EliteCommander

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose - Catacombs

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Though his wing gusts did exactly what Ssarak intended them to do, they were nevertheless ineffective at keeping the shapeshifter in place. Grey, being that he had to protect the Naga from the bone shards, was not in a position to immediately follow up to attack, and even if he had been, the shapeshifter could change forms far faster than even Lidda. It seemed as if it was the most powerful vitamancer Ssarak had ever encountered. It briefly made him wonder how they had managed to have any success against it, but his attention was quickly taken by an even greater threat: Tyrael.

The master Demonmancer had arrived far sooner than Ssarak had hoped. The ridge hounds and shapeshifter had delayed them for too long. Fighting was, of course, not an option, and if they could not find a way to talk him down, they would need help. Ssarak had intended to use Colette’s bat to send a message to Khan quickly, but even that would not be fast enough now. It would have to be able to fly straight to him…which was a thought that provoked an idea within Ssarak’s mind. The catacombs were beneath the college, so the straight-line distance between them was not terribly far. One would have to pass straight through the ground, and the college’s stonework, but that was only an issue for corporeal beings. An illusion, if it was not attempting to be convincing, did not have to obey any natural laws. Ssarak recalled that his friend Annabeth had instructed her doppelgangers to attend classes in her stead on a few occasions. They could work at range, and he could instruct it to speak, so it could deliver a message.

Making no attempt to hide which version of himself was genuine, Ssarak had his doppelganger fly up in the direction of the college, straight through the catacombs. It was going to warn Khan, to tell him that the students, and Naga survivors, were in danger from Tyrael. As long as Ssarak was alive and conscious, his messenger would not be stopped.

Meanwhile, Ssarak and the others had to do what they could to calm Tyrael, or at least delay him. Telepathically, Ssarak sent a message to each of the Naga. We have to persuade him to let you live. He is a master demonmancer and could kill us all with ease; fighting is not an option. Lower your weapons; they will not be useful anyway.

Ssarak did not bother to raise his weapon against Tyrael, though he did stay in a position where he could protect the Naga. ”Why do this, Tyrael? Why kill the Naga? Baulder…he needs healing. We need to get him back to the college, instead of fighting over what to do with the Naga. If you believe they are a threat, then we can detain them. Lock them away, let Khan, or the Archmage judge them. They could not stand against us if they wanted to, especially with one as powerful as you among us. There would be no danger in capturing them.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hiritus raised his brow at Gallus curiously. "Hmm, so you actually know about that place? Well, that had to come eventually. It wasn't really meant to be a secret hideout forever. That place is a fortress, no question. Granted, a lot of its soldiers are probably preparing for the ambush we were supposed to set up, but since we've probably delayed their attack by killing the Champion, that won't be a problem. Probably wouldn't be a problem anyway, with Do'rhajul heading the defense."

After he had his fill of water, Hiritus stood back up, a bit less shakily than before. The healing potion was steadily giving him strength, and was making it easier for him to keep up a quicker pace. He was still slow for the moment, but he was willing to motion for Gallus to keep moving. "The General is a Cathay-raht, and if the reputation is accurate, he is actually a werewolf. I don't know how long he's been a lycan, though. Some among our organization will infect themselves to better be able to complete their missions. Cures are very difficult to make or obtain, even for us, but they do exist. I've seen people get cured myself. Personally, the last thing I want to do is corrupt my blood with that infection. I just take on the scent, which works well enough. A few of my partners on this mission became beasts; I know Dar-tzesa didn't even hesitate when asked. She'd do anything for that son of hers, which I can understand. Apparently, he has some disease that's making his muscles deteriorate; can't even stand anymore. It's a shame those savages are probably going to kill her, especially after this escape."

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

Speaking of activity, I think I should nudge Fallen to perhaps go back to the current scene with Fa. I don't think I've received a response since my last one.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hiritus shook his head at Gallus. "You're pretty new to the desert, aren't you? Out here, you don't just take a sip. You drink what you need, when you need it. More efficient that way. Don't be wasteful, obviously, but don't catch yourself trying to ration too much. There are people who end up dehydrating while still having water with them. And while we're sitting here, cut the attitude. We're not trying to fool your friends anymore, and I'm the one that's gonna be making sure you have a place to go after all that, got it?"

