#Lore24 – Entry #138 – Muckenmyre Month #17 – Against the Bandits
From the journal of Takara, Slave Inquisitor of the Stellae Illustris, Town Marshal of Grimbridge.
We approached Swamp Drake Hold once again, silent but for the faint rattle of the town guards’ weapons and armor. Off in the darkness of the tall grasses, I could just hear the sound of movement, picked up the scent of a crocodile, heard the sound of flesh tearing from the body of one of the bandits Augra had downed earlier.
The swamp wastes little time, it seems.
Our approach was masked by the continued celebration within the walls of the old fort, of music and laughter, though the twins’ pyrotechnics had since stopped. Coming around to the side of the fort where Augra had earlier scouted, Satella and I eased along the mossy stone toward the old window that would be our entry point. I eased myself up to peer over the smooth stone sill, keeping my ears low, and sought my quarry. My tail twitched after a few moments; the twins were nowhere to be seen, nor was Jaggedtusk, the makeshift throne sitting empty as the bandits danced around and shared more of their ill-gotten drink.
I had a scant few moments to assess the situation and hope that the twins would reappear before the attack was set to commence; Jessiryn and Abdel would open fire once they had climbed the walls. I sniffed the air, picked up their scent trail mixed in amongst the smell of the many unwashed bodies, angling toward what we had identified as Jaggedtusk’s den. Guessing what was likely underway, I thought then that perhaps we had actually received another blessing. When I spotted Jessiryn atop the broken wall, readying his bow, I managed to meet his eye and quickly flashed elvish hand talk (something I had learned during my inquisitor training), indicating what I planned to do. Surprise was clear upon his face at seeing what he’d likely assumed was something of an elvish secret, but after a moment, he nodded, and signed back that he had understood, easing back from the edge as he motioned Abdel to do the same.
Waiting for the right moment, when the bandits’ dancing had their line of sight mostly away from us, I slipped through the window and quickly ducked behind some water barrels and whispered to Satella to follow when the revelers had shifted away from us again. Together we kept to the shadows at the edge of the fort and approached the leader’s den, the twins’ scents growing fresher. I had expected to hear the trio in the throes of intense sex, but the den was strangely quiet, their trail leading beyond his den, toward the prison, and the two orcs standing guard at its doors. I pondered what we would do for a few moments, then eased back into the shadows by one of the inner supporting walls, seeing Jessiryn crouched low in the darkness. I flashed more hand talk to him, advising him to get ready to strike if my plan didn’t go as I’d hoped.
Once I had told Satella my plan, she simply nodded and prepared herself in the shadow-filled niche nearest to Jaggedtusk’s den, behind some recently looted crates. Watching the two orcish guards a few moments more, I made my move, scurrying quickly on all fours from the shadows, lingering just long enough that my movements would be spotted, my tail lingering just a few heartbeats longer as I slipped by the boar hide covering doorway. Surveying the room quickly, hearing heavy footsteps and muttered orcish approaching, I dove headlong into the pile of hides and furs that served as the chief’s bed, ignoring the sting of his strong scent mingling with that of the twins in my nose, the whole room heady with the scent of recent lovemaking.
I barely had time enough to situate myself before the hide was pulled aside, one of the orc guards peering inside, his axe raised as he looked for whatever it was he’d seen enter the room. His senses told him there was indeed something inside, and so he moved in, his companion coming up behind him, though he lingered at the doorway. I dared not breathe as the orc moved carefully closer, trying to understand why he hadn’t seen the creature that had just came in. From my position beneath the hides, I saw the shadow of Satella appear just behind the other orc, saw him stiffen has she delivered her nerve strike, momentarily paralyzing him, before she took hold of his head and gave a sharp twist.
Hearing the crack of his companion’s neck bones, the orc looming near me turned, and at the same moment I threw aside the hides and was upon him, striking his throat with the edge of my hand with all the force I could muster, shattering his windpipe and any ability he had to call out in alarm. Before he could do more than stagger, I delivered a full-bodied palm-strike straight into his nose, and as he staggered back, blood spraying, managed to grab hold of his head, wrenching it back and forth, getting the snap of bone; I let him fall limply to the floor and joined Satella by the door, waiting for the inevitable call of alert.
But none came, though we waited for several moments longer. Emboldened by our dealing with the guards, we drug their bodies to the bedding and hid them as best we could, then made our way silently toward the prison, eased the door open, and, seeing the way clear, moved inside. I had perhaps expected Jaggedtusk and the twins to be doing something lewd with the prisoners, but to my surprise, they were nowhere in sight. The prison was little more than a sizeable square room, with one corner containing a barred cell, and within it, a trio of women, shackled to the walls and floor, blindfolded, gagged, and naked. Two were human, one was a mazoku, and, as Satella and I passed by the cell, none of them aware of our presence, I realized the mazoku was actually a rarer male as we passed and he shifted his position, though his body was every bit as shapely as a woman’s.
But they were not our targets, not yet, and were fine as they were for now. I led us onward, into the short hallway beyond, and saw stairs leading down, the faint flicker of torchlight visible below. I paused at the top of the stairs, hearing muffled conversation drifting up from somewhere beneath us. Intent upon my targets, I nodded to Satella and we crept down the stairs, into the dimly lit unknown that lay before us.