Call of The Ancestors
Chapter 5: "Oh, I'm not willing to hurt you, she is…"
A sharp knock at Miarko's door woke him the next morning.
The Fire Dragon nearly fell out of his bed as it echoed through the stone room. Stumbling to his paws, he tried to at least make himself presentable before answering the door. It was at least an hour before dawn, according to the lack of light outside on the Captain's balcony. Who could be knocking for him this early in the morning?
"Just a moment!" shouted the Captain at the door as he polished himself quickly in key places before heading to the entryway.
Opening it slowly, the familiar green scales of Lieutenant Terron met the Captain's eyes. Miarko sighed, internally groaning as he was wondering what the Earth Dragon was doing here so early in the morning.
"Lieutenant," he began, yawning as he spoke, "What, uh, what can I do for you?"
In what was seemingly the first time of his life, Terron was not fully armored. The Dragon's bare scales shown out for the first time since Miarko had met the Captain a year prior. Terron was nothing without his tradition and position, that was without doubt.
"Captain, good morning to you," said the Lieutenant, who paused for a moment, the obvious look of hindsight appearing upon his face before continuing, "I-... I woke you, didn't I?"
"Yes, yes you did, Terron." said the Fire dragon, grinning slightly, "But that's alright. Question persists, though. What can I do for you?"
The Lieutenant looked down then. For some reason, the rather simple question was causing him some sort of emotional stress.
"Captain, uh, this isn't exactly easy for me to ask you," began Terron, "But, well, we've been working together for slightly over a year now, and I feel as if you've never really gotten to know me, and vice versa. So...I wanted to come by and ask if you'd like to grab breakfast this morning."
Miarko was, needless to say, slightly shocked by the proposition. In the thirteen months that the Fire dragon had known the Lieutenant since he had been transferred to his command, this was a first. Fraternization was, of course, encouraged by the Defenders, but this was unprecedented for the Lieutenant. The Captain had never seen Terron's personality outside of the workplace. They had even lived just down the hall from each other for all those months and had never gone out, gotten a drink, anything. And yet, despite all of those facts…
"Lieutenant, if you'd just give me a few minutes, I'd be happy to join you," responded the Captain, grinning lightly.
Terron smiled at that and nodded, saying, "Understood, Captain. I'll wait for you here."
Miarko nodded and closed the door behind him, walking back into his living quarters. Heading to the washroom, he lit a few candles and oil lamps with his element and looked in the mirror on the wall in front of him. He sighed in disgust as he looked at himself. His frills and horns looked unpolished, unprofessional. It was unbecoming of a Captain of the Defenders to look as he did. The Fire dragon took a few moments to further polish himself in the places that he had been unable to a few moments prior. The large black frill under his chin was the area of the most work. It was larger than the rest of the growths that lined his face and took more time to clean out and polish to look desirable. Despite this, the Fire dragon thought it was one of his more attractive features. Of course, he wasn't looking much like an attractive dragon after the events from the day prior.
He sighed at that thought and shook his head. The entire Sethelis situation had been nothing but a disaster. The Fire dragon had always been afraid that his… Irresponsible personal life would spill over into the workplace, but not this early into his career. That being said, what could he have done? He couldn't help himself when he had met the Shadow's captain. He had developed preferences over the years, and she fit the bill on almost all of them.
He shook his head again at that point, and pounded his fisted paw onto the counter. Why had he been so stupid? Mixing work and pleasure would have never flown with the Madame Director. He was sure that Spyro might've been able to look past this, but Cynder was, as always, adamant in her opinion.
The two directors had always kept their relationship far from the walls of the tower in the first place, anyways. Work was the most important thing on their minds, seeing each other was always second. They weren't so young as to need each other in every moment of the day, the two had grown out of that many years prior. Miarko too, wasn't one to get distracted. But...The director had spoken. And the Captain had to leave it at that.
Finishing up in the washroom and nodding that he had done a satisfactory job at cleaning himself up, he snuffed out the oil lamps and proceeded back out. Locking both doors behind him.
Facing Terron, who was leaning up against a wall. He said, "Ready to go, Terron?"
Terron nodded his head slightly and waved a paw towards the stairs, "Let's go." The Lieutenant said briefly, as the two ventured outside.
