Dreadlords What Lies Beneath

[Edric]

The necromantic blasts scattered in the air as the Forsaken swept his hand upwards. A shimmer of light ruptured in place just inches away from him, Drastus' magic exploding against the light.

Yet the intended effect still ran it's course.

As the Forsaken drew his eyes away from Edric the other I initiate managed to collect himself. With a grunt he pulled himself off the floor, sweeping his hand forward and grasping at the hilt of the blade which had been buried in his chest. Power drew from his core, muscles flexing, tightening, and then he darted forward.

Within the span of a breath Edric closed the distance between himself and the strange half-breed. The other man turned, clearly intending to finish the Initiate, only to find him a step away. Edric watched the panic flicker through his eyes, fingers coming up. This time though he was ready for it.

As the light shimmered around the other man's palms, Edric swept to the left.

A powerful beam of heat and light suddenly erupted from the Forsaken's hands. It swept forward, cutting a swath through the ornate tile set around the church and peeling away and the hard rock beneath. The explosion ruptured through the ground, casting dirt and stone to each side.

Edric slid to a stop, the strange blade cutting forward.

Black metal swept through flesh, slicing through the Forsaken's wrist. A scream or pain echoed out, the man falling back as his other hand came up and sent another blast directly at Edric's chest.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair was watching the whole battle around him. His focus was constantly shifting between his eyes, but he could see the events perfectly. The team was holding their own. It was not as easy as he would have liked, but every member was recovering...Well, except for him.

Another slice from one of the knives cut into his leg, but Alistair never stopped moving. He continued to parry and back up. He could attempt to use some of his magic to win the battle, and perhaps he would, but the chance of leaving an opening for the professor to get attacked was too great. His strategy would have to remain defensive until he could get rid of the dead weight.

Drastus' skeleton came at the perfect moment, and Alistair was not going to let it slip by. He lifted the professor up in his free arm and turned to move towards Ventress. As soon as he was close enough, he threw the small man with the help of a strength enhancement rune. The professor flew through the air before landing with a thud next to the main body of Ventress. "Tradeoff."

With his now free left hand, he took out his dueling dagger finally falling into a far more comfortable stance. Finally, the ball and chain were gone. His dagger and sword both began to glow with a soft blue light before balls of force shot out from them, Alistair using the weapons to channel his attacks.

There were three balls of force, each one flying off to impact the large hulk Evie was fighting, the shadow that had attacked Drastus, and Edric's opponent. Each ball of force would not effectively harm any of the targets, but they would push them back if only a little. Alistair would help create the openings. He knew the others would take advantage. It did not look like Alistair was looking at any of them when he fired off the shots, but his eyes ensured that he never lost sight of his targets.

The would-be assassin that was now locked in combat with Rupert hissed in displeasure at her prey getting away. She tumbled back from the skeleton not wanting to get kneecapped. The unfortunate truth was that her magic was not super effective against such a creature and she knew it. She sent a flurry of daggers at different targets on the skeleton's body before quickly disappearing into the shadow hoping to jump back out for another new target.

Ventress Everleigh Ebersol Edric Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Ventress]

Before Ventress could say three, the Avian descended from above. Directly above her head.

She had to leap back out of her own circle of Projections. And as she controlled her Projections, bidding them to attack with magic missiles and trick weapons, the true Ventress received a multi-angle view of the hideous Forsaken. The Avian wore but a single loincloth, a haphazard pattern of flesh and feathers across his body. His right leg was a normal human leg, but his left...a misshapen, shrunken, bird's leg, dangling like the useless limb it was down to his human knee. He had but one wing, skeletal and lined with feathers like a branch lined with sparse, dying leaves in the late autumn (and it was disturbingly prehensile, tentacle-like, capable of aiding his one-legged stance). He had three arms, the third growing out of his back were might the wing--if he were not so malformed--would have been.

And this third arm carried the Avian's severed head, the stump of his neck terminating cleanly into a mass of scarred flesh.

