[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[Muttonhawk]

Janius made short work of the mercenary he had pounced upon, mauling his upper body with tooth and claw. Meesei's efforts to keep the rest stunned gave Janius time to slash diagonally down on an Imperial swordsmen. His attempt to raise his shield was met by the crushing force of Janius' blow and he was knocked to the ground. Another mercenary tried to take the opportunity to stick Janius with his spear, but Janius saw it coming from a long way. The mercenary's mistake was thinking he was now fighting a complete beast as Janius grabbed the spear shaft with both hands, tugged it towards him and at the same time lunged towards the mercenary, catching his head between his teeth. The mercenary screamed in shock and pain before Janius silenced him by shaking his head until his neck snapped.

In a last ditch effort, the Khajiit from earlier jumped up and latched onto Janius' back, driving a dagger into his upper-back. Janius roared out in pain and dropped his kill, then reached around his body to grab the mercenary by the legs and pull him off. The dagger cut further and slid out as the Khajiit tried to hold onto it, but Janius was upon him before he could recover from the daze of hitting the ground. The last mercenary was the Imperial swordsman with a now heavily dented shield. He tried to clamber up from where Janius had knocked him down to run away, but there was no escape from the pack.

Janius wasn't the one who wanted to chase him down, however. As soon as he had some space, he turned his attention to Kaleeth and rushed to try and lift a heavy beam that was pinning her down. "Kaleeth..." he growled through grit teeth, "...Lift!" Pain shot through his back as the stab the Khajiit had left oozed more blood, but he was too full of adrenaline to let it stop him.

---

Sabine gave herself some space to confront her pursuers. All of two guards descended the stairs. With a sword, a mace, and two shields between them, they cautiously stepped up to Sabine and tried to back her into a wall, but they were ill-equipped in both weapons and will. Sabine growled, bared her teeth, and stood the hair up on the back of her neck.

"Give up," one of the mercenaries started nervously, "there's no escape-"

The end of the guard's words were cut off by a loud howl from behind the door Sabine intended to proceed through. It was distraction and motivation enough to lunge forward and swat low at the shield of the mace-wielding mercenary and rake at his face. The mercenary was unprepared and cried out, holding a hand to his now bleeding head as he was blinded by his own blood. The other guard tried to act and slashed at Sabine's shoulder, causing a deep gash and a yelp from Sabine. However, without any effective help, the guard quickly witnessed the world spin as Sabine leaped onto him and drove him to the floor. His neck ran with blood without the time to scream like his companion. Seeing little of the scene was enough for the other guard to break and run. Sabine didn't have time for him. He was not a threat.

She turned her attention to the door and tried to open it again. It turned out it was still locked. Sabine took a few steps back, then charged the door with her shoulder. It was a heavy slam, but did little but split the wood in a few places. A couple more slams broke the latch and allowed passage into the dank corridor beyond.

---

Fendros was utterly furious, but there was nothing he could do yet. With only one foot released, he couldn't hope to fight the noble, much less defend Ahnasha. But there were other noises, closer this time. What Fendros was convinced were their rescuers were getting closer. He just wished that this noble would hurry up so he wasn't threatening Ahnasha any more.

[EliteCommander]

Kaleeth's beast spirit was immensely frustrated at its inability to move, so when Janius finally removed some of the weight from her back, it seized the opportunity. As soon as she was able to move her arms, she was able to gain the leverage needed to force herself up and out of the building's remains. She let out a triumphant roar, but her injuries were quickly catching up to her. Once she tried to take a step, she collapsed down on her knees. Between the enemy's blades and the collapsing building, she had lost a significant amount of blood, which now coated significant portions of her scales. She felt weak, but forced herself to stand back up. At least now, the rational part of her mind was strong enough to keep herself from rushing in.

Between the lycans and their officer's death, the spirits of the group they were fighting was easily broken. They started to run, and Meesei was about to follow through with a few more destruction spells when she heard the distinctive sound of a werewolf's howl coming from within the largest structure in the settlement. It was a sort of keep made from stone, even if it did not look all that durable. It appeared as if whoever designed it did not know that building in the marsh required strong foundations dug deep into the ground.

"Hear that? We need to get to that keep." Meesei observed.

---

Ahnasha was still in shock from having lost her finger, and she could easily believe that the noble could make her lose more. It did not seem as if he intended to kill her right at that moment, but he looked frightened at the noises coming from outside. He pressed his blade against her throat once more as he kept his eyes on the door. "You better hope whoever comes through there cares enough about your lives not to do something stupid."

