Belmarniss practices dusting the floor - it's at least slightly tricky to get it even, so she only has to feel a little dumb for not being aware of the possible deception - and then she is ready to go back and counterattack.

Upon her return her would-be assassin, now visible, looks very surprised that stabbing didn't work. "What kind of -"

"That's for me to know and you to Diamond Spray," replies Belmarniss. "Guys, there's five all told -"

The point-blank blast of razor-sharp shards shreds her assailant quite efficiently.

Deekin tosses out a Glitterdust, outlining the forms of four more assassins and eliciting a cry of pain from one as the sparks get in her eyes.

Jojo surges forward and starts beating the merry hell out of them.

Between him and Garrus, and this crop of assassins not having much in the way of frontline fighters, they make short work of them.

"...I don't see the one from the cave," Garrus notes.

"Reaper told me there were five here, so she's not hiding under the floorboards."

"Damn. Well, let's hope that wizard's gotten his Sendings ready."

"Anybody think they'd have trapped the mirror while they were at it?"

"Trapped how? Like Explosive Runes?"

"Or contact poison or something, people are all kindsa creative. While I was dead I practiced the dust trick, though they might've done something else besides what I thought up."

Deekin considers.

"Deekin can put mirror frame in bag telekinetically?"

"Couldn't hurt."

He does so. The frame goes in without complaint. Then, back down the stairs and over towards the tower.

The erstwhile archmage lies on the front step in a pool of blood.

"Not great," Deekin comments.

"Agreed. Poor guy."

Jojo grimaces. "Hopefully they have someone capable of resurrection, or will once the current issue is resolved. There is a great deal to be fixed here."

He goes to open the tower door, then stops and looks thoughtfully at the balcony above. "I know he said the window doesn't admit line of effect, but I wonder if we could get up there and just... break it? It seems easier as a first try than dealing with the whole tower."

"Not a bad idea. And if the bad guys are still busy dealing with mid-tower beasties we can end-run around them. I don't have enough Fly for everyone though."

"We can do what we did last time, lizardfolk as beast of burden?" Garrus suggests. "Unless we've gained a significant amount of weight, which I don't think we have."

"I have to watch it when I have regular access to fresh fruit and sugar but down here nah." She casts Fly on him.

And he gets everyone in position and flies up, up, up -

and, about twenty feet from the top of the appallingly massive tower, there's a wash of abjuration magic and they are no longer flying, and the dull, staticky feeling of an antimagic field springs into place.

Garrus manages to toss a grappling hook onto the balcony. It latches onto a rail after a few sickening seconds of freefall, and they swing gently in place.

"Fucking hell," Garrus says. "Everybody alright?"

"Just startled - what kind of wizard does that to their tower -"

"Guessing the field doesn't extend to the interior," Jojo says tersely. "But it may have set off an alarm. Garrus, bring us in - carefully, watching for traps -"

"Teach your mother to suck eggs -"

But he does begin to climb the rope. "Really wish my belt was still online," he pants. "I can handle it, but losing the strength boost does not help."

Belmarniss dismounts as soon as possible.

And they're on the balcony. The antimagic field doesn't extend this far up; there's a collective sigh of relief as magic items come back online.

Garrus beholds the opaque glass door leading in. "Sanity check me here, I'm tempted to knock and see if that gets a better response than breaking in. Thoughts?"