#dreadbane arc

The single hand released Gentil's knee before Jackary pushed it to the ground and began to try and ease himself to stand. He could do this, he'd been able to walk and with the request of wanting to get his partner out of the dangerous zone, Jack had forgotten one single bit of information. The moment any type of pressure was put on the newly released leg, the seared, burned muscle gave out from under him, failing the Mage and soon sent him tumbling back down to the ground. "Mnh..." came a noise of defeat before a scrutinizing look fell onto the worthless appendage.

"Jack... No." Came a soft command and a hand that lifted as a sign for the other to stop moving.

The words met a defiant shake of the taller male's head, he was too proud to not get up. After all, how was he to get out if he wouldn't walk? Was someone going to carry him? Who was honestly going to carry him? Surely not Gentil. "We gotta get out of here. I just need to get up..."

The hand went from a 'stop' motion until fingers curled, leaving one digit to point directly at the dirtied face. "You sit still" Gentil coaxed, giving a nod in agreement.

When the Priest pushed up and off the disgusting floor, his pack was swung over his shoulder. Jack sat there silently as he did so, the damaged, once proud ears lowered to silently show that he would follow such an order. He allowed his tongue to slip from his mouth and caress over his lower lip until both his own and Gen's gaze were drawn back to Darnath who approached once more.

"We should get him out of here before anyone comes back," came a soft request from the tiny blond once the Knight was within earshot.

"There's going to be one more loud crash, so be aware." Dar nodded, informing the two. "I agree. Az says there might be a way to the door by going forward?"

"Okay."

The second, deafening crash filled the air from the opposite side of the room, accompanied by what sounded akin to gleeful laughter echoes from an elf. It was enough to spook the rejoined party.

Dar waited until the noise settled before iced eyes made their way down to Jack, offering the Mage a warm smile. "You holding together, Lovely?"

"I'll be fine." He murmured, even if he forced a smile for the raven-haired man's sake. "Ah... You guys didn't happen to see my feathers anywhere, did you..?" The dragon was hopeful, considering he wasn't even sure where the three had tinkered off to.

"I still have one at home," Gen offered in reassurance, even if his gaze pined the area in search for the particular items.

Dar shook his head to assert his answer. "But, I can probably send the others back to look, if you like." Even as Darnath's offering was given, Gen looked to the floor when he was unable to find any sign of them. "Although I'm sure there is a box of something with your effects in it nearby, right?" The Knight questioned in hope.

"That was a gift to you," Jackary reminded the smallest, "I'm missing three more... They took all of my stuff from me, minus my necklace." Jack, he thought. Why are you being so selfish? These people came to rescue you and you ask them to find your stuff instead? Pitiful. "It's... It's not important. Safety of everyone in here is."

"I have your satchel and scythe at home if that helps any..." Gen tried again.

Jack nodded, relieved that at least those items had been found -- what was even more relaxing, is that his significant other had been the one to have possession of them. "Better than nothin'. We should get the other two and leave, yeah?"

Gentil turned, lifting a comm up to his mouth until his thumb flicked against a button to hold it. "We need to move Jack."

Dar stepped forward towards the mess on the ground before he knelt down, plate armour hit the ground to prove it's impressive weight. Without warning or question, arms looped around Jackary in a bridal style with every intention.... To pick him up. In fact, he assumed and braced himself for the Mage to struggle.

Instead, wild emerald eyes blinked and pupils constricted in surprise when he felt himself be lifted off the ground and press against the toned chest to a man who had been two inches shorter than he was. Suddenly, Jack felt so small. "Whoah hey wait what--!" He squawked; his frame tensed, not wanting to hurt either of them in the process. The stubborn Mage fell quiet in defeat, ears pinned back and slowly, Jack started to tuck himself against the plate armour so as not to fuss. His head soon came to rest under Darnath's chin, whispering "we don't ever speak of this."

Gentil turned only to blink at the two while Azurick and Zangen rejoined the party, almost appearing pleased as punch for what they had done.

