Fate - First Reply Hammerhead

[Mieri]

Mieri nodded in agreement. The Kivren had both a head start, and far more numbers. That was likely why they had taken the villagers in the first place. Thrall's could easily search the entire isthmus. One didn't exactly need intelligence to dig through sand.

As Caeso snapped up his travel pack Mieri rolled up the map, tucking it back into her quiver. "Fuck yeah."

This, at least, was something they could agree on.

Taking Sergeant Gainsborough's dribbling nose and shoving it in their success sounded like exactly what Mieri wanted to do. The man had been a stuck up prick from the moment they'd met for absolutely no reason. He did need to be put in his place, even if she didn't quite agree with Caeso on the exact reasons why.

Shouldering her things she pulled herself up to her feet.

"The rise first." It was the closest of the three, and they could make it there fast. If the pyramid wasn't there, they would have to pick either the Crater or the Valley which were in opposite directions. "Lets go."

 

[Caeso Diemut]

MARATAN​

"Men," Commander Teritus shouted from the front ranks, "this is why you're here. This is the fight you've been looking for."

The Line had been assembled again into proper battle formations now that they stared down the town of Maratan. The place looked exactly as one might expect, being caught in the tug of cultural war between the realm of Vel Anir and the realm of Cortos. The buildings were constructed of locally sourced limestone and sandstone, mostly, for the roofs of many of the houses and other buildings were of slanted wood in the utilitarian Anirian style, not the flamboyant and colorful style of Cortos.

As Caeso stood with Mieri and the rest of the Rangers at the front of the formation (off to Commander Teritus's right as he continued his speech), he looked on as those same buildings were being bombarded. Navy ships could be seen in the distance, and apparently they did have a Dreadlord aboard one of them. Arcing mortars of fire sailed incredible distances, perhaps three to four times to the effective range of a trebuchet, and came crashing down like meteors into Maratan. Stone debris erupted with each magical strike, and plumes of dust and smoke were scattered all about the town.

"...and the Navy, as you can see, is softening these fish-fucks up. But we're not going to let them steal away all our glory. We've got some HELL to pay back to the Kivren after the stunt they tried to pull last night! I don't want to see one scaly bastard making an escape into the sea! This is..."

Maratan was not a level town, that much was clear from what Caeso could presently observe. The land of the Hammerhead Isthmus was rough, and Maratan looked to fractured into multiple tiers of non-uniform elevation. Urban combat was already tough enough for infantry, yet this would make it tougher.

"We're going to have to pull twice our normal weight," said Caeso to Mieri. Him, her, the Rangers, capable individuals and effective small groups were ideal here. "The Guardsmen will have to abandon formation just to enter Maratan."

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

"What else is new." Mieri said sarcastically, though in truth she didn't mind it so much.

Dreadlords at the front meant less Guardsmen getting in the way. Though the Anirian military was well trained, they still couldn't match even most third levels. The more she and Caeso could get up front, the smoother things would go. At least in her experience.

She glanced at the city, whispering quietly to Caeso as the Commander continued his speech. "It's going to be a hard push."

Mieri noted.

The Kivren weren't here for Maratan. The city was a stop gap for them, nothing else. Doubtless they would use Thralls and whatever else to stall the Anirians for as long as possible. The sooner they made it through the better it would be.

"They'll do everything to hold us up." She said, chewing on the inside of her lip as the navy's assault continued.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

"I do not doubt it," Caeso agreed.

Even with the navy's preliminary assault, the Kivren and their legion of Thralls would be entrenched in what buildings remained relatively intact. The already thin streets would be filled with hazards (an unfortunate side effect of the bombardment) and make for plenty of convenient barricades and chokepoints, the Kivren and their Thralls likely able to keep the small units of Guardsmen pinned down as if they were all trudging through the thickest quagmire of mud known to Arethil. The battle could potentially last all day or even longer. And only Mieri and himself really knew that time was not so much on their side.

Caeso had half a mind to suggest that he and Mieri simply break through the resistance in Maratan and push into the northern half of the Isthmus on their own. It was a rash plan, to be sure, but there was simply no way of telling how much sand was left in the hourglass. Ultimately foolhardy, since it came with more risks than gains, but stoking the ire of Sergeant Gainsborough when he realized they were gone would have been quite satisfying.