A short flight later, the two had found themselves at a small café on Culinary Street. It was one of Miarko's favorite places to go for breakfast and lunch while on break. The café was the place where had been supposed to meet Sethelis the night prior, to his great discomfort. But it had been Terron's suggestion and the Captain dared not to refuse the Lieutenant's request.
The first portion of the meeting had been somewhat silent, both males settling in and becoming comfortable with the casual personality of the other. Miarko had selected the same type of eggs that he had become accustomed to since coming here for the first time. The whole idea of eating eggs was something that dragon kind always needed accustomization to, much to the amusement of their fellows, the Cheetah and Moles. It was a nice place. Terron had ordered some sort of dark and corny bread. They had so many types at this establishment, Miarko hadn't caught the exact product. Regardless, after they ordered, there was a slight silence that dropped over the two males, several awkward minutes passed with none of the two saying a word.
Miarko cleared his throat and spoke up first, "So...I've never asked. Where are you from, originally?"
Terron, who was sitting up with great posture, nodded at the question, "I'm originally from the Shattered Vale. I don't know if you're familiar…?"
Miarko nodded his head, "Of course I am. Studied geography at the academy like everyone else. That's slightly far to the north of here, correct?"
"Indeed," affirmed the Earth dragon, "Mostly a forested region up on the north side of the mainland, has a big ravine going through the majority of the area. It's much colder than down here on the southern side."
"We don't exactly get a lot of snow down here," said the Fire dragon, laughing, "What is the political state up there? Still voting on the referendum?"
"It's to be held in the next month, to my understanding," responded Terron, "Whether it gets approved or not, it would be big step for my community."
Miarko nodded, then shook his head, "Indeed. The first formal territorial acquisition for Warfang in...well, ever. As far as I know."
"I believe you are correct, Captain," Terron affirmed, "It'd be a big step for the Grand Council. Governing more individuals than they are already? It's a big task for both them and the Guardians."
"Terrador, Cyril and Volteer are much older than they used to be. Even with the new Fire Guardian, they're in no position to help rule after such an acquisition," responded the Fire dragon, "They'll be stepping down from their posts within the next few weeks. Mark my words. Let's just hope that their successors were as full of potential as they had been when the Guardians first recruited them as apprentices..."
Terron laughed lightly, shaking his head, "Indeed...as riveting as this political discussion has been, Captain, I'm sure you'd like to discuss something else."
The Captain chuckled himself, looking down and nodding. The Lieutenant had learned something about him at least over the last year.
"What about you, Captain?" asked the Lieutenant.
"Where am I from?" asked Miarko, one eye ridge raised, "What, you can't tell from my accent?"
"Not much of a people person, Captain," replied the Earth dragon, scratching the back of his neck, "Can't tell one thing from another."
"Ah, I forget myself at times, Lieutenant," affirmed the Fire Captain, "Well, to clarify, I was born and raised here, in Warfang. My parents are from elsewhere, but I was born here. I guess I still have a bit of an Avalarian accent, according to my Draconian instructor back in the Academy. It's not as bad as my parents, but it could be worse, I suppose."
Terron leaned in slightly, affirming that he was at least somewhat interested in what the Fire Captain had to say, "I had no idea your family was from the Avalarian Valleys. What Settlement?"
"Ah, are you familiar with Ignidium?"
"Of course, Captain. Renamed after the former Fire Guardian following the War. I remember."
"My parents lived there originally, but after Malefor's armies began to threaten the Valleys, they moved elsewhere. Eventually came here and settled," finished the Fire drago, nodding.
"So they still live in the City?" asked Terron.
"Ah, my father does, yes. My mother was a soldier during the Battle of Warfang. She, well, she was killed during the fighting."
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Terron, frowning sadly.
"I appreciate it. It's been ten years, both my father and I have moved on as best we could," replied the Fire dragon, smiling lightly.
Miarko's mother, Ciera, had been a footsoldier during the war, just like her husband, Bertrion and Miarko himself. Most of the Dragons of Warfang had volunteered to defend their home during the Siege, but not all of them had come home, joining the Ancestors prematurely.
"Speaking of which," began Miarko, "Where is your family, Lieutenant?"