Despite all his disgusting deformities, he was a vicious fighter, and held his own against five copies of Ventress. The Sixth Projection had taken Professor Theldwin and hauled him away from the site of the fighting.

Then the Avian revealed some of his magic.

He seemed to split in two. His Shadow Clone fought still against Ventress's Projections, and the Avian himself launched toward the true Ventress. In his hand a katar. Plunging toward her.

The fastest defense did not come without high cost. She summoned a Seventh Projection in front of herself, the katar plunged into the Seventh's heart, and the true Ventress grimaced harshly, gasping. The ghostly pain of the blade she felt in her own ribs, in her own heart.

The Seventh Projection dissipated upon taking fatal damage.

The true Ventress, clutching her chest, raised her free hand and blasted the Avian square in the chest with an arcane magic missile, causing him to reel back.

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh was grateful that Alistair had distracted her own opponent, because when that blue orb hit the massive forsaken, the spell broke. Everleigh could feel it— she could move again. Finally. Too bad a good chunk of her fingers were broken. There was no reason to pull out those flat blades anymore.

The large snake was then split into three, two small and one medium, the two smaller ones near her hands. Her magic was still strong, the control, it was much like how one merely thought to move their hands and it happened. The snakes of poison were only an extension of her, but that was to be expected. Everleigh had always known, perhaps even when she first entered the academy, she didn’t control or make poison, she was poison.

Her feet pounded against the ground as she sprinted to the forsaken that was just starting to get their bearing back. Too bad Everleigh couldn’t make a punch, it would be perfect to strike his knee and have him fall to the floor. Because of the height difference Everleigh wouldn’t be able to perform her more powerful and debilitating kicks. Axe kicks were out of the question entirely. At least while he was standing up to his full height.

Everleigh went straight into a focused chamber, seeming like she was going to give the forsaken a front kick to his core but it was a feint, and her leg swung out out around and wide, the back of her heel hitting the spot where the forsaken’s liver should be. Keyword: should.

Because the forsaken was supposed to go down, but it didn’t, instead it staggered a bit to the side before straightening itself up. Everleigh ducked when it threw a punch, and skipped back, barely missing the knee that was aimed at her face and would’ve knocked her out. The poison snake separate from her struck, sinking it’s fangs into the side of the forsaken’s neck. Somehow Everleigh knew that the poison wasn’t penetrating through the forsaken’s skin, or if it had, there was something from blocking the poison was entering.

Fine by her.

The forsaken opened their mouth and just as they were beginning to say words, Everleigh’s controlled the snake to enter the forsaken’s mouth and slide down it’s throat, letting the form dissipate and having the snake becoming completely liquid.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Shadow seeped from the wound in his side and it burned something good. He would curse as the wisps coalesced to form a sword then the bastard holding it. From the shape of the ears and the droopy looking nose.. was that another dog face?! It was really hard to tell with the shadows but by the gods he would have to lodge a complaint against the noble houses and see who was shagging dogs on the sly.

Another curse escaped his lips as the blade pulled free and poised to take his head. It never came. A small orb would collide with the forsaken, dispersing the shadow in a soul wrenching screech.

He wouldn't have long as the wisps fought to rejoin once more and it would be that length of time that his eyes began to mirror the ethereal glow of Ruperts and a hand outstretched to the Avian and suddenly that skeletal wing would twist in its place, cracking along its joints before the surprisingly nimble (and very disgusting) joint flicked up and began to constrict its owner. It wouldn't be for long because soon his shadow buddy was back and very angry.

Shadwopup screeched as it leapt at Drastus at an unreal pace, its blade skirting across his chest, and hewing a gash in his shirt and even knicking him some. It winded for the second strike and Drastus dropped into a near split, avoiding the slash, and uppercutting the shade right in the nuggets! To... no effect.

As the blade came downwards, it would catch on Rupert's blade, before getting knocked upwards and the undead guardian lunged forward, driving the ethereal weapon slowly into its foe.

