[center][B][u]Returning the Favour[/u]

Dervs, Hank, Hellis, Leidenshaft, Chrononaut scribblings[/B][/center]

Niernen had wasted no time in finding a comfortable hammock after the company returned to the [i]Kyne's Tear[/i] and was sound asleep when the loud noise of the war horn rang through the hold of the ship. Roused from her dreamless slumber, the she-elf sat up straight, startled, trying to steady the rocking hammock with her hands. She cursed quietly under her breath while her scrambled brain worked to reacquaint itself with reality, a feat which took more than a few seconds to achieve. More sounds of commotion came from above as people ran around the deck and hollered orders and acknowledgements at each other. "[i]Shit,[/i]" Niernen hissed as she clambered out of the hammock, hindered by the wooden splint on her sore leg. A few swigs of a health potion she'd received upon her arrival to the ship had helped the bone start to mend, but it still hurt and would be fragile until her body finished healing the old-fashioned way. As she hobbled towards the staircase and the hatch that led topside, ice-cold tendrils of fear spread through her guts -- intuitively, Niernen knew what had happened, and she dreaded the thought. [i]Not again... please, Azura, not again...[/i]


The daylight outside blinded her when she stepped out of the hold and onto the deck and Niernen blinked rapidly as she looked around. She saw the ballistae they had hauled out of the Dwemer dungeons being loaded and prepped for battle, and all around her members of the company were arming themselves, their faces grim. Grabbing hold of a sailor's arm, Niernen's breathless inquiry as to what had happened was answered with a single word; Kamal. It felt like being slapped across the face and Niernen swallowed hard, the cold fear in her guts turning to a heavy feeling of resignation. It would seem she was not to receive any respite from the horrors of these Akaviri invaders. Niernen cursed the cruelty of it all and, for the [i]n[/i]-th time, half-wished she had never left home. Since she had no weapons to arm herself with, nor a complex suit of armor to wear, Niernen made her way to the stern of the ship and silently watched as the Kamal frigate gained on them over the course of the next hour. She recognized the ship -- it was the one she and Valen had escaped from, come to reclaim the audacious escapees. Niernen almost marveled at the sheer vindictiveness and single-minded hatred the Kamal seemed to possess. Their drive to dominate and control exceeded even that of the Altmer, she thought to herself; a funny thought, were it not for the gravity of the situation.

After the first shots were fired, Niernen retreated to the center of the deck, close to the mast. Her heart was pounding in her throat and the sound of blood rushing through her ears nearly drowned out everything else. Everything felt surreal, like she was watching through the eyes of someone else, and Niernen put one hand against the reassuring solid shape of the wooden mast for support, trying to control her breathing. Fear had been her greatest enemy ever since the disaster in Blackmarsh, but the Kamal had managed to make her tendency for panicking much worse, especially if they themselves were involved. Niernen could almost hear the baying howls and roars of the terrifying war-beasts that had chased her through the woods near Windhelm, and her mind's eye was lost to a vision of swirling snow and baleful moonlight. Thankfully, she also remembered how, after she'd been surrounded, she had used her precious scroll -- a gift from one of her Redoran war-wizard mentors -- to erase them from the earth with the fury of Magnus himself. Fire, blessed fire, had swirled around her like a thunderous mass of shapeshifting beasts and engulfed the Kamal and their mounts in heat so intense the Akaviri creatures had molten where they stood. That part of the memory gave her strength. The scroll had turned to ash in her hands, of course, after being used, but she wasn't alone now, and her own flames were still dangerous. She would fight them and the Kamal would rue they day they decided to pursue Niernen Venim. [i]Damn right,[/i] she thought, and rose to her full height -- the thundering of her heart in her ears had stopped and she could see clearly now. She was ready.

That was when Do'Karth called to her and Valen. Niernen looked behind her to see the other Dunmer there, armed and ready, and gave him the brightest smile she could muster. [i]Time for payback,[/i] it said. Turning back to Do'Karth, Niernen listened to the Khajiit's plan and immediately nodded without a moment's hesitation. There was no time to think -- thinking would only bring the fear back. "Of course," she said, her hands raised in the instantly recognizable pose of a sorcerer ready to unleash the wrath of her magicks. "We'll lead the way. Right, Valen?"