[Muttonhawk]

It appeared as though Kaleeth didn't need as much help as Janius thought, but she was still heavily wounded. She didn't immediately run off to attack more mercenaries, so Janius presumed that either she was too wounded to go on, or she was lucid enough to have better control. Either way, it meant that she wasn't as much of a danger to innocent people as before. He couldn't say as much for Neesa and her attacking force, but that much was completely out of their control. Janius tried to lift Kaleeth's massive form from under her shoulder but struggled where she could not lift herself. As they walked, Janius moved his head to lick some of Kaleeth's wounds he could reach out of instinct, but he didn't know how comfortable Kaleeth's beast spirit was with that. She would get at least some of her strength back from regeneration after several minutes anyway.

Now together and mostly in beast form, the pack proceeded towards the keep and towards Ahnasha and Fendros' captivity.

---

Sabine stalked down the dimly lit dungeon corridor, sniffing at the air. It was moist and mouldy, but Ahnasha and Fendros' scents were so close now. As she proceeded, she detected other scents. Ahnasha's blood, and more worryingly, the scent of a stranger. An Argonian man, clean, afraid. The scent was strongest from an iron door to Sabine's left, one she lowered her nose to and sniffed at loudly at the base. The scents were strongest here. This was their cell. Trying to open it found it unlocked, but in her excitement, Sabine pushed it open with full force, slamming it against the wall it was hinged on.

Before her, Sabine saw Fendros and a beast-formed Ahnasha chained up vertically, and between them, the clean, prim Argonian she had detected before. Fear was in his eyes and scent. He held a silver blade to Ahnasha's throat which caused Sabine to stalk forward with a growl, ears flat, neck hair bristling and teeth bared.

Fendros' face was awash with relief at the sight of her, "Sabine? You came for us!"

Sabine took a step forward and Fendros face quickly switched to one of panic. "Wait! Sabine, wait!" Fendros shouted. Sabine stopped growling and licked her nose in confusion. After a moment, her mind quickly saw sense and the danger Ahnasha was in. Up until now, Sabine never spoke in beast form, but for this situation, her voice was heard through a werewolf's throat for the first time. It was higher than any other in the pack in beast form, but still deep and lisped. "Sword...down..." she said slowly. She slowly raised a hand and pointed a single claw to the noble. "Sword...down..."

[EliteCommander]

Unsurprisingly, there was scarcely any resistance for the pack entering the keep. After their lines had broken, most of the mercenaries in the keep either ran into the marsh to escape, or into the settlement to find their families, then escape. The few remaining in the keep were not suicidal enough to attack a group of lycans that outnumbered them, so they hid as soon as they saw them approach. It was one disadvantage of hiring mercenaries, for while they were skilled and organized, they had no loyalty to the cause. When the situation started to look hopeless, they had no reason not to flee.

Meesei was walking alongside Kaleeth as well, providing what healing she could. In this case, she had a large number of smaller injuries, and while most did not come from silver, it would still take time to heal. As they searched for the stairway leading to what Meesei assumed to be a dungeon, she caught another, familiar scent. She had assumed Sabine had backed away to attack from the shadows, as she usually did, but it seemed she had a different plan in mind. "It looks like we are not the first to track them here. Come, let's hurry; there is no way to know what condition they might be in."

---

"No, stay back!. If you take so much as another step, I am going to slit her throat!" The noble warned, staring down Sabine for any signs of movement. He was appropriately armed to kill her, but no matter how threatening he tried to be, it was obvious that he was no warrior or strategic thinker, for he left an opening for Ahnasha to exploit. He was looking away from her, so she leaned her head back as far as she could, then angler her head to snap her jaws down on the flat side of his blade. The silver burned her mouth, but at this point, she had experienced so much pain that she was almost desensitized to it. Before the noble could even react, she had jerked his weapon out of his grasp, providing ample opportunity for Sabine to strike. Ahnasha just hoped that Sabine did not kill him outright.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine's eyes flicked to Ahnasha's in the moment that her movements made the plan clear. In the instant that the noble lost control of his sword, Sabine sprung forward, closing the distance between them in a second. He barely had time to face Sabine again before she leapt upon him and slammed him back-first onto the ground like other foes behind her. As soon as the noble hit the hard stone floor, however, there was no scream, no resistance, not even any movement. Just a sickening crack that sounded as the back of his skull broke against uneven masonry. Sabine still bit into the noble's throat, but released him and withdrew her head to look curiously at this event. Her beast spirit had been sated beforehand, so it took very little effort to leave the now dead noble where he was and stand up to transform. She would need the dexterity of her Breton form to unlock the shackles that bound Fendros and Ahnasha.

Fendros stared at the noble's final terrified expression, silent and utterly shocked. The torturer was gone, and he went so quickly. No ceremony, no real revenge. It was as if he had escaped them after all. Fendros hardly noticed Sabine taking the keys from the noble's belt and releasing the shackles from his limbs. That was, until his arms were lowered for the first time in half a day. He winced in pain at his pinched nerves and cramped muscles. In actuality, Fendros hardly had the strength to stand, and Sabine had to steady his balance before she went to work releasing Ahnasha.

