EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The first door which Gallus' soldiers opened was nothing more than a relatively small storage room. Most of the crates and barrels were closed, and the rest seemed to have alchemical ingredients. When they moved on to the second door, however, the pair that was breaking it down was met with a fireball as soon as they had broken it open. The fireball exploded, singeing one, but giving heavy burns on the chest and face of the other. She dropped to the ground and cried out in pain as she moved to the side, out of the line of fire. Her injuries were not lethal, but she was incapacitated.

Inside the room, the Cathay officer was quickly giving orders to his soldiers to organize a defense, and place pressure on the door. "Focus everything on the door, we just need to hold them! You two, I want that in the General's hands yesterday; move it!" He shouted as two of his subordinates started to carry a barrel out of a back exit on the other side of the room. The uninjured warrior who had broken down the door was close enough to hear the shouting, and glance inside briefly.

"Sir, there are soldiers in here! That officer's with them." He shouted ahead to Gallus, though Lorag also heard from the stairwell. Unfortunately, being engaged in a melee with the enemy meant that he could not simply back away.

"What? Get in there, then! Get that room clear, I'll..." Lorag began, pausing as he delivered a blow from his hammer against the shield of the opponent in front of him. "...get back there in a second."

Kaleeth had not been close enough to the stairway to join Lorag, so she was able to rush to the door, but the moment she tried to step into the doorway, she had to back away to avoid being hit by another fireball. Ahnasha too tried to get an arrow into the room, but she could not get an angle without putting herself at risk from the spells and arrows flying out from within.

"We need a ward up here!" The soldier next to the door shouted.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once they had started advancing, Lorag was not intent on stopping, though he still answered Janius as they moved. "Well, then it'd be the General they're protectin'. Either way, we've got to get after 'em!"

Behind Lorag, Gallus' and Meesei's packs were moving as a group, so Peiter and Sabine were together once again. It was not what Peiter had planned on for the attack, and he hoped that his fears did not manifest in reality. He just had to force himself to concentrate, and try to rely on his training. He had been doing well thusfar, but he did not want to think about what would happen if he saw her in danger. Sabine had already shown a bit too much lack of restraint during the battle before, so his own impulses were not all he had to worry about. She could potentially make mistakes because of him as well.

The enemy ahead of them had ran through another door, leading up another spiral staircase. They were just closing it behind them when Lorag threw his weight against it to suddenly bash it open again. The force of the door knocked a Bosmer behind it off his feet, and Lorag's hammer come down onto the head of a Suthay-raht beside him. He was armored with a helmet, but that did not stop the force from cracking open his skull. Lorag quickly executed the Bosmer with his steel boot, then turned his eyes towards another Khajiit on the stairs just in front of him that was thrusting an arming sword towards his neck. In an almost casual manner, he swatted her sword away with his gauntlet, grabbed her by the neck and, despite her struggling, slammed her head into the stone wall on the left.

Ahead of them on the stairway, it seemed that some of the enemy were remaining to attempt to hold off the advancing lycans. The enemy was greatly outnumbered on the stairs, but unfortunately, the width of the staircase meant that only two, maybe three people could be fighting on them at once. Although, if one could get a shot through the doorway, the fact that the enemy was at a slight elevation meant that an archer or mage could safely fire on them.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak realized after about a minute that Meirin was likely not in her room. He was about to leave to see if he could find her elsewhere when he heard footsteps approaching. He smiled as soon as he turned to see Meirin nearby, though it was not difficult for him to see that she had been through something. He saw the bandages, scruffed up clothing, and bruises, so it was not difficult to guess that she had been in a fight. With all his years as a warrior, he was more than familiar with all the injuries different types of fighting could bring. But, based on her apparent mood, he surmised that it was nothing serious. Though, the marks he could see did not let on completely to how intense Meirin's sparring match had been.

"Well, I just learned today that my private lessons conflicted with another obligation of Satori's so we had to reschedule. Since I had no other plans, it means I am free for the entire day." He explained. Walking up to her, he offered her the rose he was carrying. "So, I was hoping to surprise you. Though, it seems you have been through some excitement yourself. Unless bandages are a part of Human fashion that I never knew about. I trust that whoever gave you those bruises received just as many?" Ssarak asked. He cautiously gave her a light hug, since he was not certain how sore she was at the moment.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ah, nice. Seems I can respond.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I managed to finish writing out all of Meesei's scene. It's only a thousand words longer than my term paper for my Operating Systems class. I just have to figure out when to include which parts of it in posts to make sure it fits with what everyone else is doing.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Heading through the doorway, they faced only light resistance in the hallway beyond from those enemies who had been unable to retreat in time. Evidently, most of the enemy force had rushed as soon as they were out of sight of the entry chamber. With Lorag and Gallus leading the way, they followed the sounds of echoing footsteps to the end of the hall, where they finally found a staircase leading up to the next floor. It was a spiral staircase, and rather narrow, so they had Uthri and Kaleeth lead the way with shields. Lorag was expecting some kind of ambush, or at least a group at the top to trap them into the staircase, but once they were at the top, there was nothing. Evidently, the enemy had been in too much of a hurry to carry out such plans.

