Cinder paced back and forth across her quarters, nodding along with the voice on the other end of the scroll her jaw clenched tightly similar to her grip on the device, she'd already had to deal with the aftermath of Emerald and Mercury's escapade in to Vale earlier that morning, the news of Tucson's death had already spread back to the White Fang.
While the Faunus supremacist seemed delighted by the traitor's death, she had not felt the same, despite her explicit instruction to remain out of sight during their time in Vale the two of them had gone behind her back to deal with the White Fang deserter, true their actions had been focused towards building more trust between themselves and the Fang, but it didn't mean she approved of being kept out of the loop. Adam had gone along with her plans because their goals aligned...to a degree.
She wasn't blind that despite her own efforts in Adams' eyes, they were expendable, a liability even.
He'd tasked one of his lieutenants with keeping an eye on them alongside the fangs operations in Vale, the girl's heritage may have allowed her to stay out of sight, but Cinder knew when she was watching them, and when the time came or the chance to do so presented itself Adam would attempt to have them removed from the picture, something she had been certain to remind the two of them of when they'd returned.
Although that conversation had been interrupted by her scroll, the caller, was a man Cinder loathed with a passion, but she knew better than to ignore what may have been new orders from her mistress, sadly that had not been the case and the context of the conversation that followed was... troubling to say the least.
"Do we know anything of his intentions regarding the academy, the condition of the relic!?" She pressed, her concern that their operations in Vale may have all been for naught growing.
"Do you think I would waste my time informing you of current affairs if such a thing were the case." Watts replied annoyance present in his tone.
"Just answer the question" She growled in response
"No." Watts replied frostily "From what I have been informed he has made no attempt to seek out the vault, nor question the maiden on its whereabouts. "Watts paused" Although he has shown ample interest in the student body, the first-year students in particular."
Cinder's eyes narrowed. Why come all this way, why intervene in the Maidens assassination if he was just going to waste time on children of all things, the relic was well within his grasp far closer than they could have hoped to be in such a short time as this and yet, he ignored it. Although that did beg the question, what could garner such a response or perhaps the question was who. "Do we know the reason he has taken such an interest in the students?" She asked
"A question I have asked myself and per our ladies request will be taking the time to uncover the answer to." Watts replied, " But to sate your curiosity, not as of yet, I've already begun digging through the student records, and so far, very little stands out, as one might have expected."
Cinder snorted in amusement, what did he expect from a group of amateurs. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes." Watts replied evenly "Salem believes that his intervention may be the beginning of something more, she asks that during your time in Vale you report any anomalies you may encounter, the same has been asked of Tyrian and Hazel."
"And what of my task involving Beacon?" Cinder asked
"So far little has changed, for whatever reason, our lady has faith you'll be able to accomplish the task given to you." Watts chuckled cruelly "After your recent failures I still don't understand why she deems you fit to-" Cinder cut off the call there glaring down at the device in disdain. He had no right to belittle her Salem had deemed her worthy to wield the powers of the Maiden's, he had no right to question their mistresses decision nor belittle her own efforts here.
Their operations within Vale had been going rather well baring Romans failure to obtain the SDC dust shipment from the docks, although under the circumstances of his failure she felt that could be forgiven, given the fact his failure had supplied both herself and her mistress with information pertaining to the new threat that had risen against them.
The cost for such information being that their operations concerning Beacon would have to be altered. During their first altercation with the Nightingale Emerald had been knocked unconscious and as such had been unable to shield their identity's from both the Fall Maiden and her savior. Under normal circumstances such a thing would mean little to them, some quick alterations to their appearances and armaments would suffice for both Emerald and Mercury... herself on the other hand.
Cinders eyes trailed down to the crimson glove running up her right arm. If the two of them were to cross paths again the rather distinctive scar left behind by her injury may serve as a way to identify her as one of the maidens attackers, no doubt Ozpin and his little brotherhood had taken the time to question the two, gathering whatever information he could concerning the girl's attackers in the event they may cross paths in the future.
True she could employ one of Emeralds illusions to hide the incriminating blemish during their infiltration, but such a petty use of her abilities could result in unnecessary strain on the girl's mind from maintaining the illusion over a long period of time. No, there were other ways to achieve their goals and the White fang may yet be the key to such an outcome.
She'd heard the stories, however, exaggerated and twisted the tale may have become over time. The most recent version she'd heard was that the Nightingale had single-handedly slaughtered their brothers and sisters during one of their "Protests" involving an SDC mining facility.
Rumors had already surfaced claiming that the SDC had hired the man for such a task, it certainly fit the stereotype that members of White fang had come to expect from the patriarch of the Schnee family. Adam, however rash he was at times had capitalized on the rumors, whether he believed them himself didn't matter. The tales had become an exceptionally useful tool to incite fear and anger during their rallies drawing in a few of the younger, rash and like-minded individuals to their cause.
