Dreadlords Overachievers

[Naser]

Cortos - Free City of Altera - Warehouse District
​

Altera had always been a place of beauty. Untouched by the ravages of war or the threat of Pirates, the city had maintained something of an accord with nearly everyone who might offer it any threat. Situated on the western expanse of Cortos itself, the city was a hub of trade, maintaining its peace for one reason and one reason alone; the unique seaweed which grew within its waters.

Built within the ancient crater of a volcano, the unique mixture of nutrient rich soil and high altitude created a strange plant which when properly processed created an intensely useful medicinal cure.

The value of this could not be understated, and the cure was used nearly around the world. Shipped to Alliria, Elbion, and even far away places such as Tyr. It was through this drug that Altera managed to keep itself free. Threatening to either destroy the seaweed itself if invasion came, or simply stop it's production permanently.

It was an ultimatum that none had chosen to yet challenge.

Until now.

With war in the east brewing, Altera had chosen a side. Deciding that they would no longer supply their famed medicines to the people of Vel Anir. A fact which the new Republic could not stand. The question of course came in what to do about it, which was why Naser now found himself laying across a bed of crates as his peers discussed their murderous plans.

He played with a coin, slowly rolling it back and forth over his knuckles and occasionally letting it fall only to quick snap it back up.

Their mission was a simple one; Kill the Doge of Altera and ensure that the replacement was one who saw Vel Anir in a favorable way. Their candidates had already been chosen by the people back home, and all the Initiate's had to do was figure out how to kill the man currently in charge. Why was it up to them? Simple. They were no Dreadlords, and if caught could easily be disavowed.

A fact which had been made startingly clear to them. "Won't work."

Nas called out to his companions as one of them suggested going over the walls of the Central Palace.

"Saw it on the way in, walls are warded." He'd seen the brief flash of it, an 'attempt' of someone who'd had the near urge to jump over. The sight had allowed him to peek into the possibility...and it had not ended well. Half of him had been glad not to see the smoking corpse that would have resulted. Though the other half thought it might have brought some much needed spark to their painfully droll stroll through the city. "We should find another way in."

The Initiate said, flipping the coin once more, but offering no actual suggestion of his own.

 

[Avery]

Avery twisted her face with frustration, her idea being shot down so easily by Naser. Who could counter his word, when he would have better idea of what would work. Hands on her hips, she rounded onto him with clear annoyance on her face. "Well, let's walk right through those gates then, shall we? You've shot down every other idea we have all come up with."

It felt as if a Proctor posed a question to them all, one that required them to think and participate by answering when the Proctor knew what they were looking for. Admittedly, Avery hadn't really familiarised herself with this region of Cortos, and only had the fluency of the language to offer.

That, and her magic. There would be too many bodies to manipulate for her to handle at any given time, could deplete her reserves if she stretched herself too thin.

She turned to look at the others in company. "We've made it this far..." She shrugged.

And so they will keep coming up with a plan.

 

[Kael]

Kael hated being in the field. This sort of assignment was exactly what Kael was supposed to be good at, supposed to be trained for. Now he’d be getting attention for success, because he’d helped Vel Anir, or getting attention because he failed at the thing the Academy was building him for.

A true lose-lose.

A grumpy raven landed near the group of initiates and rapidly grew into Kael’s human form. Avery seemed angry at Nasar. Kael didn’t know anyone assigned the job particularly well and didn’t reinforce either side. Instead he began drawing a topographical map of the city.

“There are gates here and here at the walls. Patrols seem to focused on this district of the city.” Kael drew quickly and brutally, but legibly. “Archers are stationed across the walls in regular intervals like so.” Kael paused for a moment and looked at the other initiates.

“Something we should consider is this section here isn’t covered by archer fire, and gives us access into to the sewers beneath the city.”

 

[Marcia]

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Marcia sat with her back against the crates, gently thumping the back of her head against the wood as her foot tapped in rapid, impatient succession.

All of their ideas were currently on the ground at their feet, shot down from the sky before they could be fully formed and put into action. She didn't need to speak; Avery was already doing a fine job in that respect and with about ninety per cent less shouting than would have happened were it to erupt from Marcia's maw.

Thud. Thud.