"Right." Valen's response was short and through clenched teeth. He had enjoyed the relative silence that accompanied the lull between fighting. He had rested, not fully in slumber, as the others went about their business.  He had re-wrapped his scrapes, taken care of his bow, did the motions that in someways maintained his grip on reality even after all these years. Routines was the warriors greatest ally and enemy in one. Grow to inflexible, and a unpredictable opponent will kill you. Grow to undisciplined, too loose and too lazy in your ways and your mind will rot along with the flesh.  And so he had practiced. His arrows left the quiver in a blur, fired with deadly precision one after another on the target he had sat up. It consisted of thick helm he had "liberated" from the camp prior to set off. It would not hurt his arrows but it did possess a certain odor. He found visualizing the faces of people he didn't like helped steadying his aim, and with his list that would not run out of names any time soon. He was just about to start stringing his bow anew when he heard the alarm. A sinking feeling in his gut told him everything he needed to know.  With a heavy breath he had strung the bow at as calm a pace he could manage before he got up to see just how bad it was.

Turns out it was worse then imagined. The Kamal was coming for them. At his fellow Dunmer's words he nodded. "Right" He knocked a arrow. "Into to the jaws of death I step, With bow in hand, I will bring it with me." His eyes narrowed. "For the Deava will reward those of strength, and those with cunning. Go not into death without a trophy."  He lifted the bow and narrowed his eyes. He didn't have to visualize this time. He saw the face of the beasts clear as day. "May my arrow be the first to dig into the Kamal's excuse of a brain."  He waited for the first face to show up before he let loose the first arrow. Without looking if it hit he was moving up to the steering wheel, affording himself some more alleviation. "My arrows are my redemption in the Eyes of Azura, for each demon I fell I step closer to her embrace." He let go off another arrow as another demon peaked up. Without fail, he would knock another arrow on muscle memory alone. His voice ringing out throughout the chaos. For each word, for each arrow fired, his mind cleared. The years of drinking drifted the back of his head, the fear of being captured evaporated. This is why he existed, to fight. He had been raised for the purpose of protecting those better than him.

 "I am Valen Alveul, I was put on this world to [i]end you[/i]" Nobody deserved slavery under those beasts.  
 
 "This one will scale the ladder first, followed by Niernen. Valen, cover us as we ascend. Once we make it up, we will secure the foothold while you scale behind us. Then it will be up to you two to lead the way, Do'Karth doesn't like the prospects of a straight fight, so it is important we do whatever it takes to make it to those cells without delay. We may not be able to best the Snow Demons without the help." Do'Karth reaffirmed. Grabbing his amulet of S'rendarr, closing his eyes as he quickly meditated to clear his mind and steady his nerves, and set off for the closest of the boarding ladders that had been hooked over the lip of the prison frigate's gunwale. Other fighters were already making their way up the ladder, and the sounds of battle were becoming joined as the seconds passed, the first few brave souls who had gone first were likely doing so knowing that they were going to perish, but did so knowing it would buy time for the rest of the crew to swarm the enemy vessel.
 
 The Khajiit grasped the rung of the ladder with one hand, his staff hanging by the side as he knew he would have to climb single-handed if he wished to retain his weapon when he reached the summit. It was a delicate balance of reaching up high, and walking up to meet his hand to repeat the exercise on the rocking decks of the ship, and very nearly, his grip slipped and only by throwing his arm around the back of the ladder, nearly losing his staff in the process, kept him from tumbling back. Far too much of this war involved climbing dangerous slopes, the Khajiit decided. He had been foolish to have been the one to volunteer to climb the ice shaft at the College of Winterhold, and now he was among the vanguard of facing off against the terrifying adversaries he had not wished to see again. Do'Karth simply had to react when others would not, it had always been in his nature.
 
 And as of this moment, he was wishing he could listen to the rational part of his mind, which was being drowned out by the heavy beating of his heart.
 
 It couldn't have been more than a couple minutes of climbing, but given the difficulty and the worry of what would happen when he reached the gunwale made it seem like he was walking into a death sentence and time went impossibly slow, every agonizing pull of his muscles etched in his consciousness as he climbed. Now, his arms over the edge, Do'Karth pulled himself up onto steadier deck, but exponentially more danger. 
 
