EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag nodded to Gallus. "Yeah, makes sense. Vile's crafty. Probably wants to pit as many people against us as possible. Not really that hard, seeing as how most of Tamriel already sees us as monsters. I guess it's just a matter of motivatin' them to get off their lazy backsides and start actually doin' something about us."

Ahnasha had at first been inclined to agree with Gallus, but as she turned the pages to see more and more records, she was becoming both increasingly skeptical, and concerned. "No, no you don't understand. This isn't...this isn't just a few ferals. This is...there are records here going back months. And it looks like it goes back a lot further still. Over the last few months, they have turned and released hundreds of lycans out into the wild. A few would make sense to sow some discord, but hundreds, maybe thousands depending on how long it's been happening? We would be picking up a good portion of these lycans; they would just be feeding the size of our army. It...it doesn't make any sense.

Kaleeth stepped into the cage on the other side of the Khajiit, then carefully rolled her over onto her back after she gave no response to janius. The other soldiers started breaking into the other cages as well, but in all cases, the prisoners were just as unresponsive. There was absolutely no sign of injury on any of them; no bruises, lacerations, or recent scars. They were all breathing normally, and other than being unconscious, were in perfect health. However, no amount of shaking or shouting was going to wake them. It was possible that they were being kept unconscious through magical or alchemical means.

---

With Spellbreaker protecting him, Do’rhajul started with a shield charge to close the distance between them, to which Meesei reacted in her usual manner. With a quick bolt escape, she teleported herself off to his side. Having never seen the technique before, even the General was momentarily confused, giving Meesei the time to hit him in the side with quite a potent lightning bolt. The involuntary spasms of his muscles caused Do’rhajul to collapse to the ground immediately and cringe with pain. However, even through it all, he was fast enough to bring the nigh unbreakable ward of Spellbreaker around to protect himself from Meesei’s following stream of lightning.

Seeing as her magic was not making any progress, Meesei rushed forward with her axe, turning it around to make use of the spike on the back of the head. He was attempting to recover and had made it back up to his knees, though even then, he still matched Meesei’s height. She tried to bring the axe down onto his head before he was ready, but even being off-balance was not enough to prevent himself from bringing up his shield to guard himself. His counterattack was rapid, as he slashed his blade straight towards her neck. Fortunately, Meesei was able to jump back and angle herself enough that his blade deflected off of the shield spell that encased her body.

Meesei backed far enough away to get out of his range, while the General made his way back to his feet. She hoped to catch him off guard by bolting straight through him, but to her surprise, Spellbreaker’s ward stopped her entirely. Normally, a ward would absorb the electrical energy, but she would still pass through. In this case, however, she was stopped and knocked straight onto her back in front of him. It was, perhaps, surprising to him, but not in the way she hoped. Do’rhajul attempted capitalize on the situation with a thrust straight through her heart, but Meesei managed to save herself by bolting once more. This time, she went through his feet, which his ward was not protecting. He was actually stunned this time, so she scrambled to her feet and made another swing for his head. Unfortunately, he was quick enough to bring up his arm to protect it. The spike on her axe hit his forearm directly, and sounded like it may have done some damage through his armor, but it was certainly no lethal blow.

Meesei was knocked back quite forcefully by a bash from the General’s shield. Luckily, it took him too long to get to his feet for him to be able to follow through in time. Seeing as the more direct attacks were not working, she adopted a strategy much like the one she had taken to fight Harriet years prior. She bolted around, keeping her distance and attempting to get spells around his ward. No matter how quickly he could react, he could not move faster than her. Unfortunately, even if he could not attack her, his defense was nigh unbreakable. No matter where she moved, he could always bring up his ward to defend. Every lightning bolt she fired drained some of her magicka, while doing nothing at all to him. Unlike Harriet’s ring, Spellbreaker showed no signs at all of weakening, so she could not simply outlast him. She had to find some way to give herself the advantage.

Breaking from her pattern, Meesei suddenly turned and let loose two streams of ice on the ground behind her, then quickly bolted to the other side of it. Particularly in armor, even the most experienced of warriors could not simply rush straight across a sheet of ice. Do’rhajul would have to either slow down, or go around the ice. In either case, it would give Meesei enough time to complete her transformation.

Do’rhajul opted to run around the path of ice, and Meesei finished her transformation just as he was starting his swing. She jumped back to evade, then immediately rushed forward to try her hand at overpowering him. In her werewolf form, she was indeed stronger than he, but the difference was not as severe as she would have liked. He was a Cathay-raht werewolf, so while he could not match an alpha werewolf like her without transforming, his strength could still challenge hers enough that he could stand his ground.