"Rupert!" Drast yelled in victory, rolling away. "You're so muffed, bud." His grin would disappear as the shade once more turned to wisps and slithered past him and disappearing in the darkness beyond. These bastards had an aversion to death.

The rest of the thralls were serving their purpose. They were drawing attacks, being destroyed. Hopefully things were starting to get more balanced. They could use that.

Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Edric]

The Forsaken's magic struck Edric in the chest.

Light washed over him, burned his clothes to tattered rags and sent him flying to the ground. Flesh scorched, the scent of ashen skin entering the air as the Initiate was sent spiraling onto the floor. A scorch mark sat upon his skin, fingers curling into fists as he let out a muted curse.

"ALL YOU DO IS HURT US!"​

The Forsaken shouted, his voice booming.

Edric saw him for the first time, cast in the bare light around them. His skin was red, two small horns protruding from within his hair. A snakelike iris split his eyes as he stalked towards Edric. Severed arm spilling blood to the ground.

"WE JUST WANTED TO BE LEFT ALONE!"​

His voice resounded.

"WE JUST WANTED...HE PROMISED US!"​

Edric's head swayed, fingers curling. He reached out, grasping, clawing at the life around him. Those that Drastus had raised, the skeletal fingers that had long laid dead began to falter. Edric pulled the life from them, the bare hint of soul and magic that drove them.

The wound on his chest healed, the melted and burnt flesh restoring itself as the devilish Forsaken continued his tirade.

"WE MADE A DEAL! WE MADE A DEAL TO BE LEFT AL-"​

His words were cut off as Alistair's blast hit him in the chest. He faltered, staggering back as his hand flew into the air. Edric leaped from the ground, that odd black blade flicking up in his hand. It dove forward, and then buried itself in the Forsaken's chest. "I have no idea."

The Initiate whispered, the blade burying itself deeper. "What the fuck you're talking about."

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Each ball of force had managed to strike his target. Nice, he would have to brag about that one later. It looked like the others were starting to get things under control. Well, Ventress had not completely one her duel, but Alistair suspected that was only a matter of time.

Everybody else always had such cool magic. Evie had magic poison gas snakes. Edric literally took a sun bullet to the chest and walked it off. Drastus had a magical best friend...which was kind of sad when he thought about it, but that magical best friend also killed people, so it was cool.

"Alright, I have to show off a little too, I guess."

Alistair stepped up to one of the Forsaken who had come running at him after he had shot the bullets out. Al had already got himself handed by a knife girl, so he was hoping for a better outcome.

This forsaken seemed to have bovine-like features and was obviously male. He held out his hand bones protruded from his skin to create a large sword. The forsaken looked at Alistair with a smirk expecting him to be fearful.

A sword? Finally, something Alistair could work with. Alistair offered a small salute with his sword to show his intentions and without wasting time entered into a series of strikes. The forsaken was good, but if it was swordplay, then Alistair was confident that he would eventually win.

Edric Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Ventress

 

[Ventress]

The Avian went scuttling away, more like a rat than a bird. Ventress tore one of the trick feathers (in truth a weighted dart with a charge) from her epaulets and flung it after him. The dart missed, barely, glowing as it struck the cavern wall and then exploding in a small burst of arcane energy which might have blown another of the Avian's sickly limbs from his body, but instead blasted chunks of stone loose from the cavern wall. The evasive menace managed with acrobatic grace to dodge several more magic missiles fired from her Projections before skirting away inside one of the homes carved into the cavern walls. His Shadow Clone evaporated then.

On cue, the Avian's Shadow skull appeared next to Ventress's ear to further taunt her. His lecherous voice unfurled into her head, "I am not well liked...by my fellow...outcasts..."

Ventress, wracked as she was still by the phantasmal pain and clutching her chest with white-knuckled fingers within her glove, nevertheless heard the Forsaken whom Edric fought. The petulant cries and the lamenting against the inevitable. However, she took special notice of a selection of the Forsaken's words: a mention of "he," and of some kind of deal.