 The deck ahead was burning, shards of hardened  claw scattered about the deck from the fire salt bomb detonations, and a handful of towering corpses were smoldering where the blazes burned. While some of the Kamal had made their way around the detonation and struck back at the raiders, trying to push them back off the ship so they could return the favour, the numbers that had gathered were scattered and disorganized from the flames. Burning arrows occasionally sailed like shooting stars through the air, landing across the deck in thuds, in some cases catching flammables ablaze where they landed. A handful of Kamal were evidently delegated to that threat, with some falling victims to the arrows.
 
 Most of the Kamal, while still imposing and towering as usual, did not seem to be quite as intimidating or even nightmare-like without their heavy armour; in place of the cruel-looking plates, the Kamal were all garbed in thick clothing, sealed around the cuffs with wrappings, gloves, and full masks. This emboldened Do'Karth somewhat; the mystery to the Kamal had diminished, and he'd already bested them at their worst in hand-to-hand combat with the same woman who was following him up. 

 One of the armourless Kamal charged at Do'Karth with a large cleaver-like sword, preparing a diagonal slash down at him. He leaped out of the way, avoiding the clumsy but powerful strike, and cracked the Kamal across the arm before the Kamal struck again, thrusting down at an angle, prompting Do'Karth to pivot his staff and bring it down on top of the sword welding wrist, knocking it harmlessly towards the deck and not his chest. "So you feel pain like the rest of us. Good." Do'Karth taunted, ducking out from a hammer blow of a fist that had come down as the Kamal withdrew his sword, quickly finding his footwork to give some more space between the two of them. The Khajiit kept his staff in motion, circling the Kamal as they both sized each other up. "Show this one what you are made of." He dared.
 
 The Kamal charged, bellowing bloody murder.
 
Climbing up the boarding ladders was quite the physical challenge for Niernen. Her permanently weakened muscles had trouble holding up her weight, so she awkwardly shuffled up one rung at a time, muttering a litany of curses and prayers under her breath.  She had been right behind Do'Karth initially but he reached the summit of their climb sooner than she did and she saw that the Khajiit had already engaged one of the Kamal by the time she finally hauled herself over the edge. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the sword-wielding Snow Demon -- whereas the sight of the creature unarmored might have been a little reassuring for Do'Karth, Niernen was strongly reminded of her absolutely savage mistreatment at the hands of these beasts as their captive. Even their cloth masks were capable of expressing an unfathomable amount of cruelty all the same. Still, she could not help but grin at the sight of Do'Karth defiantly taunting the Akaviri invader. 

Now she was eager to express her strong dissatisfaction with their continued existence. Because Do'Karth and the Kamal warrior had circled around each other for a bit, Niernen had ended up behind the creature and was in the perfect position to punish his reckless charge. She drew upon her magicka and, using both hands to increase the potency of the spell, formed it into a seething ball of flame and plasma that she fired at the Kamal's back. The fireball made a roaring noise as it hungrily consumed oxygen during its maiden (and only) voyage, drawing the attention of the Kamal long enough for him to look over his shoulder. His charge faltered but it was too late to change directions now and the fireball slammed into the Kamal with considerable force. It combusted and set the creature alight practically instantly. An inhuman wail was cut short as the he disintegrated where he stood, collapsing to the deck in a goopy pile of viscous liquid. Niernen spat in the direction of its corpse and grinned at Do'Karth -- her blood was singing in her veins now. Vengeance was sweet indeed.

Arrow after arrow, skull after skull. Some were close misses, other were far away from hitting anything, one or two hit home with stunning, eerie precision. Even Valen's precision would suffer on a boat, with such chaos around him. But it didn't matter to him as one Kamal came crashing down onto to the deck, intent on rending man and mer alike into tiny ribbons, the last of Valen's arrows flew trough the air. The song of air splitting and the imminent death followed it. The whistling sound cut short as the steel tipped, narrow headed arrow hit the Kamal straight in the temple. The Kamal had a surprised look underneath his mask as it slid off his face, replaced by the death mask. Falling first to its knees, it then slumped forward and planted it face on the wooden floorboards. Valen could feel the vibrations of that thick skull smashing heavily onto the deck.