"Still back in the Vale, far as I know," he replied, "I do not write them as often as I should."
"Any siblings?"
"Two sisters and a brother. All Earth Dragons, as I'm sure you'd expect."
"Ah, two parents of the same element, hm? Let me guess, they're loyalists."
"Heh, you're spot on, Captain."
"Loyalists", or conservatives in some circles, made up a majority of the population of Warfang. They were those individuals that were loyal to, or supported, the Grand Council and Guardians in their leadership. Miarko considered himself a loyalist, despite his parents being Moderates themselves. His mother had been an Earth Dragon, and his father a Fire dragon. Inter-element pairs were not uncommon, but the pairings tended to be of the more liberal elements of the City politics.
"What about you, Captain?" asked Terron, leaning back into his chair slightly, "Any siblings?"
"One sister. I don't know where she is now," responded Miarko, shrugging.
"Why?"
"Madeia was always the adventurous type, liked to explore and educate others. She took a trip north, heading to the kingdoms up there. I haven't heard from her in...it's probably been two years now. She and my father never saw eye to eye, wanted to get away. We had a good relationship, but I never get any letters. Not that it's easy to do when you're separated by an ocean."
"Think you'll ever see her again?"
"You mean if she's not dead? I don't know. She might have moved up that way permanently, I might find out one day. For now, it's just my father and I."
"You've had a unique life, Captain."
"Heh, that I have, Lieutenant. Wouldn't trade it for the all the Realms."
It was with a bitter taste in her mouth that Sethelis woke up the next morning. She had not been sleeping well.
Well. As well as someone could sleep if they had slept with a desktop as their pillow. With her maw hanging open and snoring loudly for several hours. She hadn't been bothered to fly home last night, and she knew that the one thing being able to make her forget this disaster of a evening was work. The dragoness groaned slightly as she opened her eye, feeling a sore annoyance in her neck as she lifted her head from the wooden surface.
She didn't need a mirror to know that she looked bad, the reflection of her shining desk showing her two things; Her usually pristine yellow eye looked tired to say the least, with red veins blotting the usually plain yellow orb, and her scales had lost their pretty sheen. Something she didn't appreciate one bit.
That, and she had misplaced her eyepatch. She couldn't for the love of the Ancestors remember where she did put it last night, as she had a habit to remove it and put it on her night table before sleep.
Sethelis used a wing to rub the sleep out of her eye before blinking a few times, her yellow and milky white pair of eyes were looking back at her. "Well…" She sighed to herself, her voice being coarse and raspy. She cleared her throat before getting up, feeling her joints crack and stretch from their half-cramped state, having been sitting on her haunches and laying on her desk at the same time.
The blue-black dragoness felt hunger dig itself into her, and her stomach made its unpleasantness known by rumbling audibly.
"Well. I suppose no one's around yet, might as well go get breakfast." She said to herself, limping her way out of her familiar and serenely calming office.
Except for the early-risers, the Captains Floor of the DOW tower usually wasn't considered "busy" until the early afternoon, and the few whom Sethelis met usually greeted her with a quick and polite "'Morning." as one does. She could almost sense some of them flinching upon for once seeing her most obvious battle-damage. She usually wasn't keen on going out without her iconic eyepatch, but that morning she just couldn't be arsed to try and find it.
She would limp over to an open window, before pouncing out and using her wings to glide down along the beautiful marble spire that was the tower itself.
Maybe she'll go for a light snack a one of the cafés…?
Miarko was in the middle of listening to Terron addressing a few points he'd liked to mention to the Captain in person regarding the 17'th, when he saw a very…unwelcome sight. He'd remember that dragoness wherever he saw her.
And she was not amongst the people Miarko wished to talk with right now. The fire captain felt that he needed to almost dodge under the table, or at least lower himself down somewhat to avoid detection, even if the dragoness most likely lacked depth perception and peripheral perception on her right paw side.
Actually… Miarko wasn't sure if she could even see with her right eye at all. So after a brief moment of thinking, Miarko asked the Lieutenant sitting opposite to him at their table: "Terron… I think you've got a little something on your wing." he said, which led to the wanted effect. The Lieutenant did spread his wings slightly, and looked at the Captain with a confused look on his face.
