EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth's drift into consciousness was slow, but steady. She blinked a few times, not responding to either Julan or Janius. However, once her mind was once again awake, she immediately drew up her hands to her head and groaned. "Ah, my head, it...hurts. Where am I? Where are...we?" She stammered, still momentarily confused.

Although Kaleeth did need to rest, her confusion and panic caused her to sit up quickly. "I remember...the fight. We won? Is everyone okay?" She said once she recognized that she was surrounded by her pack.

"Yes, we are all alive and well." Meesei said softly. "You may be calm. Though, I cannot say we won the fight. Do'rhajul's team escaped. Or, we escaped. It may be true to say that we all escaped. The fight was...worryingly close."

Kaleeth lowered her head and pressed her fingers against her temple. "I'm remembering more parts, I think. I...got frozen?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Agreed." Meesei responded to Fendros. She still had her eyes closed as she sat on her bed, as if meditating while mending her own wounds. Her expression did little to reveal how much pain she may or may not have been in at the moment. Kaleeth was more seriously hurt, but Meesei had still received enough burns to seriously threaten someone without lycan regeneration: the kind of burns that could make the air itself painful. "There is no way we can continue our mission without dealing with them. They know we are going to be traveling in that area. Even if they have not yet determined why we are there, they know we will be returning. I am not going to take the risk of trying to avoid them again. Unless a miracle occurs and Cyrus kills that dragon, that axe will be staying on that island for quite a while. Right now, our primary goal is to deal with Do'rhajul's team. We just need to decide how."

Kaleeth did not remain unconscious for too long, particularly with Marcaille and Sabine's treatment working through her body. Her breathing became steadier, and after another minute, her eyes slowly opened. Julan had been sitting nearby, right next to his mother. He had stopped crying, but his face still made it obvious that he had been. However, once he started noticing some movement from Kaleeth, he was immediately overtaken by a combination of fear and excitement. He was certainly glad that she was awake, but he still had the worry in his mind that she might still be hurt somehow.

"Mother!" Julan shouted, wrapping his arms tightly around her in a hug before she even had a chance to speak, or react at all to the world around her.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Good, good. You can tell me all about it later." Marcaille responded to Sabine. "Maybe you can apply one of my other recipes here too. When we get to the infirmary, I want you to take one of the stronger healing potions and mix in some finely-ground canis root and imp stool. One-eighth portions of both. The mild paralysis should calm her body and slow her blood flow by a bit. Make it easier to treat, and keep anything from getting worse. Hopefully, it'll be weak enough won't trigger her body's poison responses."

Julan was still in tears, which he quickly wiped away from his eyes. "Okay...I'll, uh, run ahead." He said, though he was distraught enough that he lacked the coordination to turn around without tripping and falling over his own feet. Regardless, focusing on the task he had been given, and nothing else, allowed him to scramble back to his feet to follow Janius' command.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. I've been through worse before." Ahnasha answered to Rhazii. Although, if she was being honest with herself, she was starting to feel feint from the blood she had lost. It had not been the largest of wounds, but it had gone untreated for a while now. The potion she had taken was helping, but she was looking forward to the attention of a healer. Fortunately, the Silent City had plenty of healers, and most of them would be available at the moment.

---

The pack, naturally, received priority treatment from quite a few healers as soon as they made it to the infirmary. Even if they had not been the Champion and her pack, there was no one else in the city that required such immediate attention. Marcaille and Sabine focused on helping Kaleeth, while the others were tended to by other healers. The wounds that Ahnasha, Lorag, and Janius had sustained were nothing unusual for healers who were used to treating warriors, so there was nothing wrong with them that was beyond the abilities of any of those helping them. That was not to say that their injuries were minor, and they would need time to recover fully, but that recovery was essentially certain. Since there were plenty of healers available, even Lorag ended up accepting treatment without argument. Meesei was the only one to refuse magical aid, but that was only on the basis that she could heal herself more easily without interference from others. As badly as Arinette's spells had scarred her, none of them carried with them the debilitating effects of silver. As such, her spells were causing the burns across her body to recede at an easily visible rate. Kaleeth, meanwhile, had fallen unconscious during her treatment, but Marcaille insisted that it was nothing to worry about, and that she would benefit from the rest.

