To Heir is Human XVI-Playground Options

[Agent Griff]

Savirien, behind the Silhouette with the mass of the Akaviri forces

After his commander had given the order, Savirien had signalled his troops to fall back out of the reach of the enemy projectiles. His superior found it perfectly suitable to loose many good warriors just to test the enemy but Savirien did not agree with his views. If he was the one in command, he would have tried to win the city without even fighting since it was always to Savirien's liking rather to keep something intact than to destroy it, even if it belonged to the enemy.

After the troops had fallen back, the Silhouette rose to confront the defence force himself. His visage was so grim that many soldiers from the ranks of the Tamrielics couldn't even bear the sight of him. Soon enough, the walls seemed almost empty, except for a few stout men and one odd woman who still faced the Silhouette. Even when his superior had unsheathed his dreaded scimitars, the Tamrielic woman still did not move.

She knows not her folly, that is plain. Regardless, she has shown good fighting spirit thus far, standing up to him. If I were the one facing her, she would have obtained the honour of having a clean death by now. Knowing him however, he will surely toy with her for his own pleasure before sealing her fate. Hopefully it will not last long for I do not wish the warriors to get roused seeing their leader in all his bloodthirsty glory.

[jack cloudy]

Silhouette.

The woman found the courage to smirk. The Silhouette was amused by her defiant spirit.
,,Let's begin." He hissed in the Akaviri tonue and swun one of the scimitars in a horizontal arc, following up quickly with a vertical slice from the other.



Vasha, somewhere near the Plys'Iea.

Vasha swore silently.
,,I'll have a word with her next time we meet.The oil would have come in handy." She whispered. She saw the monster engage a few mages.
,,Or perhaps not. Whatever's the case, we can't afford to waste time. Take up positions." She ordered. The Narza'Tai scurried away, trying to remain hidden as they moved across the roofs.

Minutes later, their Breton leader had confirmed that the Plys'Iea was now covered by half a dozen crossbows. not a single bolt was without poison and not a single bolt held the same poison as another. Vasha aimed her own, aiming for its neck. She nodded and pressed the trigger. Six more bolts joined her own in flight, converging on the mysterious warrior.

Vasha didn't wait to observe the result of the first barrage. She abandoned her position and fled to the next, following a route she'd memorized.

[minque]

OCC: Seeing as Vasha seems a little pre-occupied I'll assume the attack hasn't started yet. Rann and Dan (didn't realize that rhymed until now) will be running into a traffic jam pretty soon, nobody's getting anywhere......


Ian

After setting a crate of foodstuffs down on the raft the vampire paused. The air carried the scent of freshly spilled blood. The fighting's too distant for the wind to carry it here. Then a slight sound came with the wind, the echo of a familiar shriek!

Ian froze, Rann had claimed to kill the champion of the Akaviri. "Apparently he wasn't thorough enough," Kirana commented.
"Satyana, Issac, you two stay here!" He ordered to them as he disentangled himself from the large, but not increasing, mob of soldiers, assassins, and civilians.

Satyana

"Ok" she nodded to Ian, used to listen to elder people she did not question his orders. She took Issac's hand and just squeezed it...out of fear and seeking for comfort

[Lord Revan]

OCC: I'll have the messenger arrive now.

Akaviri Messenger

A single snakeman slithered through the gates of the Temple District; minutes later he came within earshot of the struggle between the Silhoutte and the elven woman. At first he watched them, but then reminded himself of the news he was meant to bring.

Rather than interupt the dual, he approached Savirien, an experienced warrior and the next person in the chain of command. "My lord," The messenger hissed, bowing his head slightly. "The Tamrielics intend to escape across the lake to the north. Their refugees and troops have been stopped temporarily by the Plys'Iea warrior."

"He advises we move quickly to cut off the enemy retreat before they can move this to the open countryside and we lose our advantage with them pinned down in this place." He blinked and eyed the distant archers still present. "These soldiers are only here to keep us from setting upon the fleeing forces."