"They want to be left alone..."

"A poor wish, born as you are of your vile kind," Ventress snarled. She hadn't noticed it of herself yet, but she had become vexed, even more than she had been before, by the Avian's escape.

"But I want...so much...more..."

Ventress and all six of the Projections were looking around with watchful eyes, to all of the doorways and windows and openings carved into the cavern walls. Vigilant. "You will not want for long."

An intimate coiling of his words into her ear, a whisper like the warm breath of an adulterer to his partner in lust. "In this...I...am not alone."

And the Avian's Shadow Skull disappeared.

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh smirked, sure that with her poison the large forsaken would be finished. And it did seem to work when he fell down to his knees. Perfect, now to help out the others— two other forsaken, much smaller, even smaller than Everleigh ganged up on her, each wielding dual blades. The two snakes at her hands vibrated with Everleigh’s focus growing as at first she dodged the attacks with a series of side steps, flips, and even rolling on the ground. It was a rather acrobatic affair but It did get the job done while Everleigh was unable to utilize her hands completely.

Of course she couldn’t dodge and evade forever, and while the two forsaken weren’t incredibly fast or strong, it was two against one initiate with broken fingers. Everleigh was doing her best to try and get the poison from the last dead forsaken out and into the two snakes she was currently controlling. But her focus was wavering. Giving up on trying to increase the size of the poison-snakes, Everleigh began to allow herself to have a much more offensive plan filled with all the ruthless aggressiveness she was known for.

Despite knowing it would cost her, Everleigh bit through the pain of making a fist and knelt down when one of the midget forsaken did a high horizontal slash with both blades. Fast as lightening— which only in this case would one want to be that fast, sorry, Vance— Everleigh knelt down and delivered a strong punch to the forsaken’s kneecap, causing them to plant themselves face force. Everleigh was back up, tears streaming down her face as she spun herself to complete a roundhouse kick that caught the other forsaken right in the side of their head.

Her concentration was waning. Toxikinesis was still a skill she was developing and she had hardly mastered it the way she wanted to. It was why she had begun to focus on more Physical attacks— which did seem to do the job as she began to stomp on the two small forsaken’s head, the glow of her gold eyes slowly starting to turn into a orange then going back to purple.

As one last step, the snakes at her hands bit each each of the two forsaken before undulating and then losing their form, droplets of poison splattering the ground as Everleigh was left panting.

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

"Rupert, keep watch." Drast mused as he once more used his bond with his protector to strengthen his own magic. His eyes blinked slowly as he let out a measured exhale, that ethereal glow once more returning to his eyes. His eyes scanned his companions before he set to focusing.

The ethereal chains from before would begin snake their way from the ground. They would attempt to constrict the enemy fighting Alistair, but they would flicker as his attention waned.

Steel. He could hear it singing through the air towards his neck and there was no time to roll. His hand would shoot upward, and to his surprise, it didn't cleave through the glove, it didn't cleave through hand. But he felt the pressure, even the force of the swing. Had he looked up, he would have seen Rupert's sword had caught it, but he didnt. He had more pressing matters and they there this shadow loving asshole.

Eyes still glowing, Drast roared as he pushed the blade away and both hands grabbed ahold of the Forsaken's head. He could feel the heat as he super cooked the blood before shoving the Forsaken backwards. He shrieked in pain as he stumbled near two more Forsaken and exploded in a mess of blood, bone, and guts, misting his companions and knocking them and two of the skellies on their asses.

He could feel the strain from the magic. Had he not had Rupert, he would be unconscious by now.

Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Edric]

The black blade wrenched free, blood splattering on the ground as the Forskaen fell onto the floor. His body spasm'd, twitched.

Hands curled inward on themselves, but the grasp of Edric's magic was already drawing at what remained of his life. Like a plague the Initiates magic began to spread out around those among him. Slow, clawing hands reached towards the remaining Forsaken.