Cinder reached for her scroll dialing the number for a burner scroll she'd been provided with should the two of them ever need to speak. If she were to offer the means to complete said goal, she doubted the boy would pass up the chance to fulfil his promise for justice and to cut down yet another enemy to their "righteous cause"
The thought of such a notion made her chuckle, there were very few things that affected the boy in such a manner. One of the few examples she'd discovered was during the aftermaths of Roman's failure to procure the SDC shipment.
She had taken extra steps to ensure their operations in Vale remained hidden from the eyes of the public and above all else Beacon, hacking into the shipyards camera systems may have been costly but the outcome had been worth it. Any evidence involving their actions had been erased baring a copy she had secured and included in her own report to her mistress.
Still, word of the Nightingales involvement in the failed heist had spread quickly among their ranks as well as the appearance of the Faunus girl from the footage and her attempted intervention in their operations, a deserter she'd surmised judging by her outburst and if what she had overheard was correct the boy's former lover, the irony was not lost on her.
Nevertheless, the girl's actions that night had garnered quite the violent reaction from the boy especially at the sight of her fighting alongside the Nightingale. It would seem the so-called revolutionary did have a weakness, one she would not hesitate to exploit to fulfil her own needs.
"What do you want?" The boy practically growled over the line.
It would seem she'd caught him during one of his little moods, good. "A favor you might say" She began "Something we will both benefit from."
"I find that hard to believe, now stop wasting my time and get to the point" He replied pointedly
Cinder narrowed her eyes in regard to his tone, had she the time and the freedom to do so she would ensure he never addressed her in such a manner again. Unfortunately, due to the interference of one man she lacked these luxuries and as such was forced to endure the fools attitude or risk having the White Fangs support for their operations removed.
"Over the past few weeks, a certain 'bird' has started to create a number of issues involving our operations in Vale, this pest's continued interference has caused both of us unnecessary strife." Cinder explained her eyes drifting back towards the black arrow laying on the desk, her right-hand tightening instinctively" As such, I'd like to see that this nuisance's wings are clipped."
"... I'm listening."
/
Halfway across the globe three of the individuals responsible for the anomalies scattered across remnant trekked across the seemingly endless sea of sand, rock and mountains so high they seemed to touch the clear blue sky. The scorching sun bore down on the three adventurers from above, the dry desert wind whipping past them.
Brynjolf stared out over the barren landscape surrounding them, having long since exchanged his Nightingale armor for a set of guild armor that in his opinion was far better suited for the hotter climate then black leather armor and a cloak, of all the places those monks could have dropped them at it had to be in the middle of a gods-forsaken desert.
Like most members of the guild he was a very well-traversed man, his line of work often took him across the face of Tamriel and even beyond in the years following the guilds revitalization, one of the more memorable ones being when he was tracking an Altmer priest carrying a rather valuable amulet, that took him to the heart of the Aldmeri Dominion, Alinor.
Even for the most skilled master thieves on Nirn, the forbidden Elven city was a job many would shy away from, the Dominion was barely tolerating mankind's existence as it is, he'd doubted they'd be pleased finding one rooting about in their capital city. But, the rather generous sum of gold offered to the guild at the time, the challenge the job posed was enough incentive for him and in the end, he'd emerged from the Elven City, Amulet in hand, fifty thousand Septims richer and no one else the wiser.
Which is why at first glance, he'd mistaken the endless sea of rocks and sand around them for the Alik'r desert. The seemingly never-ending wasteland around them and the few creatures he'd saw slinking about beneath the sands certainly leaned towards the assumption that the ritual had failed and spat them out in one of the neighboring provinces, but as nightfall came, any previous doubts they had were immediately dashed at the sight of the shattered moon hanging in the sky above.
The ritual had been a success they'd made it, now there was just one more problem to deal with before they could begin their search for Mikael, getting out of this bloody dessert before their supplies ran out, and they all died of thirst.
"Any idea how far off we are from that settlement?" Brynjolf called out to the Kahjiit mage leading the group across the dunes.
"No, thought J'zargo believes it is close" The Khajiit replied turning his gaze back towards the ethereal ball of blue light in his left hand, following the curling ethereal blue wisps of light stretching out across the desert sands ahead of them. Brynjolf hummed in response his eyes scanning over the cliffs towering high above them for any sign of movement
"Then let us make haste!" The third member of their party spoke up his high obnoxious voice echoing across the barren landscape " We have already wasted enough time in this accursed desert. When he discovers how we came to arrive here the listener will be rather displeased, Cicero does not wish to draw his ire any further by making him wait, or worse force him to search for us on his own."