Meesei first attempted to rip the shield out of his hand to rid him of his greatest asset. She pulled him straight towards her, and nearly brought him off of his feet, but his grip held, and she had given him ample opportunity to retaliate. She was not able to move quickly enough to evade entirely, so he slashed her across the right side of her chest. It was too shallow to be lethal, but deep enough that the gash would cause enough bleeding to worry about it. But, in the short term, she just had to focus on ignoring the pain and continuing the fight. Even if she could not absolutely overpower him, he no longer had any physical advantage over her.

Meesei gave a feint, then dashed to the right and feinted once more. She needed to get him to swing so that she could get a chance to attack. Immediately after the second feint failed, she swiped at his legs, which finally prompted a reaction from him. He swung towards her arm, which she was actually able to evade, then rush straight at him. Instead of pulling on his shield, she swiped it to the side, then tried to bite down on his neck. She managed to latch down on his shoulder, and attempted to reposition to get at his throat, but the delay was enough that she felt another sharp pain of his blade sliding down her back. He bashed the side of her head with his shield, then managed to pull himself away from her.

Again, Meesei had another injury, and was bleeding more heavily, but she had to keep up the pressure on him. She tried targeting his sword arm on the recovery from one of his swings, but ended up with another gash across her thigh. She tried disarming him of his blade, but ended up with her palm slashed open. She tried injuring his leg to get him to the ground and give herself the advantage, but narrowly escaped death with a thin slash directly across her throat from the very tip of his blade. She did wound him with a few cuts where her claws managed to find their mark, likely gave him a lot of bruising, and perhaps even fractured a bone or two with the sheer force of her strikes. Unfortunately, all of her attacks were met with an even greater injury on herself. She simply could not stop his blade, and her wounds were causing her to lose blood. Her attempts at fighting him with magic before had not worked, but what she was doing now was slowly killing her.

Once she had the opportunity, Meesei simply shoved Do’rhajul’s shield to stagger him back, then sprinted across the chamber much faster than he could possibly move. It gave her the time she needed to transform back into her Argonian form, but only just. He was upon her as soon as she had regained control of her body, and she only barely managed to bolt away. Her body was covered in her own blood from the wounds that were steadily weakening her. She was in a worse position to fight him than she had been when she started, and he was now going on the offensive against her. She could bolt outside of his range, but no destruction spell she could cast was working against his ward.

Meesei bolted around Do’rhajul, trying everything she could think of. She tried casting at his feet, but he was quick with his shield. She froze parts of the floor in an attempt to throw him off balance, but he was good at avoiding the ice, and she could not freeze the entire chamber. Even when he was forced onto the ice, he simply moved slowly and kept his shield up to defend until he could move once more. Meesei simply did not know how to fight against an unbreakable ward.

Charging a lightning spell in one hand, Meesei tried to bolt behind Do’rhajul, then cast her spell behind her in the hopes of hitting him before he could react. She would not have time to aim as she had been, so she had to bolt closer to give her spell a better chance of hitting. While the spell did indeed hit him, it came at a heavy price. Even as the lightning was jolting through his body, he spun around and smashed Meesei directly with his shield. It threw her back onto a table pushed up against a wall behind her, and his blade was not far behind. Her lightning bolt had disrupted him enough that his aim was not perfect, but he still managed to thrust his sword straight through her left forearm. It cut through her muscles, shattered the bone, and left her arm pinned to the table underneath. She could not stop herself from letting out a scream of pain, though it was interrupted when he smashed his shield into her body hard enough to break the table in half underneath her, as well as cracking several of her ribs.

Do’rhajul had lost his grip on his sword when he forced Meesei through the table, so she tried to reach over to pull the silver blade out of her arm. However, she was stopped by another surge of pain when the General stomped with all of his might onto her right leg, snapping her femur in two. He grabbed his sword and pulled it slowly out of her arm, exacerbating all of the pain she was already feeling. Her body was broken beyond any reasonable hope of physical resistance, and Do’rhajul was poised to execute her right there, but Meesei was not yet dead, so she was not going to stop fighting to survive.