"I'm sorry Miarko, but I can't see anything." He said, studying his wings a little closer. Miarko simply smiled, pretending to look closely. "Oh, but Terron I am sure I could see something…"
Luckily, Miarko discovered that he hadn't any need to keep the charade up much longer, given the fact that he saw Sethelis take a seat with her back turned to their table at the opposite side of the cafe's outdoors area.
He let out a sigh, "I must've just imagined things, sorry about that, Terron." He said dismissively earning a look containing more than a little annoyance from the Lieutenant across the table.
However, Terron and Miarko had quickly gotten back to talking, their light conversation going from politics to foods, and from there it went, to Miarko's slight discomfort, to things like dinners. Which in turn did indeed lead to the dreaded topic of "dragonesses". Miarko rolled his eyes as he heard Terron bringing it up:
"Speaking of a good roasted deer, there was this one dragoness I used to be with ages ago who had a craving for it. All the time." The earth dragon stated, after having ordered yet another one of those breads he had been casually eating all morning. The green dragon looked at his significantly younger superior as he asked: "... So Miarko, I know this might be a sensitive topic." He starts, fiddling a little with the bludgeon-esque tip of his tail. "But are there any favorites out of, well, all of your previous "conquests"?"
Miarko usually didn't mind talking about it with his friends, but someone like Terron whom most likely had only heard the common rumors was a little harder than the fire captain had anticipated.
"Any favorites?" He started, subconsciously giving the frill under his chin a stroke with a paw as he thought on the question, mental images of his previous lovers, flings and possible mates flashed by in front of his inner eye…. Some of his memories more or less innocent than others.
And after a few odd minutes of Miarko thinking on it, Terron did come with a suggestion.
"I have to admit that I personally think it was a shame you aren't allowed to be with Sethelis and all that. I mean… If you don't mind me saying this, sir, She is quite the looker." Miarko openly sighed upon hearing that name. He had hoped that he could clear his mind of that dragoness until the Congeria issue had been handled. But as if a cruel gesture from the Prime Mover himself, she kept on appearing either by spotting her in the DOW tower or possibly making an appearance in his thoughts.
They said that "All roads lead to Warfang", but Miarko couldn't agree with it. It seems he is caught in the dilemma that was described as "All thoughts leads to Her."
"Yes, yes she is. It's ironic, you know. Last night, if someone had made it differently, me and her could've been sitting by a table at this very cafe. It could have been-"
"Captain, Lieutenant?" shouted a voice from across the cafe. Both men turned around to find a private from the 17th striding in.
The private walked up to the table and saluted, before quickly saying, "Sirs, the Directors have requested your presence back at the Tower."
"What for?" asked Miarko.
"For a… Delicate matter."
"Captains, Lieutenant, Shadows, thank you for coming on such short notice".
Cynder paced in front of Sethelis and a pair of her Shadows, Miarko and Terron. She...did not seem pleased.
"I assume you've both been briefed on the Congeria situation, Shadows?"
The two shadows whom had joined Sethelis upon arrival, a pair of male dragons whom stood straight and still, as if set in stone. Unmoving. Barely even blinking. The two were wearing cloaks in a black velvet-esque fabric, almost blending them into their own shadows. A rather slender-looking red dragon with a large count of small spikes along the back of his head. Alongside of him was his comrade: Also a male, whom possessed two horns on either side of his head, going in a spiraling manner. With an exception for the two on his right side, whom had seemingly gotten stumped at some point, being significantly shorter than its left counterpart. And a red, almost to the point of pink, coat of scales adorning his body. They both nodded with a unison
"Yes, Madame Director."
They then went back to their previous silent observing of the brief.
Sethelis simply stood beside her two subordinates, internally feeling rather prideful of her work, getting to show what real discipline is like. Outwardly however she was almost as still as the two cloaked dragons.
"Excellent, then there's no need to clarify anything," nodded the Director, who then nodded to Spyro, who stood up.
"As Captain Sethelis has already been informed, the 18th... Ah, the Shadows, were assigned to determine any link in between these attacks and the Anointed Ones. Shadow #1, report."