She was focused on keeping her rage in check, just like the Proctors had attempted to show her. It was all in the breathing. Count the breathing. Initiate Kael was speaking. In through the nose, two, three, four. Hold. Out through the mouth, two, three, sewers.

Sewers?

Next, Naser would tell them that there were armed sewer trolls with knives for hand and that he'd seen visions of Kael's giblets in a fine mist.

Thud.

"The verdict on the sewers?" Marcia managed to ask through her teeth without swearing or threatening the largely unhelpful Initiate blessed with premonition.

 

[Naser]

"There's no need to be sarcastic, Av." Nas said, poking once again as he always did, though falling silent as Kael appeared once more.

His face almost immediately turned sour as the other Initiate mentioned the sewers, but then came the stark realization that it was the only place he hadn't seen any one of them dying horribly...at least right off the bat anyway.

Snapping up the coin, Nas kicked his legs off the edge of the crate and pulled himself up into a seated position. "No mutilations downs there."

He declared, shrugging his shoulders.

"Least not when we open the grate." No telling really what was down there. He'd read before that sewers in Cortos were sometimes filled with giant water lizards. "So probably the best way in."

The Initiate continued as he tucked the coin into his pouch. "But it'll probably smell like shit."

Obviously.

 

[Avery]

Avery snorted at Kael's suggestion of the sewers.

Her sneer melted from her face when Marcia spoke.

Then she turned in horror to face Nas.

"Kress, no!" She exclaimed, already feeling nauseous at the thought of them going into the sewers. "Have you lot even heard about the creatures that live down there?!"

Avery's heart began to beat faster at the thought of sensing heartbeats other than those belonging to the other three and herself. She began to shake her head profusely, knowing all three of them would vote against her. There had to be another way.

She had barely any experience with controlling the body of an animal, let alone something more, a creature or beast. Cathaoir would rather take her chances controlling multiple guards at once than go to the sewers, but she had not offered herself to do such a thing when her own magic intimidated her. Avery could practically hear Nas in her head shooting that idea down before she could even voice it.

Liability.

 

[Kael]

The sewer seemed to be the path of least resistance, though the snort of Avery did not go unnoticed. Kael continued to draw on his map, held it out for a second, and decided it was good enough. He rolled the parchment and stuffed it into his pack.

"Honestly I hope the rumors are true." Kael replied to Avery. "If there are creatures lurking that means the guards can't or won't handle them, and we should be able to get in the city without being detected. Probably means the guards are softer too once we get inside." Kael might regret those words later, but he had a feeling a proper Dreadlord shouldn't. And if there was anything he knew about being an Initiate, it was about pretending to be a proper Dreadlord.

"Shall we swim over? Or do we need to commandeer a boat?" Kael asked. He had no idea how to operate a boat, but decided if there was a beast in the sewers he'd prefer not to tire himself with a swim.

 

[Marcia]

Marcia was up and onto her feet the moment after Naser confirmed that there were no mutilations to be had. The game of 'shoot everybody's ideas down' had worn her patience down to a mere sliver, and no amount of shit-water and sewer creatures could dissuade her now.

"Sounds like we have a plan on our hands," the girl stated bluntly, "shit or no shit."

The notion of creatures hardly bothered her, and giant water lizards were more palatable than her imagined knife-handed sewer trolls. "Think of it as a live training opportunity, Avery," she said to the girl who was more nervous than an Anirian Guardsman one day before retirement. "You either adapt and improve..."

She picked up her shield and slung it onto her back.

"...or you die."

Approaching Kael, the girl folded her arms and looked up at him with the full fury of her expectant impatience. "I'm not leaving my shield, no swimming. Where's the nearest grate?"

 

[Naser]

"Marshall Marci has it." Nas said as he hopped off the crate.

He had been on these sorts of missions often enough to know that it was often best to follow someone else's lead. Though the Proctor's hadn't exactly bestowed any of them with a rank above the others, he figured that Marcia was the best at this particular juncture.

Kael asked a lot of questions, Avery was scared of poop, and He...didn't care.

Marci at least made the choice. "Harbor is closest."

Nas answered for Kael as he grabbed the small blade from where he'd thrown it earlier and slung it over his back. The short dagger-like sword strapped into place on the same bandolier that held his throwing knives.

