Out of the Shadows, Part 6


"Verika." You put as much weight as you can into her name. "You need to have that wound looked at. Rushing into battle in that condition is too dangerous. And there's no telling what curses or poisons they might have used."

"I'm willing to take the risk," Verika protests. "Every second we waste, it gives them that much more time to hurt Syvel and her students!"

"Maybe," you acknowledge, unflinching. "But failing to save them won't help anyone. We're probably going to have one chance at this rescue. Our enemy will be holding all the cards, the hostages chief among them. And they'll be ready for you. So before you dive into this at less than full strength... think carefully about what it is you're actually risking."

Verika looks away, not meeting your eyes. She realizes that you have a point... but it's still a bitter pill to swallow. She wants—needs—to be out there. Still, she eventually nods, just once, her head jerking in a painful-looking motion.

Satisfied that you've convinced her, you place a hand on her shoulder, shifting to a gentler tone. "Anyway, we can't do anything until we find them," you reassure her. "Khaytala, Relis and I can start working on that, so we won't be wasting time. And we'll leave a trail so you can follow quickly. I think that's our best course of action."

"He's right, Verika," says Khaytala, adding her own urging. "Go find the cleric and let her do what she can to patch you up. I'll keep an eye on things until you're back in the game."

Verika exhales. "Alright," she says, resignedly. "I'll catch up to you as soon as I can. Just... stay safe, okay? All of you." And with that she turns toward the center of the village, hurrying as fast as she can with her injury.

Nisial gives Relis a worried look, clearly concerned about her safety. "Are you... sure about this, dear? I could accompany Khaytala instead, and you could stay—"

"I can do this, mother," interjects Relis, a pained look on her face. "Please. Trust me."

Her mother still looks conflicted. But you cut in before she can say anything else. "She's right," you say. "And there's no time to waste. I suggest you ready any defenses you have, Nisial; this is clearly no normal raid, and we can't rule out the possibility that they have a way to strike at this village directly."

You doubt it, personally. But the mere possibility causes the ranger captain's thoughts to run in that direction for a moment... which gives you all the opening you need to turn and head out, before she can muster any more objections.

And with that, the hunt is on.

First, you hurry through the forest toward the last place you saw the mage and her apprentices, leaving a clear trail of your own the whole way. As the three of you move through the forest, Relis glances over at you, frowning in puzzlement. You don't force the issue, letting her stew until she's finally ready to speak. "I... I was surprised you convinced Verika to stay behind," she says hesitantly. "I thought your whole mission here was to seduce her for Kovora? Aren't you passing up a perfect chance to work on that?"

"There's no hurry," you say. "Right now, the captives' safety takes priority. Their safety, and Verika's. There'll be plenty of time for pleasure once everyone is out of danger." Patience is key here. The last thing you want is for any of them to die. Especially not the younger ones, who probably haven't gotten to experience the true ecstasy of debauched lust even once yet, let alone enough to stain their soul.

There are few things more unfortunate than the death of such innocents. Not only because of the suffering involved in the death itself... but also because it usually consigns them to some (presumably dull) heaven, without ever giving them so much as the chance to damn themselves.

Your reply seems to have surprised Relis, however, and she looks at you with fresh respect. Still, she does make a good point. You're putting yourself on the backfoot with regard to your efforts with Verika—even though you judge it to be worth the risk. Something to keep in mind.

It's not long before your heightened senses detect the smell of something burning, and you follow it to the site of a battle. The ground is pitted with scorch marks, and a few trees lie toppled. Clearly, the mage did not go quietly. You see no bodies—neither elves nor drow—but you can see where struggling captives seem to have been dragged away.

You follow their trail, working closely with Relis, combining your supernatural senses with her experience at tracking and her knowledge of the area. Between the two of you, you make excellent time. You treat her advice with respect... and her desperate gratitude for the chance to be useful in a situation like this is palpable in how she interacts with you.

Eventually you pause, raising a hand, Khaytala and Relis stopping behind you. It's distant, but straining your supernatural senses you can hear the sound of voices arguing, one of them a young male with a note of fear in his voice. Then the sound of a blow being struck. "I... think they've stopped," you say pointing in the direction. "About a mile or so in that direction."

Relis nods. "There's a clearing there that would make for a good camp," she says. "If they wanted to hole up, there wouldn't be many more defensible places in the area."

You frown. If their target really is Verika, then this is a trap. They've no doubt dug in, with all manner of defenses both mundane and magical, courtesy of those sorceresses. It'll be a tough nut to crack no matter what, even before you factor that they'll probably threaten the hostages at their first chance.

Then again, they're expecting a ranger, not a warrior like Khaytala backed by an incubus. That might be the biggest advantage you have. Of course, that advantage will be harder to leverage if you wait until Verika actually catches up to you. You'd have to either outright trust her with your demonic nature—far sooner than you'd like—or try to spin some rather suspect justifications for your abilities.

Or you could just withhold your powers for the rescue attempt. Although... that might put the hostages at greater risk. And increase mistrust from Verika later, if she learns that you did risk them to hide your secret.

You could also announce your presence and try to negotiate with them while you're waiting for Verika to arrive. It would alert them to your presence, and you doubt you could convince them to simply give up their plan, but you many learn information as to why they are doing this.

Alternatively, you could try an attack with what you have. While your personal combat strength is minimal, if they're targeting Verika, you could shapeshift into her, going in first to draw their fire. Perhaps even tricking them into thinking they've killed their target, and leaving themselves exposed in their "victory". It'd be a bloody business, but you could probably pull it off.

You'd probably end up giving your regeneration quite the workout, though, depleting your reserves drastically to heal yourself.

Or, you could use your shapeshifting in a different way, making yourself into the most harmless-looking elf you can, and wander into their clutches "by accident". You doubt they'd turn down another hostage, nor another slave for afterward. That could get you through their defenses and inside their camp, where you can sabotage them from the inside, and possibly secure the hostages.

That approach would require more playing by ear. But if you set up a signal with Khaytala and Relis, you could arrange to signal for backup, hitting the camp from within and without if you deem it necessary.

There are any number of approaches you could take with the tools you have available. But you'll need to decide quickly. What is your next move?