EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmph, your 'mother.' That, uh...lizard is your 'mother.'" Arinette scoffed, her eyes briefly glancing around the camp. She had her own Argonian team member, so she most likely had intended to be even more insulting than she was. "Well, regardless, I suppose I have my answer. It would be easy enough to kill you now, but I think I can make you come around to my line of thinking. The Champion's death really is the best outcome of all this. Remove the chains, then stand her up." She ordered to one of the Orcs.

As instructed, the Orc removed the chains keeping her bound to the tree, though the enchanted manacles were still locked firmly around her wrists. He then grabbed a hold of her and forced her to stand to her feet, all while Arinette was rifling through her large leather bag. The Orc lifted both of her arms up above her head and held her hands together so that one was on top of the other. Arinette almost seemed to be taking her time in order to build up the dread that Sabine was no doubt feeling about what was to come. Dread that she, unfortunately, intended to deliver upon.

The objects that Arinette retrieved from the bag were a simple wooden stake and a hammer, and she allowed Sabine plenty of time to consider her intentions as she raised the end of the stake up and pressed it against Sabine's palm. Around her, the Orcs appeared apathetic, and Do'rhajul even looked to be uncomfortable about it, but the look in Arinette's eyes revealed the true kind of person she was. She was beyond just being heartless, since she actually smiled as she started to hammer the stake through Sabine's palms in order to pin her to the tree.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"That is not an answer!" Arinette said just before kicking Sabine in the side. "And I should think it obvious. The death of your leader is more impactful than the death of an underling. Your plans to spread your curse in Tamriel will fail regardless, of course, but we intend to make that happen as painlessly as possible. Really, the death of your Champion would be a mercy to all of your...friends. The sooner your cause falls apart, the fewer of them we have to kill. Accept my offer and you not only get to live, but you get to save some of your friends. Now, answer me, or I shall assume that I am going to need to force you to answer."

Arinette dropped a large leather bag at her side. "And I do have all of the tools to make that happen."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry for the delay. I think that is a good place to leave with Meesei and the others, so we can focus on Sabine.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"That could work. We might also try asking Marcaille." Ahnasha suggested. "She mentioned rituals that can track people. Using that shield we recovered or, well, anything in this camp. I'm sure there's a lot here that belonged to them."

Meesei took another long breath in and out, clutching the ring tightly in both hands. "We are going to do exactly that. We are going to do both. We are going to do everything, and I mean everything to find her. I don't care if I have to mobilize every single warrior, scout, and spy we have in High Rock. All of Tamriel even. We are going to find Sabine, and we are going to make them regret every single cut and bruise she has a hundredfold."

Meesei spoke with a fiery, unbreakable determination. To her pack, it would not be a surprise the lengths she would go to in order to help Sabine. Although, her dedication could potentially be harmful. She was going to order every person and resource she could get her hands on to help in the search, and anyone who might protest her orders would be met with the unchained wrath of a desperate mother. For the moment, she started to create a portal back to Blackreach. She had orders to give.

---

There were not too many hours left in the night, but whether she slept or not, Sabine would be able to notice something interesting by morning. Her wrist irons had been enchanted to drain her magicka, but she would not feel quite as magically "empty" as she might have expected. The manacles drained her magicka, but not quite fast enough to fully overtake the deep connection that she had to her magical energies. It seemed as if the enchantment was not made strong enough to completely drain a mage of her strength. With the magicka she had, she would be able to manage a single, reasonably powerful spell. However, it would, of course, take quite a while for it to recover. That spell, if she decided to cast it, would have to be made to count.

It was somewhat later in the morning when the camp finally awoke, apart from the Redguard, who had been given the last watch. They all took their time having their breakfast; mostly mutton, by the aromas that reached Sabine's nose. They spoke for a while among themselves, out of earshot of Sabine, until they were finally ready to deal with her. Four of them approached her: Arinette, Do'rhajul, and the two Orcs. All of them were fully armed and equipped this time, likely as a precaution against any surprise attacks.

Arinette was the first to speak. "Did you have a good rest? No, don't bother, I have only one question for you right now. The only one that matters. You have had plenty of time to think, so I am giving you this one chance to answer correctly. My quarry is the Champion of Hircine. In exchange for your life, will you give me all of the information and aid you can to allow me to kill her?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Arinette was not impressed by Sabine's answer, as evidenced by the fact that she struck Sabine again, this time by jamming her knee into Sabine's ribs. "You expect me to believe that, dog? You arrive with Dwemer machines, and enough soldiers to capture a castle, but you did not plan to attack us? Do not lie to me."

