Private Tales Night Rats

[Ta'Kar]

Ta'Kar stood at the mouth of a tunnel, his gloved hands tightening the various leather straps of his armor as he waited for the officer. He had spent days in these tunnels, fighting creatures that were either twice his size or goblins that were at least half his size. His blades were caked in blood from the encounters he had but he had finally found it. The tunnels that he had been searching for, etched with dwarven design as they were expertly carved with their runes in the wall for protection and luck.

The main army planned on laying siege to the dwarves but even if they took the hold, the dwarves would continue to be a thorn in their side because of their resilient nature. They had passageways built throughout the Underrealm and mountains that allowed them to rapidly reinforce and retreat from their holds. If the passageways remained open, the war would drag and transform into a constant battle of attrition then anything else and they didn't have time for something like that. This had been his objective instead of readying himself for the siege.

With the discovery of the passageways, Ta'Kar had sent a message back to the forward camp and to the officer that been entrusted to be in charge, for them to rendezvous at the entrance. The drow wanted to continue but he had been ordered to wait for reinforcements once he had found the tunnels. So, Ta'Kar remained against the wall with his arms crossed as he silently waited, his weapons sheathed but ready for a surprise patrol. There were torches that illuminated the dwarven highways deeper inside that barely touched him; which meant that this part was still frequently used by the stunted race.

 

[Zathria At'Arel]

Zathria had been preparing the forces for the siege, but her heart had always lay with scouting and small team tactics. Infiltration would always be close to her heart, and after making sure that she had picked officers she trusted for the main assault, she had let them prepare while she had turned her attention to scouting the dwarven defenses.

The defenses were harsh, and in order for the main force to advance without too much warning, the Drow would need to eliminate the patrols and plug their smaller escape routes.

When one of the scouts returned to warn her that the crossroads of the dwarven tunnels had been discovered, she dropped what she was doing and took up her arms. A squad was brought in and she set out into the tunnels immediately, marching swiftly and quietly toward the location.

Report, she whispered quietly as she arrived, spotting the Drow male at the edge of the highway. No doubt there were dwarves that had been traveling along this route, though it seemed sparse at the moment. That offered them some options for dealing with the situation.

Orbit

 

[Ta'Kar]

It had only been a few more minutes until he started to hear the padded footsteps of his fellow soldiers. He had been around the camp long enough to discern them by sound and with the Dwarves loving their heavy armor, there was quite a difference. Ta'Kar pushed off the wall when the officer approached and put a closed fist to his chest momentarily before returning it to his side. "Runes along the walls. It is dwarven craftsmanship."

Ta'Kar glanced at the entrance before back to Zathria, "From time to time there have been rumblings. With the main hold a few miles deeper, it could be a small outpost and resting station." The drow had taken the liberty of scoping it out somewhat but the stunted race was quite fond of their traps and he didn't take the risk.

"We should move soon. Patrols haven't frequented yet but if we get caught, we'll be pincered in a labyrinth." Ta'Kar suggested respectfully as he had searched for these tunnels and had some personal experience. That was the undesirable aspect about this operation. The dwarves were the only ones who built and wholeheartedly knew of the layout of the passageways with it being handed down generation after generation. It would be very easy for a small army or even squad to forever be lost in there if they were careless.

 

[Zathria At'Arel]

Zathria's eyes scanned out over the darkness of this place. The occasional glow could be seen, and her sharp hearing picked up the occasional clanking of boots down the passage. They lacked urgency, however, which she took as a good sign that the drow assault still remained undiscovered.

I'm aware, she snipped as he told her they could be pincered. Still, she couldn't argue that he was one of her best scouts, and there was something to be said for his opinions. Male or not.

She frowned and her mind tore through their options before settling on a plan. She pointed at her XO and immediately began rattling off orders.

Take the squad back up the path to cover our exit path. Don't get spotted, she told the woman.

She then pointed to two of the soldiers there, a female archer and a male mage, You two come with me. Ta'Kar, take the front. We're going to scout this route, she said.

She eased one of her swords from its sheathe, and motioned forward, falling in behind Ta'Kar as they traveled forward.

The route twisted and turned, but the mage - if he didn't die - could provide them with a clairvoyant route back to their rendezvous point.

 

[Ta'Kar]

Ta'Kar nodded at when she stated that she was already aware of what he told her. "Of course." The treatment was nothing new and something to expect when he was a male. Zathria treated him "nicer" then most but It was one of the reasons why he became a scout for now as they expanded; it let him only have to worry about himself. Anything else he most likely met was trying to kill him and he could appreciate that because they were upfront about it.

His eyes followed the group that left before being returned to the officer as she dictated him and the others to join her in breaching the tunnels. The honor of being lead was given to him and he didn't blame her. He knew the tunnels better and he wasn't a mage or a female, expendable as well. Ta'Kar stepped into the tunnel and began to head deeper and towards the light. At first, it was nearly impossible to look at until his eyes finally got their bearings around it. The ability to see in the dark was something that he would never trade away.

As they navigated deeper, the runes on the walls grew more prominent and in size as well as dwarven statues of either deities or famous figures. Ta'Kar scanned the ground and walls for traps but couldn't keep his gaze from the craftsmanship that he saw. While he didn't appreciate dwarves, the drow had always been a fan of culture and always took the opportunity to learn it when he could.

