EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Between Lorag and Ahnasha, their opponent was quickly overwhelmed. He had only just managed to draw his blade by the time he saw Lorag's hammer swinging for him. He jumped back and parried in an effort to avoid the strike, but it left Ahnasha with plenty of space to slash her blade across his unarmored side. He curled forward in pain and slashed fruitlessly towards Ahnasha, leaving himself completely open to the follow-up strike from Lorag's hammer. The full weight of the blow came down on his skull, which dispatched him immediately.

Leaps' opponent could do little to resist the lightning fast pounce from the wamasu, nor could he resist the actual lightning that was charged through his body every time Leaps tore away another part of his flesh. His cries were mostly unintelligible, but even if he surrendered, there was no stopping Leaps at this point. The last Khajiit was able to draw his blade and back away before Janius and Gallus could reach him. However, he knew he was hopelessly outnumbered, and there was no exit he could take which was not already blocked. As such, with fear in his eyes, he dropped his swords and threw up his hands.

Kaleeth had ran to the center of the room and, within seconds, began slamming her massive fists into the floor under her, and after only two blows, the wood collapsed under her weight. Werecrocodiles, outside of water, were generally not agile in the slightest, so she was unable to back away before she fell down along with the floor. And neither was she able to catch herself to land on her feet; instead she fell clumsily onto the floor of the basement, flat on her stomach. Nevertheless, the surprise of the strategy had served its purpose. The two hostiles downstairs, one Bosmer and one Khajiit, had heard the commotion upstairs, and only seconds later, were thrown into chaos by Kaleeth crashing in on top of them. The Khajiit was on one side of her and cut off from the prisoners, but the Bosmer was on the other side and already running for the cells after a brief delay to process what was happening.

---

Sabine's last statement had been rather awkward, but Peiter did not even seem to notice. Their entire conversation had been awkward, but both appeared oblivious to the fact. He simply nodded. "Oh, alright." He said before picking himself up and moving over to sit on the ground beside Sabine's bedroll. He could see Sabine's face more clearly now, and smiled as he looked at her. "This is a...nice evening. Much...cooler than the daytime." He said, though curiously, he was still sweating.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha was ready around the other side of the cabin at about the same time as Fendros. With the way the two Khajiit were sitting, Fendros' target could see her, just as hers could him, but they acted quickly enough that it did not matter. Ahnasha loosed her arrow a fraction of a second after Fendros, which struck the center of her target's back, just below the neck. Quickly, she nocked and drew another arrow, training her bow on both of the bodies to watch for any additional movement. After a few seconds without a hint of life, however, she felt safe enough in assuming their deaths.

With the elimination of the guards, Lorag and Irenya joined Fendros and Ahnasha at the front, while everyone else headed to the back side of the cabin. Ahnasha moved for a moment back closer to the back side of the cabin so she could watch the others, then let Lorag know when they were in position. Kaleeth had transformed out of sight and earshot of the cabin, but she had to approach extremely carefully. Her massive, hulking form was not stealthy in any place except murky waters. So, each of her steps had to be slow, and very deliberate. At the very least, the large surface area of her feet meant she was less likely to break twigs than to just push them into the ground, as long as she was careful not to put weight on one with her toes or the edge of her feet. It took a few minutes for Kaleeth to silently move the short distance to the back of the cabin, at which point the others formed up behind her. Ahnasha moved back to the front and joined up with the others, giving Lorag the signal that the other team was in place. She dispelled her bow, and in its place, conjured both a bound blade, and a bound dagger. Inside such a confined space, a bow would not be of much use, especially with allies dispersed among the enemy.

Kaleeth had been told to wait until Lorag kicked in the door to attack, so she stood a short distance back from the wall, listening and waiting. Lorag, with his hammer in hand, gave a quick nod to the others, then delivered a heavy kick to the door's handle to force it open. The moment she heard that sound, Kaleeth also charged forward, using her mass and terrible strength to tear through the wall as if it were but parchment. Needless to say, the enemies inside were beyond startled. The three Khajiit in the room jumped to their feet and started to draw their weapons when Lorag burst through the door, but Kaleeth's sudden entrance threw them into complete disarray. One of the enemy was closer to the front door, which Lorag and Ahnasha were both charging towards, while the other two had been sitting near the fireplace, to the left of Kaleeth's newly-made entrance. Kaleeth herself ignored both of them, instead trusting the others to deal with them while she ran towards the center of the room to make her hole to the basement.