The infirmary consisted of a large room with many beds, as well as chairs for those visiting the wounded. The whole pack remained in the room, and were mostly silent for a while. Meesei was sitting cross-legged on a bed with a constant glow around her. Lorag was examining his armor, which he had removed after arrival, for dents and other damage that he would need to repair. Ahnasha had got out of her now-bloody clothes, and was currently sitting still while an Imperial healer was wrapping her torso tightly in bandages.

"So...when are we gonna talk about any of this? There's no way we can let them get away with this." Lorag finally spoke up.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While not always the most outwardly kind of individuals, Marcaille saw the fear in Sabine. "Don't worry, we'll get this all sorted. I had some of the others start preparing as soon as Rhazii warned me. They should be ready for you." Although, she did have to gently push Sabine off of herself so she could get to Kaleeth more quickly. She gathered from Fendros' words the nature of her injury, so while Rhazii was moving to help carry her, Marcaille walked up alongside to very gently place her hand on Kaleeth's forehead, which soon started to glow. "This isn't anything to worry about. Just need to be careful, that's all." Marcaille stated. She had not actually had time to do any sort of examination; she merely needed to keep the child from panicking and potentially dropping her."

Ahnasha crossed both of her arms over her chest to attempt to hide her injury from Rhazii. The last thing she wanted was for him to be afraid for her. Meanwhile, Julan was even more distraught than Rhazii due to his age, and the fact that it was his own mother who was most obviously hurt. He was in tears as he ran up to Janius and Kaleeth. "M-mother? What's wrong, is she...you said she's going to be alright. She is going to be okay, right father?" He stammered. Julan was obviously terrified, but in his panic, he was somewhat getting in the way.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei transformed back while the others were getting her a potion, then started to make another portal as soon as she had downed it.

"Annoying lizard kept dashing around me, shocking me and tryin' to get a knife through my armor with that spell Alpha likes to use. Couldn't get a hit on him." Lorag huffed nearby as he was gathering up whatever they had dropped on the ground. Like Janius, he was moving with a limp, and he was already starting to grit his teeth from the pain of his untreated injuries.

Ahnasha was looking out into the wilderness, alert as if they were still going to be attacked at any moment, despite how unlikely that would be at the moment. "That was definitely exactly what they planned. They separated us, had someone ready to deal with each and every one of us. They planned perfectly to attack us, divide us, and hit us at all of our weaknesses. At least perfectly for what they knew. Some of us have grown in terms of skills compared to their last reports on us, I guess. Still, they easily could have killed us. I mean...just look at us. At this mess."

"Yeah, but we gave as good as we got. Some of us did, at least. I saw some of 'em when they were running away. They were afraid." Lorag responded.

"That just means it could have gone either way." Ahnasha remarked.

After about a minute, Meesei completed her portal back to Blackreach and concentrated on keeping it open. The others would be slower getting through this time. Depending on how they reacted, it was possible the children were still waiting for them on the other side, along with anyone else they might have told.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Having placed the crates at his back, Ssarak could focus on his front and sides. He had knowingly placed himself in the middle of the enemy, so he knew he would have to place his focus solely on defense for the time being. For the entire time he was landing, he had been identifying every individual he could. Once his allies were in the fray, he would be free to join them in a counterattack.

It was plain to see those in front of him. He could see where they were, and could estimate how long it would take for them to sprint at him, if they were so inclined. As such, he knew he could take a quick glance around at any other threats. The room was dark, but just for a moment, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and being a soldier, Ssarak reacted. He rotated around his shield to try and deflect or absorb any incoming threat, and faced himself such that he put his armor to its best use.