"It is a pity that—"

A spike of pain drilled into Caeso's and Mieri's minds alike, enough so that Caeso, at least, flinched and grimaced and clutched his skull with a hand.

Then came the raspy, inhuman voice, heard only by the Initiates:

Come...to me...

Dreadlords.​

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

Mieri's head spun almost immediately.

The pain wasn't so much a spike, but a dull wave that rushed from the top of her skull all the way down to her pinky toes. Like a ripple running over a calm puddle. It made her teeth ache and her nerves fray, goosebumps standing up all over her skin as the voice echoed in her head.

"What the fuck." Her head almost immediately turned left, then right, as if searching for the voice that had called out to her.

"Who?!" She whipped around, looking about in confusion until she noticed Caeso clutching his head. "Did you...?"

The sound had passed, replaced once more with the distant noise of the coming battle.

Her frown deepened as she glanced out towards Maratan. "You heard that too, right?"

Mieri asked cautiously.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

A few stray looks from the Rangers and some of the Guardsmen in the front ranks of the assembled formation, but other than that Caeso and Mieri were not paid much mind. Commander Teritus continued his speech, the fire in his words reaching their height as he neared the conclusion.

When the intrusion of the voice and the accompanying pain departed, Caeso righted himself and glanced over to Mieri. "Yes, I did." He scowled; the Kivren had their natural enchanting Song, but this? "There was no mention of a Kivren psionic. How bold of him to announce himself to us, to challenge us so. We shall have to obli—"

Caeso stopped in midsentence.

Looked up to the skies above Maratan.

It seemed at first like it could have been a trick of tired eyes, for the brightness of the Fire Mortars against the brightness of the blue sky had the former almost melting into the latter all throughout the Navy's assault. But...yes...the latest three Fire Mortars launched from the Navy vessel simply slowed and came to a stop above Maratan. There they hung in the air for a second.

Then reoriented themselves. Turned toward the formation of Guardsmen. And launched forward again with that frightening speed, howling as they came closer.

Scarcely was there time to react.

Caeso had his Forcefields to counter the incoming Mortars, but they were small, suitable only for self-protection or to ward a small group against danger—certainly not the entire formation. He could only counter one. He didn't know what Mieri would do, but, seeing one of the Mortars sailing directly for Commander Teritus, Caeso rushed to intercept. He slammed into the man in his haste, knocking the Commander down and interrupting his speech, and held up his hand to summon the bubble of the Forcefield around them. The Mortar struck, and it was a strange sight to behold: the Forcefield didn't absorb the blast like most protective wards and shields, but rather the magic slowed in the blink of an eye to a crawl. In slow motion did it "detonate," flames curling like lazy trickles of water along the curvature of the Forcefield, but so slow were they that they spread only a matter of inches before the magic as a whole dissipated on its own.

The other two Mortars, however...

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

There wasn't anything that Mieri could do.

Her magic was similar to Caeso's, but not close enough. She couldn't make force-fields, she couldn't direct other magics. All she could do was watch as the fireballs arched and moved towards them. Her eyebrows rising, and panic shooting through her chest. "LOOK OUT!"

She shouted as loud as she could, calling to the Guardsmen around them.

Mieri's figure became a blur, her entire form seeming to first shimmer and then flicker as she darted directly towards where the second mortar would land. Two arms caught around Guardsmen that had been standing there, though their companions were not so lucky.

The Initiate dragged them from their posts, pulling them away just as the fireball struck and washed the earth with flame. Both of them crashed to the ground as she came to a sudden stop, fire raging behind her as she whirled.

"Fuck!" She swore, the Anirian lines already shifting, horns sounding to alert the fleet as the momentary rupture of panic swept through the surrounding soldiers.

"Caeso!" Mieri called, stepping through a growing smoke. "Commander?"

The Initiate said as she darted forward towards where she had last seen her companion.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Commander Teritus, dazed from all but being tackled by Caeso and by the loud impacts of the Fire Mortars, blinked rapidly and looked up from his prone position. "What in the hell was that?"

Caeso stood from his crouch, reached down a helping hand, and aided the Commander to his feet. "A gaudy display from the enemy." He decided to leave out the part where the Psionic called to and challenged himself and Mieri.

As Teritus found his feet, he grinned derisively and huffed. "Then I'll give a bonus to the man or woman or brings me the head of the Kivren responsible. Ha, how's that for gaudy?"

Caeso! Commander?