---

"Oh, good, good. I was worried." Peiter answered, though his embarrassment made it difficult for him to look directly at her while he spoke. He took a few bites of his food to give him time to think of what else to say. Unfortunately, that time did not give him much in the way of clarity. "It was nice, the stream. And you...or, um, being there...with you. Was nice, I mean. We should do it again, and...maybe we won't get attacked next time." He said, smiling.

Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

The pilot of the shuttle waited for final confirmation that everyone had boarded before closing the door and taking off through the hull breach. Their destination was the Turian cruiser Intrepid, which was serving as the flagship of the allied fleet. As the shuttle set off from the station, Avatar and RK’s interceptors flew in formation alongside it for protection. If they were engaged by hostile fighters, then the interceptors would be able to defend the shuttle without regard for their own safety, as it was ultimately expendable hardware. Both Avatar and RK would be able to reupload quickly to the shuttle if their new hardware suffered serious damage.

The trio of ships circled around to the other side of the station in order to set themselves on a course for the allied fleet, but as it came into view, the team learned all at once about the battle that had been raging outside of the station. The allied fleet, which had consisted mostly of unarmed or lightly armed transport ships escorted by the cruiser and a few frigates, had been all but destroyed. In its place was a fleet of nonuniform, but organized ships of varying classes up to frigates. An initial visual scan of the debris, crossed referenced with the stored catalog Avatar possessed of the vessels taking part in this mission, revealed that the allied fleet had been greatly outnumbered. At minimum, the enemy possessed triple the number of ships, though based on the distribution of the debris, the enemy fleet had suffered severe casualties. Over 66% of the enemy fleet had been destroyed. However, all of the allied fleet was either destroyed, or missing in action. Most notably, Avatar could not detect the cruiser itself, nor its wreckage.

“I recommend diverting to the allied settlement on the planet.” Avatar messaged to the shuttle pilot. Despite the shock of seeing their fleet in ruins, the pilot quickly complied. It would take a few minutes to reach the planet’s surface, and for the moment, those aboard the shuttle could see through the windows the terrible carnage that remained after the battle. Most of the ships destroyed had been unarmed transport vessels.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag scratched his chin as he observed the area around the cabin. The trees and brush had been cleared around it, but with the spot the guards were sitting, the cabin would indeed provide good cover. A few well-placed arrows could down the guards, which would just leave the ones inside. "Yeah, doesn't look like they're expectin' anyone right now. I guess those reinforcements of theirs didn't come this way yet. Honestly, I doubt killin' them'll be the problem. According to lizard-Janius here, we should be able to overpower 'em no matter what. The real problem'll be getting them before they can get to the hostages. If that happens, this'll get a lot more complicated. We've got to be quick, and efficient. We can use Gallus' plan to get close. Fendros, Ahnasha, I trust you can get 'em with your bows. From there, we can split into two groups, then go in from the front and back."

Ahnasha gave Lorag something of a critical look. "Lorag, there isn't a door in the back, and we're not going to have time to get through the windows."

Lorag grinned. "Well, then we're just going to have to make a door. Kaleeth, you'll be headin' in the back. You know what to do."

It did not take much thought for Kaleeth to figure out what Lorag wanted. She returned a nod, then started to strip off her armor.

"I'll kick in the front door." Lorag continued. "Coming in from both sides like that, and catchin' them off-guard, we'll be able to get anyone on the top floor no problem. It's the ones already in the basement I'm worried about. They'll be close to the hostages...Colors this cabin's got normal wood floors, right? What side of the building are the holding cells under."

Colors seemed confused, but gave an answer regardless. "Um, well, the stairs are on that side, so...the right. They're being held under the right side of the building. The floor is...normal, as far as I know."