"Come, Spectres of death. Let us dance in the Shade of the Deadra.  Let the last of my honor be enough to carry this burden. "  He spoke as he placed the bow, now worthless, onto a nook on the ship and picked up his shield and spear. Looking up, seeing the Khajiit enter first., dancing between Kamal strikes, smashing back with his staff. It was inspiring in a way and he began his own advance to help Niernen and Do'Karth. As he did, he slipped on the the metal helmet he had worn for all these years, its embracing cold confinement like a blanket over all his anxiety and fears. A calm fell over him, hours upon hours of practicing with the spear rushed back and anchored itself into his backbone. He was practically shooting up the rigging, shield on his back, spear in one hand. He was a one man storm when he spilled over the railing. "For Azura!" He flew into the closest Kamal, ducking a clumsy swing and wringing his shorty spear deftly up into the creatures armpit. Again, he could tell the Kamal were surprised at his own sudden death.  He freed the spade like tip out of the Kamal in one go and unslung his shield. They would not see it beneath the steel mask of his helmet, but he was fury itself, eyes alive with the thrill of battle. Smashing his shield with his spear he bellowed. "Come then. Dance with me you rotten bastards!" 

Apparently, the size of such a pathetic creature daring to challenge them affronted the Kamal and one charged headlong for him, wielding a jagged axe in both hands.  Swinging it high the Kamal's rage did not keep Valen from dancing away from the hideous weapon. Dodging to the side, letting the heavy axe split part of the deck apart as he took stock of his opponent. He danced back in, stabbing at the Kamal who deflected him just in time.  The dunmer skirmisher weaved in, deflecting the lighter, faster blows from the Kamal and poked with his spear at arms and thighs, tearing the protective suit apart in the process. When the heavy axe seemed to grow to sluggish, he stepped in, smashing it back down as the Kamal tried to lift it, shoving his spear right into the creatures eye. Blood spattered, thick and viscous as Valen bellowed out his pent up rage, driving the creature to its back before lifting and stabbing the spear down again several times. He had recognized the beast-like Kamal as one of his chief tormentors back during his stint as a Kamal slave. 

Do'Karth's nose wrinkled at the incinerated Kamal, the off-putting smell of charred flesh was never one he had found all that endearing. Watching the devastation both Niernen and Valen brought upon their former captors only cemented the Khajiit's opinion that death was preferable to being enthralled under their yoke. He reached out, grabbing Valen by the shoulder. "Enough. He is dead, and there is still work to be done and more adversaries to do away with. Come on, let's move." He said, noticing that the company was managing to create a rather firm foothold on the deck and more and more mercenaries were managing to climb the ladders without fail. The ballista shots from the wounded ship had ceased, however, and it became apparent why at a glance; more than half of the ship was submerged at this point, with the bow being held afloat from a combination of the anchoring rope and air trapped within the deck. The heavy weapons, however, wouldn't stay put for long; their weight and the offset angle was creating too much of a strain on the wooden deck and stress fractures were crossing the wood. The accompanying ship was on borrowed time; everyone would have to return on the [I]Tear[/I].

Niernen seemed to be enjoying herself, Do'Karth decided. Much like Valen, there seemed to be a sense of vindication and relief after being able to turn the tide on their tormentors, and the Khajiit had no doubt that the remaining prisoners, once free, would enter the fray with a similar enthusiasm for revenge. Another pair of Kamal blocked the path to the stairs below deck, where Do'Karth assumed they had to go. One was armoured up with a shield and spear, and the other was unarmoured, save for a shield and carrying a short blade by Kamal standards. "This one assumes that is the way to go," Do'Karth asked his companions. "Do not exhaust your resources, we have ways to go yet... do either of you know who holds the keys?" he asked.

"I do not remember the specific Kamal no." Valen said. "But that is indeed the way we are meant to go." He looked to Niernen for confirmation and hopefully a better recollection of who may have the key.

Raelyn seemingly appeared out of nowhere, holding what appeared to be a chamber pot filled with firesalts. She waved with a free hand, causing her left arm to droop with the heavy pot. She re-gripped it with both hands, "Hello! I see you're all still alive and well. And you haven't even began to pry loose jewelry and gold teeth from the dead! This battle must not be over, what a pity. Well, I brought a gift!" To be more accurate, Ashav shouted for her to start ferrying fire salts and if she didn't he would throw her off the ship with his personal chamberpot on her head.

Running up to smack a hand on Raelyn's shoulder, Solveig breathed the words through breaths dragged in from the run, "Don't... fucking... run off... like that!" She frowned, hauling in one breath and scanning for a fight. "It wasn't long ago I was cradling you while you were dying. I don't want that to be the case again, we might not be so damned lucky." Raelyn physically cringed at this comment, her fingers gripping tight on the pot handle.