The haze from the impacts drifted and dissipated enough to see Mieri emerge from it.

"We're here," Caeso said, the shimmer of his Forcefield dispersing.

"Initiates," said Teritus. "Convene with the Rangers. Get in that town. Smoke out and kill their gods-be-damned mage. The Guard will be right behind you." And with that Teritus stepped off toward the reassembling formations of soldiers and shouted, "CAPTAINS!" in preparation for his orders to them.

Caeso briefly watched him go, then turned his gaze to Mieri. His swords drew themselves and landed in his awaiting palms.

"We have a challenge to answer, and the blessing of our Commander to do so."

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

Mieri glanced back towards the man being dragged away from the fireball. Some of them were still alive, groaning as second and third degree burns set into their skin. Most were dead though, little less than cinders that needed to be carried away.

She turned back towards Caeso, head dipping in a nod. "She threw down the gauntlet."

The little Initiate said as she reached for the back of her belt pouch. From it she drew a set of gloves, slipping them over her fingers and adjusting the straps. An odd sort of sheen flickered over the leather as she set them into place, light that shouldn't have been there.

Quickly the two of them departed, moving down the line until they reached where the Rangers had been stationed. The cadre of special Guardsmen intending on breaching the walls nearer what was called the Coral Gate. A smaller, though no less important way into the city which faced the sea.

Guardsmen prepared ladders, but Mieri wasn't concerned about that. She glanced up at Caeso, and then motioned towards the gatehouse.

"Get me to the gate." She said, glancing at Caeso and the Rangers. "I'll take care of the res-."

"Nice of you to join us." Sergeant Gainsborough sneered derisively as he noticed the two Initiates.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

"Somebody needed to get this gate open," Caeso said, making no attempt this time to hide his contempt.

Gainborough scowled. "You are no lieutenant yet, boy."

"Nor do I need to be." Caeso flung his dual swords into the dirt, the blades sticking cleanly into the ground. His hands now freed, he channeled his magic into his arms to Enhance his strength, preparing to give Mieri that boost up and over the wall and to the gatehouse. "For my birth marks me of higher station than you could ever achieve, Sergeant."

Before Caeso could laced together his hands for the boost, Sergeant Gainsborough, his anger and his own contempt overcoming his military discipline in that moment, threw a hooked punch into Caeso's jaw, stunning him in surprise and actually causing him to stumble back a step. The Rangers were all to a man shocked and alarmed by the actions of their superior.

Gainsborough advanced for another savage punch.

Caeso, his arms Enhanced with strength which could be immediately deadly to a normal human, raised his fists, instinct and training taking over.

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

Things happened fast.

Most of the Rangers balked at the Sergeant as he shouted, more so when he struck Caeso in the face. Mieri could see a few of them step forward, more than a few call out in recompense, but only she saw what was about to happen.

She had fought alongside and against Caeso for most of her life. They had been on missions, trained in the Academy, and sparred together more than a few times.

Mieri saw the other Initiate tense, his fingers furl into a fist, and as Gainsborough stepped forward to strike again she knew exactly what would happen. Her entire body seemed to buzz, and then in the blink of an eye she darted forward.

Within an instant she charged, tackling Gainsborough to the ground and throwing him into the sands before he or Caeso could land another punch.

The sergeant went tumbling quickly to the ground, digging into the sand and swearing up a storm as he pulled himself up from the ground. Mieri already standing as she let out a held breath, head casting over towards Caeso. She opened her mouth to speak, but found the shouting words of the Sergeant burying anything she might have to offer.

"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU TWO!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, not realizing that Mieri had very likely saved his life. "I'LL HAVE YOU COURT MARTIALED FOR THIS! BOTH OF YOU! ASSAULTING A SUPERIOR OFFICER?!"

Gainsborough shouted, but the Rangers were already whispering around them. "Just because you're Dreadlords don't mean you're above the law."

The sergeant spat.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Mieri's action opened the floodgates for the Rangers, and they were driven to act themselves. A good half of them went to Mieri and Sergeant Gainsborough, trying to put themselves between the Sergeant and Caeso for one and keeping Mieri (uncertain still of her intentions) back from the Sergeant as well. The other half rushed to restrain and pull back Caeso, wrenching back those readied arms of his. Caeso offered no resistance to all of this, letting his Enhancement of Strength fade. His back was pressed to the Coral Gate's wall and Rangers were crowding around him.