Plys'Iea

As it was, fast moving projectiles like bolts were difficult to detect in time to dodge. The hunter bite down savagely on the last mage's throat, the other having his rib cage cave in. Suddenly, a sharp projectile glanced by his neck.
He felt multiple objects ping off his plate mail, hastily he let go of the mage's throat, the man was too traumatized to pose and further threat. Warily, he lowered one gauntlet to shield his head from the direction of the city.

His neck began to feel numb as he reached to feel the minor wound. A chilly sensation spread along his snake-like neck. The hunter snarled, tensing the muscles in his neck. Before the next volley, he threw himself over the side of the slope.
Rolling down the side, the alien slammed against the ground and used his momentum to spring to his feet. Fortunately, he landed close to his staff, and at an uncomfortable angle for snipers, bowman in this case. The end of the path also turned out to be in the opposite direction from the flotilla.

[The Metal Mallet]

Amrita

Amrita leaped back from the two strikes. In response to the attack, she fired off both of her crossbows at point blank range.

"Go to the next district!" she shouted back to the stunned archers, who were more than happy to oblige.

She waited to see the Silhouette's next move.

[jack cloudy]

Silhouette

,,Next district? That leaves you as the only defense of this one." The crossbows didn't frighten him. More for his own amusement than anything else, he deflected them with his scimitars. Even if he'd allowed the woman to hit him, he would not be injured.
,,I'll take care of this one. All troops, move on!" He roared. To those unfamiliar with the Akaviri tongue, it would seem to be a mere taunt rather than an order to a waiting army.


OOC: The Sil is the biggest bad after Veric. So the more uber I make him here, the more uber Veric will be. Oh, and I just think that point-blank deflection is badass.


Vasha

Vasha crouched behind a chimney and peered back at where she'd last seen the lizard. He was no longer there. She let her eyes fly and finally noticed the top of its head from behind the slope. It didn't appear to be injured. She slammed in another bolt and pulled back the string as fast as she could, which was still rather slow. While small and lightweight, the crossbows were incredibly potent. That was the main reason she'd chosen them. A bolt fired from hers could penetrate armour at a reasonable distance. Unfortunately, it also made loading a pain, as she found out now.

[Agent Griff]

Savirien, with the messenger

OOC: Hm, the appearance of that messenger was pretty random, at least for me.

As Savirien stood and watched the duel between his leader and an enemy officer, a messenger came from the Hunter, as Savirien liked to call their freelance warrior. He only respected the Silhouette and acted much like a mercenary with the other Akaviri warriors, including Savirien himself. Still, the beast had considerable speed and strength which gave him great advantages, even when outnumbered by his foes.

From what he understood from the messenger, it seemed that the Tamrielics were preparing to abandon the city. From his own point of view this would have been excellent, since the city would have been in their hands but he didn't exactly know what the Silhouette wanted. After a few moments of thought, Savirien calmly responded.

"Send a host of troops around the Western edge of the lake but tell them to make sure to keep to the eaves of the forest so as not to be seen by the Tamrielics. Keep these movements discrete for we must not allert the Tamrielics. Other than that, prepare the rest of the troops to storm the city after our master is finished with his opponent. We must not let the Tamrielics suspect that we know of their retreat, thus we must maintain the facade' of trying to conquer with all our forces. Now, go!" Savirien said to the messenger, sometimes shifting his serpent gaze to the Silhouette to see how he was faring with his opponent.

The city will be ours soon enough, with or without the Tamrielics retreating. Hopefully, our troops will also cut off the retreat of the Tamrielics fleeing over the lake and hold them in place long enough so the bulk of our forces can also properly pursue them.

[The Metal Mallet]

Amrita

Amrita was a bit surprised to see the Silhouette effortlessly deflect both bolts. After the robed figured shouted, Amrita could hear the dull thunder of the army approaching.

I think I've had my fun, she thought.

