The Hunt: Part Two

[Taelian Edevane]

38th of Glade, Year 114

There was nothing like diving into the total unknown.

Some of the other Ebon Knights would have said that, at least. That these baseless hunts with so little information were — if anything — enlightening, in a way that planned excursions were not. Unfortunately, despite the gravity of their situation, they were going into hunting Glairen utterly blind.

They knew she was in Silfanore. Occasionally she would meet with Gratiana and spend hours with her — that was bad. If they happened to run into Gratiana or any of her elite guard, that was it. The mission was over, and they would all die. Even Vendrael was at risk: he could be captured and tortured, not allowed to die and be remade in the Gallows. If by any chance any Dranoch were allowed to escape and inform Gratiana of their predicament, the result would have been the same.

There were many outcomes to this mission that were deeply unfavorable, but of course the decorated ‘war hero’ Aldrin would not come with them. Even though their cause may as well have collapsed if Glairen succeeded in becoming a Huntsman, it would collapse into nothing if Aldrin was taken or killed. It was sound logic - somewhat - though Vendrael’s insistence in it still managed to infuriate him.

They moved stealthily from the Citadel Gallows to the countryside of Sil-Elaine, walking alongside the Mirrorlands as they did, keeping a narrow distance but not nothing at all. Tyrnac was hostile to the Dranoch and if they were discovered, they could lead their foes into his violent reach.

The Ebon Knights pursued the edge of this glass-like tree line for hours, eventually deep into the night. They performed their usual methods of infiltration through the edge of the city, shifting out of their heavier attire and wearing simple clothing. They wielded no weapons through the city gate, stashing them in a dead drop location that they kept handy for their endeavors into Silfanore.

Inside of the city was another dead drop location, this one closer to the core of the urban center where the Dusk Palisades were. It was closer to a safe house than a mere drop location, and was even manned by an Ashwraith stationed in the city. Of course, when they arrived, said Ebon Knight was not present. That only made things more ominous.

“Let’s get new weapons,” Vendrael commanded. “And armor.”

If they were caught with either in city premises they were going to be attacked, so they might as well have had both. Taelian immensely doubted a few inches of padded leather would fend off Glairen’s sorcery, but at least whatever Botchlings accompanied her would have something to contend with.

[Taelian Edevane]

They continued to pursue deeper into the city. They knew, roughly, where she was; in fact, the Ashwraith stationed in the city left notes pertaining to her most recent sightings. She had been moved to the western tower of the Dusk Palisades, whereas Gratiana was at the core. She was incredibly close to the Dranoch Matron, enough to where the proximity could be felt by everyone as they drew nearer. An intense lining of fear, reflected by each of their faces, as they accepted - or tried to - the intense likelihood of death.

“What if Gratiana finds us?” Darnan asked.

“We fight until the last. There’s no point running. You can’t escape a Huntsman.”

It was true. Even if there were a hundred of them scattered in a dozen different directions, one for every position of the clock, she would find them. And they wouldn’t last.

“Would we even have a chance?” Irina questioned. “You’re one of the best of the Black Revenants. If any in our order, other than Aldrin, has a chance… it’s—“

Vendrael shook his head. As they moved quietly between the wide buildings of central Silfanore, treading quietly along the edges of the city’s cobbled roads, he frowned.

“Even I could do nothing, I promise you that. Gratiana is the Lady of Dusk, the heart of it all. Do you think she would still be alive if we could send a few Revenants to take her down? We can’t.”

Chilling, Taelian could only think. But true.

“Why don’t you just use Glare to kill her?” Taelian inquired.

“You barely know how the Sigil works, Cleric. Quit your blithering.”

“Vendrael—“ Vilara began, only for the worn Revenant to immediately cut her off.

“Enough, Knights. We are deep in Silfanore now. We must be silent.”

Time passed and midnight grew nearer. As they wandered from the exterior of the Palisades to the inner square, they narrowly avoided detection several times. The Palisades were clean and ornate, filled with trimmed hedge yards and green grass, with opulent industrial fortresses for administration, restored from the Clockwork Age. It looked nothing like the rest of the entire realm, mired in grime and filth. The Courtiers were so distant from the people they supposedly ruled.

They continued to tread. They marched to the tune of the Revenant’s gestures, guiding them stealthily towards the administrative center’s west wing. Eventually they were guided to a locked hatch that acted as the sewage sector for the building, Vendrael burning it off with a dagger he had Enkindled with his Sigilic art.