Plenty of words in various tones spoken to him from the Rangers:

"Easy, easy, easy." "We're still got a town to break." "Keep yourself together." "Don't do this, lad."

The red haze, that which descends so readily in the flash of violence to bring out one's more bestial instincts of survival and triumph, lifted, and though there was still plenty of heat to his anger some clear thoughts were available to Caeso again. He knew that Mieri had thrown herself into harm's way to save that sorry excuse of a Sergeant and that not a word of thanks would be uttered to her from him for it.

This was vindicated when Gainsborough was scrambling to his feet, yelling his vitriol.

Caeso's face contorted with rage and he shouted back, "You need us! Do my words find your ears? YOU! NEED! US!"

And he wasn't just merely talking about himself and Mieri in relation to the Rangers. More so, he spoke on the relationship between Dreadlords as a whole and the Guard. Yet it was likely not going to be received this way.

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

Mieri felt a hand on her shoulder, but the shrugged it off and took several voluntary steps back. Hands raising up idly as she looked towards Caeso who was still shouting.

His words echoed out over the din of distant battle, but the focus of those around them was almost entirely on the Dreadlords and the sergeant. Most of the Rangers still seemed to be trying to keep a lid on things, though a few had expressions of anger while others were simply bewildered.

"ARREST THEM!" The Sergeant bellowed, pointing a finger at the two Dreadlords.

The Rangers looked at one another, more out of confusion than anything else. Not knowing what to do. Those that held back Caeso glanced to Mieri, and those that had assembled themselves around the redhead looked back at their fellows.

Neither wanting to make the first move. "You can't arrest us! We didn't even do anything!"

Mieri, as much as most of her peers, new the rules and regulations of the Guard. Over the last two years as the two entities had merged the Academy had ensured proper education of rank, function, and rules was all provided to the Initiates.

"Insubordination, threatening a superior officer, assaulting a superior officer." Gainsborough began to list, and then looked to the other Rangers. "ARREST THEM DAMNIT!"

He repeated once again, and the Rangers around the two Dreadlords began to murmur. Most of them knew that the Dreadlords were still needed, but they were Guardsmen all. Good men who followed orders now faced with one they didn't want to.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

"None of which happened!" Caeso countered, making a bid to sway to the Rangers around himself and Mieri. "Insubordination, you say? Initiate Taras and I were interrupted in our task by you! Threats, you say? Fragile and meek you are to take any of what I have said as a threat! Assault, you say? All eyes here know that it was you who threw the first and only punch!"

His case stated, and with time so short, he closed on the one thing he thought might help persuade the Rangers to form a united front against Gainsborough.

To all the Rangers he said, "Good fortune be with you when you join battle alone with the Kivren Psion inside Maratan!"

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

The Rangers looked at one another, Caeso's words ringing more than true for most of them.

They knew how hard the fighting would be in Maratan, but more than that they knew Gainsborough was wrong. All of them had witnessed the man's transgressions, had heard how he'd spoken to the Dreadlords and how he'd treated them from the very start. None of them were fools.

One could almost feel the hesitation in the men, and they stalled in following their orders. "Come on!"

Mieri urged.

"We just want to do our job." Her hand raised in a gesture towards the Sergeant. "Don't let him get you killed."

Gainsborough was practically fuming at this point, his face as red as a tomato and his demeanor speaking to the absolute hatred he felt in that moment. For a second it seemed as though the man would launch himself at Caeso again, and then one of the Rangers stepped up to his side.

"Sergeant...perhaps it would be best if we let the Dreadlords do their job..." The words were spoken tepidly, slowly. "We can...bring these matters to the Commander after."

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Sergeant Gainsborough breathed heavily from his anger and the dose of adrenaline. His eyes flicked from Ranger to Ranger, and none among his men dropped their gaze when met with his. He looked disdainfully to Mieri. To Caeso. Elsewhere, along the more forward gates into Maratan, battle had been joined, cries of war and the clash of steel carrying from there to all their idle ears.

Gainsborough's face pinched hard with a simmering renewal of anger, and he growled, "The Commander will decide your fate. After we break through Maratan. Until then, do not add any more charges against yourselves, or I will have you summarily executed. Understood?"

The Rangers restraining Caeso let up some, and he stood straight and under his own power. He glared at Gainsborough but yet said nothing.

Gainsborough's nostrils flared, and he said again, louder, "Understood??"