In the midst of Arinette's interrogation, if Sabine was able to concentrate on him for a moment, she might notice Yerig looking around uncomfortably, particularly upon the mention of the lycans' intentions. He had his hand over one of the larger pouches on his side. If the book had been planted, and he had noticed it, then he would have at least a solid guess as to their intentions. However, he did not seem to be inclined to bring that information to Arinette's attention.

Arinette looked like she was inclined to continue the beating before Do'rhajul grabbed her arm to stop her. "I appreciate the need to interrogate our prisoner, but we have more pressing matters at the moment. We need to make sure we are secure in this location, and set up our camp once more. We can see what we can extract from her tomorrow."

"Fine." Arinette answered, practically growling in her tone. "Orcs, search her and get her secured. We'll watch her tonight in shifts. If you packed our supplies properly, there should be manacles in that tent."

Sabine was spared an outright beating for the moment, but the Orcs were hardly gentle in searching her. Any slight hint of resistance was rewarded with a fresh bruise. They stripped her down to nothing, then chained her to a large tree within sight of the campfire one of the others set up, but too far to receive any of its warmth. With neither fire nor clothing to keep her warm, the chilly night air would make for an uncomfortable night, before even considering the fact that she was also chained to a tree. The irons around her wrist were enchanted to drain magicka from the wearer, which would make any spellcasting attempts problematic.

After about an hour, the rest of the camp looked like they were ready to get some rest for what was left of the night, but Arinette decided to pay one last visit to Sabine before retiring to her own bedroll. "Before I get some well-deserved sleep, I have a few words of warning for you, Sabine. Our...esteemed guest. You do not know it yet, but you are an incredibly lucky soul. You see, while your head would certainly be a prize, it is nothing compared to your Champion. And because I am an exceedingly merciful individual, I am prepared to let you live if you can ensure I can get the prize I truly want. Of course, if you refuse, then I can also cause you more suffering than most beings will ever experience in a lifetime. Trust me, I am a very creative torturer, especially with this staff's power at my command. I want you to think about that tonight. Think about all of the ways that you can imagine I can hurt you, then realize that there are many more that you cannot even imagine. Think about that, then realize that it can all be avoided if you submit to me. Oh, and if you get it in your head that you might be able to transform and break out of those binds, I want you to also realize something interesting we discovered. That antidote you made for our soul-tearing gas? Well, it does not work on the old suppression gas. All of us here are armed with several bottles of that gas, so your beast form will be about as useless as your magic. Now, get some rest. It shall be a long day tomorrow."

With those sinister words, Arinette walked away, paying no mind to anything Sabine might have said afterwards.

---

Meesei's anger was not directed at Fendros, and for the most part, she was ignoring him until he suddenly stopped her in her tracks with his embrace. Her eyes remained affixed on Ahnasha, but with his compassion, that anger started to soften. The raw magical power pulsing through her body, which even Fendros would have been able to feel, began to die down. Eventually, it was only her pain that overtook her. Her entire weight fell onto Fendros, emotionally and physically, as she descended into tears.

Ahnasha was still in shock, even if she was no longer being directly threatened. She also knew that it made little sense to blame herself for what happened, but Meesei's accusation had caused her to do it all the same. "I...I'm sorry. It just all happened so fast, but...I tried. Sabine gave me the signal to retreat, to run away. I ignored it, tried to find a good angle with my bow, but they were already on top of her. I...didn't know what to do."

Although Fendros would not be able to see it, Meesei's eyes suddenly widened. She practically shoved Fendros aside to get out of his grasp and started to rush at Ahnasha, not because of anger, but because she had been given a shred of hope to which she could attach. "Of course! The ring!" She shouted. Rather forcefully, she grabbed Ahnasha's hand and pulled the ring off of Ahnasha's finger. "It's enchanted like the one I put in Harriet. It's connected to Sabine's. I can...track her down."