Letting loose a sudden burst of energy, Meesei telekinetically grabbed one of the halves of the table beside her and sent it flying with impressive force straight at the General’s head. Even he was not prepared for Meesei’s continued resistance, and this time, he was hit straight off of his feet. If she were in any condition whatsoever to continue the fight, she might have been able to take advantage of it, but her only option now was to escape. Taking the precious few seconds she had, Meesei scanned around the room until she spotted the door from which she had entered. Gritting her teeth in pain, she bolted halfway across the chamber, and ended up rolling upon landing to further stress her already-broken bones. She cried out again, her body feeling like it was burning from head to toe. Most of her wounds were silver, and even those that were not involved shattered bones stabbing into her flesh. Nevertheless, she lifted up her eyes to the door and bolted again, this time ending up in the hallway beyond.

Meesei had made it out of the chamber, but that would not stop Do’rhajul from simply following her as soon as she could stand. She had to block the way behind her. Rolling onto her back, she used her uninjured hand to charge a frost storm spell, which she cast upon the ceiling just above the door. It coated the ceiling in ice as the cold seeped into the stone. It caused the stone to become more brittle, so when she followed through with a quite forceful explosive fireball, it rapidly heated and weakened the stones enough that they came crashing down below and sealed off the doorway. Do’rhajul still might have been able to follow, but it would give her time. Though, Meesei was not certain of how much time she even had left. She basked her body in a wave of her own healing magic, but even she could not repair her crippled body. So many of her wounds were silver, and she had already lost so much blood already. The best she could do was to halfway numb her excruciating pain, and to slow her continuing rate of blood loss. With her uninjured arm, she managed to bring herself up to a sitting position, then conjured a bound spear that she used for support to help her drag herself slowly up to her feet. As long as she remained conscious, she could use it as a staff to help her trudge on forward in the hopes of somehow escaping, or at least finding one of her allies. Even with the attention of healers, however, she knew there was a possibility she would not survive this.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think my next post might be a big text wall on Meesei's side.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak paused only briefly to let out a quick breath of air at Meirin's playful hit before he chuckled and placed his hand on her shoulder, shaking it gently. "Now, you know I am not going to reach into your mind without permission. If you wish to give me a hint on something, you will have to do so in the traditional way. Just...keep in mind that your traditions are as familiar to me as color is to the blind." He commented. It was an obvious exaggeration, given how much he had learned of Humans over the past few years, but the point still stood.

As the pair continued along through the building, Ssarak found Meirin's perspective to be surprisingly insightful. He would not have thought that a simple garment, even one as intricate as hers, could carry with it any real meaning. Coming from a society that valued practicality over all else in terms of useful resources, the idea never would have occurred to him to even attempt to apply deep thoughts to such an item. Even so, there were some common threads between his upbringing and Meirin's. They both appreciated art, just in different forms. Meirin's monastery found beauty in the movements of their martial arts, while his own village created dances in the skies with finely choreographed flights. Neither his village, nor the monastery found their beauty in clothing, but Ssarak was starting to see how Meirin could appreciate it in the same way. Certainly, he could easily see that it made her look quite elegant.

Once they made it outside, Ssarak stopped and looked up at the morning sky, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air. Meirin's thoughts so far had inspired some of his own. He smiled, though he kept his gaze focused up at the clouds. "You would know your teachers better than I, of course, but I would think you are right based on what you have told me of them." He answered. "Though, you have inspired me to think. I must admit, I have never looked at something as simple as clothing with such depth. There are many parts of human society which never would have come close to occurring to me before. My parents, my village, they raised me to see the world in a certain way. They taught me the skills I have, but also the opinions I grew up with. They...proved to me how strong our lives made us. We were the masters of the volcanic badlands of our home. It is a place that calls many ferocious and threatening creatures home, but the Esyire were the ones that mastered it. Our ingenuity, our unity, our strength. I was taught that the land forced us to be strong by necessity, that it built the character of our people into something of which to be proud. I was taught that we benefit from the struggles that other races do not have to face. After living away from my homeland these past few years...I do have to agree that the Scorched Lands make us stronger. It trains us, physically and mentally, to become stronger than we would be otherwise. Hardier. But, after being away so long...I cannot really say that it is definitively better."