"Understood," Caeso said. "Sergeant."

He flicked his arms out to his sides, Enhanced them with additional strength, and entwined his hands to make ready to boost Mieri. Finally, they could get the gatehouse open before this whole fiasco had wasted valuable time in the heat of battle.

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

A dubious look crossed Mieri's features as Gainsborough relented.

For half a moment she expected him to pull out the rug from underneath them. Throw another punch at Caeso, shout to arrest them again, something. The man had enough disdain in him that she wouldn't put it past him to abandon the lines and go whisper in the Commander's ear.

When he finally turned and stepped away, Mieri snarled. Shaking her head as she broke from the Rangers that had gathered around her.

They seemed to linger for a moment themselves, then slowly formed back up into formation. Preparing to move quickly towards the gate. Bows swapped in favor of shield and sword. All of them knowing the barrage of bolts and arrows that would soon be raining down on them.

"Prick." Mieri muttered to herself as she cut through the throng and stepped up to Caeso.

"Don't worry." Some of the chipperness returned to her tone, almost as though she were trying to cheer him up. "The Commander will see the truth, probably won't get more than a slap on the wrist."

The Rangers would back them up, and Caeso hadn't turned Gainsborough into a thin paste. That would probably count for something.

Elsewhere, the battle had already been joined. Now lagging behind Mieri flung her arms back and forth for a second, stretching to the left, then to the right as she prepared herself. Taking slow breaths before looking up at Caeso again. "Come on, let's get this done."

 

[Caeso Diemut]

"Let us hope that in Commander Teritus then there exists some semblence of reason," Caeso said in low tones. Woe be to all of them if another wayward word set off Sergeant Gainsborough again, further throwing the Rangers into tardiness and disarray.

Caeso posted himself up against the wall next to the Coral gate, made the platform with his entwined hands for Mieri to step a foot onto and be boosted up.

"Our indispensibility shall be demonstrated once this gate is open and battle is joined."

He could have blown down the gates himself, as Mieri could have punched a hole through them and removed the cross-bar holding them shut, but this was the more efficient method. With the Kivren Psion lurking within Maratan, its power openly displayed before the assault, what magic they could afford to spare could only aid them in the coming fight.

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

Mieri offered Caeso a curt nod. They were here to do a job, and Dreadlords always got the job done. Her eyes flickered up the walls for a brief moment, noting where the small shifts in the rocks were, and then quickly darted forward.

Her boot landed in Caeso's interlaced fingers, and she bounded upward.

With a single leap, the little Initiate launched herself onto the wall. Gloved fingers reaching out and grasping the upper parapet before she quickly pulled herself up and over.

A thrall standing on the other side half turned as she landed, it's face expressing only empty emotion as it suddenly swung a sword at her. The blade was batted aside, and with a firm strike the man went crashing over the side of the wall.

Her head turned left, then right, noting strangely that no others seemed to be present on the wall.

A second later she dipped down over the side of the parapet, lowering herself just enough and stretching out a hand so that Caeso could grasp her palm and she could yank him up the rest of the way. One fluid, and surprisingly practiced motion that saw the two Dreadlords land inside Maratan.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Caeso watched with arms crossed as the evidence of Mieri's handiwork, the thrall launched over the side of the wall, smacked hard into the ground beside and behind him. One of the Rangers dutifully stepped forward and crouched, not taking any chances despite how mangled that bewitched human body looked, and confirmed the kill by stabbing a dagger up through the soft flesh beneath the thrall's chin.

Mieri, a moment later, appeared over the wall with a hand extended out. Caeso made no movement, and indeed looked slightly annoyed by the gesture.

"Cute," he called up to her. "Now get that gate open."

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

Mieri shrugged her shoulders, slipping back and over the wall without much of any hesitation. She landed with a surprising amount of quiet, head immediately turning left and right. A frown touched her face, expecting to see some of the thralls at least nearby.

When she spotted none, a small pit formed in her stomach.

Where they resisting the main thrust of the army? That had to be it. The Kivren wanted to stall the Commanders forces. Maratan was only a small token for them, Mieri and Caeso had learned that much. Plus, they hadn't been prepared for a siege.

Not a real one.

Nodding to herself Mieri quickly darted to the left. Creeping besides the wall until finally she found the small entrance of the coral gate. There, finally, she did spot a few of the mindless men that had been turned by the invaders. Her lips thinned, counting their number.