Meesei placed all of her effort into concentrating on the ring's enchantment. She stared in silence at the glowing ring, but unfortunately, as the seconds passed into minutes, her expression grew more and more desperate. "I cannot feel it. The range on this one is not limitless; she must be too far away."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Arinette gave Sabine only a few seconds to answer before following with a more forceful demand. Balling her hand into a fist, she gave Sabine two strong punches to the stomach. Arinette was not a terribly strong individual, but that did not mean she could not inflict pain with simple force.

"Answer me, dog! What were you doing at our camp? What was your plan?" Arinette demanded once more, though before Sabine could answer, she grabbed Sabine by the hair and lifted up her head so she could look her in the eye. She held her staff up in front of Sabine and spoke even more threateningly. "Do you see this? With the power in this staff, I can heal almost any wound. I kept myself from being disemboweled by your Champion using this. Do you know what that means? It means I can do almost anything to you without killing you. Now, answer me."

---

Ri'vashi found herself more shocked at Meesei's reaction than anything else, but for now, she followed Janius' lead and ordered a search of the camp. They had forced the enemy to flee quickly, so there was some possibility that they might find something useful.

When Fendros embraced Ahnasha, he would be able to feel her whole body shaking. "I planted the book in his tent, but...I don't know if he saw it, or took it with him. I just...don't know, about any of this. Sabine, she...they took her. I tried to get close enough to help, or get an angle on them, but it was too late. They were already too close to her."

Meesei was the one impacted most strongly by the event, and she lost any semblance of rationality. Instead is was replaced by a mix of pure anger and fear. She finally stood to her feet, her hands clenched tightly into fists. She bared her teeth, even as the tears streamed down her face. Her gaze settled on Ahnasha, the one person who had been close to Sabine during their mission. It did not make any real sense to blame her, but Meesei was far from being reasonable at the moment. "Why didn't you stop them? You were right there, you...you saw it happen. Why didn't you put an arrow in their heads when you had the chance? Why didn't you save her?!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Most of Arinette' team were disoriented at first upon teleporting, but quickly moved to secure the area once they had gained their bearings. They did not remain alert for attackers for too long, so wherever Arinette had taken them was likely quite far from their previous camp, even if it was still in High Rock.

One of the Orcs gripped his weapon tightly as he looked around the area. "Damn, so what'd we lose this time? Most of the camp isn't here."

"Saved the armory, at least." The other Orc twin added, gesturing to the collapsed tent nearby.

The Redguard conjurer spoke up after catching her breath. "What was their plan there? There were so many of them, but they revealed themselves before their main force came in, didn't they?"

"Actually, Do'rhajul sniffed her out. I don't know their plan." Arinette remarked as she positioned herself directly in front of Sabine. "But she does."

Arinette leaned in close to Sabine with a threatening scowl. "What was your plan, dog? Why were you there? Were you scouting us?"

---

Back at the site of the camp, Ahnasha emerged from her hiding place, bound bow in hand, as Fendros called for her. Although, she appeared to be at just as much of a loss as the rest of the pack. Kaleeth, and even Lorag, were dead silent with varying degrees of shock in their expression. Sabine was gone. She had not been killed, at least as far as they could see, but they had absolutely no way of knowing where they had gone. Ahnasha in particular could not help but to think back to the one and only time she had been captured by an enemy and the horrors she had experienced as a result. The idea that Sabine might experience the same was sickening to Ahnasha's core.

For Meesei, those thoughts had already broken her. She had spent her entire time waiting in fear of what might happen, and now those fears had become reality. "No, no no. This cannot...no..." She stammered, collapsing down to her hands and knees as she stared at the spot where Sabine had just been standing. "This cannot be happening..." Meesei broke down into tears as her words became less and less coherent. Her pack had seen her in such emotional distress before, but this was the first time she had allowed herself to fall from her stoic demeanor in front of others.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I managed to get a post before going to bed.

I think, apart from a few reaction posts from the others, we can concentrate on Sabine. It might be interesting to resolve without a rescue party.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once Arinette saw that the automatons were turning away, her staff started to glow even brighter as she charged a spell through it. However, this was not a lethal attack, but rather a spell of magicka absorption, draining the magicka from Sabine and pulling it into the staff. At least in the short term, it would prevent Sabine from casting any spells.

This time, Ahnasha ignored Sabine's warning. In the distance, she could already hear the sounds of their reinforcements charging in from all around them. Ri'vashi had brought an overwhelming force, after all, so their approach was hardly subtle. The rest of the team form within the camp had risen from their bedrolls and had collected together in formation, with Yerig being the last to join them. Do'rhajul picked Sabine up to her feet and held a blade to her throat as they back up closer to their camp, next to one of the larger tents.