"It'll be fine." Brynjolf said. Still, the mad-man had a point, after seeing how far the lad had gone to keep those scrolls locked away, he doubted Mikael would be all too pleased to learn they'd been moved without his permission, but, if the college had held true to their word then the scrolls were back in the hands of the dragons serving as their guardians. "Just keep your voice down, we don't want to draw any more of those creatures to us."
"Awww" Cicero groaned dejectedly" Cicero enjoyed playing with the puppies all that stab, stab, stab, stab, stab! And then suddenly... Poof!" he cried throwing his arms wide.
"Okay..." Brynjolf sighed glancing to J'zargo who shrugged as the mad jester broke out into a fit of giggles.
He didn't mind working with a member of the black hand on this, the guild had worked alongside a few members of Astrid's "Family" in the past mostly through the Black-Briar's, but Cicero was certainly one of the more... eccentric members of their group, but there was no doubting his skill with a blade, they'd already had a taste of what he was capable of after running into a pack of those creatures not all that long ago, let's just say he wouldn't like to find himself on the end of that knife.
The trio continued their trek across the desert for what felt like a good half hour J'zargo halted mid-step his head snapping towards the peak of the large dune ahead of them, J'zargo signaled for the others to stop, pulling down his hood the Kahjiits ears flicked out twitching ever so slightly in the desert wind, he sniffed the dry air once or twice before a low growl emanating from the back of his throat his eyes hardening .
"What is it?" Brynjolf asked noting the sudden change int he Kahjiits mood.
"Nothing good, move softly there is danger ahead. " J'zargo replied crouching down he started edging his way up the sand dune, Brynjolf and Cicero following close behind the college mage, as they arrived at the peak all three dropped down into a prone position raising their heads ever so slightly over the edge so they could look down upon the threat on the other side.
"Oh great, more of those things. " Brynjolf muttered eyeing the pack of... well he didn't really know what to call them culminating in the center of the ravine, while many of the creatures they'd encountered resembled wolves, bears and even a giant snake they'd had to sneak past along the way, but the closest thing he could compare these variants to was one of those Nix-hounds from Morrowind.
He wasn't in the mood to get in another fight, if these things didn't manage to kill them all then the heatstroke after the fight certainly would. "Let's try and sneak around them, no sense in drawing any unwanted attention, we don't know what else might be in the area."
"Agreed" J'zargo said, the stench of these creatures was a strange mixture and putrid mixture of ash and blood, scents both old and new were spread far and wide across the desert sands carried by the winds and the sheer number of them that walked the desert day and night, making detecting one at a distance beyond his hearing a difficult task.
"Wait" Cicero whispered grasping Brynjolf by the cloak and waving towards the horizon with the other. "Look forward little bird, I think you and the cat may have missed something." Brynjolf pulled his cloak from the mad jester's grasp sending a small glare his way, as he reached towards his belt, he pulled a small spyglass from one of the pouches on his belt for a more detailed look.
Peering through the spyglass his eyes scanned over the waves of desert sands in the general direction of Cicero's waving, his eyes catching a flash of green peeking out over the edge of the mountains ahead of them.
"What?" Brynjolf whispered focusing back on what appeared to be the first change of scenery he'd seen in over three days. What looked like the beginning of a vast jungle lay a good few miles across the desert sands, but what caught his eye the most, were the tips of several tiled rooftops poking out above the wall of foliage.
"He's right." Brynjolf said in surprise "Looks like there's might be a village inside that jungle." Brynjolf said holding the spyglass out towards J'zargo, the Kahjiit accepted the spyglass taking a look for himself at the assassins find.
J'zargo couldn't help but ask "How did you even spot that from here?"
"Come now, even a wise and powerful wizard such as yourself knows the value of keeping secrets." The mad Jester replied a bright smile spreading across his features.
"True" J'zargo replied casting a suspicious glance the mad fools way, while he didn't mind Cicero attempt at swaying the conversation elsewhere with flattery, J'zargo found it odd that Cicero had chosen such a defensive route, what could garner or in Cicero's case require such a reaction, perhaps it was something to do with the brotherhood itself, such an organization must have held many secrets that its members would prefer remained in the shadows.
"Looks like their moving on" Brynjolf spoke pulling J'zargo from his thoughts and back towards the creatures below. "Best we do the same while we have the chance, let's give this a wide berth while we're at it." J'zargo rose into a crouch alongside his companions, the trio moving around towards the eastern side of the dune, it wasn't his business, nor did he want to pry any further or risk the mad jesters ire, there were more pressing matters at the moment that required his attention, navigating across the desert while avoiding its rather hostile residents being the most prominent.