Ssarak turned his head back to Meirin. "Life out here may not be as difficult, and as such, not require as much...durability. But, I have already witnessed the ways in which Humans' lives improve their people. They do not focus their lives solely on survival, so they are free to tackle other pursuits. I have seen how people here can create in ways of which I never could have dreamed. Impressive structures, magnificent works of art, and even creative forms of leisure. It is easier, and some people may see that as inferior, but I am starting to see it as simply different. I believe that those in my village have saw the world from only one perspective for so long, that they have a hard time seeing the perspectives of others. The same may be true of your monastery. The monks have found their way to live their lives, but it is the only lives they now know. They cannot see the lives of those elsewhere in Tien. They do not have the experiences of the people elsewhere in the world. Would it really be fair of them to diminish the value of your dress without knowing the time and passion that went into its creation? Or experiencing the beauty you find within its form? I do not truly believe they can be blamed, your people or mine. I think it is in the nature of any person to see the world through the lens of their own experiences. After all, it would be quite difficult, if not impossible, to have a true understanding of every perspective in the world. I believe my clan leaders were wise and well-meaning people, just as is likely true of the monks who raised you. But, I am beginning to feel that the only way to truly understand the world, the way it is and how it should be, is to experience every facet of it that you are able."

Closing his eyes, Ssarak smiled once more, then took in a deep, satisfied breath. Glancing up to the sky briefly, he held his arms out wide in front of Meirin. "Well, shall I carry you to the edge of the sky?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With the number of people in the room, scouring it for what the enemy had been defending did not take nearly as long as it could have. For those examining the notes around the potion bottles, they were not as comprehensive as would have been preferred. The most recent notes made no mention of the purpose of the concoction. Instead, it seemed as if the their formula was already working as intended. The alchemists in this lab had merely been working on reducing the "effective dosage" of the concoction. What Sabine would be able to determine was that whatever was in the bottles was not the suppression gas.

Over near the cages, Lorag was looking over the prisoners curiously. "Hmm, this is new. Captives? I thought Vile's people always just soul trapped the lycans they captured."

Kaleeth walked up to the door of one of the cages and looked over the Khajiit woman laying on the floor inside. "Well...Janius could be right. This looks like a place where they could test things on them, but...they do all look fine. I don't see any blood or anything like that on them. It's just, none of them are waking up, even with all this noise." She observed. Focusing on the door of the cage itself, she noticed that the cage was not nearly as reinforced as she would expect from a lycan's cage. Cautiously, she grabbed the door and started to pull with as much strength as she could muster until she actually broke the lock. "These cages aren't too tough, actually. We can get them open."

At one of the nearby tables, Ahnasha had been looking through some of the documents relating to the prisoners, and it did not take long for her to show her surprise at what she was reading. "This says that these captives were allotted to the alchemists for 'research purposes,' so Janius is definitely right. But...it looks like there are dozens more of them in the dungeon below the keep. They...hold on." Ahnasha began, pausing as she read through part of the notes again to make sure she was understanding them correctly. "This is...I don't understand. It says that: 'if the subjects survive, they are to be transferred to Captain S'hadra for transportation and release'. It warns the alchemists to keep track of their paperwork so that they can be released in the vicinity of where they were found."

Ahnasha searched around the table until she found the papers of one of the prisoners. As she suspected, it listed from where the prisoner had been found, which corresponded with a marking on a nearby map. Finding more of the papers yielded the same results for the other prisoners. "This doesn't make any sense. The places these prisoners were taken from: roads, caravans, farms, villages; they aren't prisoners from our war. It...it says here that the enemy took them and turned them into lycans. But they're just going to release them? Why would Vile's followers be taking people, turning them into lycans, and just releasing them?"

---

Without hesitation, Do’rhajul grabbed a potion from his belt and quickly downed it, then took the barrel, set it onto its side, and stabbed his sword into it. As he pulled the blade out, he kicked it away, straight towards Meesei. The moment he kicked it, the barrel started to spray out a dark violet gas from the hole, as well as other cracks in the wood, and spread quickly in all directions. Ra’jorr’s men had already cut down three of the four remaining defenders, but the moment the gas reached them, it stopped them in their tracks. This was not the suppression gas.

Meesei collapsed to her knees as soon as she took in a breath of the gas, along with every lycan around her apart from Do’rhajul. The effects of the gas were immediate, and unquestionably deadly. Across the room, lycans screamed out in agony as their skin started to take on a violet glow. Then, after a few seconds, their souls and their beast spirits were ripped apart from one another, then torn from their bodies, leaving behind but lifeless husks. All, except for Meesei. She inhaled the gas just as they did, and while her lungs felt like they were burning, her soul, and that of her beast spirit, were still perfectly contained within her body. Her hand felt like it was on fire, and when she looked upon it, she saw the Ring of Hircine on her finger, glowing white as if it had been thrown into a forge. The poison, whatever it was, had torn the other lycans’ souls from their bodies, but the power that the Ring of Hircine gave her was complete control over her beast spirit, with which her soul was bound. Since the Ring gave her command of her soul, it must have protected her from the poison’s effects.