By the time their reinforcements were in sight, Ahnasha had found cover behind the nearest tree and conjured up a bow. They approached from three different angles, with warriors, mages, and transformed lycans on all sides. In the front of all of them were Ri'vashi, Meesei, and the rest of the pack. Meesei had cast a lightning form spell upon herself and was fully prepared to be the spearhead for the assault that would finally end this, but what Arinette shouted to them stopped her in her tracks.

"Not another step or we'll slit her throat!" The Breton shouted, gesturing to Sabine beside her, with Do'rhajul's blade firmly to her throat. It took Meesei only a few seconds to recognize the full gravity of the situation.

"Wait! STOP! Meesei commanded to their warriors in as loud of a voice as she could muster. For as much power as Meesei had, there was nothing she could do to stop Do'rhajul from executing Sabine if the word was given. Instead, she could only shout back her own threats. "Release her, now! We have you greatly outnumbered. Just...surrender. Let her go, and we will not hurt you. You have my word."

Arinette's gaze moved all around her at the lycans that now surrounded them. Even with her staff on their side, the rest of her team looked nervous. Even so, Arinette was not ready to relent. "I think not." She replied.

Do'rhajul huffed towards Arinette. "There are far too many, even for us." He muttered to her.

"Yes, I know." Arinette replied. Slowly, her staff began to glow once more, increasing steadily in intensity. Nearby, Ahnasha had an arrow nocked and was aimed straight at Do'rhajul's head. She could make the shot, and she knew it. She was close enough that it would be trivial, and he had not even noticed her. He was not wearing his helmet, so it would be simple to end his life right then and there, but she knew that it would not magically give Sabine a chance to escape. Even if Do'rhajul did not slit her throat, one of the others would before she could get far. For Ahnasha to loose her arrow would be for her to kill Sabine just as much as it would be to kill Do'rhajul. She was at a loss, but after only a few more moments her internal debate became meaningless.

While it was not without warning, the spell that Arinette used still seemed just as sudden and surprising. Just like their last encounter, there was a blinding flash of light, and when everyone regained the ability to see clearly, Arinette's team, Sabine, and even the tent they had been standing next to, were all gone.

For Sabine, the teleportation spell came with only a vague, somewhat disorienting sensation, almost like being dizzy. However, it lasted for only a few seconds before she could regain her bearings. Based on her surroundings, she was still in a High Rock forest, but there were no noticeable landmarks around. There were only trees and a few rocks. And of course, there was the blade still pressed to her neck.

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

Fa-Val-Kuul

~|Strike Team Base of Operations, Feena

Day 2 ATC, 13th hour|~

---

Fa certainly had good reasons to be upset about the Jedi’s sudden arrival. They had forced them to use their shuttle again only a short time after arrival, which not only increased the likelihood of their team being prematurely detected, but also delayed their next resupply. It was frankly a reckless intrusion into their operation, but any thoughts of those issues were banished from Fa’s mind when Gar explained his purpose.

The Tiss’shar’s eyes visibly widened upon hearing the news. This was the first she was hearing of an attack on Coruscant. If what Gar said was accurate, and he did not seem to be the type to exaggerate, then this was a terrible tragedy. Then there was mention of a “treaty”, of which she also had no knowledge.

“The Temple…destroyed? That sounds too horrible to be true, but…no, I do not doubt your words.” Fa replied. Both confusion and anger were natural responses to news of such an attack. Fa felt them, but did not give them a place to fester.

Since they clearly had much to discuss, Fa guided the master into the cavern they were in the midst of transforming into their base of operations. Though it was underground, Fa had set up a command tent for, if nothing else, organizational purposes.

”I apologize for the lack of a warm welcome. We are all quite busy here, you understand.” Fa remarked as they entered the tent. “Our position here on this planet is still tenuous at best. We do not yet know if we have been detected, and the more we use that shuttle, the more likely that becomes. I am afraid to say that you are going to be stuck here for some time, if any of you happened to plan to leave. But, if you can forgive the cold greetings, my men are some of the most qualified in the Republic to keep us all alive here; you have my word. I, well, I suppose we should discuss this attack you mentioned. You said they took prisoners? That could make this situation much more complicated.”