While circling around the area may cost them a few hours of their journey, it was safer than dealing with them directly, not only were they outnumbered, but the sounds of combat would most likely draw more of the creatures out of there holes and towards the ensuing conflict, and he was not in the mood to become so monsters meal.
Cicero glanced towards his travelling companions ensuring their eyes were anywhere but on him, his hand slipped toward the silver amulet hanging around his neck... the one mother herself had gifted to him before he departed the sanctum, one that granted him the privilege reserved only for one other, her sweet... sweet... voice.
Mikael may have held the title of the listener, but his responsibilities to the thieves guild and... ugh, Nocturnal, often lead to a rather prolonged absence from the sanctuary. Cicero did not know why he pledged himself to such an unworthy being, had he not born witness to the Night mothers glory in person, when he had been DEFILING THE SANCTITY OF, THE-...NO!
Cicero would not get mad, no, no, no, her grace had chosen him for a reason, a glories reason, instructing the Nightingale to speak the words that would solidify his position and stay his own blade from enacting at the time what he thought to be just retribution, when in fact it had been Mikael initiation and the beginning of the brotherhoods rise to infamy once more with the reveal of their next contract, the emperor himself, he had even spared dear Cicero when he was at his most vulnerable, their listener was kind and merciful to those deserving, while fierce and cruel towards the unfortunate fools that had truly drawn his ire, a remarkable successor compared to that, deceiver, Rasha.
In any case, while his absences were not detrimental to them, they did complicate the fulfilment of the Night Mothers contracts and as such many of the poor and desperate souls who prayed to the Night Mother, hoping to receive her blessing would go unanswered, as such, other means of enacting her will were implemented.
His position as the keeper made him the perfect candidate, and while tending to mother some months prior he'd heard it, the whispers, at first, he believed the voice was merely one of the pranks the Un-child would often pull to torment the new initiates, at the time it seemed she had finally grown bold enough to attempt the same on him.
He'd ignored it at first, of course, his duties to dear mother were far more important than indulging her antics, but as the voice addressing him grew in volume, he quickly realized it was not the voice of a child but a grown woman and one he did not recognize as one of their own, as such he was immediately on guard.
Had someone infiltrated the sanctum?
No. It would have been impossible for anyone to gain entry to the sanctum without being noticed, the main door itself was practically impregnable and without the password no outsider would be granted entry, as for the escape tunnel, being the biggest vulnerability, the sanctum had, Nazeem had tasked a few of the more experienced members of their family with watching over the entrance.
And yet the voice continued to call out to him, beckoning him... towards the Night mothers coffin an ethereal violet glow emanating from within.
"Shh~" The voice pulled the assassin from his thoughts and back to the present, his hand moving to grasp the silver neckless hanging around his neck, the amethyst stone in the center of the neckless giving off a familiar if duller violet hue, and in that moment Cicero could barely contain the feeling of utter joy building inside him, his grip around the amulet tightening as his lady spoke, her gentle voice echoing through his mind.
"Hush now, my keeper, the road ahead of you is long, you must remain focused on your task~" The night mother spoke, her voice echoing through the confines of his mind as an overjoyed grin spread across out his lip.
"Of course Mother, humble Cicero lives to serve." The mad jester whispered back clutching the neckless tightly.
Hearing his words Brynjolf and J'zargo glanced to one another both making a note to keep a close eye on the brotherhood assassin once they arrived at the village, Cicero's attire alone might draw some strange looks from passers-by but talking to himself or muttering to the inanimate object around his neck was even worse.
If word spread that a clearly unhinged man wielding a large knife was present in the village they would either be thrown out on their ass's faster than any of them could blink, all under the justifiable assumption they were a threat to its inhabitants, or on the unlikely chance they were allowed to stay, finding lodgings for a few days while they were asking around and gathering supplies for the journey ahead would be more than difficult.
What worried the two of them most of all was if the mad jester took offence and attempted to "confront" the unlucky soul that had earned his ire. Suffice to say, they weren't looking forward to having to flee the first form of civilization they'd encountered in almost a week, or worse spending the next few days in a cell because Cicero tried to run someone through.
Though all things considered they didn't really have much of a choice, it was either die out here in the desert or risk one if not all members of their party being incarcerated, because of the assumption they were all mentally unstable in some way or the other, with that in mind Brynjolf turned to address the Kahjiit to his right.
"When we reach the other side of the jungle the two of you hang back, I'll slip inside the village walls and scout ahead." Brynjolf said
"Are you sure that is necessary?" J'zargo asked
"Maybe, maybe not. But have a look around." Brynjolf replied gesturing to the barren wasteland around them "This place is a wasteland and after three days of travelling this is the first time, we've seen any evidence of a settlement, I wouldn't be surprised if the people there won't be all that hospitable towards us, and our friend back there..." He glanced back to Cicero, who continued to whisper into the necklace. "Won't help matters, better we know what we're dealing with ahead of time before we walk into something we might regret, I can get in look around, find a place that's out of the way where we can hold up, then get out before anyone's the wiser." Brynjolf explained.