Being finally free again was overwhelming after their horrible experience. Fendros spent a few moments staring at nothing and trying to process the reality of it all, then his eyes looked up to Ahnasha. He had been so afraid for her. He had seen her suffer and he suffered in turn. Before Ahnasha was completely released, Fendros stepped forward and wrapped his arms as far around her beastly body as he could. He never wanted to let go ever again, but there was no time for celebration yet. "Come Ahna, we can't let this be for naught. We have to get back to Rhazii now." Fendros' voice was trying to stay resolute, but shook with his own sadness at their ordeal.

"Meesei! Over here, I found them!" Janius shouted back down the corridor from where he was just by the iron door. The dungeons weren't so extensive when the pack had begun to search them, but Janius had rushed ahead as soon as it was clear that there were no more enemies in the keep to oppose them.

[EliteCommander]

Once Ahnasha was free from her bindings, she ignored Fendros, Sabine, and the others coming in the door. She cared about nothing else but the Argonian noble. She let out an enraged roar and picked up his corpse by the neck. "No! You wretched lizard, stay alive!" She growled before slamming his body down on the nearby table hard enough to crack it in two.

"You don't deserve such an easy death. You need to suffer!" She shouted. In her anger, she started to tear into his corpse with claws and teeth, dismembering and mutilating the body. Her desecration of his lifeless corpse did nothing to satisfy her thirst for vengeance, however, and tears started to fill her eyes. She ripped his head from his body and stared into his glassy eyes for a few moments before throwing it against the wall in frustration. Ahnasha collapsed down to her hands and knees, angered from being denied her revenge and overall traumatized from her experience. It did not feel like it was over, which, really, it was not. They still had to get back to the xanmeer to protect Rhazii, which was why she was staying in here werewolf form, as she would need it to get back as quickly as possible.

As soon as Meesei stepped into the room, she saw Ahnasha hovering over a mutilated corpse, so she did not notice her injury until she knelt down beside her. Once she saw the missing finger, her eyes widened. "Ahnasaha, your hand!" Immediately, Meesei placed her hand over Ahnasha's to begin healing. Unfortunately, just as she feared, it was a silver wound. There was no way she could reattach it; not in time, at least. All she could hope to do was to close the wound before she lost any more blood.

[Muttonhawk]

Whatever resemblance to a noble that their torturer had in life, Ahnasha had torn him apart until every trace was unrecognisable. Sabine stepped back in slight fear at her outburst. Fendros was taken off-guard, but understood and let her vent her rage. He knew that taking revenge on a corpse was never satisfying, but Ahnasha was still under the influence of her beast spirit. Rational thought was behind raw emotion at this point.

When Meesei walked in, Fendros carefully walked over to her, trying to muster whatever determination he had left. "Meesei, we have to get back to the xanmeer, right now. The torturer, he..." Fendros swallowed again, his mouth dry from dehydration and anxiety, "...he ordered an attack on the cult through a rootworm tunnel. The force had been sent before you arrived. There's no telling what they'll do, but Rhazii is in danger."

Janius rubbed a hand behind his ear at this news. "No wonder the defenders were so easily overwhelmed," he reasoned in the deep voice of his beast form, "Hal-Neesa will want to hear of this."

Sabine stepped up to Ahnasha and Fendros and handed them a carafe of water. She had apparently slipped upstairs and back in a hurry to find some for them.

[EliteCommander]

What Fendros said troubled Meesei. She had hoped that finding him and Ahnasha would mean the end of their immediate troubles, but it would seem fate was not going to be kind. "If that's true, then we need to hurry. Stay in your beast forms; we'll need them to get back to the xanmeer quickly. Someone can carry you, Sabine. Let's find Hal-Neesa, warn her, then run back as fast as we can."

Over in the doorway, Kaleeth collapsed to her knees once more; her blood loss was catching up to her. There was no way for Meesei to have healed her fully in the short time she had. Kaleeth needed attention, but they did not have the luxury of time. She shifted back into her Argonian form and leaned up against the wall next to the door. "I...I can't do it. I lost so much blood..."

Meesei had at least healed Ahnasha's hand enough that it wasn't bleeding, so she quickly rushed over to Kaleeth and knelt down beside her. She had already examined Kaleeth before, and she knew she wasn't exaggerating. Without help, she might or might not still survive, but there was no question that she could not make it back under her own power. "Kaleeth does need help, but...we need as many of us as we can to get back to the xanmeer."

"What about these cultists?" Lorag suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "They're all mages. One of 'em has to be a healer. We might see if Neesa can have one of her people have a look at her?"

"Good idea. It's worth a try, at least. Are you comfortable letting one of the cultists heal you, Kaleeth?" Meesei asked.

Kaleeth nodded weakly. "Yes...you need to go protect Rhazii. It's more important than...anything else."