Being assigned to protect Raelyn while she ferried the salts from the crates to the boarders was not something she wanted to be doing. She'd rather be at the head of the attackers, shield in hand and putting the spear Sadri had given her to the test. As much as she wanted to give the spear its first taste of Kamal blood, each time she toyed with the ring on her right hand, it made her want to hang back and keep Sadri with her. At least she'd keep one man in her life from barging into a fight. Of course, with the state of things, she had little faith she would have a chance to sit out a fight if she wanted to. "What's to do?" She asked.

The appearance of Raelyn, Solveig, Valen and other mercenaries on the deck bolstered Niernen's faith even further, and she greeted them with an enthusiastic salute and a grin. She very much appreciated the sight of Valen skilfully taking down the Kamal, and completely understood his desire to violently desecrate the monster's corpse. [i]Bit grim, though.[/i] Do'Karth's question was a good one, and the sorceress took a few seconds to think. "Yes, that is the way, and as for the keys... probably the big one," she said eventually, her voice low, a deep frown creasing her brows. There had been several fiercely awful Kamal aboard this ship that delighted in tormenting their slaves, but the absolute worst was the hulking taskmaster that had broken Niernen's bones with his bare hands. "Oh, how I should like to meet him now," she added ruefully and flared the flames that idled in her hands until they burned blue and distorted the air around her with sheer heat. Gritting her teeth, she prepared a fireball with one hand and summoned her trusty Flame Atronach with the other. The Daedra coalesced in a rush of fire and smoke and mirrored its handler's pose; arms raised and hands at the ready, prepared to unleash a volley of flaming death. "Warriors, up front!" Niernen yelled.

Raelyn set her firesalt pot down. She put a hand on one hip, looking at the Daedra. She looked to the warriors, grinning, "Well if you're comfortable running in front of fire woman and her arguably sentient fire immortal, I think you might want to stick your swords in here. I don't know the exact logistics of how mystical fire dust borne from the corpse of an Atronach works, but I'm pretty sure it will make your swords more...firey." She looked to Niernen, like she'd know, "Is that how it works?"

"This one is starting to think you may have an unhealthy affinity for things that burn..." Do'Karth observed, watching as the flame elemental began to scorch the deck underneath its lithe feminine form. The bard, Raelyn, had arrived with jars of fire salt, giving them much needed weaponry against the Kamal. "Right then, let us find the biggest Kamal we can, but perhaps it would be best if we secured the cells first? Do'Karth cannot lock pick, but perhaps the key isn't necessary if someone has that particular talent." He nodded to Solveig, who was someone he hadn't had a chance to fight alongside since the operation began in the Dwemer ruin. Fortunately, she didn't seem to require him to look out for her, as much as he promised Jorwen he would.

The group, now grown by two more bodies, began to make their way to the stairs leading below deck that the two Dunmer had directed them towards where the two Kamal sailors had been identified and the group set into a loose battle formation, with Do'Karth, Valen and Solveig leading the column and Niernen and Raelyn somewhat more protected behind the melee fighters. It was simply a matter of finding an opening, since both Snow Demons carried shields and weren't keen on letting their guard down around not only superior numbers, but also the knowledge that they were against proficient fire magic and incendiary devices. It was one of those cases where Do'Karth didn't see an opening he could exploit, but he could at least divert their attention. "Do'Karth will circle left and try to create an opening. They cannot look at all of us at once." he said, taking off at a jog to flank the one without heavy armour.
 
"I will take the right." Valen said, circling to the right as Do' Karth moved to the left. His spear resting a groove on his shield, he had aimed straight at the rightmost Kamal.  "Do'Karth, no prolonged fighting. In, get your hit, draw their attention. Let the fire do the rest." He said, not waiting for the other to answer, but trusting in his instincts that he would understand the  plan. For his part, the Dunmer danced in, twisted and thrusted his spear at the Kamal closest to him. The kamal blocked and tried to cleave his spear but he pulled it out of reach, aided by the fact it was shorter then a normal one. The Kamal sliced at him and Valen took it on the shield,  stabbing low at the creature's thigh. It to moved away with a block, leaving its exposed right shoulder momentarily towards the fire mage.

