Alda'hirakam ghar Ara; Chapter 67

  • There was a swift movement toward them. Ciel’nn sensed it as his pulse ticked on. He watched how Teldryn clashed with the first assassin of the Morag Tong. He bit his lower lip, his body tensing up and tingling. He didn’t know how the Morag Tong operated, but he assumed there would be second assassin somewhere around them.

    Show yourself!

    A shift just on the edge of his sight, to Ciel’nn’s right. The assassin came out of hiding, poised to deliver the killing slash to the young mer.

    Ciel’nn had seen it and turned in swift motion to parry the gouge. The assassin grunted in disbelief, but the young mer ignored it. He changed his stance and stared at his opponent while the ash storm still raged around them.

    The rush of adrenaline played his battle song when they began the deadly waltz of blades. To Ciel’nn’s surprise, he wasn’t afraid after they’d exchanged couple of slashes as if to test each other. His heart raced in excitement. Another trade of slashes. They were more probing, looking for any weak points in his defense.

    Ciel’nn kept his body in constant motion while he kept eyes on the assassin. The next moments would be decisive, he knew as he watched the other’s pose - poised to give his all to end his life. Ciel’nn’s eyes followed sharply the blades when the Morag Tong assassin shifted. He realized something in that movement and took a step forward while he heard a grunt from Teldryn.

    Their blades clashed in rapid fashion as the assassin gouged and slashed at the young mer. Ciel’nn had some difficulties trying to keep up, but he managed to parry the slashes. He noticed the assassin getting erratic in his moves as he tried to end his life. A small smirk crept on the young mer’s lips.

    Another gouge was aimed at his side. Ciel’nn took a quick non-direct side step, grabbing the assassin’s arm firmly and twisted his body as he spun around. The Morag Tong assassin flew to the ashen ground with a groan. But Ciel’nn wasn’t finished yet. He shifted his sword in front of him and pointed it downward.

    The groan faded in the storm, then the assassin lay motionless.

    Ciel’nn pulled his blade free and turned to look for his partner. His eyes narrowed behind his helm. The older mer had somehow lost the upper hand and the assassin gained the advantage.  He recognized the poised to kill movement. No one would be allowed to end his love’s life on his watch. The young mer gripped his sword tighter and sprinted.

    Teldryn gritted his teeth together. He had gotten a cut on his sword arm. It must have been something he missed, but he’d defend himself to the very end. These Morag Tongs are pretty good. I see now why Ciel’nn didn’t want to face them. He deflected a slash, but just barely. The assassin seemed to be certain of his victory over his death. The dagger moved up in the air - a gouge was aimed at the older mer… A gouge which he couldn’t parry in time.

    The dagger shifted in the air, but the assassin grunted in surprise when he was pulled roughly backwards. The blade appeared on his neck, slashing through the scarf that covered his neck and his skin.

    Ciel’nn watched the Morag Tong assassin fall down. The ash will take care of its own. He’d wanted to whisper something into his ear, but nothing had come out. Instead, he had been thrilled about the act. He turned to look at his partner. “Are you hurt, Teldryn?” He asked in a softer tone.

    Teldryn found himself speechless first. At having to witness such subtlety and quiet approach from his partner when sneaking up to the assassin. He hadn’t heard even a step. And more importantly, the assassin hadn’t heard it. My, aren’t you a deadly one? The older mer flashed a grin at his partner. “Nothing to be concerned about. It’s a flesh wound on my sword arm.” He finally replied, but Ciel’nn moved closer to inspect his arm.

    “A flesh wound?” Ciel’nn tilted his head as he put his hand gently on Teldryn’s arm. “If you say so, but I insist you take a health potion. Who knows many Tongs are there with Vendil.” He paused for a moment. “I’ll go in first, alright?” A nod from his partner, and then he waited until Teldryn had his health potion. “That was thrilling, but I’d still not prefer to face them. They’re too much into gouges.”

    The older mer nodded after he finished his drink. “Gouges… I don’t like them either.” His eyes followed his partner as he paced around. Something ticked him off now.

    “Gouges! How about I gouge them back? See how they like it?” Ciel’nn nearly hissed as he gestured with his hands. Then he stopped to look at Teldryn. “What?” The older mer had been staring at him for a while.

    “It’s nice to see you doing that.” The older mer replied and walked toward the door. “Let’s go gouge them.” He added in a low tone. Ciel’nn’s leaning forward a bit and open body posture told him that the young mer was smirking at him.