"Alright, let's see if we can go find Neesa. She might be making her way into the keep by this point." Meesei sail. She put her arm around Kaleeth and helped her up to her feet while charging restoration energy into her. For as long as she was supporting her, she could at least do what she could to stop her bleeding.

Ahnasha had only partially been listening, but she understood enough of their plan. She had been staring at her injured hand, thinking vividly back onto her torture. It seemed to dominate her mind, even as they had important things to do. She only snapped out of it once she noticed Fendros taking the water from Sabine.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros gratefully took the carafe from Sabine and brought it to his mouth so quickly that drops escaped from the corners of his mouth. As soon as the cool liquid ran down his throat, he felt a much needed energy come over him. He left the carafe half-full of water and motioned it towards Ahnasha, placing his other hand on her shoulder encouragingly. They were both still affected greatly, but the sooner they moved, the better.

Kaleeth's entrance was one that Fendros did not expect. Her werecrocodile form was covered in blood, both her own and other peoples', and the extent of her injuries was ever more apparent when she transformed back into an Argonian. Janius rushed to support her as well, now a much easier task with her lighter frame. To make Meesei's job of focussing on her healing easier, Janius outright picked Kaleeth up and began to carry her in his arms.

The pack, now reunited save for one small member, filed out of the dungeon as quickly as they could to find Hal-Neesa. Sabine walked alongside Fendros, who was staying close to Ahnasha at the time, and asked him a question. "What happened at the ruins?"

Fendros glanced at Sabine and paused, recalling the time right before they fell into their nightmare. "We were firing down on their forces. We had just taken the life of the commander, then we were magically paralysed. We didn't see it coming. They bound us and put us in carts, then knocked us out. Then we woke up here, hanging in chains."

"What did they do?" Sabine continued.

As sensations that he wanted to forget flashed into his mind, Fendros shook his head quickly. "Not now, Sabine. Let's just...not now, let's go."

Sabine didn't quite get the hint at first, "Was it-"

"Not now!" Fendros snapped angrily. Sabine's neck prickled with fear and shame and she moved away.

As soon as the pack had space to move more quickly, Sabine motioned to climb up on Lorag's back so they would not be slowed down by her Breton form.

[EliteCommander]

The pack rushed back upstairs out of the dungeon and into the keep's entryway. As Meesei had expected, Neesa was just making her way inside when they emerged from downstairs. She was still in her vampire lord form and had a fair number of her cultists with her, though it seemed that most of the hostilities had died down. Now, the cult was in the process of making prisoners out of the mercenaries who surrendered, along with their families. A fate worse than death likely awaited them, but as terrible as it was, the pack did not have time to dwell on that for the moment.

"Hmm, I see you found your friends. You didn't happen to see that kaoc of a noble down there, did you?" Neesa questioned as soon as she saw them.

"Yes, he is dead, but there is something more pressing. Before we arrived, he ordered a section of his men to mount an attack on your xanmeer." Meesei warned.

"That is disappointing; I had hoped to be able to kill him myself. No matter, the head of the snake has been severed. My husband will take care of the rest of those pathetic mercenaries in short order. Our magic will detect any attack long before it arrives." She answered confidently.

Meesei shook her head. "No, not this time. Apparently, they are going to be digging through from some rootworm tunnels near your xanmeer. They will be approaching underneath your fog."

Neesa seemed to actually consider the information a bit more seriously. "Hmm, that could pose a...moderate issue. My husband will still kill them, of course, but that might be enough to let them do some damage first. I would prefer that not happen. You are fast in those forms, are you not? You will join me back to the xanmeer. Vinaremo can take over here."

"There is one more thing. One of our members has been badly injured." Meesei explained, motioning to Kaleeth. "Do you have any healers with you?"

One of the Argonian mages with Neesa stepped forward, albeit a bit nervously. By the way he was looking at Kaleeth, it was clear that he was not quite accustomed to the pack's sense of modesty. "I, um, I can heal."

"Whatever, let's just get moving. I would rather get there before this attack begins." Neesa said dismissively as she turned to exit the keep. The Argonian who offered to help Kaleeth stepped towards her nervously, both due to her state of dress, and the rather frightening lycan holding her.

[Muttonhawk]

Janius nodded to the cultist healer and delicately placed Kaleeth on the ground before him. Before he left, Janius knelt down and put a hand to Kaleeth's cheek. She was barely conscious, but he wanted to say one more thing before they left. "You did well, Kaleeth. No one was killed by you who was not an enemy. You showed that you could have control." Janius couldn't much smile in this form, but there was a pride in his eyes. "You have earned a rest, we will see you soon." Janius gave no further heed to the nervous healer before he stood up and joined the pack.

It was now that Fendros took the opportunity to assume his own beast form. His desperate and scarred veneer was quickly replaced by all the bottled up rage he had. Even with no enemies present, Fendros held his head up and roared into the sky with pure rage. The last of their torturer's legacy was threatening his child, and he would take whatever revenge he could. He could hardly contain his energy as he scuffed at the ground, losing his patience. He didn't know the way back, but if he did, he would already have bolted off.