Despite the pain in her chest, Meesei stood to her feet. Do’rhajul’s expression had previously been relieved and triumphant, but upon witnessing her survival, it once again became stiff. “Of course, it would not be so easy.” He stated. “My alchemists and mages would want to study how you have survived, but I am not so foolish as to allow one as dangerous as yourself to live. You have shown yourself to be dangerous, unpredictable. I underestimated you; made mistakes in my defense. Had our plans not reached their final phase, you may have killed me here. In many ways, I respect you, and for that reason, this fight will be to the death.”

Meesei clenched her fists and barred her teeth in a rare visible show of anger. “You have done unspeakable things to my people, Do’rhajul.” She said, her body erupting with a spell of lightning form, making herself appear as a being of raw magical energy. “I would have this end no other way.”

Do’rhajul raised his shield, and brought his sword to the ready as he gave a glace to his men. “I will not force you to fight her. She can and will outmatch you all. You may join the defense.”

Though they hesitated at first, all three of Do’rhajul’s remaining soldiers followed his suggestion and left through the door behind them. Meesei waited until they were gone, so as not to temp them to come back and help, then conjured a bound axe in her hand, since he was armored. As well, she was sure to cast a shield spell on herself before he could attack.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus' shouting brought Peiter back into the moment, though there was not much he was able to do before the fight was over. The sudden, coordinated push which Lorag initiated accelerated the fight to its end. It came at the cost of four more lycan lives, but all ten of the enemy were killed in the center of the room. There were still a few of Vile's soldiers still scattered around on the floor wounded, but all of them were essentially incapacitated. The entire keep was still filled with soldiers, but they now had the time to search the room and figure out what was actually important about it.

One of the most obvious features in the room were the four cages to the far left, each containing one unconscious Khajiit. For anyone who stepped close, their scent would reveal them as lycans, and while they were all alive and in apparently good health, they showed no signs of waking any time soon. They were all stripped bare like prisoners, and yet showed no visible signs of having been restrained, or physically abused in any way. Across most of the rest of the tables in the room were piles of notes, maps, and other documents. A map on the table near the cages had quite a few markings, while on the other side of the room, there was an alchemy table beside a mountain of notes. There were full crates of ingredients around the room, and three bottles about a fifth of the way filled with a strange violet liquid.

Lorag had not taken much of a chance to look around the room, but even a brief glance showed that there would be quite a lot to sift through. "Alright, everyone pick a table and look over it. Figure out what was so important 'bout this room."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Though they had managed to group together, the fact that the enemy had refused to retreat meant that they were now surrounded. Following Lorag's orders, groups of lycans moved around behind the enemy, while others followed behind Lorag to push them from the front. Ahnasha followed behind Fendros and stopped for only a moment to resurrect the Cathay officer that Gallus had slain, both for the power of the corpse, and the psychological impact on the enemy. Kaleeth, Janius, and Ra'kalesh were close enough that they could follow behind Lorag pretty much immediately.

Peiter would have joined the fight quickly, but he spotted Sabine as he made his way across the room. Though she had been healed, her wounds were still obvious, and it was enough to break him away from the focus he had on his orders. "Are you alright? What happened, are you hurt?" Peiter asked, stopping in front of Sabine.

Regardless of Peiter's participation, the fight for this room was quickly reaching its end. Despite their perseverance, the enemy was too outnumbered, and in too bad of a position to mount an effective defense. They were fighting desperately, but lacked too many of the advantages lycan hunters usually required to kill their prey. Most of them may have had at least one silver weapon, but without numbers, superior positioning, or a cunning strategy, they had no real way to turn the fight to their favor. Lycans, by nature, were physically superior in melee combat, and had just as much training as their enemy. It was an advantage that had shown itself prevalent throughout the attack. Whatever strategies the enemy had prepared to defend their fortress had been bypassed with the infiltration and concealing mist, so the dominating factor in the battle had been simple combat ability. For this particular fight, it meant the room would be clear within minutes.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, she carries a sword and mace now

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius' blade cut deep into the Khajiit's arm, and despite her own pain, Kaleeth was still easily capable of fighting back. While he was occupied by Janius, she gave a thrust from her blade that cleanly cut through all of the layers of cloth protecting his chest, the flesh underneath, and his spine. If he was not immediately dead, he was entirely paralyzed. Meanwhile, Ra'kalesh had taken over with the Redguard and was parrying his strikes with apparent ease.