Once again she unleashed her blinding light spell, hoping to at least stun the Silhouette in order to get back to the defenses with ease. She jumped off the wall right after issuing the spell and merged with the shadows that greeted her.

OOC: If the Silhouette wishes to retaliate, a detect creature spell with still show Amrita while she's merged with the shadows.

[jack cloudy]

Silhouette.

The Silhouette was momentarily surprised by the light spell. For all it was worth, he'd expected something more....offensive. When she vanished, he was even more disapointed.
,,Go on, run all you can. You're not worth my time. I'm sure a katana will find you later." He thought as he calmly turned to look over the army. He saw a piece of the army split off and slink away into the forests.
,,Savirien, up to some of his old tricks. I'll watch and see what he's got up his sleeves this time."

[Dantrag]

Rahvin

When Brianna blacked out again, Rahvin lifted her from the ground and carried her towards the rafts. Rann and Dan were still in sight, but they were still a good distance ahead.

It won't be long before you can finally rest, dear.

Rann

Rann arrived at the scene of the retreat to find that all proceedings had come to a complete halt. He carefully put the soldier he was carrying with the other wounded before walking around with Dan to investigate.

OOC: Mallet, don't forget to reply to Altair (last post with him was on page 1 of this playground)

And Griff, I dragged Dan along with Rann, but if that's not what you want I can edit.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Jan 17 2008, 06:08 PM

[Lord Revan]

OCC: Satyana and Issac are across the bridge, down the spiral path, around the mesa, and a brief jog away, Rann would be able to look down over the edge and see the Plys'Iea.

Ian

The people who trained agent how to fight drilled one rule above all into their trainees: Always have some idea what you're fighting before you confront it. Ian, and Kirana for that matter, forgot that one rule when it was most valuable.

The Plys'Iea was staring at the city above, seemingly distracted and completely unaware of the vampire's approach. Ian slipped in from behind, rendered invisible by the enchantment of his cloak, already bracing himself for jumping up onto the alien's shoulders and stabbing him through the back of its neck.
Suddenly, the alien lashed out with a backward thrust of his staff. The vampire recoiled, turning the otherwise major blow into a glancing strike. It struck his chest, tearing through the leather and cloth, but bouncing off the glass.

Ian became fully visible as he stumbled back and reached a hand to his left chest. "The glass blunted the bow, it might have cracked a rib." Kirana cautioned, "Be careful, That was an off-balance attack, I don't think your armor will save us from a full strike."
The Plys'Iea rounded on him, growling. Ian realized just what he'd walked into without thinking. His wrist blades were lethal to most foes, but against the nine-and-a-half foot staff and heavy plate armor, they were nothing more than metal slivers.

He breathed and the pain in his chest lessened as a minor healing spell took affect. The vampire raised his blades in a fighting position, now that the reality set in killing or severely injuring the Plys'Iea was out of the question, but maybe the civilians could make a run for it if he distracted it for long enough.

This post has been edited by Lord Revan: Jan 11 2008, 04:26 AM

[Priest of Sithis]

Mannimarco's Soul, Oblivion

...whispers.....agony.....nothing....

The river was apparent. It was just within his reach. He could see all the souls of the snakemen floating down and coming to rest at the pinnacle of torment. Agony was every millisecond here, every thought evoked enough pain to tear open his soul, only to have it reformed by cackling dremora. He was chained by a magic he knew nothing about, but he quickly dismissed the notion of escape. The dremora could see every ounce of Mannimarco's soul, every synapse firing, every thought coming into being. Total defeat loomed overhead, and a dread feeling expanded in Mannimarco's inner mind. The Lord of Pain was approaching. The dremora given rights to this particular part of Oblivion, and apparently the second in command to Lord Dagon. Mannimarco felt himself fade, felt his soul loose its ethereal glimmer, felt diminished. That was the worst torment they could inflict on the soul, bringing it close to annihilation. As long as magic flourished, souls could not be destroyed, however, they could become broken down into magic itself, a dark idiom taught to Mannimarco by the Sload people. Mannimarco stopped thinking and awaited the Lord of Pain.

