[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[Muttonhawk]

It was as if only moments had passed. Fendros woke up from his dreamless sleep with memories of resistance still fresh in his mind. His arms were dreadfully sore, but he could hear Ahnasha's voice. That was enough to bring him back completely. He wished seeing her face could have been more of a relief.

"Where are we?" Fendros breathed, inspecting his bindings and finding much the same as Ahnasha had. Fendros tried to think quickly when he picked up on the noises outside of the room. He glanced to the door, then looked at Ahnasha with a look hinting his own fear despite his determined words. "We can't tell them anything. We can't risk Rhazii." More noises prompted another glance to the door from Fendros, "The pack will find us, I'm sure of it."

[EliteCommander]

"My thoughts exactly. I don't care if those vampires, Neesa and her husband, can kill all of these mercenaries themselves, if they get into the xanmeer, then they might..." Ahnasha began, but she cut herself off when the door to their room suddenly unlocked. It appeared they would not have the luxury of time when it came to their interrogation. The first person they saw enter the room was a familiar one, the Argonian who seemed to be leading these mercenaries. He was wearing a now clean set of fine clothing, which was evidence of his wealth. Behind him was the Breton from before, now in clothing more becoming of a mage, and a similarly dressed Argonian woman. Likely, they were healers, if the noble's intentions were as Ahnasha feared. The healers began lighting the torches in the sconces along the walls to illuminate the room while the noble walked over and grabbed a knife from the table.

"Now, I could start off with introductions, but you know why you are here and what this place is. You know I want information from you, and you know what I will do to obtain it. I think that much is obvious from the...setting." The noble began. "So, I will start by saying that there is a version of this conversation that allows you to live. That is the version where you helpfully tell me everything I want to know. I do not know why a pair of lycanthropes would be working with those vampiric vermin, but that is not what I am interested in at the moment. To give a bit of background, we know where their lair is under that xanmeer, and we know the full effects of that fog covering the area. We know we cannot approach stealthily from above, so we have devised a way around that issue. As luck would have it, there are rootworm tunnels that pass awfully close to that xanmeer, and we have the equipment to dig straight in from below. We'll get into things like their numbers and kinds of defenses later, what I want to know right now is layout. I want to know where everything is in this place. I want to know where the cultists go, where they sleep, and where their leaders are."

Once the torches were lit, the noble moved to stand directly in front of Ahnasha, while the healers walked up behind her and each placed a hand on her shoulder."Now, first question, do you know where the things I just described are in their lair? Oh, and before you answer, I have an interesting piece of information for you. Did you know that the body has a subtle, but detectable reaction whenever you tell a lie? Because my healers do, and they know exactly what to look for, so I would avoid doing that. Now, answer."

Ahnasha's initial plan had been to lie about everything, but what the noble was saying was not unbelievable. In fact, she thought she recalled hearing of the same thing before from Meesei, though it had been a while. Regardless, she was silent for a good few seconds trying to come up with a response, but finding nothing. It did not help that both she and Fendros were rather familiar with the layout of the cult's lair, as they had made a point to learn it just in case they needed to escape. As a result, she looked up at him...then spit on him.

"I see." The noble commented. At first, it seemed like he was going to turn to question Fendros, but then he suddenly and violently impaled the knife in his hands through Ahnasha's throat. She was unable to scream as she began to choke on the blood gushing out of her neck. It was a wound that would be quickly lethal, and one that surprised even the healers, who were quick to act as soon as he removed the blade from her throat. They both focused entirely on closing the wound to prevent any more blood loss, then mended together the arteries and veins to ensure bloodflow to her brain. Their healing was effective, but the one thing they were sure not to do was to numb her pain, so she could still feel every horrifying sensation. The noble, however, did not stop his attacks.

"Tell me...what...I want...to know!" He shouted. Between each breath he delivered the strongest punch he could manage, alternating between her face and stomach. Her fur hid the bruises, but he broke her nose entirely, causing blood to pour down her face and mix with what was already on her neck. He would have continued had the Breton not interrupted.

"Sir!." The Breton shouted to grab his attention.