"We can steal a boat there." Nas offered with a surprising, though still small, amount of enthusiasm for their now decided path. Perhaps only because it would mean they would get out of here sooner rather than later.

A theory that proved more true as he began to head towards the warehouse door.

 

[Avery]

"Oh, Kress..." Avery whined softly, dragging her feet to walk away from those not opposed to the sewers. They were all going to need to soak for days after this. A hand went to her braided hair, pouting at the thought of it clinging to the smells wafting down where they were going to infiltrate into the Central Palace.

Even as the group all moved towards the harbour, the smells didn't greet them pleasantly either. Stench of fish and the sea, unwashed crew going about their business. As kindly as she could, Avery lifted the collar of her shirt over her nose and frowned. She was beginning to think Cortos was home to many cities that didn't smell pleasant.

"Everything looks occupied." Her eyes scanned the area once again before turning to her other classmates. "We should keep looking, but we don't exactly blend in either..."

 

[Kael]

The warehouse presented a number of options, but as Avery mentioned, they were all occupied in some manner or another. He played with a coin in his pocket as he inspected the area before spotting a fisherman walking to his boat with large dog. Now there was an idea.

“When no path is open there is nothing to do but create one.” Kael replied. He might have heard that from a proctor, or a book, but he couldn’t remember.

“See that boat with the yellow star painted on the right side?” He pointed whispering. It was large enough to carry the quartet, but it would be a squeeze. It was being unloaded by a pair of fishermen, sorting the fish into different buckets according to their size and breed.

“Only two men around it, I’ll get at least one off and catch up to you guys in a minute.” He said before rubbing his hands together and planting them on the ground. Hands shifted to paws as he pushed forward, mimicking the shape of the dog he’d seen earlier. He scampered forward towards the pair in a measured fashion before seeing an opportunity. Dog-Kael grabbed the bucket of what appeared to be the meatiest fish and bolted.

“Hey mutt!” He heard behind him as he ran. Hopefully he’d catch the attention of two, but if not the other initiates would figure something out.

 

[Marcia]

For all of Avery's olfactory theatrics, she wasn't wrong.

Far from weathered fishermen with calloused hands for rope and hardy frames for sailing, they were a gaggle of well-armed teenage mercenaries. Hardly the spitting image of subtlety. Marcia was more than aware that the shield on her back made her look like a particularly shiny (and angry) turtle.

With no boat left moored and unattended, it was on them to borrow one. Kael took the lead, darting off in canine form in what was a respectable distraction. One of the two men took to darting after the Initiate, or instead stumbling as the fisherman nearly tripped over his feet to give chase in pursuit of their fish.

It left them with one to deal with.

"I've got it," she stated so the others would not interfere. Retrieving her dagger from her belt, Marcia angled the well-maintained blade and stared into its reflective surface. Her mirror image, invisible to the naked eye, departed, sprinting towards the second man, who stood there watching his colleague attempt to catch Kael. "Get ready to unmoor the boat."

With a running leap, her reflection jumped onto the back of the man, one arm wrapping around his neck and the other providing leverage to cut off the blood supply to his brain. It was more about applying technique over raw strength, suiting her diminutive frame.

Everybody else would have seen the fisherman flounder for a moment, his hands fruitlessly moving to grasp at an assailant who wasn't even there. His face, already weather-beaten, grew a deeper shade of red as he dropped to one knee and then face-planted with all the dignity of an inebriated goat.

"Let's hustle," Marcia said to Naser and Avery as she remained focused on the blade; she did not intend to let go of the man until they were ready to depart.

 

[Naser]

"All you, Captain." Nas said as he crouched don, gently grabbing the back of Avery's dress and pulling her down so that she would do the same. He watched, for a second time, as Marcia's mirror image flickered forward and grabbed the man within the reflection.

He waited, and then heard the other Initiate's whisper.

Without a second of hesitation Nas darted forward. Moving across the dock within the span of a few heartbeats. A knife slipping into his palm and slipping beneath the knots holding the small boat into place. Rope cut, Nas grabbed the edge of the boat and held it as Avery and Marcia slipped onto the dingy.

A second later he turned his head, eyes turning white as a premonition of Kael's return flickered across his vision. Without waiting, the Initiate slipped into the boat himself. Knowing their final companion would make it back just fine.