The staircase led into the middle of a hallway that split in two opposite directions, and unfortunately, Lorag could see that there were enemies fleeing in both directions. He did not know why they were splitting up now, and not before, but there was certainly a reason behind it. Neither group looked larger than the other, but to their left, Lorag was sure he had seen the enemy officer that had been directing the soldiers in the previous room.

Once other prides started coming up the staircase behind them, Lorag found one of Ri'vashi's officers and directed him to take charge of pursuing the enemy fleeing to the right. He intended to follow this enemy officer, as he was far more likely to be protecting something important; potentially the General himself. Lorag walked up beside Gallus with an intense look in his eyes. "If they're goin' to lead us to Do'rhajul, we're goin' to be the ones to find him. He's not gettin' away from me. They might try to keep splitting us up ahead, and we can't ignore anyone that might try to flank us, but I want us to stick together on this. I want a pack I can trust at my back to face him."

"Permission to join your packs?" A voice sounded from the stairway behind them. From the steady line of warriors climbing up the staircase, Ra'kalesh emerged and approached them. The leather armor protecting his torso before had been half burned away by the oil, so he had discarded it. As such, the burns on his back, shoulder, and upper arm were plainly visible. Large patches of his fur had been burned away, along with some of the flesh underneath, but the healers had given him their attention. There was no bleeding, and he did not seem to have trouble moving. The look in his eyes showed that he was obviously still in pain, but he was still in fighting shape. "Ra'kalesh has a...vested interest in seeing our enemy's General meet his well-deserved end."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag was occupied in combat with the enemy's frontline, but Ri'vashi could at least speak to Gallus. "We cannot afford to be surrounded, and we cannot abandon our soldiers still in the courtyard. If the enemy has been reinforced, we need to capture the keep and use it to stage our defense. Ri'vashi will take a force and head back to the courtyard to hold our flank. You need to clear the keep as much as possible, and try to capture or kill the General if you can. Try to reunite with Ra'jorr's group...and the Champion, if possible."

With the enemy in the entry chamber retreating, the archers and mages below were able to focus more heavily on those above. As such, the enemy archers were starting to thin in number, either because of injury, or simply retreating themselves. Lorag was finally able to look back in the direction of the horn and noticed Ri'vashi and Gallus. With obvious impatience, he rushed back to them so he could at least be aware of whatever plan they were making.

"The enemy...they're defending somethin' No other reason for them to all go through the same doors like that. Do'rhajul would be tryin' to split us as far apart as possible otherwise. We need to find out what they're protectin'." Lorag said quickly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi did not see Gallus splitting his own force during the battle, else she would have send a messenger to order him to remain at full strength for the fight. Luckily, it would not matter since Gallus' push from the right flank was exactly what was needed to send the enemy into a retreat once more. The enemy still had their archers above, but they also now had their own archers streaming in through the front door, as well as mages to put pressure on the floor above. The enemy archers still had the better position, but they could no longer attack with impunity. It was enough to allow them to press their numerical advantage against the defenders without having to worry about shielding themselves from above as often.

Slowly, Vile's forces began to retreat once more. Interestingly, instead of spreading through the various exits to speed up their retreat, most of the enemy focused on getting through one door at the back of the chamber. Ri'vashi was going to have a force attempt to flank around and cut off their escape when a horn sounded behind them. She knew the signal; it was a warning. They were being flanked, either in the courtyard, or by a an enemy force from outside the walls. At this point in the attack, it was not something they could afford to ignore.

Instead of attempting another attack, Ri'vashi backed off from the frontline and started to make her way quickly to Lorag, and hopefully Gallus, if they had already eliminated the enemy group they had surrounded. She knew what she was going to do, but she wanted to make sure the other leaders knew what to do as well.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus' group was able to open the door without issue, but even so, where it led was inconclusive. It opened into a hallway, which branched into two separate directions. It was possible that there were stairs leading up within, but there was no guarantee. But, the enemy did not simply ignore the movement of soldiers. Seeing as Gallus had led his force away from Ri'vashi's, the enemy tried to make a push between them to separate them from one another, similar to Ri'vashi's tactic outside. Ri'vashi, however, reacted quickly. She gave the order to put pressure on the enemy trying to flank them, then personally opened up a hole in the enemy lines in front of them.