"What?" The noble questioned angrily, his fist already reared back for another strike to her head.

"Sir, she cannot respond. You severed her vocal cords and it is going to take more time for us to heal them." He explained.

"Hmph." The noble grunted as he lowered his fist and turned to face Fendros. Ahnasha was thankful for the respite, as, even if she could not speak nor scream, she was very visibly shaken. When her throat was cut, she saw her life flash before her eyes. Never had she been as close to death as she had just then. The beating afterwards was certainly painful, but it was not that which put the tears in her eyes. Having her death come so close was a mentally scarring experience.

"Well, I cannot have my prisoners unable to answer me, now can I?" The noble said to Fendros. "I'll admit, I have a tendency to become too...enthusiastic with my interrogations. But, I have an idea. You see, your emotions betray you; I know you care about this cat. So, instead of using this knife to carve up you, I'll carve up her instead. If you answer my questions, and answer them truthfully, I will stay my hand. Otherwise..." He said, his voice trailing off as he motioned for the Argonian woman to go to Fendros to monitor him for lies. "Now, do you know the layout of the cult's lair?"

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros' face was painted with panic. His initial reaction was to tug at his bindings to try and get at the Argonian, but they held fast. "Ahna!" He managed to call out before realising that he was completely powerless.

Save for a trembling and his fast breathing, he had completely frozen. He had expected that they might endure pain, or less violent forms of persuasion, but this madman had very nearly killed Ahnasha on the spot after little provocation. His mind was clouded with fear as he stared wide eyed at the blood soaking down Ahnasha's front, but he didn't know what to do next. He didn't want to go through seeing Ahnasha suffer such wounds again, but he had enough of his mind to remember that he had to protect Rhazii as well. It was a horrible decision to make, and not one he wanted to ever make in his life.

"Please..." he began to mumble shakily, as if trying to postpone any further consequences. "Please...don't make me decide..."

Fendros considered telling the Argonian that the cult had their child captive, but at this point he didn't know whether he would care. He seemed to have just as little regard for life as the cultists did. Still, looking into Ahnasha's eyes, Fendros could hardly bear to see such pain and fear. Anything that could stop this was an option.

"...I would never forgive myself...please..."

[EliteCommander]

The Argonian noble's expression remained serious, and notably unsympathetic. He looked to his healers and gave a slight nod towards the table with the torture implements. "Set her up on the table, and be cautious of her strength." He ordered.Stepping up in front of Fendros, he pressed his knife up against Fendros' throat to the point where it just barely broke his skin. "I am going to get the information I want, or I am going to have some fun with your friend here. Those are the only outcomes. You have until we are done setting her done setting up to decide which it will be."

The two healers moved tools on the table to the side and slid the table itself up next to Ahnasha. Once it was in position the noble drew his silver blade and pressed it up against Ahnasha's neck. "If you try anything, I will end you before you can take in a breath." He threatened. As quickly as they could, the healers removed the chains from their clamps on the ceiling and quickly moved to reattach them to clamps on the floor, all while forcing Ahnasha to lay on her back on the table. Though her ankles were still bound, this was somewhat of an opportunity for Ahnasha to act, but having her throat impaled by a dagger only a few minutes before gave her little doubt that the noble would finish her if she tried to resist. The blade he wielded was certainly silver, as she could feel the metal burning her flesh as it was pressed against it. So caught up in fear was she that she could bring herself to do nothing as the healers secured her chains to their anchors on the floor. Once again, she was bound, unable to move, and at the noble's mercy. She was dreading whatever he intended to do her, but she was still resolved to protect Rhazii. In her mind, his safety was worth her suffering. For the moment, she just hoped Fendros felt the same way. The healers took their positions once more as the noble sheathed his sword and grabbed his knife. He stood on the side of the table opposite Fendros so that he could see his every reaction to Ahnasha's impending torture.

"Now that we are ready, you have one final chance to answer my question. Do you know the layout of the cult's lair?" He demanded, hovering his knife over Ahnasha's flesh.