But only a few steps later, the small group would hear the grumblings of dwarves before a sharp, "OI!" Ta'Kar thought it was directed at them for a moment but there wasn't a rushing sound of boots. The sound of voices was getting closer however and the drow glanced back to Zathria before just subtly stepping to the side and into the shadows to become hidden.

 

[Zathria At'Arel]

Zathria followed quietly, her steps nearly as practiced as Ta'Kars in silent movement. They proceeded through the tunnels in silence, each of the soldiers was an expert at this sort of patrol. They could move through these tunnels without alerting the murderous creatures that called this place home. They were drow, and they would be the rulers of everything below the surface.

That included the dwarves that they now hunted through these tunnels. The sound reached them as the runes increased in frequency. She saw Ta'Kar step to one side of the walk, and she stepped to the other. Her hand slipped down and grabbed the blade of her sword. At this range, half-swording would serve her better than a full length swing.

Heavy boot falls could be heard drawing closer, but they lacked urgency. They were simply a curious couple heading toward the drow. Zathria knew that as soon as they rounded the corner, they would spot the two dark elves and the game would be up. An alarm would be raised, and scouting would become much more difficult. That couldn't be allowed.

She made a series of hand gestures toward the elven scout to signal that each of them would bring down one of the targets before dragging the bodies from the passage.

3... 2... 1... she counted down with her fingers. In a flash she was around the corner, she shoved her sword up, aiming the tip into the gap below the helmet and above the gorget. She could feel warm blood gush out onto her hand as the body fell.

She seized the strap and began to pull the body, throwing a glance over to make sure that Ta'Kar did the same with his body.

We'll need to find a way to bring down the tunnels. At a crossroads to conserve power, she said. It was their next job to find that crossroads. No small task, but that was why the best were down here.

Ta'Kar

 

[Ta'Kar]

Ta'Kar had his back pressed against the wall and waited patiently. Even in the perfect darkness, he could see Zathria start to count down with her fingers and it was one of the benefits of having lived underneath the ground for so long. His hand silently slid to his chest and slowly pulled out a knife from a sheathe strapped to his armor. The dwarves drew closer and when she finally reached one with her finger, he struck out with her.

The dwarf he had was preoccupied with witnessing his compatriot die and didn't even notice the other drow. Ta'Kar with his free hand, simply pushed the dwarf's helmeted head to the side to expose the neck and plunged his knife into it. It was one strike as well and he kept the blade in as he used the hilt to drag the sturdy body back as well into the shadows. When he stepped out again, he wiped off his blade on some of his fabric.

Zathria wanted to bring down the tunnels and he glanced in the direction of where the patrol had come from. "Let's see where they wandered from." Ta'Kar didn't expect that these two dwarves were just exploring the tunnels on their own and he suspected that meant something was deeper for them to stop and rest. "Your crossroads may be there." The knife had been returned to it's sheathe as he took the lead of the group once more and started to go deeper but still waited for the officer.

 

[Zathria At'Arel]

In short order they had brought down both dwarves and dragged the bodies from sight. That was ideal and allowed them to continue to move quietly and with ease. She listened to what Ta'Kar said and nodded.

Agreed. We'll need to see where they came from, she said. Though she had a feeling that wherever they came from the Drow would find many more of their enemy.

She continued down their path, eyes sweeping over the passages that broke off on each side. Any one of them could have been filled with enemies, monstrosities, or paths that were more useful than this main route, but she pressed on anyway. All roads would surely lead to the center of this maze.

That was when she heard it. A quiet scraping along the stones. She had heard that sound before, and it was enough to send a chill down the spines of any scout worth their salt. "Stalkers" were one of the few creatures in the underrealm that every intelligent creature feared. Phasing in and out of incorporeality meant that cutting down a stalker was incredibly difficult, and they could tear through most any squad in short order. They were thankfully rare, but anyone who had seen - or heard the scraping claws - of one before knew that to face one down was an unnecessary danger, and the smartest thing to do was simply run and hide. Orbit

 

[Ta'Kar]

The walk between the four of them was relatively silent. Ta'Kar was still in the lead and he continued to remain vigilant as always. He didn't know how long it would be until they reached the crossroads if it was there, and they could be ambushed at any time. As if on cue, that's when he heard the sound echoing across the tunnel that made the whole group stop. It wasn't dwarves this time but Stalkers and that was worse.

Ta'Kar dipped to the side once more, crouching down beside a rock and pressing himself against it tightly to stop himself from moving. Everyone else in the group got down in short order but when the female archer did, one of her arrows slipped out of her quiver and onto the ground. She tried to reach out a hand to catch it but was to slow and the sound rattled but was comparable to an explosion. The scraping stopped and the tunnel descended into silence.

The archer stared at the arrow before suddenly she fell onto her stomach with force and was simply dragged back into the darkness. She let out a scream but it only lasted for a second before there was a wet squelch that cut it off. A few seconds later, the scraping started once more and it was right on top of them. Ta'Kar turned his head slightly and could see its shadow on the wall. It was taller than the drow and even humans, it standing on two legs with its long snout sniffing the air periodically. It stood there for a few seconds, its claws still raking against the stone until eventually it's form slipped back into the shadows and disappeared.