Not wanting to leave Karth without cover, Solveig moved left, keeping Do'Karth at her back and the other Kamal in front of her. She stayed in a low crouch, her shield covering the left side of her body, making sure to only show her eyes up from behind the shield. She sprang to her left, feinting a jab with her spear to get the Kamal to react. Just as expected, the Kamal's big shield moved to block the strike that never came, in that same instant, she sprang back to her right and intended to dig the glass blade of the spear into an exposed part of flesh. She was thwarted again as the Kamal stepped back, swinging its shield in an arc around to bat away her spear. She too hopped backwards to recover, The fire salts on her blade would be no use if they never found flesh. She breathed a curse, frowning a little deeper now.

While Solveig and her Kamal opponent bobbed and weaved without exposing any weaknesses, the creature opposite Valen had momentarily failed to cover its shoulder with its shield and Niernen, spells at the ready, wasted no time in taking advantage. With a single synchronised motion, the Dunmer sorceress and her conjured Daedric atronach set loose their fireballs at the Snow Demon. Niernen was suddenly set upon by a moment of dizziness, undoubtedly courtesy of her exhaustion, and her spell missed its target, instead flying past Do'Karth's head with merely a yard to spare. It exploded behind him against the deck of the ship where tongues of flame burned briefly before extinguishing, finding nothing to fuel themselves on the hard iron of the ship. Niernen's atronach, on the other hand, was incapable of experiencing such mortal weaknesses, and its fireball struck the Kamal square on the shoulder. Its clothing immediately immolated and the fire spread to its flesh within seconds -- now exposed to the Tamrielic air and beset upon by temperatures too fierce to handle, the Akaviri invader quickly collapsed with the same inhuman howls as its comrade earlier. 

"Sorry!" Niernen yelled at Do'Karth after steadying herself and clearing her head. The remaining Kamal wasn't garbed in mere clothing like the other one -- no, this one was armored from head to toe. Niernen's fire wouldn't do too much here, not unless she planned on expending all of her remaining magicka in a searing blast like the one she'd nearly roasted Do'Karth to death with on the docks of Windhelm. "This one's all yours," Niernen said with a nod towards Valen and Solveig. If Do'Karth could provide an opening from the side, Niernen was confident the two spear-wielding warriors could take the creature down quick.

The sudden scorching heat nearly made Do'Karth lose his footing, as any sane person wasn't keen on remaining too close to a blaze and enjoy the intolerable heat. He heard the apology from behind, and Do'Karth was suddenly reminded of the last time Niernen worked with him at the Windhelm docks; he sincerely hoped every encounter wouldn't run the risk of him being incinerated. It was very low on his priority list.

The flames, as well as the shrieking and dying Kamal proved to be enough of a distraction against his adversary that he was already within range of the lumbering creature by the time the Kamal took into account the Khajiit coming up on his flank. Do'Karth leaped upwards towards the Snow Demon's head, trailing his staff behind him in a swing, smashing it into its jaw with enough force to make it stumble and nearly fall backwards. He landed gracefully just behind the Kamal with a roll to carry his momentum away, turning to jab the end of the staff behind the creature's knee, collapsing it to the deck with a heavy thud. As the Kamal began to fall, flailing in futility, Do'Karth rose, both hands at the ready with his weapon. He would not be the one to finish the adversary; he never was. Instead, he stepped back, waiting for the inevitable to happen with a heavy sigh. Despite everything these terrible beasts had done to Tamriel and its people, his friend who stood across from him included, he could not reconcile the need to kill with the simple fact that he was the embodiment that even the worst people could change if they had a chance. Every time he had the chance to kill, he was risking destroying the man he tried to become.

Others, fortunately, didn't have that reservation.

Raelyn decided, after seeing Do'Karth being nearly set on fire that she was just as happy sitting in the back as she ever was. She was surprised when DoKarth didn't finish the beast off. She said to Solveig, "Maybe you should help Doko remember why he bares a staff. I think he might be having moral qualms." Though she supposed she might feel a bit bad if she had to try to kill a Kamal with a stick. That could take days.

Between flames and blade, the Kamal were slain with haste, but there was no time to reflect on the victory as the team moved past the corpses and headed below deck in search of the prisoner cells. While there was a risk of a Kamal waiting in wait in darkness before their eyes could adjust from the bright sunlight to the murky pitch of below deck, it was a risk they had to take. Do'Karth decided to take it as a good omen when they weren't immediately hacked to pieces upon descending below. Now was just a matter of both locating the cells and finding a way to open the lock before Roze and Sagax managed to blow the frigate a crippling blow with their unique brand of "moderation" when it came to using enough charges.