The cries of the elf test subject as it was injected with another experimental concoction brought Dredge back to focus. He looked up from his lonesome post by the lab door to see the subject, a blonde haired high elf girl, writhing in pain on the ground as the experimental fluids began making their way through her system. "Is this one going to die this time?" He asked aloud to the mage-scientist, Shia Plagueborn, as she jotted down notes of the subjects reactions.
"Oh, I do hope not." The tall forsaken elf spoke from underneath her masks as she knelt down to more closely examine the subject who was now foaming at the mouth and twitching aggressively. "These types of subjects do not come cheap you know."
Dredge knew by type she meant high elves, as she had been doing increased study on them as of late. "I'd imagine you would show more kindness to your former kin than to use the last of their species as experiments." Dredge said joining Shia in observing the subject's now outright convulsions on the ground. "This did not happen to the last one. What did you change?"
"Barely anything actually, just less of the arcane crystals than the previous subject, and it seems we've found a more stable serum from using moon well water than just regular water. Look, she's not even bleeding out her eyes yet!" The mage exclaimed in an excited tone as she hurriedly jotted down notes on a pad. The subject cried out then as the serum seemed to take itself into the next stage causing the girls limbs to shake violently and her hands to clench and unclench uncontrollably as she flailed about on the ground. "Most interesting," Shia said looking to Dredge and reading the boredom on his otherwise expressionless features. "This could lead to a breakthrough in our studies and make us the top team in the Society, so could you try and at least look a little enthusiastic about our work."
Dredge gave a slight smile of his wiry cracked lips and looked at Shia. "Does becoming the most prominent team come with more or less action?"
"So much more field work. If we become top team and this experiment goes how we want then you'll not run out of things to do for a very long time." She replied just as the subject let out another blood curdling (if either Shia or Dredge had blood) scream, balled into the fetal position, and began sobbing loudly and pleading noisily for mercy. "Sorry dear," Shia replied to the elf girls pleas in the high elven tongue, "No can do. I've got more tests to run and no time to spare." Shia laughed aloud at the subject's whimpers and began preparing the next serum.
Dredge shook his head and went back to his post by the door. "I could get used to near endless 'field work'." He spoke aloud as he picked up the long sword sitting by his station and began weighing it in his hands. He took a stab forward with thinking back to his last raid on a human encampment where he struck down a mage just as she completed a spell, causing the fallen arcanist's incantation to fling into his comrades, sizzling their skin like well-cooked meat in an inferno of flames. "Very used to it indeed."
"Well that's only if this whole operation isn't a bust and this crystal causes the desired effect. If it doesn't then we'll be back to the drawing board and still near the bottom half of the societies research teams." The mage said with a sigh looking to Dredge. "Don't swing that in here."
"What about the Plague Blood team?" He said sitting the sword back beside the wall. "Is their disease ready for field testing or was that a flop too?"
Shia cackled loudly which only brought a scared whimper from the subject in the cage. "They can't reproduce their immediate results because they lost the only sample of the mushroom they were using in the base. So their plague will never work!" She smiled through her masked hood at Dredge who only returned the look with his normal expressionless self, though she knew he was interested or he would not have asked. "We have a lot more time to develop our own work before they get near enough funds to mount a second expedition to recover a replacement sample," she stated as she grabbed the subject's leg and injected her with another experimental fluid.
Dredge watched as the subject convulsed for a moment and then went into a fit of lurching up and down from a lying to sitting position repeatedly. He raised his eye and looked at Shia, "What was in this one?"
"That would be the missing mushroom our enemies need for their plauge." She replied coolly, crossing her arms and simply watching as the subject fell on her back at last and vomited a torrent of blood into the air.
Dredge cracked a smile and looked from the now obviously dead subject to Shia. "That was all of it wasn't it?" Which was only answered with a nod as the mage called for one of the slave-servant humans they kept in the lab to come and clean the cage and prepare it for the next subject, she then exited down into the basement alchemy lab mumbling to herself about what needed improved in the next testing. Dredge had little interest in watching the frail human slave work and, as he began fooling with the sword again, there was a knock at the lab's door. "What's the password?" Dredge shouted holding the sword at the ready.
"We don't have a password," came the retort to which Dredge opened the door to see Isa Plaugeborn, Shia's sister in life and the team's main connection to the outside world.
"You look well," Dredge said as he sat the sword back beside the wall once more.
"You look dead." She replied bitingly as she walked into the lab and removing her cowl and face covering with her left hand before adjusting the blade that served as her right appendage.
"That's what I meant."
Isa shook her head and looked to the cage where the human slave was dragging the corpse to the pit where they stored all the former test subjects. "I see we'll have to go on another raid soon to acquire more work for my dearest sister."
"Yes, as always, she shows little restraint in pushing her subjects to their limits." He said with a laugh but in truth he was glad that at least hunting more elves meant leaving this little lab in the Under City.
"Psh, mages," Isa spat looking over the remaining syringes. Dredge knew that more than anyone in the world Isa despised it was mages, and her sister worst of all. It was only the lack of anyone else they could trust that acted as the binding to their relationship and Dredge knew well enough to not question it. "Where are Justin and Harold?"
"Gone to Silverpine to search for more ingredients no doubt," he said though he honestly had no idea where the two had gone.
"The humans will get them if they don't stop going out there alone." Isa warned though she only seemed to be stating fact rather than actually voicing concern.
Dredge only shrugged and went back to zoning out at his post. He really did not care to engage the hot tempered elf girl right now and she seemed just as content with his silence as she went through her sister's notes mumbling to herself in an annoyed tone. When Shia returned from below minutes later, she carried with her a whole array potions and liquids that she began mixing into syringes immediately without word to either Isa or Dredge.
"The Society is asking about your progress again sister," Isa said after a few annoyed minutes of no recognition. "They say that they can't keep supplying you with the funds to enslave more elves if it doesn't yield results in the next few weeks."
Shia only shrugged and looked to the two of them. "Well then you better get to getting me more elves then."
"We got you an entire caravan of them two weeks ago!" Isa said standing up from the desk.
"And now they are all dead, save one."
"How can you kill that many elves so shortly?" Isa shouted, looking as though she may pounce on her sister at any moment.
"Because I am being hurried to get results on a delicate process. If I had more time I could afford to let subjects recover more between tests but that isn't possible. Is it?"
Isa growled and looked to Dredge. "Fine. If she wants it that way then come Dredge, let's go get my dear sister some more subjects."
Oh boy, thought Dredge but he dare not speak it. He simply grabbed his sword and followed Isa's lead as they exited the lab into the Under City.