3RD POST
AN AGE OF STRIFE STORY
THE_BLOODHOUND
TRIBAL-WARLORD OF THE SCAR HOUNDS
WARDEN OF RHIGAR & MAR'ZAMBUL
GRANDMASTER OF THE TRI-LUNAR CLIQUE
BELLIGERENTS
(BOTM Vs. GA)
Tags:
Keilara Kala'myr
Tu'teggacha
SHRIVEN NO MORE: FIVE FALCHIONS, FIVE HUNTERS - PART 3
MIRKHEART VALLEY, CAIRN DISTRICT,
NORTH OF THE BLACKSITE, EXEGOL (EARLY-WINTER OF 877 ABY)
'Rejoice while you still can, Raider! We're not alone out he-'
Crunch.
Stomping the skull into obliteration, blood and brain-matter spattered all around Nail's cybernetic suit and across the faces of the Darkhans standing around the last of Mercy's first pursuers, though everyone within earshot cared little and less about the blood at the time, and more intently on the matter that other pursuers were likely in play by then. What made it worse was the fact these Exegolians were much braver in their last moments than the others the Scar Hounds had killed that night, spitting and insulting their tormentors with no reservations on the matter of what the Darkhans would expect to follow after that, threats on which none had dared to waste their final breaths beforehand.
'Fething Hell, brother! Take it easy with that, will ya?'
As he was in the process of silently shaking his head at Nail's messiness, Dreamer stopped to ponder on the statements of Mercy's first wave of pursuers for a while, but also stopped this to make eye contact with Caz so he could ask,
'So what's your take on all of this then, Purp? Any of this sound familiar to the one leaving his home turf?', wiping wet skull fragments from the goggles of his gas-mask moments later to get a better look at the demeanour of the Darkhans' de facto assistant-strategist. All of the community from the Mineheel Firm had been evacuated weeks prior, all but the ones who chose to remain for scouting and surveillance purposes, (comprising of little more than twenty of the Twi'Lek's swiftest runners to err on the side of caution for the rest) but there was something in the way he kept tilting his head, almost as if he was choosing to abandon his visual search through the fog in favour of listening for threats instead.
'Karked if I know, Blueskin! Not much else but the usual brand of dark-hearted on Exegol of late - too much going on with Operation: SHADOWHAND.... Emptied reserves and clans alike, effectively rendering Exegol - a ghost planet until everyone returns. All who - remain are the denizens of the treacherous Taskmaster, and we've been dealing with nought but the dregs of that crowd sadly.... Being honest, not much else there is to say, and - making it worse is the fact we've had scant and fewer reports on the ground since. Just traitors all-round as far as I'm aware.'
And the Chiss didn't like it one bit, but instead chose to listen intently - hoping clues could be found in the answer as he hung on every word.
'The Taskmaster's been keeping his cards - close to his chest. Nothing new to worry about anyway.'
'Stop pausing to listen out for something! Its pointless-', Dreamer started, trailing himself off as he pondered the depth of Cazne's sudden secrecy, realising by then that there was surely more that wasn't being divulged to the group. Then with glowing red eyes widening, the Chiss continued,
'Unless it isn't.... Wait a minute! What did you mean by,"Nothing new.", just there? Have out with it already!', becoming irritated enough that he eventually snapped and snatched at his comrade's throat, and in a fashion that was almost too similar to the way the Warlord grabbed Dreamer's throat on Durace. Something was about to transpire, and whatever it was, both the Twi'Lek and the dead Exegolians knew it was likely going to be horrifying for the Scar Hounds to face off against.
'This isn't the time to test my patience, Caz.... Speak, you're free enough to do that at least, are you not?'