"Yes, Director," responded one of the two cloaked warriors, "Early this morning at o'three hundred hours, Shadow #2 and I were able to link the arrow Captain Miarko recovered to a local blacksmith. Cross-referencing the transaction list of the Blacksmith to our records of known Noints', we were able to determine the arrow's owner. She was captured and is now being held in the cells downstairs," the Shadow bowed their head and quickly moved back into formation, not muttering another word.
"Captains, as the Shadow stated, we have captured and brought in a known Noint', whether that be an actual operative or a sympathizer is not known to us."
"Director, if I may..." began Miarko, stepping out from the flank of Sethelis, "What are we needed for in this situation? The Shadows are just as capable-"
"They are just as capable, Captain..." said Spyro, cutting him off, "But you and your platoons are the leads on this situation, meaning you and your interrogation expertise are needed in this situation."
"Platoons, Director? As in-"
"You and Captain Sethelis will be sharing this assignment, Miarko," cut in Cynder, "Despite my...misgivings about the situation last evening, you and your platoons are the only two with experience on this case, and must work together as a result."
Sethelis blinked once. No, twice. At first she was confused, wasn't Cynder saying that they couldn't see each other? That's when Sethelis remembered the order, to quote exactly:
"I have forbid him from seeing you as a result, which is why I will not allow you to see each other outside these walls. Is that clear?"
The words echoed through her mind for a moment, the dragoness was then quick to spring into action: She looked over at Miarko, and then back to the two Directors.
"Let's all hope that this cooperation won't bring any…. Complications. I'd hate to disappoint, Sir, Ma'am." She said, her words oddly cold and seemingly dripping with a thick layer of irony. Not that the shadow Captain's tone was bad, as she still respects the two heroes, she simply…. Wishes some of their decisions undone.
But Sethelis' decision had been finalized: She will try to not go against the orders.
Miarko spoke up then, saying, "Acknowledged, Directors. We'll do our best to avoid any distractions and focus on our goal."
Sethelis then would proceed with a further question, she wanted to get out of this moment and get to work before she even could've bring that Captain another moment of thought. "Then, I assume we have permission to start. Any specifics we want to get out of her?"
Cynder proceeded by giving Spyro a glance. The purple dragon only nodded, looking almost regretful.
The Madame Director then gave the order: "I want every last thing she knows, no matter of what importance. Everything, by all means necessary. Spyro?" She said, having walked to the door which acted as an exit between the hallway to the interrogation rooms and the bottom floor offices at the DOW towers. The purple hero sighed, looking over at Miarko and mutters a "Make sure to restrain her if needed. We don't want any accidents." At the volume so that only the fire captain could've caught sound of it as the Director passed. "Take as long as you need. Send anything you find to me for review later on, when you think you are done." He then adds, in a louder tune so that all five dragons in the room heard his request.
And so the door to the office floors were shut, and Sethelis said "Come on, let's show them how one extracts information." To her two subordinates, whom both seemingly eased up upon the Directors leaving.
The three proceeded to head to a room with a tough looking iron door, a numberplate on the door saying "I3" signifying where they were headed.
Interrogation room 3.
Miarko sighed and turned to Sethelis then, his face uncaring. He looked dark.
"Captain, how do you want to play this?" he asked, "I have some experience in these matters, so whatever style you'd like to take into this affair, I'll go along with."
Sethelis stops just before she was about to open the big iron door.
She lowered her paw, and turns around, she looked at Miarko with a slight look of confusion. Not because of how he had requested a strategy, more of how… Cold his demeanor was. "You're usually a charismatic guy, as well as a Captain, so I assume you've taken part in the "Bad-Good" routine at least once?" The shadow Captain asked, tilting her head slightly towards the door.
"Of course, Captain. I usually am the one that enters first, to calm the prisoner from their state," responded the 17th's Captain formally, "If you prefer, I can take this role again.:
Sethelis nodded. "Okay, as you seem to know how it goes, I'll let you go in first. Feel free to open the door and let me make my entrance whenever it is required. If it even will be." She said, once more turning to face the big reinforced door.
After unlocking the several locks, the heavy door swung open, revealing a empty room besides a set of chairs, with torches along the walls for lighting.