J'zargo hummed in response finding Brynjolfs worries justifiable, on top of that the jungle was vast, there was no way of knowing how much of it was inhabited by man or overrun with more of the creatures. The people here would have had to fight tooth and nail to take and hold whatever precious land was inhabitable from these creatures, and they had no way of knowing the size of the settlement or how great or how slim their supplies may be.
If the latter were the case as far as the inhabitants needed to be concerned, they were just three more mouths they'd have to feed, as such they could either be shunned away...or forced out. As Brynjolf said better they knew what they were walking into beforehand, at the very least they could have a plan ready in the event things started to go-
The sands beneath their feet shifted drastically as several large bone white shards shot up through the sand, Cicero yelped backpedaling after he barely avoided being impaled by one of the spikes, the sand under their feet rippled and shook as something forced its way up from beneath them lifting the trio off semi-solid ground, Cicero stumbled dropping to one knee he latched onto the nearest spike as the already uneven ground disappeared from under them, his companions J'zargo leapt from their elevated platform while Brynjolf was dragged down with the tidal wave of sand.
The master thief's arm lashed arm lashed out as he fell, searching for something, anything that might save him from being buried alive under the mountain of sand raining down on him from above. It would seem someone out there was watching over him evident by how he crashed shoulder first into what appeared to be a large stone column, acting quickly he drew Chillrend, stabbing the malachite blade deep into the pillar a layer of frost spreading out over the surface, the action drawing a low pained hiss from his right as several pulsing red orbs shone through the cloud of sand.
"Whoa!" He yelled in surprise as the "Pillar" shuddered rising out of the desert sand alongside five others as the creature rose to its full-height towering over all those present.
J'zargo landed on his side, the unexpected fall and angle of impact drawing a pained hiss from the Kahjiit rolling onto his back J'zargo looked up at the beast emerging from the cloud of sand casting its shadow over him. Its body was pitch black except for the developed been white armor covering its body dotted with bright red markings that spread across its body several of which culminated together on the creatures head forming an intricate rune resembling an eye.
Several of the bone plates on its back ended in a large jagged spike that continued up its tale before stopping just below the large glowing stinger that judging from the size could quite easily impale a full grown man if he wasn't crushed by its pincers first he spotted Brynjolf dangling from one of its legs his cloak snagged on the tip of a barb extending from bone armor covering its legs while Cicero clung tightly to one of the spines across its back.
J'zargo had heard stories from a few of Winterhold visitors of Giant scorpions roaming the Alik'r desert attacking trade caravans or any unfortunate travelers that happened to venture to close, he recalled a rather large frostbite spider he and Mikael had encountered while delving into the Dwemer ruins beneath Markarth that the city's scholar in charge of the expeditions had come to call Nimhe.
Even that eight-legged terror which stood almost twice as tall as a full-grown man was dwarfed by the sheer size of the monster in front of him... And all six of its pulsing red eyes were focused on him... perfect.
Its eyes narrowed as a low hiss slipped past its twitching mandibles, its stinger thrust down prompting J'zargo to roll to the side narrowly avoiding being impaled. J'zargo thrust his hand out launching a six-foot-long shard of ice towards the scorpion, it shattered on contact with the carapace the force behind the impact making it stumble to the side, two more ice spike impacting its body J'zargo scamper back to his feet, the third going wide narrowly avoiding the Nightingale scaling the creatures leg.
"Watch where you're flinging those things!" Brynjolf cried out after narrowly avoiding a surely fatal case a friendly fire.
The mage ignored his companion outburst focusing more on not being cut in half by the scorpion's pincers, leaping back out of the monsters grasp he followed up another short volley of icicles. The ice spikes shattered against the scorpions solid bone armor, Brynjolf ducked back behind the creatures leg narrowly avoiding the spray of tiny needle-like shards.
Brynjolf pulled Chillrend from the carapace, using the small spines that jutted out of the scorpion's carapace he scaled up the creatures leg, it was fortunate... Well fortunate for him at least that it was so focused on J'zargo, he was barely clinging on as it is and it wouldn't have taken much effort on the scorpions part to just flick its leg and send him sailing through the air, if the fall didn't kill him then the large stinger heading his way after certainly would.
Reaching the joint that connected the upper and lower sections of its leg, Brynjolf glanced towards the creatures making sure it hadn't noticed him yet, in the process he spotted Cicero clinging to one of the much larger spines jutting out of the carapace, Brynjolf pursed his lips, a sharp whistle echoed out across the desert, the sound drawing Cicero's attention towards the nightingale.