When the enemy attempted to push forward, they thinned their numbers in one part of their lines, which Ri'vashi attacked directly. There was a heavily armored Suthay-raht directly in front against which her katana was useless, but her shield was just as viable of a weapon as her blade. She parried away his spear while striking forth with her shield, bashing its edge against his helmet with a frightening amount of force. She noticed the enemy beside him thrusting a halberd towards her, but was able to turn her body to allow it to deflect harmlessly off of her chestplate. From there, she used her mass to her advantage in barrelling over the mages and spearmen he had been protecting. One advantage was starting to become more prominent for Ri'vashi and the other lycans in that many of the enemy in heavy armor had already been eliminated, so their ability to form a solid frontline was being diminished. Her allies were following through behind her, so they were able to separate the enemy even further.

Despite the warnings of oil, Ahnasha did not hesitate in running inside as soon as there was an opening. Sabine and Fendros were close behind. She intended to regroup with Janius, Kaleeth, and Lorag, since they all worked best when together. Once they started to move from room to room in the keep, she had a feeling that the lines and formations of soldiers would quickly break down. That was a type of warfare that could only really happen in open spaces. Once they moved into fighting in corridors, they would probably end up moving as individual packs and prides. Though, the moment she entered the chamber, she already had her eyes up looking for targets on which to train her bow. Thanks to her transformation, she was now fighting in only her fur, so she had to force herself to be cautious, particularly as they were passing under the overhang above. Luckily, the spellfire from the mages had been enough to damage one of the oil pots, and injure a few of those attempting to refill the other.

---

Regardless of how Do’rhajul came to possess Spellbreaker, Meesei’s primary concern at the moment was with how to kill him. She had made herself known when she burst into the room, so Ra’jorr had already seen her. Without a word, Meesei joined the battle alongside the Pahrmar-raht. His men were already fighting successfully enough against Do’rhajul’s soldiers, so Meesei decided to work with him to focus on the General himself.

With a brief nod to Meesei, Ra’jorr started to circle to the left and swiped at the General’s legs’ though he was forced to jump back by a swing from his sword. At the same time, however, Meesei found the space to hit Do’rhajul in the leg with a lightning bolt. It caused his leg to buckle; an opportunity which Ra’jorr used immediately to pounce on him. He tried to snap his teeth down on the General’s neck, but his reactions were quick enough that he was able to move his shoulder in the way, causing Ra’jorr’s to bite down ineffectually onto an armor plate.

Though a Pahrmar-raht like Ra’jorr was a rather heavy cat, a Cathay-raht werewolf like Do’rhajul was strong enough to keep himself from being staggered, then threw off Ra’jorr quickly. The General stepped back to fall in line with the rest of his soldiers. However, they did not have much farther that they could retreat. Ra’jorr was down to only a few men remaining, and they almost had their backs to the wall. There was a door behind them, but they would not all be able to funnel through it at once. Nevertheless, the General did not lose any measure of confidence in his demeanor.

Moving farther to the right, Meesei attempted to force the General’s attention away from Ra’jorr. She let out a constant stream of lightning towards him. Predictably, he was able to move his shield to defend against the spell, and the ward it produced showed no signs of weakening. However, it forced him to face her to keep his shield in position as she readjusted her aim, and allowed Ra’jorr an opportunity to attack. Sprinting forward, he pounced once more, but this time, Do’rhajul’s reaction was far deadlier. Even without his eyes being focused on him, the General thrust his blade at Ra’jorr with impeccable accuracy. Ra’jorr was armored in metal plates, but there was a gap his in armor where the plate on his chest met the plate over his shoulderblade, and that was exactly where the General aimed. Thanks to the momentum of Ra’jorr’s leap, and the sheer force the Cathay-raht was able to produce, Ra’jorr was fully impaled on his blade.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Both sides of the fighting were becoming more organized within the keep. Ri'vashi directed her forces to form up a shield wall once more to protect against the enemy archers, though that gave the enemy more of a chance to do the same. The greatest threat to them at the moment was the oil, so Ri'vashi was naturally focused on eliminating it. Looking around the chamber, there were no obvious stairways leading up to the second level, so the way up was likely found behind one of the many doors leading out of the room. From what she could see, there were at least six exits, not counting the main entrance, and there was no way to know which one would lead up to the higher levels. They would need to do the best they could from where they were.

Ri'vashi backed away from the front to give orders to the mages nearest to her, including Janius. "Put pressure on the oil! Keep them from using it." She ordered. Though Ahnasha was outside, she had sent her atronach into the keep with the others, and had directed it to perform the same tasks as the mages. It had actually been caught in the burning oil, but heat did not tend to be an effective weapon against a flame atronach. With the directive Ahnasha had given it, the atronach started launching fireballs up towards the oil pots and those operating them as soon as the order was given to the mages.

Outside, Ra'kalesh was obviously quite distracted by his pain, but the numbing sensation of Sabine's healing helped him to start regaining focus. "Yes, it's...above the door inside. Be alert when you go in; Do'ajee, she..." He warned, his voice trailing off over the pain he was feeling at the loss.