Those that still stood faltered, shook.

The magic that reached out towards them grasped at their life, pulled at what power they had remaining.

It was an echo that they did not expect, a pull at something they were ill-prepared for. The wounds on Edric's flesh began to heal, knitting together as their foes began to slow. The black blade in his hands flickered, and then he darted forward with a roar.

He closed the distance between himself and another of the half-breeds, his face contorting in confusion as others around them began to turn and run.

"W-we-we only wanted to be left al-"​

The blade in the half-breeds chest twisted with a sickening wrench.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair found himself enjoying the swordfight for a little bit. A contest of his speed and technique against this thing's strengths. Don't get him wrong, he was fast for his size, but he was never going to catch Alistair.

Al's chosen fighting style was to dance around this man. Death by a thousand cuts, or as many cuts as it took until the big guy made a mistake. He had hoped that he would put up more of a fight, but then the Forsaken began to slow at his threat. Man, Edric was acting up again. He took all the fun out of this.

Even though this fight would come to an anticlimactic end, Alistair was not going to let the chance slip away. That in its own way would be insulting. With a quick lunge forward, Alistair lunged in and pierced his sword through the forsaken's heart, a quick kill.

"I never get to have fun," he mumbled under his breath.

The battle was essentially over at this point. Alistair made his way over to the panting Evie and also took a look at Drastus.

"Are you two ok?"

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Ventress Edric

 

[Ventress]

Ventress's nostrils flared contemptuously at the final comment of the Avian's Shadow Skull, her golden eyes blazing with a molten intensity. She despised being taunted, and she despised to an even greater degree being taunted by so despicable a thing as the Avian. He had the audacity to withhold information from her and she simply could not stand it.

One Projection stayed by the wounded Professor's side--but a perfunctory measure, for she didn't at all regard his well-being as being of any significant importance now. All five of her other Projections began to spread out and search the buildings carved into the cavern, in pursuit of the Avian through that unknown territory.

The other Forsaken had engaged in a full retreat. This would have been the preferred outcome moments ago. A modified version of it still was.

A tense hand clutching her chest yet, Ventress nonetheless turned to regard the young Dreadlords-to-be.
"Initiates."

And aurum fury swept over the running Forsaken from her gaze.

"Take one alive."

Her order had been given. If they did not succeed, then they would all be severely disciplined.

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh looked over at Alistair and with a shrug and a grin held up the mangled mess that were all eight of her fingers broken— bent and twisted in strange ways. Her two thumbs weren’t that much better off. Her chest was starting to ease up on the rapid rise and fall from earlier, just as Ventress ordered to keep one of the forsaken alive.

“Hey, could you grab that healing vial for me?” Everleigh said, “can’t really grab it myself right now.” She added and lifted up a leg, her hip leaning out towards Alistair as she patted one of the hidden pouches that on her thigh as gently as she could with her injured hand.

Hopefully Drastus and Edric could go get one of the forsaken. That would be nice. Or if not Everleigh supposed she could awkwardly tackle one to the ground, even though the sarcastic thought was met with her looking like Sieglilly.

“And if you poured it over my hands I’d really appreciate it.” Everleigh added, looking back at her fingers once again. Neat magic. Very neat magic. She looked over at the large, unmoving body and frowned. She wished she could command people by just speaking.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast would take the momentary respite to remove a glove and trace the fire glyph on his arm before using it to burn the wound to his side shut. There would be a flash of brief pain, but the bleeding would stop and the wisps of shadow would begin to disappear.

Thankfully, Rupert was more than capable to capture one. When the Forsaken took the red mist challenge, he would knock two of his companions down. One, would shape-shift into a little mouse and scurry into a nearby crevice and hide.

His friend, was not so lucky. As she clawed at the ground, Rupert would close the distance and place a boot onto the Forsakens lower back, before driving his ethereal blade into the beasts hand and trapping it in place. That shriek of pain would end as boot was removed and shield was brought down with two hands on the spine, crippling them.

Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Edric]

A loud thud echoed out as the Forsaken Edric had held tumbled onto the floor. He turned back towards Ventress as she spoke, the blade in his hand suddenly flickering in his palm as he stepped forward to grab one of the half-breeds.

Before he could however Drastus' creature caught up to one of the last runners. There was a scream, a snap of bone, and then it was over.

Fingers tightened on the strange black blade, his eyes glancing down. An odd sort of red ran through the knife, a flicker of light gleaming off the onyx steel. He frowned, glancing over towards the Professor who was all but cowering in the corner.

Gone was the spark of excitement in his eye, replaced by pain and fear.

He still clutched the stump of his arm, a quiet whimper echoing out as he held the wound. Edric quickly stepper towards the man, squatting down and grasping his shoulder. "Deep breaths, Professor."

Edric told the man as his fingers dug into his skin. There was a flicker of magic, and then the man's wound began to heal itself. The life Edric had taken from the Forsaken flowing into the whimpering academic.

"What in the fuck are these guys?" Edric asked, staring directly at the one person who might know; Aura Ventress.

The one Dreadlord among them.

He had no idea what had happened, how these...things had fought so well. Some of them could have been a matchfor anyone in the Academy, some of them...some of them even more.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair had almost instinctively moved to accomplish the order that Ventress had given them, but stopped himself when he saw Drastus and Edric were on the job. Three of them would be overkill, and Evie needed his help.

"Yeah, I got." he offered with a smile as he moved over and took the vial off of her leg. Alistair took a moment to look over his comrade and make sure there were no other injuries, but nothing else seemed as bad.

"Alright, here it comes." Arastan carefully poured the healing potion over Everleigh's hand wanting to make sure as much of the liquid came in contact with the disfigured hand. Man, that looked like it hurt.

Most of his attention was on Evie and her hand, but one of his eyes was locked onto Edric and one onto Ventress. He had asked the question that I'm sure they were all wondering. These people were just as skilled as Dreadlords, if not better in some regards. Why the hell were they down here and where had they learned this from?

Edric Ventress Drastus Tal'deneshaar Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Ventress]

Initiate Drastus and his minions carried out her order. Excellent. She carried no expectation that this Forsaken would reveal much more of what his compatriot had already said, but the effort was to be made. And if she could capture the Avian, then a much more thorough effort would be pursued.

Ventress's Projection held Professor Theldwin steady as Edric worked on him, more by way of impassive restraint than with any semblance of care.

And the true Ventress glanced over to Edric once he was done. A year ago, she would have said nothing of the Forsaken—it would been up to the House they had sworn to, their decision to impart such trust in them. But now? Now that she was removed from House Sirl, now that the despicable Republic forced her to serve the Guard instead? So long as it did not embarrass House Sirl, Ventress now had no trouble saying all that she knew.

"The Dreadlords are not the only weapons employed by Vel Anir," Ventress said, glancing to the corpses scattered about the landing and the bridge leading the Church.

Just in time to be further vexing, the Avian's Shadow Skull appeared over her shoulder again. Its bulging human eye slithering up and down Edric's delicious form, drinking it in. "A curious one...isn't he...?"

Ventress sneered. "Yet some weapons, despite their potential benefits, are ultimately defective. And that which is defective should be disposed of." This last portion directed squarely to the Shadow Skull.

Ventress walked toward the crippled Forsaken. Gone was her sharp, military bearing, that pristine posture which she always carried herself with. Her hand was still clutched to her chest, the phantom pain of being speared through the heart leaking away slowly, yes, but enough still remained to send white-hot currents of agony up and down her arms, her legs. She passed by Alistair and Everleigh and stopped beside Drastus, glowering down at the crippled Forsaken on the ground. The Shadow Skull persisted, looking down as well, but there wasn't much the Avian could do.

