Their merry band of creatures and degenerates did as Lord Ignis commanded, to an extent. Split off each to their own seperate objectives, the man with the skull face cast his sight upon Pandora and where she lingered. The Abyss' jailer seemed lost in her own world, staring into the ripples of a lagoon that held little light and care for her. He would look upon her for who knew how long, doubtful she even realized her own watching. Then like water, Lord Ignis dispersed into shadow, light and wispy, and one that pooled along the craggly ground. Immediately his essence flickered over to one of the others, latching onto Chryseis' shadow without his notice. No doubt he would continue to be unaware, especially as the actually fighting began. The only indication that the lion's shadow was not his own were two gleaming red dots among it, dots that soon flitted away as the fighting intensified.
With the area now flooded with wolves, Lord Ignis cycled among them, "leaping" from one guard's shadow to the other before finally manifesting, ironically enough, into Rafiq's. Without notion or care for scaring the right, the lord of bone and shadow manifested back into a solid form, standing behind the gates where the rat was working.
"Continue to open these doorways for the passage of our allies," he ordered before walking towards his real goal. After all, the pack's alpha couldn't remain hidden for long from his sight.
Rafiq's work was gentle, precise. Picking a lock was easy sure, as was going invisible and removing one's presence from the world to hide from angry vicious bloodthirsty wolves. But both of those at the same time, well that was a delicate balance of concentration. So it was no surprise that Rafiq was totally engrossed in their work, so much so that they didn't even notice the skeletal man appearing from their shadow until they spoke. Rafiq jumped as their tools almost slipped from their hands, flickering into view for a brief moment as they slipped their lockpick back into their sleeve.
"What are you doing?" They hissed, looking back and forth to make sure the skeleton had not brought any undue attention onto it and attention to Rafiq in turn.
"I said I would get the door open, I do not need a babysitter while I work. Work, labor, toil."The sound of footsteps from behind Ignis approaching sent Rafiq into a panic as they focused on hiding, slamming their back against the wall farthest from Ignis as two wolves rounded the corner. These ones had armor on as well as good weapons, perhaps commanders of some sort?
"Hey, what the hell are you doing here!?" One of them snarled as they drew their sword, the other unhooking an axe from a leather holster on their back. Good equipment indeed considering most everyone else had been either carrying their weapons in their hands at all times or had it tied to their waist with frayed rope.
Lord Ignis saw no need to remind Rafiq the dire straits of their situation, and that he should get back to work. The arrival of wolf guards saw to that, sending the rat squeaking away.
"I require an audience with your leader. Don't keep me waiting." Same as before, Lord Ignis "melted" into shadow, dashing along the ground and slipping between the armored wolves. With their attention on him, that was more than enough assurance Rafiq could work in one piece again. All the same, Lord Ignis climbed up the steep holds of the rocky fortress, fluidly moving up the steps like the airy puddle he was before at last reaching what he sought.
"Are you the one who holds legion over these legions?" Lord Ignis' voice spoke, ignoring all else but the one who proudly governed control of the Abyss' guards.
While Rafiq went back to work in unlocking the door, Ignis sent the entire base into a frenzy. Shouts of
"INTRUDER" and
"FIND THEM" rang through the halls as the skeletal lord jumped from shadow to shadow, the wolves unwittingly bringing their intruder straight to their precious leader. As for that leader... they were surprisngly human looking.
A crude girl with feet propped up on her desk, knocking back some unknown alcoholic drink as Ignis spoke from the shadows. She sighed as she reached over to her axe, a great monstrosity of bone with a handle nearly as long as herself.
"I swear, you can't trust anyone but yourself in this shithole of a prison. What the fuck is even the point of giving you stupid dogs weapons if you can't stop one monster from waltzing through our base and into my fucking office!?" She shouted, prompting a whimper of confusion and shame from the guards that were posted outside of her door.
"Alright, I don't have time for these fucking theatrics. Are you here to fight me or fuck me, because I'm only open for the second if you meet my standards." The leader said as she kicked her legs into the air, before slamming them back down through the desk as she stood up, both halves of the shitty wooden table flying into the walls as she hefted her axe onto her shoulder.
"I'd rather discuss things in a civil manner, though I'm sure the latter could be fulfilled by one of my comrades." Lord Ignis' voice grew higher, literally, as his shape took manifest form once more, physical and to the ground.
"Speaking of them, I can't help but notice your forces greatly outnumber our own. Statistically speaking, it would only take your pets a few hours before overunning them completely. I would like to forgo this bloodshed for a prospect of joint union, so to speak. An alliance, if you will, since I can't imagine the humans treated your services in fair kind." Despite his fancy words, he spoke frank and to the point. Even with an unreadable expression, it was clear he cared not for any dallying, especially as he walked around the alpha's would-be desk before remaining by her side.
"For starters, how about we open negotiations with our names." The woman blinked with an unimpressed look on her face as Ignis emerged from the darkness, leaning forwards slightly to meet the skeleton's eye level.
"Yeah, you're fucking screwed. No shit. So now you're coming here begging me to take your side, because you were stupid enough to pick a fight you can't win. Nice job." She smirked as she laid down the facts, an aura of raw smug rolling off of her as she tilted her head mockingly.
"Fine, I'll throw you a bone boneman. The name's Haru, and I'm the fourteenth warden of the Chained Wolves. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but it really ain't.""Listen I don't give a shit about humans or about this stupid race war that every single monster seems to obsess over around here. I was born and raised in this fucking pit, so I don't know what's so good about whatever is up there."She motioned upwards vaugely, though who even knew if up was the right direction when pointing to the outside world.
