Step after step was like torture for Meesei. Even though she was using her spear to keep the weight off of her leg, the small jolts from each step sent sharp pains through her entire body. As strong as she was, she could not hold together her composure. Her whole body was shaking, which only made her steps more unsteady, and more painful. Tears mixed with blood as they streamed down her face, and she had to fight her own mind to maintain the will to keep moving. An increasingly strong part of her mind was telling her that the pain was not worth it; that she would be better off allowing herself to die before her pack, or any other lycans, could see her in such a state.

As Meesei neared the bottom of the spiral staircase, her spear slid off of the edge of a step, causing her to fall and roll the rest of the way to the bottom. She screamed out in agony, without a hint of the usual stoic strength that defined her. Her ribs felt like they were stabbing her in the heart, and she was surprised she had not pushed the bones in her arms and legs through her scales with how she had just twisted them. Laying on the floor, she could hardly even think about trying to bring herself back to her feet. 

Meesei was uncertain of how long she had laid on the floor before she heard an exceptionally loud noise through one of the walls, followed by the entire keep shaking. It sounded like a massive, fire salt fueled explosion [i]within[/i] the keep, and it did not take much thought for her to imagine its cause. Her own forces had not brought such weapons, so it seemed like the General, having been pushed back with his remaining men heavily outnumbered, was going to destroy his entire fortress just to make sure Meesei was killed inside. The staircase had only brought her down one floor, and there were still two more beneath her, so she did not see how she was going to be able to escape in time.

---

There of course was not evidence enough for Ahnasha to be certain of anything, but looking through the records at the sheer number of lycans that had been released by Vile's forces, another possibility crept into her mind. She had no idea of its implications, and honestly, she hoped it was not true. "What if...we have been noticing them? The number of lycans in Tamriel has been growing tremendously over the past few years. You're seen how much our clans have grown. But that would mean that Vile's forces have been giving us the means to better fight them. It's just...none of this makes sense."

Shortly afterwards, an exceptionally loud explosion shook the entire keep, effectively ending any current conversation. They could not know what caused it, but Lorag knew that he was not going to sit idle for long. "I don't know what that was, but we've got to get out of this keep. Everyone! Grab anything that looks important and form up in the hallway!" He began, turning his attention to one of his officers. "Take the soldiers out into the courtyard and form up with clan leader Ri'vashi. If the enemy's still outside, do whatever she tells you to help hold 'em off."

"Gallus." Lorag continued as he looked to the Imperial. "Get your pack and form up with mine. Fendros is right, we've got to find my Alpha."