    With a few quick steps, Ciel’nn was close to his partner and pressed his hand on Teldryn’s chest for a moment before facing the door. “Be careful, Teldryn.” Ciel’nn felt ready to step into the fray, but he dreaded the thought of his love getting severely injured. He didn’t mind if he himself would get injured which seemed to be more of a possibility.

    Teldryn nodded and put his hand on his on Ciel’nn’s. “You too. I don’t want you to go doing any heroics. We still have Vendil to deal with.” He said in a soothing tone. If we live through this, Adril is going to pay us dearly. The older mer shifted. “How is your back? Does it still hurt?” His partner shook his head. “Not much. Still sore though.” He heard Ciel’nn replying and frowned under his helm. “Alright. We’ll proceed with caution.”

    The entry room was empty, so they used the opportunity for a brief rest. Ciel’nn found a place where he could sit down. Then he took his dagger and his poison vial from his belt. He was aware of his partner watching him. The young mer opened the vial and dipped the tip of the dagger in the vial.

    The vial contained the poison that he had made back home. He called it the old poison that was made from Luminous Russula and Violet Coprinus with a slight drop of Fire Petal. As the latter was almost impossible to harvest these days, Ciel’nn used it rarely and sparingly. The effect of this old poison was immediate collapse of one’s nerve system, followed by one’s painful death.

    It was like a ritual to the young mer. Bringing tranquility to his mind before the task at hand. It was his escape from the stress.

    Leaning against the wall, Teldryn had been watching his partner at his favorite work. The young mer seemed calm now, but it was interesting to witness the poisoning of the dagger even though it was short, but he didn’t expect Ciel’nn to take his sword too. He’s going to…  

    In silence he observed how the younger mer changed the vial to another and worked on the sword. Suddenly Teldryn realized his heart was racing. He assumed it was because he liked to watch and observe his partner. He would easily poison half of the Raven Rock.

    The young mer used a small brush to spread the poison on the sword. He’s going to make sure they won’t get up again. A shiver of pleasure rolled down his body and the older mer swallowed. He still marveled how lethal Ciel’nn was.  It was a pleasure to have a partner who knew his way of fighting as much as he did, and cared.

    With Ciel’nn in the lead, they descended the stairs, stepping carefully. It was quiet so far, but when the stairs ended, Ciel’nn gestured to his partner to slow down. He leaned against the wall and edged forward to peek round.

    A Morag Tong assassin, with a sword on his belt, was on guard, leaning against the wall and he was facing them. Yet he hadn’t seen the young mer who had narrowed his eyes at him. The assassin shifted slightly and sighed. How boring, he thought.

    Ciel’nn turned to Teldryn and nodded. One assassin, he gestured with his free hand. The older mer gave him a short nod. The young mer tightened his grip on his sword, feeling his heart racing as he shifted.

    The assassin shifted at the sudden sound that came from the stairs. The young mer leaped at him while holding his sword in a back stance. He reached for his own sword to meet the challenge. He makes it easy, the Morag Tong assassin chuckled inwardly. But when he had his sword ready, the young mer was close to him and suddenly changed his stance.

    Ciel’nn raised his sword in a high stance in the air and slashed down sideways. He heard the assassin groan and watched him slamming his hand on his neck. The young mer smirked inside his helm. The bleeding wound went from the neck, across the chest to the side. The edge of the blade he had used was laced with a slow effecting poison. He’ll die to loss of blood though, Ciel’nn thought.

    Teldryn clanged at the now dead assassin. He had to admit that his partner’s attack had been  surprising. He tried to imagine himself as the opponent and visualize the short fight with Ciel’nn. Cocking his head slightly, he realized that Ciel’nn had become unpredictable in his ways of fighting. There were times when he knew what moves his partner would use, but it was a blind guess when the stance changed. Damn, I like that.

    The cave corridor was unoccupied. The two mer crept through it until the corridor  changed into a proper one. Ciel’nn stopped to listen to the idle chatter that came from the side rooms ahead. A part of the corridor was also barred.  Behind that is where Vendil waiting, Ciel’nn thought.

    A Morag Tong assassin came from one of the side rooms. “Mirri, is that you? We’ve be—” She asked, but was cut off by the young mer who dashed toward her with his sword in back stance. The assassin snarled in defiance. Whoever was attacking them would fall right there! She drew her sword, raising her voice. “We’re under attack!”