Sabine's eyes were on all of the prisoners that were being gathered. She wondered why the women and children were being held as well, as they weren't really a threat. She hoped that it wasn't for Vinaremo or the other cultists' experiments, but she knew that was probably going to be the outcome. Some of them traded eye contact with her as she hung onto Lorag's back, but there were no words. Only a few tears from the prisoners and a wide-eyed look from Sabine. This was probably the last she would see of them.

[EliteCommander]

The sprint back to the xanmeer was fast, even by the pack's standards. Despite the fact that most of them had been awake for about an entire day with no rest, they moved as fast as their legs could possibly carry them. As well, Neesa had absolutely no problem keeping up, as she could levitate about as fast as they could run. Neesa was the one taking the lead, especially once they reached the fog, as she knew the area well.

On the surface, it seemed like nothing at all was wrong, but even if the attack had already begun, they would have no way of knowing from above. With as much haste as they could muster, they climbed to the top of the xanmeer, then down into the catacombs below. Directly beneath the entrance, nothing seemed immediately wrong, but as the others were climbing down, Neesa caught something in the air. "Smell that? Smoke, this direction." She observed. It was faint, but the others could detect it as well. Frighteningly to Ahnasha, it was coming from the direction of the bedrooms.

As the group ran through the catacombs, the smell of smoke in the air grew stronger until it was visible, collecting near the ceiling. The majority of the catacombs were made from stone, which would limit how far any fire could spread, but there were definitely flammable items around...especially in the rooms. As they reached the cultists rooms, the smoke was plainly visible in the air, as well as the signs of battle before them. There were bodies of cultists and mercenaries alike littering the hallway, but it was ultimately the cultists who had emerged victorious, namely because of the Dunmer vampire lord before them. He held up one of the last surviving mercenaries in his telekinetic grasp as he tilted back his head with his hand, then sunk his teeth into his neck. Once he had his fill of blood, he tossed the corpse aside.

"You missed the fun, it seems." Llarvan commented when he saw his wife approach. "I have to give these pests credit for their ingenuity, but it did not make up for their weakness. Though, they did manage to inflict a few casualties and burn our living quarters."

While Neesa was content to stop and talk with her husband, since the battle was evidently over, Ahnasha bolted past them. She was the fastest member of the pack, so she was the first to reach the guest quarters. Just like the cultists' rooms, the there was smoke coming from each of the open doors, including her and Fendros' room, but even more, she heard it. The screaming in the air; too high pitched to be one of the cultists. It was Rhazii's frightened screams. she was sure of it. As she stormed into the room, she saw that much of the furniture was ablaze. The Khajiit who had been caring for her son was dead on the ground, caught up in the flames, but she did not care about her. Only Rhazii mattered. It was only seconds after she heard his screams once more that she saw him in the corner of the room, with flames on all sides of him. Ahnasha did not give so much as a moment's hesitation to run straight through the fire to reach Rhazii. His screams were piercing in her ears, as they carried not just fear, but pain. Terrible pain. Ahnasha scooped him up in her arms and sprinted back out of the room. Parts of Ahnasha's fur had caught fire, and her legs and arms were partially burned, but the others were not far behind.

As Ahnasha fell to her knees outside the room, the rest of the pack caught up. Foreseeing the issue of the flames, Meesei had transformed back into her normal form as she ran and was able to wash a weak frost spell over Ahnasha to put out the flames and push away the smoke. Even so, it did not stop Rhazii's blood-curdling screams. Ahnasha held him tightly to her chest as she shifted back into her Khajiit form in an attempt to calm him, but it was not until she finished her transformation and looked down at him that she saw the source of his cries. Rhazii had not been spared entirely from the flames. Unlike Ahnasha's brief exposure, which left her with a few moderate burns, Rhazii had been trapped with the flames surrounding him. His upper chest, neck, most of the left side of his face was burned severely, almost to the bone. It was a gruesome injury, which sent Ahnasha into tears. She held him tightly to her body and sobbed uncontrollably, only relinquishing some of her grip when Meesei rushed to kneel beside her and frantically began to heal Rhazii's burns.

[Muttonhawk]

Even though Fendros was running at full speed, he couldn't keep up with Ahnasha as they ran to the xanmeer. Once inside, Fendros was right behind Ahnasha as they both stormed into the fires to retrieve Rhazii. Fendros was already worried sick, but the fires and the dead Khajiit carer made him fear it was too late. The state Rhazii was in when Ahnasha and Fendros emerged was not a moment too late, but not soon enough to prevent grievous burns. There was no guarantee that Rhazii would even live beyond the day, but there was a certainty that the scars would last.