"Alright, then once we're in, Kaleeth can just smash a hole in the floor in the middle. A werecrocodile crashing in from above'll definitely be a surprise. Stir up some chaos. The mages can use the hole in the floor to shoot down anyone they can see in the basement. Unless anyone's got any other, more boring plans?" Lorag asked.

---

"Oh, um, okay." Peiter responded awkwardly. He returned his gaze back to his meal, though that only lasted for a moment before he was looking back to Sabine.

Peiter had the strongest urge to continue talking with Sabine, but he did not actually have much of an idea of what he wanted to say. He did not want to wait too long before speaking, so he just said the first thing that came to mind. "So Irenya said you'd be alright...right? No injuries or...anything?" He asked. Of course, he already knew the answer, as he had asked hours before.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, I may get one before then.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Colors rubbed the back of his neck and looked down with a bit of shame and nervousness. "Uh, well, I'm not much of a fighter...really. I'm more of a 'handsome rogue' than a 'valiant warrior.' But I don't just want to leave, I have to know if my pride is alright. Maybe I can just...wait outside? Until it's safe."

Ahnasha looked over Colors curiously. "I've heard of how large and ferocious lions are, surely a werelion would have some impressive strength, even compared to a werewolf?"

Colors shook his head. "Ah, see, you would think that. I mean, look at a lion and a wolf, and a lion is obviously much bigger and more muscular and everything. But, apparently, that doesn't always matter with lycans. No, werewolves are both the bigger and stronger of the two. Werelions are fast, and real agile. Skilled and experienced werelions can be exceptionally powerful, but I, uh, possess neither of those qualities. I prefer to...resolve conflicts with my charm, and a silver tongue."

Ahnasha could not help but to give a chuckle. She had a feeling that, if that was the case, Colors probably never actually resolved any conflicts. "Very well."

"Anyway, um, I guess we should go. Follow me." Colors said as he started to lead the rescue party away from the camp. They had moved away from the path he remembered to reach the outpost in order to set up camp, so they had to backtrack a few minutes to get back on the right track. From there, Colors knew the direction, and had some landmarks in his mind which would guide the way. Mostly, unique looking rocks, trees, or clearings. There was no path to follow through the jungle, so they did veer off course on two occasions and were forced to backtrack. Nevertheless, they made progress, and within another hour of searching, Colors suddenly stopped them. He recognized a particularly tall tree that had been split by lightning, which indicated they were close.

The rescue party continued forward slowly and carefully until the outpost was finally in view. Although, outpost was perhaps not the best term to describe the actual structure. It was more of just a wooden cabin with a single door in the front and a few windows. As an outpost, its protection lay in obscurity. It was deep into the jungle, and without a guide, it would have been near impossible to find. In front of the cabin, there was a small fire going, with two armed Khajiit sitting around it cooking their dinner. They could not see into the windows, so that was essentially all they could observe from a safe distance.

"Okay, there it is. There are usually about six or seven of them here, I think. It's just a simple cabin with a basement, where they are keeping my pride. I don't really know more than that. They'll all be armed, but this isn't a fortress. We just can't let them hurt my pride." Colors explained.

Lorag turned and looked to the others. "Alright. Two floors, one door, a few windows. Prisoners are downstairs, two guards out front. I've got a few ideas, anyone else got suggestions?"

Back at camp, Peiter was just as tired as Sabine, but had not laid down immediately. Instead, he was sitting on his bedroll nearby eating a cut of raw venison. Irenya advised that a hardy meal could help with his blood loss, so he wanted to get something to eat before going to sleep. However, he also found himself exchanging glances with Sabine as he ate. There had been so much that had happened during their evening, and some of it had given him questions that were still nagging at his mind. The camp was dead silent, with even the children sleeping, but he still decided to hazard a question. "Are you...hungry?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While the supplies were being gathered, Irenya tended to the wounds of Meesei and Peiter, and checked up on Sabine. For Peiter, she determined that his primary issue was blood loss. Sabine's treatment, though crude, had certainly prevented it from being as bad as it could have been. There was still some internal bleeding, but between potions and Irenya's magic, it was eventually halted. Thanks to the general mass and bulk of werewolves, Peiter's injuries had been flesh wounds, so he would not need the same kind of vigilant care as Meesei. Sabine, apart from a few minor cuts and bruises, was mostly just fatigued.