[Muttonhawk]

The moments that were given while they placed Ahnasha on the table were moments Fendros tried to use for serious consideration. Even though he was still panicked, thoughts managed to run through his head on how he should act. The Argonian was truly cruel to subject him to this, but he knew nothing of their predicament. If Fendros were to give up information, he would definitely be putting Rhazii at risk. He didn't want that, Ahnasha wouldn't want that. He had told her back in the xanmeer that if anything happened, Rhazii's life came above all else. He intended to keep to that. Ahnasha was suffering, and it was horrible to watch, but if she were in his place, she would probably be thinking the same thing.

Fendros looked at the knife, then to the Argonian, then closed his eyes and turned his head away. "I'm sorry, Ahna."

As soon as the words came from his mouth, Fendros braced for whatever the Argonian had in store. He wasn't sure he could take much more.

[EliteCommander]

"Very well. Just remember, her suffering is your choice." The Argonian responded as he took the knife and sliced it down the center of her torso, from her collarbone down to just above her waist. Ahnasha still could not scream, but she winced from the pain and clenched her teeth, trying to distract herself from it. She expected a sizable amount of blood, but only a small amount flowed from the wound. The Breton, as it seemed, was quite talented in restoration. He was keeping her both from loosing too much blood, and from feeling the effects of her adrenaline. As a result, she felt the pain all the more intensely.

"You know, it is amazing what the body can survive, especially with a healer or two on hand." The noble said as he made another cut near her collarbone, this time horizontal and overlapping with the first. "Men, mer, these cats, we are all exceptionally hardy creatures. It takes the loss of quite a lot of blood before we will lose consciousness, which, by the way, my friend here is really good at keeping inside of the body." He made another horizontal cut intersecting the bottom of the first cut, then paused to look back up at Fendros. Ahnahsa had tears in her eyes and was squirming from the pain, but she was doing her best to stay strong and look as if she could handle it. She didn't know how many more cuts he could make before he would have to stop, and she hoped he was exaggerating the skill of his healers.

"I can keep going, or you can give me a bit of information. How about this, instead of my first question, why don't you tell me why you are so willing to help those vampires? Why are you okay with letting your friend suffer for them?" He asked.

[Muttonhawk]

With his eyes shut, Fendros could only hear the quiet noises that indicated Ahnasha being cut by the Argonian's knife. Their torturer mocked them with his cruel words, but Fendros kept his eyes firmly shut. When the Argonian stopped and asked why Fendros was being defiant, Fendros was engaged enough by the question to peek his eyes open. He wished he hadn't. Ahnasha had been sliced a number of times into her torso, and Fendros could only imagine the pain she was in. Thankfully, it appeared she was still breathing.

Fendros scrunched his eyes shut again and tensed his face to the point where he was about to cry. He shook his head and shouted in response, "She isn't suffering for them, you fool! All those blasted cultists can be slain in a heap for all I care!" Fendros took a couple of shivering breaths through his mouth, "You will not be getting any information from either of us because if we do, our child will be in danger. They have him captive." Fendros opened his eyes in a pleading expression to the Argonian, "He is barely a few months old. His will be a fate worse than death if we help you."

Fendros wasn't sure whether his outburst would help them at all, but it had the slightest possibility of ending their torture without giving them any useful information. At this point, even that was worth giving up.

[EliteCommander]

Once the Argonian healer confirmed he was not lying, the noble gave a smile, holding himself back from cutting into her any further. "Ah, now that is an answer, and your honesty is rewarded with my mercy. You see, you cooperate, and your...well, you're more than friends aren't you? Anyway, you give answers, I don't hurt her. Now, a child you say? Well, I must congratulate you. I am not a father myself, but I do like the idea of becoming one someday. If your child is being held by those monsters, then we can help each other. I don't care about you lycans, i just want the vampires dead. If you give me the information I need to mount a successful attack, then I can have my men rescue your child, then I can let you go in return for your help. Your little family can go on its way. Does that sound like a deal? I think it is quite fair."