Sabine jumped off Lorag's back in short order and look a quick look at Rhazii's wounds. It was worrying enough to make Sabine tremble, but she was focussed enough to know what needed to be done. She spoke to the surviving cultists with a frantic confidence, "We need clean bandages, aloe salve, healing and magicka potions, now!"

Fendros was enraged. The targets of his fury were the cultists at first. He roared in their direction with his clawed arms spread at his sides. "HE WAS SCREAMING! WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP HIM!?" Fendros faced Llarvan, his vampire lord form causing no fear to Fendros in his state of pure anger. "YOU LEFT HIM TO DIE!"

To anyone who wasn't a trained fighter and werewolf, Fendros' intention to attack Llarvan might not have been telegraphed. However, to Janius, and likely Lorag as well, the way Fendros positioned his feet and tensed was warning enough. Janius virtually tackled Fendros out of the air in mid-leap to stop him attacking Llarvan before the movement was even processed in the minds of anyone else present. They rolled over as one along the ground before stopping and started to struggle against each other, growling and snapping. With Lorag nearby, restraining Fendros wouldn't be too much trouble, but Janius was having some trouble pinning Fendros on his own.

[EliteCommander]

Lorag was nearby to help pin Fendros, but it did not matter. Before he could move to hold him down, Llarvan reached out a hand and grabbed him with his telekinetic blood magic. He lifted him straight out from under Janius and held him in the air, constricting his airway to the point that he could just barely breath. "I am going to allow you to use our supplies to your cub. This is a kindness I am not required to offer you, so consider yourself fortunate that it is an option still available to you. Now, release your beast form, and I shall release you." Despite his firm tone, Llarvan hardly seemed angry over the attempted attack, but that was likely because he did not consider Fendros a threat. Given that he was strong enough to hold a full-sized werewolf in the air with only his mind, seemingly without effort, there was little chance of Fendros being able to do him any harm.

Meesei was doing all she could to stop Rhazii's pain and heal him, but she was exhausted. She had been a part of two battles that day and had not slept in far to long, so she had neither physical nor magical energy. Even so, she gave it all she had. He wasn't bleeding all that much due to the fact that the flames had cauterized most of the affected areas, but it was still a grave and life-threatening injury, even under ideal circumstances.

Ignoring the confrontation between Fendros and her husband, Hal-Neesa shifted back into her normal form as well and walked calmly over to Ahnasha and Meesei. She looked down on them and observed Rhazii's wounds for a few moments. She gave no strong reaction or emotions, but her eyes did show just a hint of sympathy as she observed the marred cub. "Follow me, I will take you somewhere you may heal him."

Ahnasha was reluctant to move anywhere, or do anything other than hold Rhazii tightly to her chest, but Meesei's hands guided her to release her grip on him so that she could take him. Meesei's best efforts were not stopping his pain, but it was more than Ahnasha could do. For now, she simply walked along with Meesei as they followed Neesa, looking upon Rhazii's burned features with tears in her eyes.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine was not only surprised to find that Hal-Neesa was the only one who stepped forward to help, but also detecting the only hint of humanity from her expression that Sabine had witnessed since she had first seen her. Sabine silently followed behind them all, hoping that the cult had some ingredients she could make use of. There wasn't likely anything left if the fires had found her own stash of ingredients. Perhaps one of the cultists would recognise her potion bag and bring it back for her. She could hope.

Both Fendros and Janius had a reeling sensation as Fendros was lifted into the air. Janius was virtually thrown onto his back as he fell off him. Llarvan was not angry, it seemed, but more than capable of ending Fendros' life if he disobeyed. No matter how Fendros tried to pull the intangible force away from his throat and flail his claws angrily in direction of the out-of-reach vampire lord, he couldn't do anything about Llarvan. His rational mind was completely overtaken at this point, so it took enough wheezing and flailing for Fendros to completely black out before his body returned to Dunmer form. Janius was at first worried that Llarvan had completely suffocated him, but when Fendros was released, he landed in Janius' arms and breathed in deeply all of a sudden. This preceded a fit of rough coughing and some fast, shallow breaths induced by being close to death. Janius carried him off away from the smoke, giving one last look to Llarvan over his shoulder on his way out. Fendros managed to wheeze out Rhazii's name weakly before he fainted from exhaustion and asphyxiation.

[EliteCommander]

Hal-Neesa led the group past the throne room, into the part of the catacombs they had not previously been allowed into. They passed by a few closed doors before reaching a hallway filled with people rushing back and forth between rooms. Peering inside, Meesei caught glimpses of healers tending to wounded from the fight. At least it seemed like the cult was properly prepared to deal with injuries to its members. Neesa guided them into a room with several cots, along with potions and various types of medical supplies. All but two of the cots were filled, but for treating Rhazii, it was easier to set him on his back on one of the more elevated tables, though Meesei made sure to at least grab a blanket to set him on.