"Finally, I was wondering when you lovely people would let me out." A voice replied. The dragons could not see the person they were about to interrogate from where the door was, but they could tell that whomever was in that interrogation room was filled to the brim with ironic remarks and sarcastic comments. Just from that one sentence…
Miarko strode in alone, Sethelis remaining outside. He said nothing at first, sitting down in front of his interrogation subject slowly. He had been given the file on the individual, complete with what information the Shadows had been able to gather on the subject.
He looked down through the files, nodding slowly as he spoke, "So...Madame Elmira, is it?"
"No, it's the Queen of Warfang," responded Elmira, crossing her legs as she spoke, "Yes, it is I. 'Madame' Elmira, daughter to the Ice Guardian of Warfang and heir to the City."
"Your sarcasm is...charming, Madame Elmira," responded the Fire Captain, looking up at her for the first time.
She was a Skav, at least formerly. Elmira was a pirate name, no doubt of that. The Fellmuth, those of the Skavs who didn't resort to pirating, chose more...eloquent names than that. Miarko had met few of the Canine race during his time in Warfang, but the 17th was entirely a Dragon-based platoon, and the Captain saw little interaction outside of it.
This Elmira, she was sitting in that chair, treating it as if it was the throne to her kingdom. Her composure whilst sitting down was relaxed, as if the Fellmuth had gone through an interrogation by the DOW before.
She had a coarse and far from well kept fur, like to most of her kind the exterior was apparently not too important. She had a cocky and self assuring smile, showing every little one of her… Somewhat well kept fangs, one or two even having the near stereotypic metallic replacements.
Her "hair", having the same brown and dull white coloring as other Skavs', was kept back behind her head in something reassembling a ponytail with a simple set of rings made of some lucrative and expensive metal. Presumably gold, she was wearing simple garbs made of a rough and weathered red and white cloth-like fabric, a form of layered sleeveless coat. On her feet and hands rested leather gloves and steel capped boots, both carrying buckled straps to keep them in place.
Around her neck hung a very ornament gold bond, keeping up a plethora of smaller talismans and bejeweled little tokens. Almost like some form of collection. On a broad belt hanging around her hips there was a holster of sorts, presumably for one of those "flintlocks" the Skavs raiding parties were known to use.
Miarko hadn't had to deal with such a weapon as of yet, and he only knew they required gunpowder. Older soldiers of the DOW remembered the great raids that ensued from the Fellmuth's fleets during the chaos of the Dark Master's rise to power. They had described such weapons with "The only thing you heard was a loud bang, a cloud of smoke and suddenly there was a tiny ball of metal nestled deep inside your body. Painful, but easily fixed, if they didn't hit a vein or so. The time to reload however is even slower than the City wall's cannons."
Joining the holsters, there also was a scabbard for a cutlass. However Miarko assumed that those three were not the only weapons that this pirate was carrying.
The most prominent feature of her attire was something entirely different, it was a logotype he recognised. The one usually associated with the Anointed ones. A round circle in the middle, with eight arrows pointing all in different directions. Miarko already knew she once had been a part of the cult-like group of cutthroats, but that she'd flaunt with it so openly, having painted it with a kind of colorful ink, reassembling blood in it's crimson shade of red, on her forehead took him slightly off guard, as his eyes went to it pretty much instantly.
"My eyes are down here, Captain," said the captive, uninterested.
"That symbol on your forehead," he responded, regaining his composure, "I didn't know any of you Noints' would wear it so proudly. It's like a status symbol of sorts?"
"Oh, yes," she said, picking at her fingernails, "I love having the symbol of a dead god painted on my forehead. It's wonderful."
"Humor. Lovely," responded the Fire Dragon, looking up from his notes and smiling, "Staying positive and humorous can have positive effects in situations like this."
"Aren't you here to ask me questions about my evil intentions and how bad of a person I am?" Elmira responded, looking at him now.
"If you're ready to speak to us about everything," Miarko responded, opening his notes again, "To start, I'd like to-"
"Ask me where I was during whatever case of whenever? Look, let's just get this out of the way so we can both move on with our lives." The canine replied, nonchalantly flicking her wrist at the DOW Captain in a dismissive mannerism.
"Normally I don't run into captured prisoners being so… Upfront about talking," replied Miarko, raising an eye ridge.