Ssarak had made himself appear white-scaled, like an Esyire of Lux mageblood. Pushing his hand forward, Ssarak unleashed a wave of illusory flames all around him. The “attack” was short-ranged, and intended to deter too many of his opponents from approaching him at once. Not to mention, it would obscure the vision of any ranged threats.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine would find that there was some internal bleeding within Kaleeth's head, as it was the cause of her concussion. While certainly not encouraging, it was not likely the worst case she had seen. She could be treated, but she would definitely need time to recover. Perhaps even a few days or a week, and in that time, doing anything that might lead to another head injury was out of the question. Regardless of what the rest of them did, she had to be returned to safety.

Meesei had found a tree to lean against as she concentrated on tending to some of her more serious wounds. None of them were caused by silver, but that did not mean she was not still weakened by them. She would just be able to recover more quickly than some of the others in her pack. "I...no, we cannot stay here. We will not be able to make it to Cyrus in time; we will just have to try to find him on the island. That is a problem for later, though. We need to get back home." She responded, in complete agreement with Fendros.

Holding out her large paws, Meesei started to charge magicka through them, but then let out a long breath as she clenched them into fists. "I cannot open a portal right now. I do not have the magicka. I need help, or a potion."

For those who had been harmed, the adrenaline of the fight was steadily wearing off, so the pain of their injuries would be hitting them soon.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Though still breathing, Kaleeth was not terribly responsive to Janius. She did not resist his attempt to give her a potion, but she did not actively accept it either. She looked around slowly, and with confusion in her eyes. She seemed to have a hard time concentrating, and when she tried to speak, her words came out as slurred and nonsensical. Even without any extensive restoration training, it would be easy to recognize that she had a concussion, and one serious enough to require quick attention.

Although he was able to walk around without trouble, the blood on Lorag's armor betrayed his injuries. It poured down his arm, and at another place on his side, out of the small gaps in his armor. The plating protected most of the vital areas of his body, but that did not mean his wounds could not be serious. The silver wounds would not stop bleeding as quickly, and Lorag's body could not recover as quickly as it once had. Regardless, the pack knew him well enough to know that he was not going to let on to how badly he may or may not have been injured, especially with other members of the pack being hurt. "Kaleeth...needs help first." Lorag announced to Sabine. "I'll...get our things together, as quick as I can. We've got to move soon."

After the danger had finally passed, Meesei essentially collapsed. It had been all she could do to hold herself together and stand against Arinette. There were patches of fur missing from the burns she had retained from her Argonian form, as well as frostbite and distinct lightning scars across different parts of her body. She looked as if someone had tried to take her apart with magic. Fortunately, none of her wounds were made from silver, so her magic and natural regeneration both could actually start mending her body.

Underneath her fur, Ahnasha's back was frostbitten, and her arrow wound was still bleeding. She had lost a fair amount of blood by this point, but she could see that some of the others had it worse. Or at least, they had more immediate concerns. She kept her hand pressed over her wound to try and staunch the bleeding. A healing potion would have to do for her for now. Meanwhile, aside from Kaleeth, it was actually Leaps whose condition may have been the most dire. With his size, the crossbow bolts had not done too much damage, but he had been surrounded by several of the wisps. They could not survive his attacks, but they had caused plenty of damage in the time they had. Traces of their frost magic was all over his sides, back, and legs. The signs of frostbite were not as obvious on him, but its effects were even more damaging. His body was not equipped for the cold, and his overall body temperature was dropping dangerously low. With a low whine, he instinctively walked over towards Janius and Kaleeth for comfort.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

“It is the Staff of Magnus, and I…do not know.” Meesei answered in her deeper, gravelly voice. It was possible she could teleport inside the barrier, though she had no idea what the energy inside would do to her. It was true that the Breton mage was standing near her, and seemed to be unharmed, but that might only be because she had not directed the magic against him.