"Your friend wanted to talk," Ventress said, referencing the Forsaken Edric had ran through with the black blade. "He was denied that opportunity. You instead have it."

Ventress crouched down.

"So talk."

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

“Thanks Alistair, I owe you one.” Everleigh looked at Alistair and nodded her head at him gratefully as he opened the vial and poured the healing liquid all over her mangled hands. She winced and sucked in air through her teeth, tears coming to her eyes as cracks and pops could be heard as her hands quickly began going back to normal. Searing pain radiated throughout her digits in magma-hot white flashes but Everleigh did everything she could to keep her voice in. She wouldn’t cry out, at least not when there was another Dreadlord or Edric so close by. Nearly half a minute later it was over and Everleigh began to move her fingers.

It felt sore but they could be used again. She sighed in relief and then looked over at Ventress as she spoke to the forsaken withering about on the ground. Her gaze went over to Edric finishing up his healing of the professor and then over at Drastus as well. She then looked around at the bodies on the ground and bent down, prodding a finger at one of the short enemies she had most recently disposed of.

Not human, at least not fully human. Kinda gross, Everleigh thought, looking around at the others that were dead on the ground and then glanced back over at Ventress. She stood up and took a few steps over there, curious as to what the forsaken would say. What a mystery this was, weapons other than dreadlords? Correction: Weapons that were some sort of shoddy reiteration of dreadlords and their glory?

“If they don’t feel like talking much I can give them something that’ll loosen their tongue.” She offered softly.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drastus would give Rupert a thumbs up at the capture. It was good, looking good. Especially when you made your name acting the fool.

When Ventress approached, he would stand a bit straighter despite the pain in his side. Definitely something wrong with those shadow blades. To avoid getting any mess on Ventress, he would step away from her and remove a glove. Tucking it away, he would traced the exposed fingers over the fire glyph before using it to cauterize his wound.

Once finished the glove was pulled back on and he would once more approach Ventress and Evie. He would offer the latter a smile, glad to see she pulled through. "And if that doesn't work, you have a handkerchief and I have endless water. Could torture him."

Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Edric]

Edric shivered as the strange shadow whipped around him. His teeth set, fingers tightening into fists as he took in a slight breath. He didn't allow an expression to show on his face. Didn't allow a single hint of emotion.

He found the void within himself. Latched onto it. Lingered in it.

There was a scoff. A shake of the head.

"Why talk with those that won't even listen? Why talk with dogs?"​

The Forsaken slowly looked up at the Initiates, then over to Ventress, and then finally to the Professor. A judgement sat within his eyes. A hatred. Edric knew that hatred, knew what he saw within those eyes. He had seen it more than once at the Academy.

More than once in the mirror.

He knew Ventress was telling the truth, knew without a doubt in his mind that every word she said was true. Weapons. That was what these beings had been. Dreadlords, but not. Something close, something a bit more twisted. Another thing that the Republic had tried to sweep under the rug.

Edric looked to the others for a moment, so happy to jump at the beck of the Dreadlord. Was it something he should have done too? Offered to torture, maim? Bring the Forsaken to the brink of death and then drag him back over the line?

"Torture me. Poison me."​

A wry laugh.

"How about something new? Something they didn't already try, little whelps."​

He looked around at the initiates, to the the Professor who remained utterly silent.

"I have no interest in talking. So just put me down."​

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair hated the use of healing potions for broken bones. The idea of that sickening pop as it realigned everything back into place always made his stomach feel queasy. Still, when he was satisfied that the potion had done its job and Evie's hand was back in the proper direction and color, he moved off to go stand next to Ventress and Edric. He wanted to get a good look at their new friend.

He wasn't sure if any of the others noticed it yet, but Ventress seemed to already know about them, so she definitely knew. None of their opponents were human...not fully human, but close. These weapons were half-bloods. Most of them anyway, some were a bit more grotesque.

Alistair could see it in the eyes of their prisoner, just like Edric and any other Dreadlord could likely notice it. This thing was accustomed to pain and suffering. Torture would do no good.

