[I]“You called?”[/I]

Marassa turned her attention from driving the point of her sword into a scorpion’s head to see the sight of Cub looking like an oversized viridian falmer with the carapace of a dead scorpion crudely hammered into armour. It was unnerving to reflect on the strength required to do that, but the orc arrived faithfully at her side, putting himself at great risk. She offered him a curt nod before drawing her sword from the felled beast like a scabbard. Hralvar wasn’t far behind Cub, berating Marassa for pulling ahead of the rank and file, if you could call it that. She smiled tersely without facing him. “A weapon this size requires room to use efficiently, I would rather not explain to the bitch why some of her crew seem to be missing heads because they got in my way.” She gestured ahead, a magelight burning not far ahead. “That isn’t from one of Harding’s crew. Either they’re travellers who mistakenly came to inspect the camp here, or they saw peril and decided to help regardless. I can make it to them on my own, but we three have a history. I suppose my idiot brother taught me a thing or two about trusting in other people. Now come on!” she said, pushing forward, greeting the next scorpion who came to engage her and the others. 

Casting an ironflesh spell on herself, Marassa pressed forward, hewing arcs to buy room between her and her adversaries. It was fortunate that scorpions were merely tenacious, not intelligent; they didn’t even make an effort to dodge her strikes, and the Skyforge steel bit easily through appendage and carapace. Behind her, Cub and Hralvar were helping widen the path, brute strength and magic proving to be overwhelming. It was hard to say how many of the scorpions were felled, but their numbers were noticeably thinning, either through death or fleeing. 

The burning magelight and flung spells drew closer and Marassa was able to see the two figures headed towards her much more clearly now, an altmer and a Redguard. The fact that the two of them were together was a pretty solid indication that the elf wasn’t a Thalmor agent, much to Marassa’s relief. Soon, the two groups met up, immediately taking defensive positions against the beasts. Despite the burning, unanswered questions, there was still a threat at hand, made evident by a scorpion latching onto Marassa’s greave and a sting that found its way into a joint on her armour, stopped only by her ironflesh. A burning sensation took her arm and she knew that her flesh had been punctured and some poison had seeped into her body. With only one hand able to wield her blade, Marassa drove it into the scorpion’s pincher, pinning the appendage to the sand and the khajiit drew her dagger, hacking away at the sting, cutting through connective tissue with the jagged orcish blade. “[I]YOU BASTARD![/I]” She snarled, freeing her arm so she could crouch down and drive the blade repeatedly into the creature’s eyes, fluids spraying from the gaping wounds as life left the creature, coating the khajiit with pale blue haemocyanin as it finally stopped squirming. Marassa spat at the body as she used the dagger to cut her leg free from the pincer by slicing through the tissue. Now able to stand, she grabbed her sword and looked around, a few more bodies lay in the sand, killed by her companions as she struggled. She tried not to reflect on how quickly she would have been overcome and quartered if she had been alone as she turned to the elf and his human companion.

“It’s safer by the ship. Try not to die and make our efforts meaningless.” She said, feeling the poison starting to run through her body. It wasn’t the full dose, but it was enough to be wildly uncomfortable. [I]What in Oblivion did I use to heal myself after I got bit by that centipede in Argonia…?[/I] Marassa thought. [I]Ugh. Mudcrabs and gensing, maybe some of that Redwort flower if it even grows here.[/I]

Now in the relative safety of the group, Marassa cast a detect life spell and looked around. The seemingly endless scorpions [I]were[/I] slowing. Many seemed to be retreating back to whichever den they came from, having been thwarted out of an easy meal. Others still were tenacious and were a very real threat; still, it gave Marassa room for hope.

“We make it back to the line and we’re out of danger. The beasts are starting to be driven back.” She announced to the others as they made their perilous journey back.