Ahnasha wished she could shout out her thoughts at the noble, but all she could do was bare her teeth and scowl. She did not believe him for a moment. Once he had what he needed, Ahnasha believed he would just kill them outright, along with Rhazii once they attacked. Without her voice, however, Fendros was the one making all of the decisions.

[Muttonhawk]

As much as he wished the Argonian to be genuine, Fendros was skeptical. He didn't mistrust the Argonian in the same way as Ahnasha, but he didn't like his offer any more than she did. "How on Nirn could you possibly guarantee his safety?" Fendros shook his head again, "The only way I know that he will live is if I do not betray the cult. I don't need to repeat myself, you and your..." Fendros looked around at the healers, "...fanatics...you'll get nothing."

Fendros looked about ready to die at this point if it meant Ahnasha and Rhazii were safe. He knew that was a luxury he didn't have, though. His only hope was with the pack tracking them and coming to save them. There was no telling how long that would take.

[EliteCommander]

The noble gave a macabre smile as he set down his knife and picked up a different tool, which looked like a sort of hook. "As you wish. Just remember, it is by your word that she suffers."

Instead of making another cut, the noble did something else entirely. He placed his hook into the first verticle cut he made, then started to pry open her flesh as if she was a cadaver whose insides he wanted to examine.

The expression on Ahnasha's face was nothing short of sheer panic. What was he doing? Was he going to open her up while she was still alive and awake? That would surely kill her, would it not? All she knew was that it was the single most painful experience of her life. As the noble continued to cut her open, the Breton motioned for the Argonian healer to move away from Fendros to aid him in keeping her alive. Together, they were able to keep her bleeding to a minimum, as well as paralyzing her control of most of her body except for her head, likely so Fendros could continue to see the panic in her expression. Of course, they still did nothing to stop the pain.

When Ahnasha finally looked down at what her torturers were doing, what she saw was something no living person should ever have to witness. The noble had pulled apart her flesh and secured it with hooks, exposing the majority of her internal organs to her view. She saw her blood covered ribs, her lungs rapidly rising and falling with her panicked breaths, and a portion of her beating heart behind them. The horror of the sight was even worse than the pain, which was in itself immense.

"You can stop this at any time." The noble commented, pausing for a moment to await Fendros' response.

[Muttonhawk]

"It's the only way to keep him safe, it's the only way to keep him safe, it's the only way to keep him safe," Fendros whispered to himself over and over again while the torturer performed the beginnings of a living conscious vivisection on Ahnasha. It was nightmarish, seeing her face and organs, smelling her blood. Tears started to fall from Fendros' eyes as soon as the torturer reminded him how this could be stopped, but Fendros only responded by raising his voice while he continued his mantra. "It's the only way to keep him safe! It's the only way to keep him safe! It's the only way to keep him safe!"

After a few moments, Fendros' body twitched involuntarily. With all of the emotion, fear and threat in the air, he hardly noticed how strongly his beast spirit wanted to respond to it. It's primitive mind wanted to break the shackles and tear the torturer's throat out, but Fendros knew that there were contingencies in place, it would not work. He tried to suppress the beast out of fear that if he was unable to answer the torturer, he would continue with Ahnasha beyond his control. He couldn't let her die. His mantra died down in volume, but went on faster until it held less and less meaning in his mind.

It went on for what felt like a long time, but was probably less given that every waking moment was of sheer horror. Each minute that passed made Fendros' beast spirit stronger. The two mental fronts he fought on, between the torturer and his beast spirit, eventually overwhelmed him. "STOP!" Fendros screamed out of nowhere, "STOP, STOP THIS! I'll tell you the layout, just stop!" Fendros face was still dominated by suffering he was going through, but his mind was disgusted that he couldn't fight for any longer. He had to stop the torture if he was going to stay in Dunmer form. "Please, heal her, don't do this any longer! I know the layout, I'll tell you if you please just heal her." Fendros pleaded.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha did not know what the noble would do next, but the pain and horror she felt was such that it erased any semblance of rational thought she had. She did not care about anything other than stopping the pain, not their deal with the cultists, not the pack, not even Rhazii. If she could have screamed, the sound would have been deafening. Fortunately for her, Fendros' submission halted the pain for at least a moment, for as soon as he agreed to talk, the noble signaled the Breton to numb her pain. The Argonian healer returned to Fendros' side to ensure his honesty, while the noble set down his knife. Ahnasha's organs were still exposed, but for now, at least, she was not suffering.

