Hassan's assassins sprang into action, one of them throwing him his golden sword. He held the sword aloft and spoke light into being. A bright light rose to the rafters and burst about the great hall. Suddenly, dark figures became visible as the shadows they had hidden in vanished.
Captain Dirk's two green daggers plunged into two enemies, killing them as the poisons spread through them. A third tried to throw at young Cate, who stood with her sword beyond a table. Thomas threw himself in front of the blade, and it struck him in the side. His handgun rang out once, striking the dark figure, but the fiend kept coming towards Cate. Thomas staggered to his feet just as the dark assassin reached them, and then Cate shoved her sword past her father and pierced the enemy through the heart. Thomas collapsed to the floor, no longer conscious.
A dagger struck the table near the older Mangana; he studied it for a moment and then leaped to his feet and shouted, "Careful, the daggers are poisoned!!" The blade showed a dull gleam and smelled of death to him. He rummaged in his bag, pulled out a few vials, and began administering them to those already struck down around him. Two of Bran's guards were hit and collapsed where they had surrounded him in defense. It was clear that, though general mayhem was the enemy's aim, they were targeting the leaders on hand.
Arya went into action and shoved her son Bran under the table. With her black hand, she began targeting the swiftly moving dark assassins. Blasts of disruption mowed down three of the enemies before they could reach their targets. She jumped out and gathered young Cate under the table with her brother. More guards entered the fray, and slowly the odds turned against this foul enemy. "Make sure none of them escape!" she ordered aloud.
Bron, who had mostly recovered from his shoulder injury, swept the room with his fire sword, blasting enemies where they appeared. Brienne, who for once was without armor, rushed to the side of the tables and slashed the head from an enemy assassin's shoulders. Jon caught one as he threw a dagger at Bron, piercing the enemy through the chest. Hasan's men struck down 5 of the enemy in a flash, leaving 15 enemy fighters. Qotho shot three in quick succession on the upper walkway. They fell to their deaths.
A group of 7 dark assassins surged forward when the king's guard tried to wheel him to safety in a nearby room. Poison daggers flew in a storm, then Tse, Ming, and Belaletrix gang tackled them from the side. They all went down in a heap, and then the king's guard was among them, stabbing the enemies to death. Other guards wheeled Bran into a room for safety. As the last few enemies died, Arya knelt to her husband's limp form. She turned towards Mangana, begging, "Save him, please?" Mangana nodded and, as the room began to settle, shouted orders to get everyone poisoned to the hospital. He handed off a large potion bottle, saying, "This is a general antidote. I will study this poison quickly and brew an actual cure."
Staff and others began carting off those who had collapsed and were poisoned. The bodies of the enemy assassins were carted away as well, though one staff member yelled, "This one is still alive!" So the intel team had him hauled to the intel building for questioning. They had the prisoner bound to prevent him from killing himself, even though his wounds were already life-threatening.
Word of the attack began to spread through Brandon's Rest, and a rage swelled up among the general populace. People who had no intention of joining the counter-invasion began signing up to go smack down such a foul enemy. Official releases informed the public of who was at fault as more information emerged.
Slowly, the intel people teased out the truth of the matter. The prisoner admitted that the Zon had forced them to do this to save their families at home. They promised the families would be treated well if they attacked Zon's enemies. Ming snorted at the prisoner, saying, "Your families were dead as soon as you got out of sight of land. You have no idea how ruthless Zon's leadership really is." The intel team realized the whole escape scenario had been a setup from the start. The Zon hid the assassins among a bunch of actual freed people to stage this assault on the leadership when the opportunity presented itself.
Arya pulled Hassan aside not long after the battle and admonished him, "Don't you dare blame yourself for these monsters being hidden among your families." Hasan bowed, remorse showing deeply on his face, and said, "Nothing like this will ever happen again."
30 members of the celebration had been struck or poisoned; 12 of them died before Mangana could brew his cure. 18 were lucky enough to get the potion in time; Thomas was one of the lucky ones. Arya doted on his recovery like a mother hen; in truth, she was just so relieved that he had survived. It took several months for things to go back to normal in Brandon's Rest, and a great deal of close study of the newest members of their town. In the end, none of the other freed enslaved people were threats.