Meesei expected Neesa to grab the attention of one of the healers, or to just simply say that she could make use of the supplies present, but instead, she stood on the opposite side of the table from Meesei and Ahnasha, then slowly reached out and placed her hand on Rhazii's forehead. At first, the powerful healing spell she used seemed to glow as bright as the sun, and by the time the light dimmed to a more normal level, Rhazii had gone from screaming from his constant pain to a mere light sobbing, more from confusion than suffering. "I am a mother myself, you know. I have had three children with Llarvan, though none live here. Our daughters prefer a simple life in the village of my hatching....or at least the descendants of that village. The youngest, our son, he became a wanderer, an adventurer. He also chose not to accept the gift of our blood. Unlike you lycans, the gift is not passed from parent to child among us. He is a rebellious soul, but he is still my child."

As Neesa described her family, Rhazii's condition rapidly improved. Neesa accomplished in a few minutes what would have taken Meesei hours, and she took it even beyond that. She was able to rapidly regenerate his burned flesh, especially on the neck where his burns were the least severe. In that area, she was able to remove the burn almost entirely, to the point where it seemed like the fur could regrow. Unfortunately, his face and upper chest had been exposed far more directly to the flames. Even though she was able to mend his injuries far more effectively than most healers ever could, even her best effort could not rid him of his scars entirely. Neesa could regrow his skin and the flesh underneath, but the melted appearance of his scars were still very prominent. They would never be healed by any normal means, and the fur in those areas would not grow again.

[Muttonhawk]

Again, Hal-Neesa demonstrated her immense magical prowess, but this time in the area of restoration. Sabine was as awed as Meesei was as she looked on. Evidently there was little to no need for Meesei or Sabine's skills in light of Neesa's treatment. As well as this, Neesa's description of her own family forged a true veneer of her as, not just a disconnected and bloodthirsty vampire, but one who still knew what compassion meant. It made Sabine less afraid to be in her presence beyond just having her as an ally of convenience and extortion.

"When did you last see them?" Sabine asked after a pause.

Outside of the catacombs, Janius opted to stop at the throne room and place Fendros on one of the tables before transforming back into human form and trying to rouse him. "Fendros, Fendros, wake up." Janius started by tapping Fendros' cheek and shaking him, before combining the two and hearing the groan of a result. Fendros opened his eyes and felt an immense soreness in his legs and neck. After rubbing his neck uncomfortably and slowly sitting up, he remembered the situation and his face instantly reverted to worry. He looked to Janius, "Rhazii, where is he?"

"He's being treated in the catacombs with the others, calm down," Janius reccomended. "He had some bad burns by the looks, but Neesa and Meesei are both powerful mages. He's not going to die."

"I saw the burns, I have to see for myself."

Fendros tried to get down off the table, but Janius slowed him down with one hand. "Easy, easy, I've never seen you run that fast for that long before. Don't stumble."

"Get out of my way!" Fendros whispered sharply, hitting Janius' hand out of the way and walking briskly to the previously forbidden door. He quickly found that his legs didn't quite respond as fast as he expected and staggered halfway there. He took Janius' advice to slow down from then on, but Janius stayed right behind him just in case.

The two came upon the room that housed all of the injured and spotted the table that Ahnasha, Meesei and Sabine were gathered around. "How is he?" Fendros asked while closing the distance with his sluggish legs. His anger had mostly dissipated from Fendros' outward expression. He just looked exhausted and worried from head to toe.

[EliteCommander]

"My daughters? About three weeks." Neesa answered. She moved her hand directly over his left eye and concentrated her efforts onto it. "They are not so distant as to stay out of contact with their own mother. They are not ones for necromancy or sorcery, but we are still close. As for my son, it has been about ten years. He had, shall we say a...philosophical objection to our way of life. His father was particularly disappointed in him; he went on for weeks about how we should disown him. I am not as bothered about it as my husband, though. He will return home in his own time. No matter how much pride he has, he has always been my little hatchling."

It was not long until Fendros and Janius entered the room as well. Fendros' first concern was, of course, Rhazii, and due to the speed of Neesa's healing, his situation was not nearly as dire as before. Neesa removed her hand from over his eye, which now looked barely different from the other. "He is alive. Burned and scarred, but alive. You may be pleased to hear that I healed his eye as well. The flames boiled the liquids inside and warped the lens, but I set it back mostly to its proper state. It will heal on its own from there. I did not think I would need to clarify this to you, but lycans, as it turns out, are not easily killed. You are strong, in body and soul." She commented, rubbing her hand across Rhazii's forehead. "Oh, and what a powerful soul this one has. Physical imperfections aside, he is an exceptional specimen of your kind. I would keep him away from my husband, or he might get the idea to take his soul for himself." She added, her tone making it difficult to tell whether or not she was being serious.