"Good to hear you have come to your senses. You start answering questions, and I'll start closing her up. Our tunnel will break through into the far east of the underground catacombs. What room will we be entering into?" The noble asked.

Ahnasha had enough of her senses to understand what the noble was asking, but it was not encouraging. The far east room was the training room, and there were only two exits from there. One led to the kitchen, which would not be very interesting to an attacking force, while the other led straight to the guest rooms. Beyond the guest rooms were the cultists' quarters, which was likely where they would want to strike first in their attack. It would place Rhazii right in their way, but with the dreadful suffering she had just experienced, Ahnasha just wanted him to say anything he could to end it for her.

[Muttonhawk]

"East..." Fendros bowed his head forward, closed his eyes, and tried to recall the xanmeer in terms of cardinal directions. Within, it was difficult enough to retain one's sense of direction, so it took a moment. There was also getting past the anxiety clouding his mind. As his memories returned, Fendros spoke with a grumble in his voice caused by his shouting. "A training room, a large training room," Fendros swallowed and opened his eyes, trying not to look directly at Ahnasha's insides, "I was never in that room without there being at least one cultist present practicing spells or some such." Fendros ran out of breath quickly as he spoke, so his next breath was deeper, "There are two doors out of that room, one goes to a larder, or kitchen area, I think. The other..." Fendros paused and looked at the healer monitoring him for lies. "...The other is a corridor that leads to bedrooms and the rest of the xanmeer." Fendros looked directly at the torturer. He wasn't done pleading, "The first bedrooms are the guest rooms that we were held in, one of them is where our son is being held. Please, he's innocent of all this, don't let your men hurt him."

[EliteCommander]

Once the Argonian healer gave a nod clearing Fendros of any lies, the noble removed the hooks from Ahnasha's body and folded her skin back over to its proper place. He prompted the Breton to start closing her back up, then moved over to the other side of the table closer to Fendros. "Now we're getting somewhere. She will be healed back as good as new, perhaps with only a scar or two. Just remember, I can open her up just as easily if you lose your spirit of cooperation. The bedrooms are a good target for my men, and I can assure you they will not be focused on killing a Khajiit infant. Beyond the bedrooms, what is next?"

Ahnasha breathed a sigh of relief when the Breton finally numbed her pain. Even though the healer was working on healing her, she still tried to avoid looking down, or thinking about the state she was in. As long as Fendros remained cooperative, she wouldn't have to go back to that suffering. She would have answered the questions herself, were she capable of it. The hallways beyond the bedrooms passed underneath the entrance to the xanmeer, then continued on past a few storage rooms to the throne room itself. There was also another exit in the throne room that led to another hall, but Ahnasha was uncertain of where it led. The pack had not been allowed past that point.

---

Upon returning to the xanmeer, Meesei, Vinaremo, and Orskan split off from the rest of the group and went straight to the throne room to meet with Hal-Neesa and Llarvan. They had expected their return, so there was no delay before they could speak to them.

"So, you have returned. Since you are still alive, may I assume the battle was a success? Did the noble's son show his cowardly face?" Llarvan asked as they were stepping up to the thrones.

"The battle was indeed a success, my lord. Unfortunately, the noble was not present, but there has been another development. I will let her explain." Vinaremo answered, opening up Meesei to respond.

Meesei tried to remain respectful, but her haste was evident in her tone. "After the end of the battle, I went to check on two of my pack. I found that they had most likely been captured in the middle of the fight and dragged off by wagon out of the ruined town. Their tracks end after a short distance, but I could still catch their scent. I left the remainder of my pack behind to search that area of the swamp for what we assume to be their headquarters. We are skilled trackers, so I have no doubt we will find it, though it may take a few hours. I would like to request more forces to rescue my friends and eliminate the last of the mercenaries."

