they continued to move through the rest of the hideout, leaving any traps that were present to Borador to deal with, collecting better weapons and armor that went to her new companions so they could catch up with her, a feat that might be impossible since her gear was made for someone like her, not to mention her blade being special. She did find that there were all sorts of statues and sections prepared for intruders, though there didn't seem to be anything like the falling platforms that the previous Guild had to throw at them, making their trek through this place even easier than before. There was one member of the Hands that happened to have a ring of black keys that, in actuality, went to several locked doors near one end of the hideout, holding rooms for several of the citizens who had been kidnapped before the group's arrival in the city, to which Rain made sure they followed Shadow back to the entrance. It was similar to what had happened in the cave that the Red Fang Marauders had set up their home in, escorting the prisoners to safety, though as she did that, after all the doors were opened, Rain and her companions continued deeper into the hideout as they sought out more prisoners and the guild's dark Leader.

After some time they discovered a bridge leading into a more earthen section of the hideout, complete with bats, but the group simply continued to move through their foes, leaving the Hands dead in their wake, before coming to an area that had a few cages full of people. With another claimed ring of keys they were able to open them up and Shadow escorted the rest of the prisoners back to safety, even though Rain was focused on finding where the Leader was located so they could put an end to this, since the Hands were simply a lesser version of the previous Guild, despite the rumors she had heard before taking on this assignment. There was a sunken area, one that Rain couldn't figure out why it was even there since there were no holes in the walls to flood them with, that she and her companions breezed through without being slowed down in the slightest, leading to a bench area that was similar to what she found in the Guild's hideout. After that they pushed into a room that had a much larger door on the other side, similar to what had lead Rain and her friends to the beholder's lair in the old Guild's sanctuary, though this one was smaller than that, but she started to sneak as she and Dorn opened the doors, allowing them to enter the last room of the hideout.

Everyone spotted some barrels and hid behind them without wasting time, where Rain carefully glanced around the edge of their hiding spot and found several of the beings that were in the village inn not that long ago, without shields, before she spotted a taller brutish figure that was bald and wore the clothing of the Hands, meaning he had to be the Leader they were looking for.

"You stinking wrench... what were you thinking?! You were supposed to guard the hostages, not harm them!" the brutish figure stated, speaking to a third slightly smaller figure that was shaking in fear, all while Rain spotted what appeared to be a fist weapon in the figure's right hand, bladed based on what she was seeing, "Was I unclear with my instructions... or were you, perhaps, trying to anger me in some manner? Perhaps I should send you to Mistress Luvia... what do you think of that: being hacked up for spare parts? Makes me shudder to think that any part of your pitiful kind might have been used in my making..."

In that moment the brute, who Rain gathered was called 'Argesh' based on the unfortunate hobgoblin's last words, slew the one he was speaking to and started to inform another that he was in charge of keeping the prisoners safe, but that was the moment he realized they were there and she signaled for the others to attack. Argesh himself moved faster than Rain assumed he would, based on his body, so their first order of business was the downfall of the remaining hobgoblins, as some were ranged fighters and they wanted to minimize the amount of danger they were in. Since they didn't have any shields it was far too easy for the group to take the hobgoblins down, allowing them to focus on the brute, who turned his focus on Rain, not that she was surprised by that fact since everyone in this world was interested in her, as her race was an unknown one and her power enticed far too many beings for her liking. With that in mind she baited him into attacking her, so while he was in the middle of his motions her companions lashed out at him before disappearing after striking him in rapid succession, causing her to play defensive while allowing the others to do most of the work, eventually ending with her removing Argesh's head.

The brute had a map and key on his person, causing them to collect them before leading the hideout through the secret entrance that was in the chamber beyond where he had been standing, allowing them to rescue one more citizen as Rain wonder what they had discovered and what might be uncovered when they investigated the murders.