With a kick, he sent them into the flow of the canal. Using the boats rèmo to push them towards the grate. Just a few moments later, the smells around them grew even worse as they passed into the darkness of the sewers.

 

[Avery]

Even as they began to float away from the docks, they were not entirely unseen.

A guard shouted after them, and Avery whipped around, sending her braids lethally flying with the motion. Her hands leapt up and began to cast her magic, and the guard froze in place. His eyes nearly bulged out, straining against the loss of autonomy on his own body. Avery was panting with the effort to keep him there, but she pushed past the difficulty and fixated on his heart.

It was strong, beating erratically as he had been trying to fight her enchantments, but Avery was well versed in matters of the heart... perhaps in altering them.

His heart slowed, his body slackening as it did so. Her eyes never left his, needed that visual in order to have her magic work the strongest. Before she could lose sight of him, his body fell and was rendered unconscious. Avery fell to her knees, breathing hard to work back her strength, but caught mouthfuls of horrendous odours that wafted from the sewers.

"I think I would rather smell Nas' boots than this." She groaned, looking pale with nausea as Avery hesitated to lean over the side of their boat, afraid of what may lurk in those waters.

 

[Kael]

The fisherman followed mutt-Kael for about thirty seconds before Kael slowed. The fisherman grabbed the handle of the bucket, and Kael put out a convincing growl.

“No. Nooooo! Mine!” The fisherman yelled, before Kael released the bucket from his fangs. The fisherman went backwards, losing his balance and planting on the ground. Kael took off, aiming to find somewhere secluded. It took a moment but Kael found the space he needed from prying eyes to make the shift to parrot form and took to the skies. He soared just in time to see the fisherman that had spotted his crew, and the response from Avery.

So that’s why she was here. Here Kael thought she was just another prissy noble. No, she had power. He wondered how much of her attitude was an act. Something for Kael to be wary of. The parrot flapped over the water, following the boat of Initiates.


"Smells like shit."The parrot squelched, in a not perfect but distinctly Naser voice. Having confirmed he was Kael the bird landed before shifting back to human form. The initiate searched around for some way to help. He found an oar and began mimicking peers, attempting to do roughly the same thing.

“@Marcia I’m curious.” The initiate began. “And feel free not to tell me, but does your reflection stuff work over water?” He asked, then looked over the boat. A brown lump of sludge passed them.

“Well, clean water I should say.”

 

[Marcia]

So far, so good.

It was not that they needed to worry about the prospect of failure, with Naser ready and willing to spell out their future doom at a moment's notice. She could internally concede that it was a helpful ability; however, that didn't make it any less irritating. It ultimately meant that when he was speaking, they were probably about to perish.

How comforting.

In truth, Marcia felt a bit niche at the moment. Avery had knocked out an errant guard with a faction of the effort, and the shit-spewing parrot that had turned back into Kael was, quite possibly, one of the top abilities a future in subterfuge could ask for. Not content to out-pace her physically, it felt like her peers also sought to outpace her magically.

"Yeah," she replied bluntly, allowing her peers to take care of rowing (as was their rightful burden of being physically stronger). "If there's a reflection, I can use it. Surfaces, windows, water."

She blinked, a strange thought occurring.

"Wait, can you mimic what people sound like, just like that? Or have you been stalking Naser and practising?"

 

[Naser]

Nas raised both his eyebrows. "My boots smell like roses."

He said, shoving his foot up near Avery's face.

"That's what I was going to say." Nas retorted dryly, but added no more commentary after that as the four Initiate's gently began to drift into the sewers.

Though Altera's waste management system left much to be desired in terms of stench, it did at least allow them access into the cities underbelly. Eventually the tunnels would narrow, and the flowing river of shit would turn to small canals accompanied with walkways.

For at least a few minutes though, their boots were still graced with being mostly clean. "Kress, I fucking hope not."

Nas commented to Marcia's question, his eyes flickering accusingly to Kael.

"I get watched enough by the Proctors." Ever since that...incident a few years ago.

As they continued on, the tunnel around them began to narrow. The Canal becoming smaller and smaller until their boat began to gently scrape against the edges of stonework. Signalling that soon they would have to start walking.

Once they did, it would be a short jaunt through the tighter tunnels and below the palace.