"Well, then let's try something new. Just answer a simple question. You said you made a deal to be left alone, right? Who did you make the deal with? It seems we might both be mad at that person."

Edric Ventress Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Ventress]

Initiate Everleigh and Initiate Drastus were exhibiting outstanding initiative. Torture, regardless of what the weak of heart said of it, was an extremely effective way of plying a subject to one's will. Everyone thought they would never break. This was wishful thinking. Delusions assumed from a position of relative comfort. Everyone broke. Everyone. It wasn't the pain that did it, not on the most resistant of subjects, Ventress had discovered. It was the proper application of despair.

Someday, Initiate Everleigh and Initiate Drastus would be accomplished torturers too.

Initiate Alistair's approach was...novel. Ventress would allow it. Normally she would have corrected this filthy Forsaken's insolent notion that he had any power to instruct her, or any Dreadlord, on anything. But disarming him by intentionally playing into his sarcastic comment about "trying something new" could be an effective method.

But it better not be born of an unwillingness on Initiate Alistair's part to engage in necessary techniques of information collection. Ventress had a mind, should this softer method fail, to force Initiate Alistair to administer Initiate Everleigh's poison and to apply Initiate Drastus's water torture himself. Ceaseless complaints could be made to the Republic concerning this, but so long as Initiates were under her supervision, she would prescribe to them the training which would mold them into true Dreadlords.

Ventress slowly stood. The Initiates could apply Alistair's method. In the meantime, a word with Edric. With whom she had not spoken ever since their sole meeting some three years ago. Much had changed since. For the needs of the present, the past would have to be ignored.

Beside him, she tapped his arm with the gloved knuckles of her left hand. Made a languid beckoning gesture with the same—she was much shorter than him, so Edric needed to stoop down such that she could have a private word.

"How many signatures of life do you now detect," she asked. And she then referred to herself in the plural, vexed as she was. "Disregard five of them—they are our Projections through which we are searching."

The Avian's Shadow Skull stayed over her shoulder like a haunting apparition. Watching and listening. The fate of his fellow Forsaken in the balance.

Everleigh Ebersol Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh rolled her eyes. She knew the deal. Try and act like torture and poison didn’t work. Whatever. How lame. The tough guy act meant very little to her, because she could very, very easily get him to take back those words. She looked over at Alistair who initiated a more diplomatic approach. She pulled out a set of a dozen needles, and her eyes began to glow gold. Slowly she began licking each needle, not looking at the forsaken or the way Alistair was handling things. She trusted the noble, not as much as Liliana but more than many of the other noble initiates at the academy.

“If you don’t answer Alistair being nice, then it’ll be my turn. And I promise you, my torture? Whatever you think has been done to you before, whatever was the most horrifying thing you witnessed? It’ll feel like heaven compared to what I can do.” Everleigh warned. She noted Ventress spoke to Edric but she said nothing about it. Ventress was the dreadlord after all and Everleigh was only supposed to listen and follow orders in the presence of one— especially one with such a neat ability as Ventress.

“And then after I have my fun,” the last needle had been licked and so Everleigh brought her gaze over to the forsaken, “then I’ll show the wonders of a little toxin that slows down your spinal cord and brain communication.”

Drastus Tal'deneshaar Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Good guy, prince Ali. He went and asked the guy nicely. It was worth a shot at least. Tough guy act could only carry any singular person so far. Everyone had a breaking point. The Dreadlords told them as much, hence the need to give either a little information to force them to react in a way you wish.

What Drast had recommended he had experienced, several times before the New Republic took over. Each time he had tried to push himself further. So when the Forsaken spoke tough, Drast would just pat his cheek. "We'll see." He said with one of those practiced smiles.

Rupert would continue to scan their surroundings, his ethereal gaze focused on their surroundings, the handful of remaining undead joining him in their sweeps of the perimeter.

Edric Alistair Krixus Ventress Everleigh Ebersol