All Mannimarco could focus on was the river of magic streaming into oblivion, providing transport to those deemed worthy of Oblivion's agonies. What confused Mannimarco was the small breaks in the stream, small holes in the bluish tint above oblivion's tortured sky. Mannimarco realized these were the vampires and other immortals that are no longer ravaged by time. Mannimarco lost focus again and dimmed.

When he refocused, and brightened, a strange sight approached him. Orgnum of Pyandonea approached him. Mannimarco had heard rumors of this ancient king of the Maormi, but Mannimarco quickly dismissed all thought, preparing for an attack from the Lord of Pain. "Necromancer," Orgnum whispered. "Nercomancer." The voice rippled across Mannimarco's soul, sending ripples throughout his spirit. The voice was every conceivable pitch, and Mannimarco lost focus many times before mustering enough will to stand against this foreigner.

"Necromancer" Orgnum crooned, "I have been trapped here since the 110 tenth year of the Summerset's Third Era. I cannot leave, for i was so utterly destroyed that my soul cannot accept another physical form. I was given free roam among Oblivion, for Lord Dagon found my situation amusing. I can set you free from these bonds, however, you must find your own way out." Orgnum had no conceivable features, but Mannimarco knew, somehow, he knew.

"Mannimarco," Orgnum said. "You are now free from these Eternal Bonds. Take this wisdom of my Maormi and send souls for me to torment." Mannimarco felt all his ancient memories and deeds return to him, as well as the memories of Orgnum and the exotic country of Pyandonea. The last memory shocked Mannimarco. An Akaviri Dragon descending from the stormclouds hovering over a fleet of ships. Psijic casters appeared on the shore, and then the memories ended.

Mannimarco saw the dremora approaching and Orgnum turned them away with his unique voice. Mannimarco remebered from before how to access the stream of magic, and the pull of Oblivion seemed to lessen. As he ascended through the broken sky, a small tug made him turn. The face of Lord Dagon appeared level with Mannimarco's own. Mannimarco made no sound, and did not move, he lost all thought of who he was or what he did; the only thing in his mind was the hideous face of Lord Dagon.

A voice that shook like thunder said, "You may leave Necromancer, but take this gift from me." Lord Dagon's small fingernail etched a rune onto Mannimarco's forehead. "Each soul you send here will bring you great joy, but if you are somehow killed, you will be annihilated. Even the Aedra could not save you." And with that Mannimarco was cast into the river of Magic, coursing through the river in utter darkness. Mannimarco found the small cave where he grew as a boy in the first Era, and dove into Mundus. Instantly he felt the tug on his forehead, a constant nagging to remind him where he was bound. A small whisper he couldn't make out continued in his mind. Mannimarco searched the long grassy fields outside the cave for a sentient life form, and to his surprise, he found three.

Mannimarco's soul only need to be stronger than the subdued to control the body, then he could rid the body of the previous owners' soul and restore himself. The three were small dunmer, and through magical manipulation Mannimarco overheard their conversation as they sat around a small campfire. He made out their names and where they were from.

Synasus, the father, and his two sons, Logothos and Etholos. Mannimarco shone with magical energy, as he realized who these people where and exactly what it meant to the Necromancer. He subdued the father and controlled him. The King of Worms has returned.

Near the campfire

A small child was picking apples when she squeezed one and it exploded, worms wriggling everywhere and throughout. She said, "Rotten apple," and tossed it aside. Then she realized the whole orchard's apples were turning brown. The little girl ran inside her little cottage and sought the comfort of her mother. The mother looked at her orchard, and then screamed aloud. She knew this omen, her husband had been assigned to a Battalion of soldiers sent to fight a man with "Lordship over worms" or something like that. She fell to her knees and cried with her daughter.