 

[Avery]

Avery batted away Nas' boot, scowling at him with something venomous as she righted herself into the middle of the boat. She made no remark on Kael's ability to shift and take on different voices. No, she would need concentration and low disruptions to get a feel of any heartbeats that were not their own. Cathaoir was not going to let any more surprises slip past and ruin their plans.

Thankfully, there were only the beats of their own, although Kael's held an irregular rate that she decided not to tell him he should see a medic about that.

"Our boat can't go further in. We need to ditch it and go ahead on foot." It was dark in the tunnels, and she was glad they couldn't see the dread and anxiety on her face. Then again, it probably carried well within her cadence to tell them of her current state of mind. "Well? Who knows the way?"

 

[Kael]

Kael let out a friendly laugh at Marcia’s question.

“You say ‘just like that’, but it’s a lot of work.” Kael replied. “Proctor Giroux runs a weekly seminar on vocal impersonation.” He said. Most would know Giroux from her basic potions and poisons class, but she also taught a variety of more advanced poison classes. It was weekly and optional because there wasn’t enough content for most folks to warrant a class. Kael had been required to attend for over a year, along with the fething theatre kid Miracle. Shifter’s luck to be stuck there.

“Most folks have a range they can work with, but she’s been working with me on partial shifting. I can’t maintain it for long yet, but I can mess with my vocal chords and go deep” his voice took a rumbling bass at the last word “or high.” Kael said, his voice pitching up to a high tenor.

“Nas’s time is his own, but his voice isn’t too far from mine. Not too big a lift.” Kael finished. He could have left the stalking question open. Such power moves were common at the Academy, but he decided he liked Nas. He was also fairly certain he didn’t want an enemy that could see the future.

The boat hit ‘land’ shortly after, or rather the edges of the tunnel. Avery asked if anyone knew the way and Kael responded by pulling out the map he drew earlier. He pulled his finger to find their approximate entry point, and traced it to their rough path. The map was not perfect, he drew it after all, but it gave him an idea.

“Palace District should be northeast of us. Maybe two kilometers?” Kael guessed.

 

[Marcia]

Marcia briefly continued to consider the merits of mimicry as their boat struggled against the ever decreasing flow of water, impressed by Kael's ability to pitch-shift his voice (although with a strong degree of wariness), but ultimately decided that it was a wheelhouse too far removed from her own skillset. An unseen reflection had no need for surface deception.

When the boat finally ground to a halt, Marcia muttered an incantation that summoned a small orb of light that floated above her head and allowed her to better peer over Kael's map. The magical talents of Initiates were often a neglected one, with the inherent brutality of the Academy more often than not showcasing physical might and signature talents above the regular arcane, but they were all capable spellcasters in their own right.

Well, at least theoretically, not accounting for layabouts.

"Right. Sounds good," Marcia commented, in no hurry to dispel her source of light for the time being. If there were creatures in here, they'd likely hunt by sound rather than sight. The Initiate hopped off the boat, her boots hitting the stone with a slight squelch. "Try not to cry, Avery. At the end of the day, everything can be cleaned," she commented unhelpfully with a glance back at the girl.

Shoes. Clothes. Hair. Even the memory of putrid stenches could be forgotten by nostrils, eventually.

Having taken stock (and faith) of Kael's map she lead the way, opting to head down one of the cramped tunnels that theoretically would have taken them northeast. "I would appreciate a heads up if you get any premonitions, Naser," she was sure to say, his penchant for using his gift to fuck with his peers not something that Marcia was oblivious to.

 

[Naser]

"I won't let you walk into any spikes." The Initiate offered up helpfully. Though sounded very much like he was being sarcastic.

For most of the way, the small group of Initiate's walked in silence.

Nas' eyes faded over with thin veils of white as they made their way through the sewers. His gaze flickering left and right. Surprisingly, twice he called for Marcia to stop. Offering brief uninterested instructions over avoiding a plate on the floor before moving on.

Eventually, Avery would begin to feel the beating of different hearts above them. The canal besides them having grown wide enough to fit four of them laying end on end. The run off now less sewage, and more water from the unique farms which held the lifeblood of Altera.

It was only as the next bend came around that some emotion touched his voice. "There's something in the water."

Nas suddenly, a frown pulling at his lips as he noticed the barest flicker of movement just up ahead within the Canal.