"Honestly, I don't think things are even that great out there. Something fuckin happened and you all got loose, maybe every single idiot on the surface died. Maybe there is no more surface anymore. Maybe if we all team up and be buddy buddy, ripping and tearing our way through the prison, probably losing every single one of my dogs in the process since you're gonna treat them like bodies to be thrown at whatever trap, maybe we'll just all die when we step out into the void. I dunno. All I know is, I get good grog, good food, and I get to fuck whoever I want as long as I keep you idiots in your cells." Her grip on the axe shifted slightly as she stepped back and straightened out to her full height.
"So tell me, what the hell do you have for me that could convince me to risk life and limb just to escape to a surface that might not even exist?""Your observation of the situation is remarkable, if not skewered in some bias. Though as a creature borne from these waves, your ignorance of the surface is understandable. I would like to think your wolves would be treated in an appropriate fashion through negotiation and I would insure their use would not be in vain. Especially when their leader would be so generous as to come to terms." Lord Ignis' eyes flashed once as Haru stood to her full glory, hand ready to smash and tear apart with her axe. Now it was his turn to be unimpressed, though that might have just been his normal expression.
"What then, could I give you as a token of my good faith? A good stepping stone would have to be your life." A great pressure evoked itself around the wolf alpha, one that had no qualms with pressing down to crush muscle and bone as it saw fit. The source sprouted from beneath Lord Ignis' feet as a dark and muscular appendage shot out to grasp Haru. Taken in the shape of an arm, it clenched the wolf alpha in one hand, fingers larger enough to crush her head fully but instead, they continued digging into the wolf instead.
"I extended my hand as an olive branch, but it seems mutts are to be taught through pain and fear instead. Fascinating. I will need to remember that once we complete our negotiations," spoke the skull-faced man as another arm from the opposite side shot out, both now completely holding Haru in place and squeezing. If any of her guards dared to come near, the presence of something unseen would stare back at them, a ghastly and horrid visage gleaming from the darkness pooled beneath their master as they dared each dog to come that much closer to death.
"Let's start over. You may call me Lord Ignis." Despite being caught in what seemed to a horribly painful grip from both sides, Haru barely even flinched as she was squeezed tightly by the two shadowy arms, in fact she actually looked somewhat amused.
"There you go, now you're getting it bonehead!"She shouted as the two guards busted down the door, stopped by a horrific gaze. But it was not Ignis's monster that stopped them, but the snarling glare that their own boss shot their way.
"Stay the fuck out of this you morons! You already fucked up your chance to have a go!" She growled as her muscles began to bulge, white fur erupting from her skin, her nose elongating into a snout as she transformed.
"You can kick a collared dog as much as you want, but they're still gonna be waiting for you to go to sleep, waiting to tear your throats out and feast on your corpse in a moment of weakness. You'll learn that soon enough with those men of mine you collared." She said as she flexed her muscles, the transformation beginning to finish as she painstakingly pried the hands off of her form.
"The only way you're gonna get our loyalty, is if you beat the alpha!"Haru roared as a wave of white energy burst from her form, multiple cuts and lacerations appearing all over the surface of the hands as she forced the appendages away from her and brought her axe to bear.
"And I don't plan on going down like some prissy bitch!" With a roar she swung her axe into the hands on either side of her, the bones comprising the weapon twitching ominously as the gem planted firmly in it's center glowed a dull crimson. Whatever wounds were made by the axe would suddenly magnify in size, even the most minor cuts suddenly becoming gaping wounds that would be life threatening to any living creature.
"To gain their loyalty, I must defeat the alpha? Yes, I suppose that would be the most logical. Fascinating." Lord Ignis lowered his face, though it was not out of fear or shame. Even as the shadowy hands flinched briefly from Haru's transformation, their master pondered in deep though, ignoring the flashy transformation and hellspawned hatred before him.
"Ah, yes then. If it will be the quickest method of achieving my goal, then I will do exactly that then." And once more Haru was trapped beneath the hands, each one renewed now that their master no longer waivered. Her silly toy was discarded, one great hand clenching hard into her arm until bone splintered and broke for the axe to drop, embedding itself into the floor. It wound up, dragging Haru with it, slamming her into what used to be her personal room, before finally smacking her to the furthermost wall. As if on purpose, such wounds that she thought were inflicted to Lord Ignis' constructs merely sizzled away in a layer of burning, intense darkness.
With the wolf pinned as she was, Lord Ignis approached, forgetting briefly of the guards too scared to move behind him.
"I need to thank you Warden Haru of the Chained Wolves. A very valuable lesson has been taught here and I will ensure these teachings won't go to waste." Lord Ignis thus raised his actual hand, red sketches etching themselves from the top of his glove to his palm. Runic, ancient, and very much blasphemous symbols brightened themselves upon his hand, eager in their wretched magic and hungry for the dog in front of them.
"Yes, I will do well to keep you firmly collared Haru. Let's deal with those fangs first." he spoke as he reached closer and closer towards her head.
Back and forth Haru was dragged, bone cracking and shattering with each slam, just as quickly mending back together thanks to Haru's superior regenerative capabilities. Her own attacks were rendered ineffective completely, a complete domination of the warden without a doubt. But even as Ignis approached, that look of defiance never left her face, not a hint of fear present in her visage as he conjured runes of an unholy nature into reality.
"Do your worst! I'll use your fucking arms as toothpicks!" She roared, defiant to the end.
And in the corner of the room, hidden from the eyes of wolves and skeleton, a rat observed. Door long since unlocked and opened, Rafiq watched the proceedings of Ignis with a hint of confusion. If this man was so strong, why even bother recruiting so many to his cause? Very confusing, perplexing, puzzling. Indeed.