Despite the overall disorganization of the fighting, Lorag's reinforcements started pushing the fight strongly in their favor. There were a few individuals among the enemy that attempted to make a break for the exit behind them, but the majority of the enemy simply tried to group together for their last stand. Casualties were mounting on both sides, but the enemy was down to only ten healthy combatants, three of which were archers wielding their sidearms.

As Lorag was running to the center of the room, he intended to carry his momentum into the rest of his allies. As hard as the enemy was fighting, Lorag reasoned they could be overwhelmed with an aggressive, coordinated attack to end it quickly. "Come on, with me! One last push to clear these vermin out of this room!" He shouted as he barreled straight into the largest group of the remaining enemy. Lorag actually did take a solid hit to his side from an enemy Imperial's mace that he wasn't able to fully parry, but it did not diminish the energy from his rallying cry. Nor did it temper the raging ferocity with which he fought. Without help, he could be overwhelmed, but he knew his allies would be right behind him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros received an answer quickly to his question, though it was not from Ahnasha. "Just fine." A voice sounded out from the doorway behind them. For anyone looking back, they could easily see Lorag standing at the door, his armor covered in blood. Though, from the way he was standing, very little of it appeared to be his own. He marched into the room, bringing in his reinforcements behind him.

Lorag was, of course, heading straight up the center of the room into the thickest of the fighting. The disorganized skirmishing that the fighting had broken into across the room made it even easier for him to be effective, though it also made it more difficult to prevent allied losses. The enemy were surprisingly fierce, and while they were hopelessly outnumbered, they were still focused on defending the room. It was possible that they were delaying, or that there was something in the room worth dying for.

Peiter was among the reinforcements moving in behind Lorag, and was far less bloody overall. It looked like he had received a hit to the head from the bruising on his face, but he was obviously still in good enough condition to fight. There was no organized formation he could fall into, so he looked around for Sabine as he advanced forward, wanting to know if she was still safe.

For Ra'kalesh, the outcome of his fight was decided as soon as he got his hands on the Bosmer. He knew exactly how to twist her arm, and where to strike in order to break the arm beyond use. From there, he kicked her down to her knees and got his hands around her head to snap her neck. Kaleeth, meanwhile, found the opportunity to quickly slice her blade across the thigh of Janius' Redguard opponent after he narrowly evaded one of Janius' attacks. Unfortunately, Kaleeth underestimated how quickly her own opponent would be able to take advantage of the opportunity. The Suthay-raht had been watching Kaleeth fight, so he had started to pick up on her form. She had slightly overcommitted to her swing on the Redguard, so she was not able to parry the Khajiit's blade in time. His blade came straight for her head, and while she did save herself by ducking, his sword came far closer to killing her than she ever would have been comfortable with. It sliced straight through the membrane of the fin on the right side of her head, and cut a thin gash across the top of her head.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth stayed close to Janius to fight them off by his side. With how often they trained together, she knew quite well the majority of his fighting style, as he did for her. She could guess how he would respond when the enemy approached, so she tried to do what she could to support him. Given that he had more experience, she felt it would be best for him to take the lead in the fight.

Both Janius and Kaleeth had one of their opponents attempt to hold their attention from the front, while another moved around to flank Janius. But, before they could do any damage, Janius’ call for help was answered in the form of Ra’kalesh moving up to Janius’ left flank. He deftly parried the Bosmer woman’s silver sword with one of his vambraces, then grabbed a hold of her wrist and started to twist it back. Janius could use the opening to land a killing blow, but with Ra’kalesh’s martial arts experience, it would not likely be necessary in a grapple.

For the mage, there was little else he could do in time to save himself from Fendros. He could not resist Sabine’s strength, and with her hands grasping his arms, he could not even run. The cold from her spell merely added to his pain and sense of desperation. He managed to angle down the dagger to cut Sabine’s arm slightly, and he was able to use his knee to strike at her stomach and groin, but in the seconds he had to react, he did little of consequence to stop Fendros.

As Gallus expected, the officer could not react in time to save his own life. Unfortunately, his death did not cause near as much disarray in the ranks as he might have hoped. Another of the enemy was already giving orders, and they were overall not backing down. The enemy had already lost a little less than half of their soldiers holding the room, but so too had some of Gallus’ warriors fallen. Apart from the ambush from the elite soldiers in the courtyard, this was the most intense fighting they had encountered yet. The enemy wanted to hold this room, and it would be a fight to clear them from it.