As soon as the packs had everything of value that they could possibly carry from the outpost, they headed down to the forest floor, then lit ablaze what remained. If they were not going to be able to make use of it, then they certainly would not allow their enemy to recover the supplies. By this point, the pack was able to change out of their city clothes and into their normal hides, as fur was far, far too warm for this environment. The others had retrieved both Peiter and Sabine's belongings from the stream while Irenya tended to them, though neither them or Meesei were tasked with carrying any significant portion of the burden.

The packs made their way back to the road, then followed Colors' lead in the direction of this enemy outpost. Fortunately, it was no great distance away, so their wounded did not have to travel too far by their own power. They stopped about two thirds of the way from the outpost, then headed off the road to make their own camp. They had no particular destination in mind of where they wanted to make their camp, but a random spot in the forest would at least be unpredictable. Once stopped, they unpacked only what was needed for those that would be staying behind.

Meesei found a comfortable spot to sit on her bedroll with her back leaned up against a tree for support. "As much as I dislike it, I cannot join you all for this rescue. Lorag, you will be in command in my absence. Peiter, Sabine, with the ordeal you both have been through, you of course will be staying behind as well. We should be able to care for Rhazii and Newt. However, I would also like to have at least one able-bodied fighter here for defense, just in case. Uthri, I would like you to remain here with us.

Irenya gave Meesei a confused look. "Champion...would my healing abilities not be of more use here? I assure you, I am perfectly capable of using offensive magic as well."

"That is indeed true, Irenya, but from what Colors described, his pride has been the victims of torture. They may need your assistance, and I can handle the treatment of myself and Peiter while you are away." Meesei explained.

"Very well, Champion." Irenya answered with a nod.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I am having the hardest time decrypting this password hash.

But, on the bright side, I have chocolate covered potato chips.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"If they are heading to Senchal, then tracking them may prove fruitless. It would be easy for them to lose themselves in the city, especially since they are likely expecting to be followed." Meesei commented. "We need to gather up our supplies and move our camp, and from what Janius describes, we have other wounded to tend to as well. I would like to send someone to track them, but we may have need of everybody."

Meesei's gaze shifted over to Colors. "Sees-No-Colors, you believe your...pride is in danger. Are you privy to their location?"

Colors nodded. "They didn't want me to be, but yes. Like I said, they took me to them occasionally to prove that they were still alive. They always put a bag over my head, but one time, I managed to poke a hole in it to get a look around. I recognized some landmarks on the road on the way there, so...I think I can take you to it."

"And this outpost itself, what is it like? How well-defended is it?" Meesei asked.

Colors scratched his head briefly as the thought. "It's...not that big. Maybe six or seven of them there, but...if you don't kill them all quick enough when you attack, they might still be able to hurt my pride."

"That may be true." She responded. It presented her with a difficult choice, but ultimately, she did not want to risk the lives of her allies. "It may be best to send as many of us as possible to mount the rescue. Several of us are already going to need to stay behind, myself included. I would like you to go out and have everyone that is available gather up as many useful supplies as possible from the storage building. We need to assume that this place is no longer safe, so we should make sure not to leave behind useful supplies. We will move our camp elsewhere, then rescue Colors' pride."

---

Peiter gave a chuckle, doing his best to avoid showing his pain. Even so, his voice was softer, and more weak than usual. "Of course I did. I wasn't going to let you get hurt. The plan didn't go quite like we wanted. Don't, blame yourself, though. My plan wouldn't have worked any better, I don't think. You stopped me from bleeding to death out there, so yes, I'm going to thank you. You deserve it."

The lift was close to the top, but like Sabine, he was not keen on letting her go. He felt comforted by her embrace, and vindicated in his choice to attempt to save her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Only the Cathay-raht.