Chapter 8–Stalking
Gondar began his search with a swift sweep of the area just around Roshan's den. He found no tell-tale signs of slithereen activity, but he did find humanoid tracks, which he chose not to follow as they were quite old and would distract him from his pursuit of Slithice. With Lyralei and Yumero keeping an ever-watchful eye on him, he began attempting to sniff her out, but was rebuffed by Slardar's overpowering fish-like aroma, even though he hadn't been right here, and was unable to find Slithice's more subtle smell if it even was here.
He also smelled wet dog. Close. That could only mean one thing: The lycanthrope was near; either him or one of his wolves, and Gondar prayed to Zeus for the first time since meeting the King of Heaven that they weren't after him. If they were after Gondar and were this close, there would be no trick in Gondar's arsenal which would let him evade them, and though the lycanthrope was not the strongest thing in the Dire army, his part of the Night of Terror had made him one of the most feared, and he was known to be relentless, nigh unstoppable and tended to be surrounded by other Dire heroes.
So when Gondar came back to quietly tell the others that now would be a good time to hide, his eyes told them before he even opened his mouth. They hid as he directed, and Gondar watched as one of Lycanthrope's wolves, sopping wet, bounded past them and deeper into the woods.
Gondar let out a deep sigh of relief, but did not emerge. They remained there, hidden, for near on half an hour before Gondar emerged, checked the area, and told the others that they could come out.
Gondar, Yumero and Lyralei advanced deeper into Dire territory, Gondar in front because he was much more likely to notice than to be noticed, Lyralei and Yumero sticking behind because though they were undoubtedly better fighters, neither of them (especially Yumero) had anywhere near Gondar's level of stealth. Now that Riki was dead and Slark too, Gondar supposed it was likely no-one could out-sneak him.
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Mortred No! The phantom assassin! Not– not Mortred. Phantom. Assassin.
The Phantom Assassin stalked through the jungle, using all her tracking skills to find Gondar the bounty hunter. This was the tough part: finding the guy. She supposed that logically she'd have to go over to the Radiant side of the battlefield eventually, but she had a feeling that she'd find him here and she'd learned to trust her instincts.
That's when she saw the Juggernaut. Moving with what seemed to be a genuine, if poor, attempt at stealth, he seemed an easy mark. Then she saw the Windrunner, and decided against it. Mortre– The Phantom was good, but the Windrunner was another story entirely. She could kill Windrunner, but then she'd be forced into one-on-one combat with the Juggernaut, and that was a bad idea. No, she decided to keep her distance for now, perhaps strike later…
Then she saw Gondar appear from the bushes and tell them something, though she couldn't make it out. He then went ahead, scouting for them while keeping himself hidden. But she'd already seen him, and was now tailing him. Just my luck, she thought, I've found him! And he's even scouting ahead. Now all I need do is stalk him and wait for an opening and I'll have him!
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Gondar slinked through the forest: a blasted, sinister, twisted parody of what a forest should be. It was full of dead trees and scorched underbrush, and seemed lifeless in the day, though Gondar knew that come nighttime the forest would awaken with sounds, sounds that made the blood run cold and made you thank the gods that there was no Night Stalker, at least not anymore.
Now it was silent but for Yumero, Lyralei, Gondar (though he hardly made a sound) and whoever that was who thought they could stalk him.
Whoever you are, I can hear you.
Should I call out to the others? No, I don't want you to know I know.
Whoever you are, you can't be too strong, else you wouldn't be making such an effort to stay hidden.
But you can't be too weak, else you'd be going for help. Whoever you are, you think you can beat us, you just need to go about it the right way.
Who are you, I wonder?
He continued scouting, keeping his ear pricked and his eyes sharp. He then returned to the others to report what he'd found, saying "Nothing," as he approached, "no sign of Slithice, no sign of Dire heroes, nothing," then Lyralei proposed "Why not search the neutral camps? People are always raiding them, maybe Slithice was there."
A neutral camp? Well, that'd be the perfect spot for an ambush.
Lovely. It makes sense, too, so I can either drop this charade or walk into a trap. Either way, my advantage is lost.
Then again…
"Why don't we go there together, there are often survivors in the raided camps, and they're none too friendly," and Gondar hoped Lyralei would agree.
"Sure!" replied Lyralei, and Yumero gave a curt nod. Gondar was (somewhat) safe again and relaxed his shoulders a little, though he still kept his ears open and his eyes sharp.