"Hmm, it is not what I hoped for...but it is better than I expected." Llarvan commented, more to his wife than anyone. "The noble's son is not in Gideon, so he must be with his ilk in their headquarters. We can end this annoyance here and now."

Neesa nodded in response. "Agreed. These mercenaries have so far proven skilled at, quite literally, covering their tracks, but if our lycanthropic guests can locate them, then we can finally rid ourselves of these pests."

"Then it is settled, we will send with you sufficient forces to eliminate the last of the mercenaries. Again, Vinaremo will be in command of-" Llarvan began, but Neesa quickly held up a hand to him and interrupted.

"Actually, I will take charge personally." Neesa said.

Llarvan turned his head to her curiously. "Are you certain, my dear? Our underlings should more than be able to handle a few warriors-for-hire on their own."

"Yes, I am sure. This noble has been annoying us for years, and I do not want to leave this to chance. Besides, it has been quite a while since I have been able to...let loose my abilities." She answered.

"Very well, I will remain and hold together our court while you are gone, my love." Llarvan commented before looking back to Meesei. "My wife will take command of this attack. Make whatever preparations you need while you can, and be ready to move in about an hour."

[Muttonhawk]

"It's a small room past that. It looks empty, but the hatch to the surface is on the ceiling." Fendros could only hope that the noble's men would leave Rhazii alone, but he didn't hesitate to continue giving information. He just wanted the nightmare to end. "The corridor that enters it faces another on the opposite side of it. There are other rooms to the left and right, mostly storage from what I saw. Straight through is the main hall. They use it as a court, with thrones on a dais, banners, a few tables and chairs, but still wide open. Past that, there is only one door. They didn't let us into it, but with how the cultists always went on about experiments, there isn't much else I would suspect to be there."

Seeing Ahnasha back in a familiar shape helped Fendros to at least steady his breathing. Though the scars and the blood down her front was still unsettling, perhaps they would see some relief.

[EliteCommander]

Once the healer confirmed Fendros' honesty, he gave a nod. "Noted, you are being quite helpful." He commented. The Breton had closed up Ahnasha's torso by this point, but there was still a lot of healing to do underneath the skin. The noble had cut through plenty of muscles and blood vessels that needed to be mended. Plus, he still had to repair her damaged vocal cords, which would take a bit longer. The noble simply continued with his questioning, now with a much more relaxed tone. "It doesn't seem like you know any more about the layout, so how about we move on to the kind of opposition we're going to face..."

The interrogation continued for just under an hour longer as the noble went through all of the questions he could think of to ask. Meanwhile, Ahnasha was moved from the table back up to hanging from the ceiling like Fendros. Once the noble had finished with his questions, he motioned for the healers to take their leave as he replaced the torture tools back on the table. "We had a bit of a rough start, but I think we made some progress today. It shouldn't be long before our attack begins. I'll let you know how it goes. From there, we will no longer have any need to keep you locked up down here. Now, get some rest, you've earned it."

The noble left and locked the iron door behind him, but Ahnasha showed no reaction. The experience had left her with scars, such as the noticeable one running straight down the center of her body, but it wasn't the physical scars that hurt her the most. Her mind was broken; fractured from living through a kind of suffering no mortal mind was meant to endure. The noble's torture had taken her beyond death, to a point where only the magic sustained her, as her body would have failed without the Breton's intervention. He had healed her vocal cords, but she did not speak, even though she could now do so freely. Instead, she held her head low, staring at the ground with tears in her eyes, sobbing with a harsh, raspy voice.

[Muttonhawk]

"Wait, please, what about our child?! What are you going to-" The door shut with an echoing clang and lock and Fendros cut himself off. Their captor had finished with them, that was the end of it.