"We should hu-" Before he could finish Nas suddenly burst forward, grabbing the back of Avery's dress and practically pulling her back and off her feet. Lunging to draw her away as a massive lizard-like monster launched itself from beneath the water. It's jaws snapping shut at the exact spot his fellow Dreadlord had just been standing.

 

[Avery]

Naser, in fact, failed to alert Avery from her boots splashing in a puddle of some gods awful stench that now coated the hem of her dress. She was thankful for her tall boots and socks that stopped the damp skirt from sticking to her calves. She slowed her steps once she began to sense heartbeats, almost having Naser walk into her back.

She thought because of that reason, he tried to scare her about something in the water.

But Avery, so sure that Naser was trying to stir her up for his own fun, did not register the slower heartbeat coming up to her side as she stood the closest to the water.

It was a hand pulling her back that made her scream, quick and sudden, and died in her throat as she saw the beastly thing that had tried to reach for her with it's teeth. Her entire thoughts and body were in shock, unable to bring herself to attempt using her magic against the foul dwelling creature.

 

[Kael]

Kael followed Marcia’s light and lead as they trudged through the waters of the sewer. Without the light he wouldn’t have been greeted by the lovely green, yellows, and browns soaking his boots, but there was still comfort in the extra knowledge. It was honestly a perfect metaphor for how everyone felt about Nas. So when mentioned something in the water knives came out of his belt, flying at the massive lizard. The first knife appeared to bounce off the lizard’s scales, with the second embedding itself into the creature’s shoulder.

Kael then took the thickest, tallest shape he had shifted to successfully. Specifically the shape of Urg Lothkar, a half-orc raider who thought himself the conqueror-savior of the tribe Kael grew up in. He hadn’t used the form in about five years, so Kael borrowed it from time to time. Kael-orc, now just under seven feet tall, lunged at the reptilian creature. He aimed to shove the creature and grab hold of his knife, and quickly discovered there was still a huge discrepancy between them. The lizard pushed back his attempt at a grapple, and hurled Kael to the wall. Pain shot through his back as he slid down to the rancid water. Brown and green sludge were painted red as he spat at the ground. Kael shook his head and raised his fists, charging at the lizard again. Kael didn’t really have a plan other than to serve as a distraction. He was trained in killing men, not beasts. He just needed to give the rest of crew time to finish the job.

 

[Marcia]

Marcia's shoulders stiffened when Naser mentioned something in the water. His usual disinterested sarcasm was absent from his tone, giving her cause to increase her pace for about two seconds before an almighty splash hit them and caused the girl to stagger off to the side.

Kael was first into action, using his talents to leap into the fray with the great beast without fear as an Initiate should have.

She held no illusion that jumping into close combat with her diminutive frame would be a foolish manoeuvre; as it were, she was very easy to drown, never mind, with a large metal shield strapped to her back. Instead, the Initiate knelt on the ground and equipped her buckler, holding it up before her and using the summoned guiding lights to look into the concave reflection cast back at her.

Her mirror image set off, casting away the shield and running at the lizard just as it repelled Kael. In one swift movement, she lept with her dagger in hand, using the opportunity created by her peer to stab into the lizard's softer underbelly, causing a wound to appear in their reality.

However, while the creature's stomach wasn't as hard as its scales, her reflection could not drag the blade down further, the dagger acting more like a piton than anything else.

 

[Naser]

A guttural sort of screech echoed from the lizard's maw as Marcia's wound took hold in it's belly. Head snapping left and right in a furious rage that made Nas' head swim.

Dozens of incalculable odds flowed through the creature as it smashed back and forth. Tail whipping at almost random. Flailing first towards Kael to smash against the Shapeshifting Initiate before twerking to the left and casting into Nas' side.

Pain lanced across his ribs, air forced from his lungs as teeth gnashed together. His hand letting go of Avery, as his other arm wrapped around the creature's tail. His other hand reaching forward to grab the monsters wound. Fingers digging desperately as he threw his weight on top of the lizard. "SOMEONE KILL THIS FUCKING THING!"

He demanded with the most emotion anyone had ever heard leave his lips, ripping at the flesh as best he could.

The Lizard and Nas crashing to the sewers ground as they thrashed together. Blood spilling into puddles of shit as he did his best to pin the creature did.