[The Metal Mallet]

Voltar

Voltar's curiosity was piqued. "What are we intending to do with this spell? So far, the creature had yet to be truly harmed via magical means," he paused, "Of course, no one with significant intelligence has yet to use one upon that creature...".

[Agent Griff]

Dan, with Ran

Dan hurried along his comrade though his leg was slowing him down. He had abandoned his crutch some time ago since the bones started to mend but he still had the gait of a wounded man. Still, it would not hamper his skill with the sword for which he needed his arms.

By Rann's pace it was clear that he was worried about the refugees and his family. Dan thought it possible that Rann was simply leading him so they could be slaughtered by the beast just to give the refugees enough time to escape. Still, at this moment it did not really matter to Dan whether he lived or died since, in his opinion, he had no more great deeds available to him or any methods to gain fame. Except dying in a hopeless battle against a much superior foe of course, but Dan didn't really see that option as a way to gain fame since that fame would only be awarded to him posthumously.

"You go on ahead Rann, I will catch up and help with my blade if the situation demands it." Dan shouted wearily as he felt more and more exhausted. If he would really have to use his sword he wouldn't be of much use since he was quite tired by all the running.

Soon enough he slowed down to a regular walking pace, gasping hard for air.

"What is it Balmung? Do you not wish to taste blood on your edge. Come! I smell death in the air, and a familiar beast which has been all too fortunate thus far. Let us end his good fortune and send him back to the netherworld!" Dan said, almost shouting, as a way to bolster his dwindling strength and morale. Many people found Dan odd for talking to his sword and some even made fun of him because of it, but they were all silenced when they saw Dan's skill with the long sword.

Savirien, nearing the Silhouette

As soon as he saw that his commander was finished with his opponent, who had run without any honour whatsoever, Savirien's opinion of the Tamrielics was instantly lowered. He did not view those who chose to flee from battle well. He actually despised those who fled from battle in a wanton fashion calling them cowards. When the situation called for an orderly retreat Savirien had no qualms against it yet when he saw his own troops fleeing in a cowardly manner without orders he really got enraged.

Still, the current moment called for a mass attack on the now deserted walls of the Imperial City. While the Silhouette stood on the walls and watched his forces mobilize in preparation to storm the city, Savirien drew his katana and slithered his way to the front ranks.

"Advance my brethren!" Savirien shouted in the language of the Tsaesci. His shout was so loud that the troops also heard a slight echo, giving the impression that another host of Akaviri warriors awaited their brothers on the other side of the city.

As soon as the order was given, the Akaviri host all started advancing in an orderly manner, as one single body. Soon enough the pace was hastened on Savirien's orders so as to reach the walls before a Tamrielic counter attack. When his troops finally reached the breach, he linked up with his leader.

"My lord" Savirien hissed with a deep bow, almost reaching the ground with his long serpent snout. "Your troops are here to command. They will kill at your orders and they will die at your orders. Speak your will."

Savirien put a particularly annoying accent on the word die showing his dislike for the Silhouette's methods of sacrificing his troops rather pointlessly at times. He also sheathed his blade as he presented himself to his master.

This post has been edited by Agent Griff: Jan 11 2008, 06:56 PM

[jack cloudy]

Silhouette.

The Silhouette waited till Savirien had reached him with the request for further orders. He noticed the hidden disaproval in the Tsaeci noble's voice, but he did not react to it. It didn't matter, as long as his troops would perform efficiently.
,,What is the current situation? I assume that you have kept track of it?" He merely replied.

[Priest of Sithis]

Mannimarco

Being animated felt different than existing as a soul. Mannimarco was wrestling with the father's soul for control of the body, and the father was remarkably strong, or maybe Mannimarco was becoming weak. No visible effects showed on the father while the owner of his shell fought with a foreign entity. The father managed to say, "Boys, can you find me some water?" Before closing his eyes and laying down. The two boys, Etholos and Logothos got up and raced back to a small crick they had seen while on their outing with their father.