Not too many, but killing them all would take time.

Dancing on her feet, Mieri let her magic slowly trickle through her body. Building strength until she stepped out and then darted forward.

Like a flash of lightning she moved, cutting between the thralls standing watch and rushing directly towards the gate itself. When she got close she bound into the air, pulling back her hand and thrusting out with one powerful blow that landed in the middle of the gates crossbeam.

A loud crack rang out as the wood splintered and the gates burst open.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

After the resounding crack and the jostling of the mighty gates, the doors were forcibly flung open. Caeso stood there, arms still held out to his sides, and in the way he dropped them it seemed as though he gave the command for all the Rangers beside him to loose arrows—which indeed they did. The thralls had wheeled about to give battle to Mieri yet they all caught a hail of arrows in their militia armor, in the gaps thereof, and with tormented groans the thralls collapsed and writhed and lay still.

He looked with almost disappointment down to the small token force of guarding thralls. By the faraway sound of it, Commander Teritus's Guardsmen were taking the brunt of the enemy force head-on.

Nevertheless, Caeso glanced to Mieri. Said, "Good work."

Sergeant Gainsborough, because of course he would, stepped forward and said brusquely, "It's not good work yet. If these Kivren indeed have a 'psion' or whatever you called it, it's imperative that we find and destroy it. Let's move out."

One of the Rangers, near the back of the formation, said with a fearful look on his face, "Does anyone else hear singing...?"

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

Mieri smiled as Caeso offered her the small compliment, thinking that perhaps the earlier divide between them could have been bridged again. He wasn't really that bad, aside from having the brain of an ox and the demeanor of an ornery lion.

Though the happy thought was immediately cut off as Sergeant Gainsborough immediately began to rain on the parade. Her eyes nearly rolled out of her skull, but she kept her tongue tightly packed between her teeth. Keeping it from lashing out at their fool.

She turned around to move with the Rangers, half stopping as one of them asked about a song.

A frown touched her lips for a brief moment as she paused, turning her head in an attempt to listen better.

Just as the Ranger said, in the distance one could just barely hear the echoing of a conjunction of voices. Yet it did not come from the city, nor anyone else that carried over the air. No, it trickled through the mind, ones very thoughts.

"I hea-" Before she could say anything at all, one of the Rangers suddenly let out a horrid shout.

His hands fell away from his blade and shield, both tumbling to the ground as he began to viciously claw and tear at his own head.

"GET IT OUT! MAKE IT STOP!"​

The Ranger shouted as he began to charge at one of his fellows.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

The scuffle which ensued was fast and hectic and absolutely what they didn't need at this moment.

Since the afflicted Ranger had dropped his weapons, his comrades were far less inclined to take lethal measures to stop him. They instead piled on him after he tackled one of his fellow Rangers. Yet the afflicted Ranger even with three men grappling with him on the ground put up a struggle like a caged demon. One of the three men was shrugged right off.

Caeso discarded his swords and jumped into the fight.

"Don't let him get my knife!" said the Ranger who had been tackled. "Don't let him get my knife!"

Caeso grabbed the afflicted Ranger's arm and twisted it. Could have broken it if he twisted it any further. Certainly would have broken it if he engaged his magic to any capacity, and so for the afflicted man's own health he dare not unless he had no other choice.

"Grab his legs!" Caeso called back to Mieri. "Hold him down!"

A hard pressure came to his upper arm, just beneath the termination of his leather spaulder. The afflicted Ranger was trying to bite through his doublet sleeve! Kress, he'd been driven mad and feral.

Mieri

 

[Mieri]

Mieri scrambled forward, grabbing the Ranger's legs almost the instant Caeso called out to her.

The man continued to struggle, throwing himself against the weight which held him as he wildly tried to attack everyone around him. His mouth opened, teeth snapping like a wild animal at those Rangers standing next to him. "LET ME GO!"

He shouted.

"LET ME GO!" The demand came as Mieri slammed his legs down against the ground, pinning him in place as hard as she could.

It was clear that the man wasn't going to let him, driven absolutely mad by whatever that song in the distance was.

"GET IT OUT!" He shouted. "GET IT OUT GET IT OUTGETITOUT!

His words slurred together, muscles straining as he did his best to break out of the hold the others held him in. "Kress! Knock him out or something!"

Mieri called out as she received a hard kick to the ribs.