    Teldryn faced the other assassin that came out of the second room. He trusted Ciel’nn to deal with the woman assassin. He clashed with his opponent who was determined to end his life. With snarls they shot insults in the midst of the clashes. The older mer had forgotten his sword hand injury.

    Ciel’nn pulled the chain in the second room while Teldryn glared at the next four assassins that came at him once the bars were lifted. Ciel’nn joined with his partner before shouts and snarls filled the air.

    Breathing fast, Ciel’nn eyed the assassin on the floor. He had gotten a few bruises in different places on his body that ached. Still, he pressed on. His singular goal was to reach Vendil and end him soon as possible. Vaguely aware of his strength, it was fading gradually. And he sensed Teldryn getting worn out soon. I wasn’t built for this…  Adril, you gotta have more money than you’re planning to give.

    “Just a while longer, Ciel’nn. Then it’s over.” Teldryn whispered as they walked on. He had seen that look on his partner’s face. Hang on.

    There were pressure plate traps on the floor, but the young mer stepped lightly until he found the chain on the wall, and he pulled it down. Ciel’nn walked back to the corridor where Teldryn joined him. With a deep breath, Ciel’nn nodded.

    Vendil was just ahead in the final chamber. Ciel’nn assumed he wasn’t alone in there. He tightened his grip on the sword again while he checked that he was able to grab his dagger when the opportunity presented itself.

    The old chamber was circular with pool in the center. There were a few braziers burning on the sides.

    “I was expecting Tilisu and Mirri, but it seems I have to kill you before our plans can set into motion.” Vendil said in a low tone as the two mer approached the chamber. Close to him stood another Morag Tong assassin.

    “All this to avenge some long dead Hlaalu?” Ciel’nn asked in a mocking tone. He observed Vendil’s reactions, but if it stung the mer didn’t show any signs of it. No, the avenger of Hlaalu kept his eyes on him, calculating. There’s two more assassins in the shadows, Ciel’nn observed without looking around. He had sensed them when they stopped at the opening of the chamber.

    Vendil nodded crudely. It was s small movement - a sign. The assassins that Ciel’nn had sensed leaped from the shadows and moved toward the two mer. He watched how the fight ensued and noticed the mocking mer lacking strenght. A cruel grin spread on his face. “Keep an eye on the other.” He said to the assassin to his right. “This might be over sooner than I think.”

    Ciel’nn gritted his teeth as the assassin forced him to move backwards. Still, he wouldn’t give in. He parried the slashes but just barely.  His eyes narrowed as a shadow thought crept into his mind.

    Reach…

    Another hard blow on his sword. The young mer side stepped and slashed savagely at the assassin, ending his life.  He turned to see Vendil observing his partner while the assassin near him watched him. Ciel’nn heard Teldryn’s growl. “Try harder, s’wit!”

    The Morag Tong assassin grunted and Vendil turned his head. He lives.. Surprising, but he’s nearly exhausted. I’ll handle him myself. He nodded to the assassin to take care of Teldryn.

    Teldryn snarled at the assassin that came at him with his blades out. He felt his heart heavy when he saw Vendil taking on his partner. Shit! Hang on, Ciel’nn. He took a defensive stance as the Morag Tong assassin unleashed a blade storm at him.

    He used all his skills and knowledge to prevent any slash to go through, but it was as it was. The older mer felt himself weary, but he knew that Ciel’nn depended on him even if he hadn’t expressed it to him. Teldryn knew it by his heart. Another slash hit his arm, and he didn’t have time to even a glance at his partner. Gritting his teeth, Teldryn poised to go on the offensive.

    A cry of pain reached the older mer and he knew Ciel’nn was being hurt. A red anger flashed through him, giving him a new surge of energy. With a few well placed slashes he dropped the assassin on the floor, bleeding to death.

    Teldryn rushed toward Vendil on the other side of the chamber. Only to see how the tall mer had his partner unbalanced, then kicked him savagely backwards toward the back wall corner. The poisoned blades were on the floor now.

    The young mer hit the wall with a groan, fell down and didn’t move.

    With a cold smile, Vendil took a step toward the young mer.

    “Azura curse you!” Teldryn roared with all his renewed strength. The anger still flared in him. He assumed his partner was out cold, but no more than that. No, Vendil would know agony. Not even Saint Felms would stop him now.

     

     

     

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