Do’rhajul marched up to the edge of the magic barrier. “If you’re going to use it, then use it to get us out of here instead. I know you can do that. That staff could tear all of our souls into another plane for all we know. How would your master reward you then?”

Arinette remained glaring at Meesei for a few, long moments before looking away and letting out a frustrated yell. “Fine! Everyone, to me!”

Just then, the barrier that Do’rhajul was pressing against allowed him to walk through unharmed. The Argonian fighting Lorag had the easiest time escaping, as he merely needed to bolt through the barrier and to safety. The two Orcs had been disrupted just as much by the wisps as Janius, as the Orc with the warhammer was having to stay at his twin’s back, swinging at any of the magic anomalies that came too close. The other was going to try to get a swing on Janius while he was distracted by a wisp, but the order from Arinette was something they immediately had to follow. Both of the twins made a run for the barrier, and unfortunately, the pressure from the wisps would make it difficult for Janius to follow, particularly since leaving Kaleeth’s side would leave her entirely undefended against them.

Meanwhile, the Redguard on the other side of the battlefield had conjured a daedroth to attempt to deal with Leaps. However, since most Daedra were inherently weak to shock magic, that in itself was a one-sided battle. The wamasu had, as he often did, opened up with his lightning breath before pouncing on the daedroth. Since the magic was particularly effective, it stunned the daedroth enough to give Leaps the upper hand. The two creatures were of roughly equal physical capabilities, but Leaps had leverage and was able to bite down on its neck. Though, in that time, the Nord fired another two crossbow bolts. Neither quite hit the wamasu’s throat, but they both embedded themselves into his flesh. Ahnasha was able to land an arrow on the Nord, but unfortunately, it had not quite hit a weak point in the armor and would leave nothing more than a bruise. Regardless, Ahnasha had been able to force her opponents into cover enough to protect Leaps.

Unfortunately, one of the magic anomalies came into existence just behind Ahnasha, and she did not react quickly enough to prevent its frost magic from striking her square in the back. She let out a scream and spun around, swinging her bow at the air. At the same time, the Nord and Redguard made a run for the barrier, leaving the tower shield behind, dug into the dirt.

Meesei wanted to try to bring down the barrier, as it might respond the same way to magic as a ward, but the magic anomalies made it impossible to focus their efforts on breaking through, as the pack had to defend themselves from the wisps. Once all of Do’rhajul’s team was inside the barrier, Arinette let out a slow breath, then slammed the end of her staff into the ground. There was a sudden flash of light and a strange sound, and after it cleared, everyone inside the barrier had seemingly disappeared. The portals which had created the wisps had also disappeared, though the wisps themselves remained.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As experienced as Yerig was, his aging body was not perfectly capable. By turning his attention away from Janius for a moment, he gave him an opportunity to strike that Yerig was simply not quick enough to respond to effectively. Finally, Janius was able to land a solid blow that nearly knocked the old Nord off of his feet. Were Janius not focused on saving Kaleeth, it might have been an opportunity to finish him.

Though alive, Kaleeth had still been dazed by the blow, and was not seemingly making an effort to stand even after the ice dissipated. She was quite vulnerable, though Janius soon forced the two Orcs’ attention onto himself. Like with Kaleeth, one of them approached Janius from the front, while the one with the hammer moved to flank. However, this time, they were weakened from their fight with Kaleeth. Namely, one of the Orcs could not even raise his broken shield arm.

By the time the Breton mage reached Arinette, he was drained of magicka, but even if he had not been, Arinette was certainly a more major threat. The fireballs she slammed into Sabine’s ward were intensely hot and carried with them a great deal of explosive force. The first would stress the ward, and the second brought it within a hair’s breadth of shattering. The only reason she did not fire a third was because Fendros’ arrows forced her to put up a defense. Using power from the staff, she put up a barrier that seemed similar to a ward, but was definitely visually distinct. Unlike a normal ward, which would provide some resistance to physical damage as well as magical, this barrier blocked all of his arrows entirely. However, Sabine’s defense and Fendros’ attack together had given Meesei enough time to complete her transformation.