Returning to his waterskin, Hiritus looked out over the sands as he continued. "Anyway, like I was saying, I don't really know the details. All I know are the people I was directly involved in finding. Two alchemists, and a shipping clerk, of all people. That last one was confusing to pretty much everyone involved. He seemed to be just some regular clerk, and a bit of a coward. I just have to assume there was a reason for it. I know that other teams have sought out other people, but nothing more than that. What about your people? Or, former people. You were close to the Champion, so I'm guessing you've picked up on some useful information. Granted, once they learn that you defected, a lot of those plans will probably change, but is there anything we could take advantage of right now?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I didn't mention him being there, so you can if you wish.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hiritus shrugged his shoulders. "I can honestly say I have no idea. I haven't heard anything about a gas, so you probably know more about that than me. If you're going to be joining us, one thing you should probably know is that we have compartmentalized information. Everyone knows only what they need to know. If someone is captured and ends up breaking, they can't do that much damage. I personally don't know much of anything about what's going on down south. Of course, there's always general information and rumors going around about our efforts across Tamriel. It's pretty easy to piece together that something big is coming. We've been hunting for people, specific people, from all over. People who aren't lycans, and don't seem to be involved with them at all. Not to mention, Do'rhajul himself specified where exactly we should take your warriors once we tricked them to follow us, which is strange seeing as he normally doesn't directly manage our forces up in Orcrest. He has his subordinates for that."

By this point, the pair were well out of sight of the stronghold, and Hiritus' initial resolve to escape was wearing down now that they were in less danger. In between two of the dunes, he suddenly stopped and dropped down to his knees, then turned around to sit down. "I...need a minute. Ah, these legs are sore. Say, could I get some of that water you brought along?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hiritus followed Gallus' direction regarding the wind, trusting him to know more about lycans' tracking capabilities than even himself. Though, as they were walking, he laughed at Gallus' comments regarding his plan. "Ha, do you really think we would throw together such a haphazard plan as that? Especially considering how difficult it was to find someone who both looked something like your Champion, and was willing to accept a deal from Vile. Maybe your former master might have tried some idiotic tactic like that, but we prefer our plans to make some semblance of sense. No, it was some sour luck that she and her entourage showed up that day. We were close too. We were meant to pull most of their forces out of that stronghold, take them halfway across Elsweyr to exhaust them for an ambush, then follow up with a clean sweep of that place. Obviously, you ruined that plan. We can finally report back on the location of their hideout, but that's not going to be an easy siege. That escape tunnel you took us through will be useful, but if they figure out we took it, they'll probably reinforce it."

Shaking his head slightly, HIritus gave a huff before continuing. "Anyway, that would normally be a big problem for us, but in this case, we're coming away with something that might be even better. Taking out an enemy stronghold is important, sure, but that lizard has been a thorn in our side for too long, since she took out our previous General. She has had some success in fighting us, so her successor might not be as effective. If they can even get a successor. I'm sure there are plenty of ambitious, power-hungry lycans out there just waiting for an excuse to try to claim that mantle, and without the ring to act as a symbol of power...I'm hoping there will be blood. Of course, even if they do get another good leader, it won't matter. From what I understand, General Do'rhajul plan will pretty much be a guaranteed victory. Even moreso now."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Hey @Freeshooter92, you present?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hiritus gladly downed the potion once he stood back to his feet. He leaned over with his hands on his knees, panting as if exhausted. He needed rest, but the need to at least get out of sight of the stronghold pressed him to start walking at a minimum. The potion had not yet taken effect, but his condition would start improving the longer they walked.

"Well, I haven't exactly been able to arrange a meeting from my cell in the past week, so we'll just have to head to the safehouse and see who's there. It's in a farmhouse just outside the city, to the north. The owner is one of ours, and we've expanded his basement to be a more useful hideout. Like I said, though, we can't go directly to Orcrest if we want to throw off any pursuers. Hopefully, this wind will cover our tracks before they find them." Hiritus explained.

Orcrest was to the northeast, but as they were taking an indirect route, Hiritus started to guide them due north. He was gritting his teeth in pain as he walked, but if nothing else, he could not be faulted for a lack of dedication. Despite the pain, and his overall weakness, he was putting every bit of effort he had into escaping the clan.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As soon as Hiritus' blindfold was off, he immediately covered his eyes, then lowered his head to allow his eyes to adjust at a somewhat reasonable pace. Eventually, he was able to look out over the landscape to get a sense of where they actually were. "Right, cover distance. I would say we need to head straight to Orcrest, but there's no way we can outrun those flying beasts of theirs. We'll have to take an indirect route to the city to keep out of their sight. I hope you thought ahead enough to bring some supplies."

The gradient of the hill immediately beneath the escape tunnel was too steep to simply walk down, so Hiritis had to carefully sit himself down, then slide down the hill to the point where he could walk again. Although, his walking was just as shaky as it had been when he first left his cell. He moved slowly at first, but Gallus quickly and easily overtook him. He tried to speed up his pace to keep up, but within only a few seconds, he lost his footing and tripped over a rock onto his hands and knees.

"Ah...you know, you really didn't make this easy for me with all that 'entertainment' you had with me over the last week. Don't suppose you've got a healing potion in any of those bags?" Hiritus asked.