When the boys arrived at the crick, they smelled rotten fruit and heard sobbing sounds in the distance. They ran to the crest of a nearby hill, and saw a whole orchard devastated by blight. The boys were taken aback, because in the middle there was a Bosmeri woman weeping on the grass, a small girl by her side.

Mannimarco was nearing control of the soul. If he could access the bodies's magic, he could win the struggle. As soon as the magic was within reach, Mannimarco set up a complex binding spell matrix to seal the soul inside the shell, a prisoner inside its own body. But before the spell was cast, the father's soul dispersed the magic field and Mannimarco was spiritually assaulted again. Mannimarco was running out of ideas, and the father's soul was complex and had a deep understanding of magic.

The boys ran to the woman, but before they got there, the woman pulled out a small dagger and cut her finger open. There was a crazed look in her eye, and the woman tightened her grip on the dagger. The boys prepared spells their father had taught them, spells to stun animals if they got too close. They fired on the woman without a second thought and ran to retrieve the little girl from the crazy woman. The spells struck the woman and she fell over onto her back, unconscious. The boys took the little girl with them and ran back to the campsite.

Mannimarco was going to get expelled for the first time in his whole existence. He had nothing left, everything he tried was dispersed or resisted, and the father's soul was gaining strength. Visible signs of effort were apparent on the physical shell's face, as it would appear to have a stomach problem. Mannimarco mounted his final assault. He made the father's soul aware of the existence of Patholos, and the father's soul shattered into a smaller weaker form. Mannimarco pounced and absorbed all the small shards that once was the resolute father's soul. Mannimarco now had control. He absorbed the control of the body and set a spell up for the boys and the little girl approaching over the crest of the hill behind him. Balling up magic in his hand, he formed a spell learned from Orgnum of Pyandonea. It was a stasis spell that put the victim in a small plane of oblivion in stasis, like an extra dimensional prison. Mannimarco smiled as the father's previous flesh peeled off to reveal the owner's self image. With a simple flick the spell was cast, and now Mannimarco could find that undead vampire that caused him so much pain......

OOC: Planning on taking him to SLOAD ruins to regain former strength and reform Staff of Worms, then goes after vampire.

[Agent Griff]

OOC: Hope you don't mind me giving a few details about the Sil Jack. It's not something special, just things to make him more palpable.

Savirien, with the Silhouette

"Yes, to the best of my abilities. The Tamrielics are preparing a ruse, a plan to trick us and evade capture or death. While a host of their warriors still defends the city, the rest of their forces and the majority of the civilians and refugees will try to flee the city by using the lake surrounding it. They will use a make-shift fleet of rafts my lord. I have already been informed of their intentions and have dispatched a company of our finest to scout out the forests to the north, north-west and north-east of the lake and prepare an ambush." Savirien said as he prolonged any words which contained the letter s and lashing out his forked tongue. "As they set out I ordered the rest of our forces to behave as normal so as not to alarm the enemy. As I like to say, strike where you are not expected."

After he gave his report he looked intently at his master to see what his wishes were. Despite all his faults the Silhouette knew how to motivate and rally his troops. Whenever he appeared on the battlefield his troops fought much better but not because of any love they had for the Silhouette. His appearance instilled great fear in both the enemy and his own troops, which fought much harder because of their dreaded master.

A side effect of the fear instilled in all by the Silhouette was that, when he fought, he carved a path among his enemies both by skill of arms and by use of the fear and dread he caused in enemy troops. His skill at arms was also supreme among the Akaviri. Savirien could not hope to defeat him even in his prime, let alone at his current age. Still, Savirien held the belief that the Silhouette wasn't all powerful. As far as he was concerned, his master was flesh and bone like any other mortal creature. In truth, none really had any real knowledge about the Silhouette, none except the Silhouette himself.