Neesa looked at Rhazii with curiosity for a few more moments. It was obvious she held some sympathy for the cub, but there was something else in her gaze. She found him interesting, and for someone whose lifespan covered several eras, that was saying something. For Ahnasha, the look in Neesa's eyes made her nervous. The idea of a powerful vampiric necromancer taking any sort of interest in her son was frightening, but she had not only just saved his life, but healed his scars more completely than she would have thought possible. He would still bear them for life, but at least they would not hinder his mobility or function. After a few moments, Neesa finally broke away from Rhazii to allow Fendros to take his place beside him.

"At any rate, the healing process is not completely over for him. In an hour or so, my spell will wear off and he will start to feel some pain again. I could stay to treat him, but I am not going to. You have exhausted my charity for the day. If you want to mitigate his pain, I would suggest you stay here with him. Or don't, just do not be surprised if one of the other patients here becomes tired of his screaming." Neesa said, not waiting for a response before leaving the room. The other patients in the room were sleeping, so for the moment, the pack was alone with Rhazii. For a while, it was silent. Ahnasha had a hard time bringing herself to say anything. Rhazii was not in pain for the moment; in fact, he almost seemed content. Even so, there was no way she could move beyond what had happened, as it was quite literally burned into his face. The scars were still a fleshy red color, though with what Ahnasha knew about burns, it would eventually turn to a more natural color matching the rest of his skin. Still, it would never fully go away. It would always be a constant reminder to him of his parents' failure. She placed her hand on his stomach and allowed him to wrap his hand around her fingers, which caused him to giggle as he looked up into his mother's face. She tried to return a smile to lift his spirits, but just ended up falling into tears herself.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros' own worry was mixed with a utterly foreign cocktail of gratitude and ambivalence at Hal-Neesa's actions. He had not expected someone who revelled in death almost every day to have the sympathy to heal their child. He stood in place, looking at nothing. It wasn't until Neesa had left that he had thought to thank her. He would have to later, he concluded, if it wasn't for the vested interest of claiming Rhazii's soul. It that was the case, the situation was just as horrid as it had been all day.

Stepping up to the table, Fendros looked upon Rhazii's body and saw his child in a far better state than they had found him in, but still one that showed painful looking injuries. "Hello there, little one," Fendros whispered to Rhazii, keeping back his own tears. He put a hand on Ahnasha's wrist and his other arm around her shoulder, drawing her into a hug such that she could cry into him and be comforted. He wished the entirety of today didn't happen. He wished they were never tasked to come to this cursed place, and he wished Rhazii could never have been put in such danger. Damn that Khajiit woman for failing to protect him, damn Hircine for bringing them here, and damn themselves for leaving Rhazii alone.

"I have to be forthcoming, I didn't expect her to help like this." Janius observed while looking upon Rhazii himself.

Sabine spoke in response. "She is a vampire and a cultist, but I think she has more heart than we might think."

Janius looked to Sabine directly, "For all our sakes, Sabine, I hope so." Janius took a breath, then turned to Meesei, "Now that the noble and his mercenaries are taken care of, does that mean our business here is almost done? I think it will probably be a good idea to wait to recollect our belongings and heal Rhazii some more, but this place has taken its toll." Janius' eyes flicked to Ahnasha and Fendros for an instant at the end of his sentence. He understood that having Rhazii so injured was hard enough on them, but by the way Fendros snapped at Sabine before they headed back, something must have happened in that dungeon as well.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei took one of the magicka potions from the table and started to drink it. If Rhazii was still going to need help, then she needed to be ready, even if it meant staying up until exhaustion forced her to sleep. "I still do not know quite what to think about Neesa. Perhaps the fact that she is a mother inspired her sympathy, or maybe she sees something unique about Rhazii and wants to spare his life? She did say something about him having a strong soul, though I do not know what she means. I am no conjurer, though, so she might be able to sense something I cannot. It is something to look into later, but for now...at least we are all alive. No matter what we have been through, or how we have been hurt, we are all still alive. Kaleeth's injuries were not too great, so I have no doubt she will be here soon. Hopefully, Neesa and Llarvan will live up to the terms of the agreement and we will be able to leave soon."

"Where are we gonna be going this time?" Lorag questioned, breaking his silence. Just like the others, he felt a strong sense of anger, along with worry for Rhazii, but he was not one to express himself openly...apart from anger, but that would not exactly be appropriate for the situation.

"For now, we have no destination, but I imagine we will have to do a lot of hunting. I believe all the belongings we have left, we are going to have to recover from that settlement. Anything we had here probably burned up in the fires. It is nothing we cannot recover from, however." Meesei said. With how frantic they had been to rescue Rhazii, Meesei had not yet said anything, but she too noticed that something was off with Ahnasha and Fendros. There was something that happened while they had been held captive, that much was not in question. After all, the large and noticeable scar running down Ahnasha's torso told its own gruesome tale. She would not let it go forever, but for now, they all needed time to calm down.