Meesei stepped forward in front of Sabine in her large, imposing werewolf form, though it only produced a somewhat surprised chuckle from Arinette. “Is this your solution to your impending death, Champion? Do you think I cannot handle a beast? I would think you would know you are even weaker to me in that form.”

Meesei spoke with another, low growl. “Is that so?” She said as her claws erupted in a storm of lightning.

For a brief moment, Arinette’s eyes widened. “What in Oblivion-“

Without delay, Meesei made use of another of the esoteric schools of magic she had studied in Apocrypha: shadow magic. Disappearing into a black cloud, she teleported and reappeared behind Arinette, already mid-swing. She successfully raked her long, sharp claws all the way across the Breton’s back, sending a spray of blood onto a nearby tree and leaving behind four deep gashes under her shredded clothes. At the same time, the lightning she charged through Arinette caused her body to convulse and drop down to her knees. On reaction, Arinette attempted another powerful telekinetic blast to force her attacker away as she turned to face her. However, Meesei had been learning through their fight, and was ready to adapt quickly. As Arinette was making the motion, Meesei teleported again, this time just a foot or two in front of her to place herself directly in front of the Breton. In doing so, she timed her spell perfectly so that she would teleport across the telekinetic wave, and therefore be unaffected by it.

An instant after she reappeared, Meesei essentially impaled Arinette through the stomach with her claws, lifting her fully off of the ground with one hand. While blood was pouring from the wounds, she again sent a sustained charge of lightning through her. Although, it lasted only a second before Arinette was able to manage releasing the magicka that the staff was absorbing into a lightning-infused wave of force that finally pushed Meesei back away from her, and causing a few more lightning burns in the process.

Unfortunately for Arinette, the act of blasting Meesei away from her caused Meesei’s claws to essentially rip open her abdomen. She fell to the ground in a rather gruesome puddle of blood, with her organs visibly spilling out of her. It was the kind of injury that would leave one with only a few moments of life before finally bleeding to death. However, in those few, long seconds,
Arinette was able to weakly grip the staff and use it for one last, desperate spell. As opposed to the offensive magic she had been using, she soon demonstrated that the power contained in the staff could be used for seemingly any form of magic. In this case, her body started to glow like the sun as she was enveloped in the single most powerful healing spell that Meesei had ever witnessed. It was hard to see through the intensity of the light, but her body started to quickly put itself back together before their very eyes. There was no technique to the healing, just the raw, overwhelming power of enough restoration energy to heal a battalion of soldiers. It was perhaps even more energy than would be necessary to keep her alive. Regardless, even with completely limitless magicka, there were inherent limitations to healing spells overall, so even she could not force her body to recover completely. Weakly, and using the staff for support, she struggled to stand herself back to her feet.

“No…not…will not fail.” Arinette stammered. The orb on her staff glowed more brightly, and a full, circular barrier similar to the one she had used to block Fedndros’ arrows surrounded her. The inside of the barrier was filled with a strange, blue glow, which made Meesei hesitant to teleport inside. Anyone that was at all attuned to magicka would be able to feel an immense magical charge in the air shortly before strange portals started to open all around them, from which odd, glowing, wisp-like magical anomalies started to emerge. The creatures, if they could be called such, immediately showed themselves dangerous as they began to attack anyone and everyone, Arinette’s allies included, with frost-based magical attacks merely by touching them.

Do’rhajul, after being left by Sabine, was struggling just to remain standing. His legs, particularly his joints, were in immense pain from the ice shards. He had tried to chase after Sabine, but only ended up falling down twice in the pursuit. But, at this point, he was back on his feet and stumbling in Arinette’s direction. “What are you…what are you doing Arinette? You can’t use the staff like that, we agreed! Using that much power…we don’t know what it will do!”

“It will kill her!” The Breton woman shouted, glaring at Meesei.

“And us along with her!” Do’rhajul growled back.