[Lord Revan]

Issac, Flotilla

He returned the squeeze and rested a hand on Satyana's shoulder gently. "Don't worry, the Akaviri don't know what we're doing." Issac said reassuringly, many of the Narza'Tai stood motionlessly as torch-weilding sentinels while the soldiers passed supplies and helped civilians got onto the rafts.

"We'll make it, and the others have the same chances we do." He smiled slightly in the torch light, as the sun had already disappeared beyond the horizon.

Karn, overseeing the retreat

The only illumination now was the light given off by the torches of both the Narza'Tai and some of the officer in the Morrowind and Bruman army. That was too unreliable for Karn's tastes, therefore he and many other assassins relied on night-eye to keep things organized.

The Dunmer could see that, while the civilians generally did as they were intructed, they looked at the assassins with fear. In the dark they looked too much like the Dark Brotherhood or some demonic spectres. Many civilians, men and women, made obvious effort to remain at arm's length from the Narza'Tai, no mean feat in the crowd.
Karn was glad that there were few children, most families had the sensibility to leave even before the Imperial Legion and Morrowind Army arrived. As important as children were they hindered the already chaotic retreat.

The Sensei spotted to familiar people standing together near a raft. Issac and Satyana, Karn knew Ian had to be somewhere nearby, but could not spot the vampire. After three minutes of scanning the crowd, the Dunmer gave up and noticed that the flow of newcomers had subsided.

[Priest of Sithis]

Patholos, near the flotilla

Muttering to himself, Patholos nudged his way through the crowd, muttering apologies and the like as he continued to find Karn. Patholos had tried to meditate throughout this whole ordeal, staying away from the battle and from his Sensei, Karn. Patholos had neglected his duties as a member of the Narza'Tai, but his anger at Rann seemed to justify his abscence. Patholos had emerged to find the whole city evacuating, but to where they were going, he knew not.

Patholos looked around for the Dark Elf commander, but instead saw small rank officers leading the escape. It suddenly dawned on him, they were attempting to bluff the Silhouette to evacuate the civilians. Patholos stood still a moment, and then focused his vision through the stone wall surrounding the city. Patholos saw small rafts being loaded with people and supplies. Patholos felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach, and tried to look around the perimeter of the rafts. Patholos knew he wouldn't be alive if it weren't for his paranoia.

Patholos found Karn near some Narza'Tai members, and approached the Sensei. Patholos paused before speaking, collecting his tactical knowledge from a previous member of the dark brotherhood and his union with the darkness along with his suspicion of the Silhouette, then spoke to Karn, "Sensei, this does not bode well. You as well as I know the mobility of the rafts. If they are discovered, the blood of innocents will be spilled and it will taint this water for all time. You must realize this?" Patholos grew angered, not at Karn, but at the situation. He chose to keep his voice down however, he did not want to cause panic. "The city is no longer safe, and I realize that. What about this idea, it may take a little more time, but you may be able to get some from those valiant warriors at our backs. The plan is simple. We create ten times the rafts needed to transport the civilians off to the other shoreline. The first rafts will be empty, as well as some others sprinkled in throughout the escape. We put Narza'Tai healers on every third raft, an archer and a combat type to accompany the healer. When the Narza'Tai reach the opposing shoreline, then can form a protective crescent for the escapees. Sensei, this is beyond morality, this is beyond good and evil."

Patholos paused, noticing all the little scared faces of the children and mothers. A single red tear rolled down his cheek, then he said, "How will we be remembered Sensei? As brigands? Rogues? Bandits?"

Another single red tear, and then, "Or shall we show them that the Narza' Tai are Heroes!?"

[Lord Revan]

Karn

The sensei turned to Patholos with an expression of..... sorrow? "Patholos, even if we had the time, we still don't have the resources or manpower to build that many rafts. Our healers are exhausted as it is, and we have to move our own interests."

Karn studied his second in command, watching the red tear go down his pale cheek. "If you wish to protect the civilians, I can afford to give up three assassin groups and two rafts for you to scout out the northern shore."