"Go for the eyes!" Brynjolf called out to the jester "I'll keep it steady for you." Brynjolf raised Chillrend thrusting the malachite blade between the opening in the bone white armor covering its legs and into the black flesh below. The scorpion stumbled hissing in both surprise and pain, frost spreading out across the area around Brynjolfs sword, accompanied by an ethereal green glow enveloping the malachite sword spreading from the blade and across the scorpion's form, its crimson orbs widened as every muscle in its body locked in place.
Taking the few scant seconds the creature would be restrained as his chance Cicero drew two ebony daggers from his back, racing across the bone carapace Cicero leapt forward plunging his daggers into the scorpion's eyes, cackling as he pulled one of the blades free and thrust it into another fleshy coating himself and the desert sands with black ichor.
Brynjolf stepped bag off the leg allowing gravity to take hold, his weight pulling down on Chillrend dragging the blade down with him, tearing through flesh and cartilage as he dropped down to the desert sands below, what remained of the scorpion's leg hung limply from the joint clinging to the main body by the mutilated strips of black flesh and cartilage left behind by Brynjolfs attack.
The ethereal glow encased around the scorpion form shimmered, the effect of Children's secondary enchantment fading, allowing the creature of darkness mobility returned as did its voice. The scorpion backed up immediately an agonized hiss shot past its mandibles, thrashing its body side to side attempting to shake off the madman, while said fool continued to drive his dagger into the crimson orb closest to him.
With the creature distracted even if just for the moment, J'zargo took a moment to catch his breath, novice and adept level destruction spells had little to no effect on the scorpion's carapace and anything stronger could risk injuring his allies, Brynjolf and Cicero had been able to injure it by targeting the gaps in its armor, but, there weren't any openings where they could strike at a vital organ or cause enough damage to take it out of the fight.
A crossbow bolt stuck the scorpion in one of its eyes drawing another agonized hiss from the beast, the remaining red orbs that had yet to be mutilated by the mad jester darted around the barren landscape, searching for anything that might help end the humans around it as well as its own agony. After a moment, its eyes locked onto a rather large boulder half buried by the desert sand with just enough exposed to serve its purposes.
The scorpion rose up on its back legs, the sudden shift in Cicero's center of gravity forced the jester to cease his assault and cling onto the creature of darkness carapace or risk falling to his death, the scorpion's body dropped back down to the sands the impact costing its unwilling rider his footing, lowering its head slightly the scorpion scuttled towards the bolder with reckless abandonment at a speed one would not expect from its size forward its wounded leg showing no sign of hindering its movement.
"Cicero! Get out of there." Brynjolf called out in warning.
The mad gesture glanced back over his shoulder his eyes widening as the scorpion closed in on the large bolder, scrambling up the bone plate with a startled yelp, leaping from the scorpions body he narrowly avoided being crushed between it and the bolder, a resounding crack echoed across the landscape, the scorpion, dazed by the reckless move it stumbled to the side it lust to kill the humans that had entered its territory was quickly overcome by the struggle to stay on its feet.
Cicero stumbled away from the disoriented beast covering the distance between it and his companions he doubled over beside J'zargo, panting heavily. Brynjolf jogged up beside them retrieving another bolt from the quiver strapped to his lower back loading it into place. "Were barely even scratching the damn thing" he muttered
"Perhaps it would be best we make a hasty retreat before it recovers." Pulling a green vial from his belt Cicero downed the potion, it contents removing some signs of his previous exhaustion. "That village should only be half a day's walk, if we move now, we can put some distance between ourselves and the creature before she recovers."
"And if it follows us, we'll be leading it right to their doorstep, how do think that'll go for first impressions." Brynjolf rebutted, Cicero huffed in response, don't get him wrong he'd enjoyed mutilating the creature its screams were rather pleasant to his ears, but his personal pleasure meant nothing in comparison to the mission mother had given him.
Turning towards the Kahjiit mage Brynjolf asked. "Don't suppose you have anything that can deal with... That."
"Perhaps" The mage responded digging into his pack in search of one of his personal projects, pulling a small scroll from his satchel a few moments later. Some back at the college had called him a fool for keeping as they say "Extremely volatile" experiments on him at all times. Pheh! J'zargo was only ensuring no one had the chance to steal, recreate and pass off his outstanding advancements in the school of destruction as their own.
He'd made some minor improvements after the Dragonborn had returned from testing the originals, Mikael had brought up some unforeseen drawbacks on the original and after weeks of painstaking research, he was eighty, eighty-five per cent sure the user would not be incinerated while using it. In any case, their current situation gave him the perfect opportunity to observe its effects in the field for any future prospects, the fact it might also save their lives certainly made the risk worth the reward.
