Chapter Text
It was the day of the greatest storm experienced in the last 5 decades and Tighnari had to work.
This is pretty much the worst case scenario he could imagine, but they had to act quickly, since the group of researchers they were investigating had to be stopped as soon as possible, before they did any more damage.
This was one of the biggest missions the Forest Rangers had to ever deal with, since they even needed to work with the Matras. The camp they had surrounded was giving off a deeply unsettling aura, which was not helped by the knowledge they had of the inner happenings shared in the prior meeting.
The advance force consisting of Tighnari and four other elite Forest Watchers, who were meant to use their knowledge of the local geography and fauna to sneak into the encampment, would be causing a ruckus by attacking from inside and driving the targets into the arms of the encircling supporting forces.
As the group of infiltrators snuck into the location Tighnari was observing the circumstances closely. There seemed to be a lot of tents filled with captives, “Most of the lost kids we had been looking for in the last few weeks”, Tighnari noted, but he also noticed how there had been almost no guards or any other personal visible.
“Arcons dammit, I hate it here.”, Tighnari whispered as he felt how water had already started soaking through his apparel, even though it was specifically coated in water retardant oils.
“Bang”, the thunder sounded, causing Tighnari to wince in pain, as the clap resounded in his delicate ears. But one of his more resistant squad mates, Rana, pointed out: “Look General Watchleader, there seems to be a trapdoor over there.” Indeed, now that it was being pointed out Tighnari also noticed it. It was basically impossible to spot in the darkness of night before, but the lightning must have provided enough light to spot it. Now that he knew where to look it was actually possible to make out.
The congregation closed the distance to the entrance unseen under the cover of darkness and storage boxes. Tighnari almost immediately laid his head on the wood, listening to the noises inside, but recoiled soon after. “What is wrong Watchleader?”, Amir asked, “What is going on in there?” Tighnari sat panting on the ground: ”I heard screaming, it was muffled, but I definitely heard pained screaming. We need to get in there.” The squad followed his instructions quickly, opening the hatch and all five jumped in quickly, two guards fell quickly when hit by sleep poison infused arrows. The view they found would make a seasoned Matra loose their breakfast. The walls were covered in cells and it was obvious that the experiments here were some of the most gruesome Tighnari had ever seen, even after all his years in the academy. The floor was covered in blood, from months old to some that was spilled at most a few hours ago. Furthermore the smell was horid, filled with the taste of rotting meat and suffering.
Now even a half deaf person could hear the screams of pain so the squad started sprinting towards the noises. The closer they got to the sounds the amount of guards increased exponentially, but they were still dealt with quickly by a few arrow shots following a Vijnana Stormheart. But when they had almost reached the source of the loudest screaming there was an armada of guards blocking the way through to the last door.
Ashpazi started the fight by surprising the guards with a throwing knive, which was followed up quickly by an arrow from Tighnari’s bow and Rana going in with her axe.
The fight was over in seconds, but it still wasted precious seconds and Amir got slashed by a sword to the arm, so he and Shirin had to stay behind. The screams got louder over time as well so Tighnari and the others had to hurry on, leaving both behind. As Rana kicked in the door the view was awful. A seventeen year old and a fourteen year old were tied to a pair of tables in the middle of the room, with a group of culty looking people standing over them, holding ritual daggers ready to stab.
Before the rangers could interfere the eyes of both children shone a bright green and the daggers penetrated into the hearts of both. Only after that did Tighnari’s arrows split the skulls of the murderers, the rest of the cultists were pulled into the ground by giant roots.
Two green flashes then rapidly moved past them, distracting them long enough to realize too late that the carcasses on the tables were missing.