But then Caz changed his expression to show he wanted to answer properly, wresting himself apart from the clawing grip of his blue-skinned friend with the sort of determination Dreamer was hoping for, and from the very offset of the problem's occurrence. Growling
,'You forget yourself, Blueskin! I'm the one who bullies you in our sparring-sessions together.... And you'll see your fair share of it in our next bout, rest assured!', as he sheathed his Falchion in a gesture of peaceful intent towards the Chiss, the Twi'Lek was clearly keen to get on the move as soon as possible, but holding his ground well enough to handle the immediate matter first. Time was working against them, (this none could deny) but Caz was adamant of his previous wisdom in the matter, as it meant keeping Dreamer's mind from wandering to rumours of Tu'teggacha's brutal eye for experimentation, keeping the mind of a Chiss from dwelling on the deaths of others like him.
'Well, here goes nothing I guess.... There were times, in the Mineheel Durasteelworks and in town as well, when there were signs that we were on the verge of being overrun, times when we knew we needed to run - and hide from a menace we all recognised as threats that were beyond us all to a man.'
But the time for secrecy had passed, and at the most inopportune of moments had given rise to demands for enlightenment, but despite the clan-leader's irritations, there was more to tell and no choice but to reveal the harsh, terrifying truth. Then as soon as he recounted the times the Taskmaster's creations passed through Mineheel Station, the Twi'Lek sighed audibly before he concluded
,'Visions, distant babbling screeches, and glowing, red eyes all around the town - stretching out as far as our own could see.... I'm sorry, Dreamer. But the rumours of the Ebruchized are true-', cut short by visions of torture, pain and anguish at the gloved hands of masked scientists, tortures of which Caz had never suffered to such extents in his life. However, these visions weren't just thrown into the young chieftain's in these moments, and in seeing the looks on the faces of the other Darkhans when he snapped out of the stupor, he knew the others had also barely woke up from their own.
'Brothers, as much as it pains me to admit it, I think it's time to cloud our minds with the Spice supply for the next part. No other choice now.... Alright, time to dose up!'
Whoever or whatever was bearing down on them at the time, all the Darkhans knew they needed to hold them off or perhaps even kill them outright if they were to have even half a hope of rescuing their tribal Matriarch. And as the five guardsmen swayed in the fog as their initial highs levelled to something relatively manageable, the Undying saw their Deathless brethren's gesture, hoping it would be their chance to find Mercy as they originally planned, hoping their superiors gave the final word. Fortunately for all involved, Ghoul still possessed a lower-level resistance to the drug, and though his dosages were as high as those of the cyborg for effect, the youngest Darkhan was first to level out and set the wheels of the rescue attempt into motion again.
'Undying.... Go - take our Matriarch home! Get the Mineheel stragglers to safety!'
Nail would be the first to draw his falchion, larger than all the others on account of his hulking cybernetic form, and though he would be the last to level out in the early stages of his intoxication, the onboard circuitry still understood the intent enough to set the human-cyborg into poise with a pressurised hiss. Next was Ghoul, but as conscious as he could have hoped to be, much like the others who followed suit just seconds later. Then by the time they were all ready to fight, the weird babbling and screeches had already begun, revealing the eerie glow of the red eyes the Twi'Lek had only just referred to moments before, and with that, revealing exactly what sort of fight the Darkhans were resolving to endeavour. But instead of feeling fear, excitement would run up and down their spines as the narcotic tingles intensified the sensation to wild new heights, a specific high of which was almost entirely new to the minds of the Five Falchions.
'If we survive this, we'll be legends among the Deathless and the Undying alike.... Best not let the others down, eh?'
Just seconds away were the greatest horrors they'd ever know, but even then, of all with the power to comprehend all things otherworldly, the Darkhans had seen enough to have the luck to count their names among the rest of their sort in the Galaxy. Likely to perceive the hideous, the powerful and the dreadful more comprehensively than most, better in articulation of things they had been able to perceive from mortal perspectives, though there was no way in knowing exactly how the Bloodhound's guardsmen would react to this - and especially not with Caz and Dreamer factored into the ordeal.
'COME ON THEN, YOU UGLY FREAKS!!!! WE'RE READY - GIVE US YOUR WORST IF YOU CAN!!!!'
Ishida Ashina
&
Bernard