"This should serve our needs, though we will have to get closer for the-" he paused a second later his ears twitched slightly, picking up a low rumble in the distance, the sound growing closer and closer by the second, J'zargo's head snapped in the general direction of the new threat, his eyes narrowed, the pack of black hounds they'd encountered and subsequently avoided, were now bounding across the waves of sand and stone having been drawn into the frenzy by the sounds of conflict and their brethren's agony, a sigh slipped past the Kahjiits lips, so far today fate seemed determined to see them die in this wasteland.
"You have got to be joking." Brynjolf sighed in disdain they already had enough to worry about at the moment, Brynjolf sighed and began marching off in the direction of their pack. "I'll deal with them, you and Cicero deal with the bug!"
J'zargo nodded holding out the scroll to Cicero while retrieving another from his satchel for himself. "How close will we need to get?" Cicero asked removing the binding around the scroll the scroll.
"J'zargo does not think that will be an issue." J'zargo said, Cicero, glanced to the Kahjiit mage strangely, following his gaze he turned back towards the scorpion the monstrosity, having regained its senses turned towards its attackers revealing a large spiderweb crack spreading across the armor plating, black ichor bubbled up between the cracks joining with the small river flowing from its wounded eyes.
The scorpion clacked its pincers, it remaining eyes burning like hot coals it stumbled towards the human and Kahjiit. Unfurling their scrolls, the runes inside came to life, taking on a fluorescent amber hue as the Magicka inside attempted to escape the parchment it was confined within, a few moments later the scrolls crumbled into dust earning a worried look from the Jester.
Now Cicero was no expert on magic, but he was rather certain that wasn't supposed to happ-. The jester jumped as his hands were engulfed in a raging inferno that quickly began spreading up his forearms and to the rest of his body, the flames whipped around Cicero as if they were pulled up by a none existent gale forming a protective cocoon around him.
"Ooooo~" Cicero couldn't help but marvel at the flames enveloping his body.
"You may gawk at J'zargo's brilliance later, for now, there are more pressing matters to deal with." The Kahjiit said, Cicero's eyes moved from examining the inferno surrounding him towards the scorpion charging across the desert sands towards them, smiling maniacally the mad jester strode towards the beast alongside J'zargo, he was certainly going to enjoy this.
/
'I almost feel sorry for the thing' Brynjolf mused glancing back towards his companions as he marched across the desert sand towards the oncoming horde, he could feel their eyes focus on him as soon as he separated from the others, having deemed him the greater threat, or perhaps the easiest target due to his sudden isolation from the others the latter being the most likely out of the two.
A grave error on their part but another bout of good luck for all of them, J'zargo and Cicero could handle the scorpion, but only he would be able to deal with this. A dark cloud began to manifest around Brynjolf's form spreading out from his chest, enveloping the rest of his body in a cloak of shadows that pulsed and fluxed around him.
Moving his arms in an arc, wisps of crimson and black mist trailed behind them as the shadows around his body began to pulse and fluctuate, growing more and more violent by the second, Brynjolfs face twisted in slight discomfort a small burning sensation welling up inside him, the price of holding back such power while the beast closed in on him, he only had one shot at this he couldn't afford to waste it.
The creature leading the pack, its body covered in more developed bone armor, three horns extended out of the bone mask covering its head with several spines stretching down the length of its back ending with a barbed tail unleashed a deep guttural roar as it leapt towards the master thief angling its horns towards his chest.
Brynjolf thrust his arms forward unleashing a cloud of black and red light that washed over the desert sands like a never-ending flood, the cloud impacted the leader, its body halting mid-air and for a moment the world seemed to still. The cloud pulsed launching the packs alpha back into its brethren, expanding outwards the cloud engulfed the black hounds submerging their bodies in pure darkness, and from within that darkness a voice whispered to them, its words stoking the fire of hate that festered inside them,
The cloud subsided a moment later, the creatures stumbled back to their feet the Alpha's pulsing red eyes turned back towards Brynjolf, the runes covering its armor plating started to glow in tandem with its eyes, as the monster moved forward wisps of ethereal red light trailed behind its form as it stalked towards him intent on finishing its assault.
Instead, one of its pack mates a creature of equal size but with significantly less armor pounced onto the Alpha its jaws closing around the larger beast neck, black ichor splashed against the desert sand, followed by the Alpha howling in pain, rising up on its back legs the beast whipped its body side to side attempting to dislodge its treacherous packmate, one by one they turned on one another any form of comradery they once had was overwhelmed by the unnatural rage festering inside them.