They entered. Each of them climbed down the rusted, infirm ladder leading to the stone platform along the flow of the sewage ditch. The floors and walls were drenched in the dried up remnants of feces and piss — and surely it was not a Dranoch hired to clean these halls when they became too extreme, even when they were the least vulnerable to infection.

“Wait, do Dranoch even shit?” Temiril asked.

No answer. Everyone began to ponder, though Darnan - from the back of the group - began to laugh heartily at the sudden and genuine remark.

[Taelian Edevane]

And in a mere moment, he was dead, his head being dragged across the floor before the group as his body collapsed into Irina, invoking a terrified scream.

It was a Cardinal. And already they had lost one.

“D-Darnan,” Taelian whimpered. His one and only friend. So rarely did he feel emotion, a natural consequence of his Famished state, but already… he felt something he could only liken to sorrow. A gut-wrenching pain; he had not understood it in so long.

And fear. It was the worst moment to feel the loss of conviction, but he was already demoralized. He had never wanted to come in the first place; it was Darnan who made him want to. He was the role model Taelian followed after.

“Cardinal!” Irina yelled. She died immediately after, as the blood inside of Darnan’s decapitated form surged into her in the form of several long, puncturing spears, before shaping themselves again to become more malleable. Vilara immediately moved as Irina’s blood also began to flow out from her body; the Cardinal was attempting to kill them all in a successive line of assassinations, using the blood of one another as a weapon. It was a somewhat common tactic of their kind.

But even if they wisened up, they were already down to four.

“Vendrael!” Temiril yelled. The Revenant immediately performed Searing, shifting his view of their surroundings. The Dranoch, even melded perfectly into the shadows, could now be clearly seen. It appeared that Temiril and Vilara did the same, and with Emblem on their weapons - the two of them wielding blades and Vendrael dual axes - they began to swing in the direction of the Dranoch, attempting to pin him from all surrounding directions before he’d realized they could see him. Multiple arcs of powerful flames pursued him as he laid against the ceiling of the sewer, and though he pivoted backwards he met with the precise second swing of Vendrael’s axe, searing him, the heat nearly gluing his body to the wall.

Taelian, perhaps the one benefit of his Famished state, had dampened his emotions and responded the way he trained. He prepared a Flamelance in his grip, his Enkindled blade in one hand, and flung it for the skittering and burning vessel of the Dranoch, sending the bolt square into the core of his form. The Shrivenflame prevented him from regenerating, and as his wailing illustrated, the shadow-stalking abomination soon thereafter died.

Taelian huffed, and attempted to cool his Enkindled weapon before re-sheathing it, running his nail along the edge of his claymore and feeling the searing touch. He almost felt the need to cry.

Darnan’s corpse was at his feet. His skin had been torn through and mangled along the floor, ripped open so that his blood could be used like a weapon. The Dranoch were so vile; he hadn’t really known it until now. Even from their position of lordship over their pawns, they fought with only cruelty and dishonor. It was a terror to fully see.

But that was just one Cardinal, and already they had lost two. How would he, their weakest, make it out alive?

“We need to be more vigilant,” Vendrael said. “Six against one, and we lost two? Disgraceful. Neither of those souls needed to pass on.”

And of course he agreed. But what could they have even done? How could they have known?

Nothing about any of this was rational. It finally became clear to him... that they were dealing with a force greater than that which they could contend.

[Nyx]

Come Get Your Rewards

Experience Earned: 5/5

Magical?: 2 points for Sigilic Pyromancy (since it was only used in the last post)

Lore Earned:

Sigilic Pyromancy: Prevents Dranoch from regenerating
Sigilic Pyromancy: Flamelance: Good for executions
Tactics: Splitting up against an enemy who can cleave
Stealth: Infiltrating a city
Stealth: Using a safe house to hide
Stealth: Dressing down to avoid attention

Ills and Ailments: None

Loot: +5 Black Remedy faction progression points

Reviewer Notes: How quickly two people were able to die honestly felt like a gut punch. It certainly helps to reinforce just how dangerous these creatures are. Meanwhile poor Taelian. We get to see a little good in him being Famished but mostly I'm just sad he doesn't even get the chance to mourn properly. He really is alone in this world, and it makes me want to see him do well in the future all that much more. It also makes me feel really bad for the people of Sil, it makes the constant terror they live in make all that much more sense.