He turned around, motioning a paw towards the door for his partner to come in. Sethelis entered then, quietly taking a seat. She had been able to hear everything on the other side of the wall, and she simply couldn't wait to get to wipe that smug grin of that marauder's face. However she knew very well that she has to await Miarko allowing her to do just that...
"Where were you Tuesday night last week, say, around three in the morning?"
"I was where I have been for months now, down on the docks in the Gull and Lighthouse, drinking the night away, ever since you DOW lot confiscated my ship." responded the canine informally.
"Ah, you're a former Skav, then," came Miarko's response as he scribbled down a few choice words.
"Former, yes. For the record, I never appreciated being a member of that lot. Who wants to be called a Skav? Especially after going through what is considered the greatest scandal in the "Skav community"."
"I can understand the lack of appeal of being considered one such. You were subject to a mutiny too?" said the Fire Dragon, looking over the notes from the Shadows, "Those can be rough for 'Under-Captains' of some of the galleons of the Skavs. I assume you were deposed?"
"I'd rather not discuss the failures of my past career, Captain," she snarled suddenly.
"I have to get an idea of your background," began Miarko, "I can't get an idea of how you got to be here without it, Captain. Can I call you Captain?"
"I'm done here," said the captive, shaking her head, "I've done nothing. If you're not going to hurt me, then let's just be done with this and let me out."
"Hurt you?" asked the Fire Dragon, "Oh, I'm not willing to hurt you. She is…"
Sethelis suddenly got out of her seat, the little observative smirk which had rested on her lips prior had now grown slightly. The pirate scrambled into a correct sitting position, looking at the dragoness with a look of determination.
"What are you planning? To intimidate me with a creepy smile?" She stated. Apparently not going to be brought to her knees easily.
That was until Sethelis would open her maw and blast out what dragons would recognise as the technique "Shadow Fire" or Shadow Breath, a cloud of black smoke usually distorting vision as well as choking any non-shadows inhaling it.
Sethelis' goal was most likely the latter, as she didn't stop once they could hear how the Skav's breathing was getting more and more bothersome, coughing and wheezing.
Elmira was however not just going to sit there, as she tried to stand up... only to feel a paw press her down into her seat once more.
Sethelis' eye narrowed, as she shut her jaws audibly, backing off to her seat once more. Elmira coughs a few more times, gasping for air.
"Y-You sick bastards." Was all she managed, propping herself up in her seat once more, her eyes bloodshot.
"I don't want to do that any more than you do," said the Fire Captain, easing Sethelis back down, "But we need this information, lives are at stake."
The Fellmuth was silent for a long few moments. She was recovering, either her thoughts or her mind altogether.
"Like...I told your warriors," she said slowly, looking up at them just as slowly, "I'm…not an Anointed. I left their order some...time ago."
"So you know nothing of their current plans?" asked Miarko carefully.
"No. After this entire...Congeria situation, I wanted nothing to do with what they're doing now."
"What do you mean, they're doing now?"
Elmira looked up at them more attentively this time, with some confusion written on her face, "You mean you don't know what they're doing?"
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that, Miss Elmira," Miarko responded.
"Are you familiar with proxies? Proxy magic?" asked the Fellmuth.
"Please, explain it if you can," responded Miarko, shaking his head.
"It's when someone can possess someone else. Invade their mind to possess their body, turn their will against their wishes."
"And you think that the Noints' have access to such magic?"
"How do you think they came up with the plan to revive their God?"
Miarko looked at Sethelis with a great amount of Concern on his face. Sethelis looked back at Elmira, a possibility beginning to inch at the corner of her mind. If the Noints' could possess the will of someone, did that mean…?
"So you think that the Anointed Ones have, what…?"
Elmira looked between the two soldiers, giving them both glances. She couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.
"Captains, I'm afraid you're already too late."
AN: Well, that is another chapter done! Mike and I had a blast writing this chapter, which (I have to admit, it's a longer one!) we sincerely hope you'll enjoy reading as much as our earlier ones. Well, this hawk really doesn't have much more to say, except that I am hoping you all will continue to appreciate and enjoy what we're writing.
Please know that we read every review and PM, but don't always have the time to get back to all of them. All the same, we appreciate each and every piece of feedback we receive. And remember that each one helps us improve and make the story greater!
That's all from us for now! Don't hesitate to leave a review.
-Mike & Hawk