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After searching three abandoned camps, Gondar had at last found some of the distinctive slithereen scimitar marks on a few fallen satyrs which at last showed them that Slithice had been there. This meant that the nearby disturbances of underbrush could've been her as well, though she had hidden her tracks well and somehow masked her scent quite effectively, almost supernaturally well if Slardar and Slark were any indication of how very… appetizing slithereen normally smelled to Gondar.
Gaaaaah! What did I just think of doing?
Fine, yes Gondar, admit it to yourself, they do smell delicious. But… could you not think of that?
Not like I'd actually eat a slithereen, that'd be horrible.
Nevermind, just stop thinking about it!
By then, night was closing in around them and they began setting out to find a suitable resting place. Locating a cave which was little more than a large hole in a rockface, they took out their field rations as the sun set under the horizon.
"So," Gondar began, holding his knife so as to make sure their tail didn't attack while they were eating, though in a place like this it would be very hard for anyone to attack unless they were a knife-fighter like Gondar, Slark or Riki, so low the ceiling and so narrow the entrance, "Any tales to share?"
Lyralei, always the talkative one, was the first to speak up, saying "Well, I came here after my forest was levelled. See, a bunch of goblins decided they hated the trees and started chopping down everything, one of them wore this weird lumberjack armour, I saw him here too. Well, I ran out of there, met Traxex, heard of this whole thing, signed up and boom! Here I am!"
Gondar blinked a couple times. She was still so sing-song and casual-sounding, even when talking about the destruction of her home. He supposed that to her, home was anywhere she could run and be free, which made Gondar wonder why she was helping the Radiant, who embodied order more so than good, while the Dire was more about unrestrained self-interest and absolute freedom than evil, though it was hardly a coincidence that heroes and do-gooders tended to be on the Radiant side while villains and monsters flocked to the Dire. Nevertheless, he could see that the loss of her original home still had an impact on her, but also that the wound the loss of Traxex had caused her was still fresh, raw and more painful by far.
Lyralei asked him, "So why'd you join the Radiant, Gondar?"
Gondar considered for a moment, then decided to reply honestly "Well," he said, "partly it was the desire to do good, partly the sense of adventure," he paused, watching Lyralei nod and Yumero stare at him. He wished he knew what Yumero was thinking or even what his face looked like right now, but it was, as always, concealed behind the impassive ivory mask. He continued, quickly saying "But mostly it was for the fame and the money," and Lyralei giggled. Yumero asked "Money, Gondar? Is that all?"
"Not just money," replied Gondar, "I am a creature of order at my heart, but yes. Money. Fame. Not everyone fights for honour."
Yumero shook his head slightly then said "And how is that going for you?" with just a hint of scorn in his voice, though less than Gondar would have expected. He knew Yumero's type, and he envied his dedication as well as the fact that he could go to sleep each night knowing that if he died tomorrow it would be for a higher cause than himself. Gondar had felt a little of that after joining the Radiant army, but he also knew that the original reason he'd joined had mostly been for money and fame, two things which now seemed so trivial as he fought to determine the future of the world.
"Actually," replied Gondar after his short pause, reaching into his pack, "Pretty well," and he took out the shattered crown of the Skeleton King. "With the bounty on Ostarion's head, I can make a fortune," but Yumero tilted his head and said "I'd heard Ursa killed him," and Gondar sighed, responding "Yes, technically it was Ursa who crushed him into bonemeal. But who deserves the credit? The one who walked up behind him and did the killing blow, or the one who fought and him head on, one-on-one, kept him there, outfoxed him and took out one of his lives? Besides, Ursa cares not for bounties."
Yumero shrugged, and Gondar saw her.
Oh now I see, phantom assassin.
Thought you, with your body-blurring and cover of darkness, could observe us from close range unnoticed?
Hah! Now I know who you are, now I can make my plan.
"Well," announced Gondar, "I say we have two per watch. Now I know that means we won't get a good night's sleep, but every one of us can stay awake for quite a while and I don't see why we should leave ourselves open to night attack in Dire territory. We'll set out in the late morning tomorrow. Lyralei and I will take first watch."
Checking to see that the phantom was now out of range, he walked up to Lyralei and whispered "Trust me."
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What are they doing?
This is not how an army conducts itself, more like how lovers behave. I need to get closer, now could be the perfect time to strike.
But why is he embracing her, why is she spinning him around like that? They must be such fools.
No matter, they've left themselves open and–
"What was that?" she heard Gondar say as the two broke apart, and quickly got back into hiding. She hadn't lived this long by rushing into fights she didn't know she could win. She'd strike tomorrow, when he was scouting. Then this ridiculous stalking business could end, and the real work begin.