Having a power that could throw your enemy into a murderous frenzy was rather useful when you had to deal with a large group of enemies, although it could also act as a double-edged sword if any of allies happened to be caught inside when the cloud was unleashed.
The scrap between the pack was over in a few minutes leaving only one of the creatures left standing victorious over the disintegrating bodies of its brethren, several deep gouges spread down the back of its neck a river of black flowing down the dented and cracked surface of the armor plating. Panting in clear exhaustion the beast turned its head towards Brynjolf a low growl emanating from the back of its throat its eyes burning like hot coals as it limped towards him, the voice compelling it to keep fighting.
Brynjolf raised his crossbow 'Enough of this already' he was already sick of this desert and the monstrosities that called it their home, the bolt punched through the bone mask embedding itself down to the fletching, the black hound toppled to the side never to rise again. Brynjolf returned his crossbow to his lower back, with these things out of the way they just had to deal with the scorpion, and they could be on their wa-
A fiery explosion erupted behind Brynjolf the shockwave sending a wave of sand and intense heat washing over the master thief, the force behind the sudden gale-force winds sending Brynjolf to his knees. As the gale-force winds died down Brynjolf looked back towards the epicenter of the explosion, he could just make out two figures standing before a large flaming mass, their forms outlined by the flames cloaking their bodies.
"Bloody hell, that was definitely a bit overkill." Brynjolf muttered dusting off some of the sand clinging to his armor as he rose back to his feet, although, if J'zargo had any more of those scrolls on hand traversing the rest of this dessert might actually go a lot more smoothly. A sadistic cackle pulled him from his thoughts drawing his attention back towards the more "Eccentric" of his companions 'Or maybe not' He huffed eyes drifting towards the mad Jester hopping from one foot to the other.
"Hahahaha!" Cicero clapped his hands together in pure delight as the scorpion's body started disintegrating into ash "Marvelous, simply marvelous!" Cicero cheered, the scroll the cat-man had given him was far more interesting then he'd originally thought, he was especially fond of the large explosion it gave of if something so much as touched him. "How long does it last?" The assassin asked in curiosity watching the flames as they danced across his forearm.
J'zargo hummed in thought, his original design had lasted around five to ten minutes before the spell showed any signs of weathering, however, he was unsure if the changes he'd implemented on the new variant affected how long it would last to any extent, although the explosive effect of the flame cloak certainly seemed more restrained then how Mikael had described the originals, perhaps the reduction in firepower would add to its longevity.
Unfortunately, this also meant he would not have an answer for his companion until the flames surrounding them went out "Until now J'zargo has not had a chance to test these scrolls in the field, so he is unsure." Either way after what he'd seen here today J'zargo was proud to call this experiment a success.
"Awwww" Cicero groaned as the third member of their party stopped a few feet away from the others, after seeing what happened to the scorpion, he wasn't taking any chances while that flame cloak was active.
"I see you two had some fun." Brynjolf interrupted drawing the duos attention back towards him.
"As did you it seems." J'zargo said his gaze drifting past Brynjolf to the bodies dotting the sands behind him.
"It felt more like pulling teeth actually. "Brynjolf sighed glancing up at the column of smoke rising up into the sky. "That smoke is going to draw some unwanted attention, we should start putting some distance between us and this mess before more of those things show up."
"Agreed" J'zargo replied "If we hurry, we may be able to make it to that village before nightfall." In daylight they could at least see the creatures coming, at night on the other hand, well they'd already had a few close calls already and he wasn't willing to push their luck any further, it was only a matter of time till it ran out. "This one and the Jester will take the lead, in our current state if any of the creatures attempt to hinder us, they can be dealt with quickly and we can be on our way."
Brynjolf nodded along with the Kahjiit "If it cuts down on the time it takes us to get there then I'm all for it."
"Enough talk already." Cicero said jogging off in the direction of the village" We must not dawdle any further, knowing the listener he will have already found himself involved in yet another outlandish adventure, that shall inadvertently decide the fate of this world!" J'zargo and Brynjolf shared a look, that was... oddly specific, although if the way those monks back in Winterhold were acting was any indication of what they were all getting into, it seemed like an accurate assumption.
"Right then." Brynjolf began turning towards the only other sane member of their party. "Let's not keep him waiting." With luck, there might be someone in that village who could point them in the right direction.
And there we have it chapter 26 is out, you can put down the pitchforks and torches now.
It's been over two months since I last updated and for that, I am sorry, college work and my job has and is still eating up a lot of my time, so you can probably expect a larger time gap between story updates for the foreseeable future, I know it sucks, but I'll ask you all to bear with me for the time being.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter feel free to leave a review, any constructive criticism you give me is always appreciated, and I will see you all in the next one.