Fendros took a moment to try and calm down, but he couldn't really. His arms were hurting, he was tired, he was stressed, and his eyes burned with tears. He looked down, away from the door, then up to Ahnasha's face. "Ahna?" Fendros said quietly. He could tell she was as terrified as he was, but she was the one who had to suffer the physical pain. It caused a crushing guilt to grasp Fendros where he hung. "Ahna, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. This never should have happened." Fendros wished he had the answer. He wished he could undo himself from the shackles and just hold Ahnasha, so they could comfort each other. Even if they could just touch, if he could reach out and take her hand. "Ahnasha, please, say something if you can."

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha did not answer immediately, creating an uneasy silence in the air. Slowly, she started shaking her head and breaking up her sobs with her words. "I can't unsee it. I can't unfeel it. I should be dead, I feel like I should be dead. He made sure I felt the pain, all of it. I couldn't block it out, I couldn't scream no matter how hard I tried. I just...I can't get it out of my head! My heart, my lungs, my bones...I just want to forget it. I wish he would kill me so I can stop remembering it."

---

As Meesei predicted, the search was taking longer than they would have liked. Hours passed with their progress being slow, but at least they were getting somewhere. The scent was faint, but definitely present. Even so, there were many times where they had to spread out to search an area whenever they lost the trail, then regroup and follow it together. They never lost the path, but it took precious time for them to follow it. Night fell and they still continued searching until finally, after a few more hours, they followed the traces of their scents to their final destination.

From the defenses Lorag saw, the settlement they came across certainly looked like an important one to the mercenaries. From their position among the swamp's foliage, he could see walls made from cut logs and mud, complete with small guard towers and patrols near the entrances. From what he could see inside the walls, however, it looked like a bit more than just a camp for soldiers. It looked almost like a town, with proper buildings and the like. It was entirely possible that there were more than just the mercenaries living there, but it was where they had taken Fendros and Ahnasha, so that was where they were going to attack.

"I guess we should get back to the village; see if Alpha got those reinforcements for us." Lorag commented quietly.

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros silently stared at Ahnasha for a moment, partly in surprise. He could never prepare himself to hear her plead to die like she did. He knew that she was scared and scarred by her experience, but he had never witnessed it to such an extent as this. It was like she was a different person. The torturer had brought her to the brink of death, and now the determined, smiling Ahnasha Fendros knew had disappeared. Fendros could never forgive himself, why couldn't he have just answered the Argonian's questions sooner? Then she wouldn't have had to suffer.

"Ahna, please don't die." Fendros let his head bow forward again as his eyes shut in guilt, "Please, I love you. I need you, Rhazii needs you. Please don't die."

---

They reached the hideout, even though it seemed like more of a settlement than anything. Janius was quick to concur with Lorag, but Sabine stayed standing, surveying the walls and in particular the open gate. With all the people apparently associated with this place, Sabine's curiosity was piqued beyond playing it safe and going back to inform the cultists.

Sabine adjusted the makeshift bandage on her wrist. "There are a lot of people going in and out. I could go in and scout," she suggested indirectly while still keeping her eyes on the gate. "They won't look for me in there," Sabine turned her head to Lorag, "I could try and find where they are keeping Fendros and Ahnasha, the place is too big to search while fighting." Sabine's face was serious, but hinted at really wanting to sneak in. She had come to find Ahnasha and Fendros after all, not to attack a town.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha shook her head again, unmoved by Fendros' words. "You didn't feel it. You didn't have the pain to burn it into your mind. You can't understand. It wasn't you that you were letting him dissect!" She shouted with sudden anger as she barred her teeth and clenched her hands into fists. Most of her rage was not directed towards him, but he was not immune from it.

---

"Hmm, you could, but...I don't know." Lorag responded. He wished he could just run in and rescue them right then and there, but even he had to admit that they were far outnumbered. Runt might have been right, and he wanted to do something, but no matter how he acted, he didn't want the others to get hurt. He was already both angry and regretful that he couldn't run in and get Fendros and Ahnasha right away, and he knew he couldn't live with himself if she got herself hurt based on his call.

"It could work, but it might end up getting you caught too. They're coming off of a retreat, so they might be looking for anyone new. They might know the people they're letting in. For me, I want to go in there and take the heads of anyone that gets between me and them, but I think the Alpha would want us to play it safe." He said.