"I told you I would rescue you if you ever needed it."

The words echoed within the back of Jack's mind in which he lifted his wounded gaze to the Knight's face.

"Heh... Remind me to thank you properly later, with a pie or something."

Darnath shifted a little, assuring and assuming that the Mage was comfortable as he could be against the plate as it could allow. "Hey Zangen," he called out, gaining the Tauren's attention. "Can you grab my polearm? It's about eight steps in front of you."

Taking exactly eight steps, the behemoth did just that and reached down, blindly reaching for the blurred item until fingers wrapped around it and hoisted it back up. The weapon was then moved to his back, harnessing it with his own staff, as well.

"Hey Az," Dar then turned his attention back to the Warlock. "We're also missing Jack's stuff still, so if you see clothes and feathers, grab those."

In the process, Azurick had placed a hand reassuringly on Gentil's shoulder then nodded towards Darnath. "Alright, I saw a pile of stuff in the back of the room, I'll go look." He squeezed the shoulder once Gen smiled and released the Priest, turning to jog back to where he had seen the items in question.

"... Mind grabbing the shackle, too..? Has enough mana stored away to help Faeron for a while." Jack finally whispered through a slow, strained sigh. He hadn't even noticed that it was Gentil who reached down to pick up the bloodied mess of an anklet.

Azurick returned shortly after, looking over the gathering. "I used the amulet and picked out whatever items it glowed next to." He nodded, particularly towards the wounded Mage to assure he had obtained the right belongings. "Speaking of," he then tacked on, holding the charm out back towards the Priest. "Here you are." He remarked, bouncing his shoulder in the process to adjust a heavy bag of clothing and other items, such things also lined his pockets and bulged from every place he could put them.

Gentil smiled once reunited with the infinity charm and reattached it to his bracelet. "Thank you," he spoke, clasping it firmly back into place. "Let's go?"

"You all carry on, I won't be far behind." Azurick noted.

"Be on your guard," Zangen warned, ushering the group to finally move forward towards the exit.

Jack had barely realized they were moving, tucked within the firm grasp of the Knight who carried him. He could hear the sounds of the Warlock making noises of excitement.

"Tha-- oh wow!" Jack could hear the flooding of footsteps running here and there and on either side, the clashes and clanks of items being taken or shuffled around.

"Keep going." Zan grumbled.

"Fine, fine, fine."

"Archaeologist turned engineer is a dangerous thing..." Darnath mused.

As each made their way through the exit, Zangen turned and slowly kept an eye on the rear, assuring that nothing would follow them out. When they reached the safety of yet another person, the entire team began to relax.

"Val, did we miss anything out here?" Azurick chirped, stepping over towards the new figure.

"At least one door still appears to be standing. So no lots of bad guys?" Dar questioned, almost disappointed.

"Indeed..." Zangen offered.

Jackary opened his eyes slowly, the blurred gaze was unable to focus, yet he tried to squint to see just who was waiting for them. He barely recognized the Rogue, then again, he barely recognized himself.

Valmarian shook his head, wafting a remote control in front of him. "Nope, no one came about. Probably helps having these guys around, eh?" He motioned to the Ethereals who had been waiting, as well. The remote was lowered to his side once the man began to eye Jack over. "So... Is everything okay?"

The group turned to the Mage as Azurick lofted his eyebrow, silently questioning the wounded man with the same thought. He'd been greeted with a faint, strained nod, Jack's voice in a hushed whisper. "Yeah... It'll all be fine."

Would it...?

"Let me see the remote," Zangen lifted his hand up towards Valmarian, fingers wiggled to summon the device. Val arched a brow at the Tauren who had been just behind him and lifted his left hand up and back to let him take it. Once the equipment was within his grasp, Zan gave another single nod. "Let's be gone now."

"Let's," Azu coaxed further.

Jackary had begun to slip in and out of consciousness the moment he finally felt fresh air, the strange comfort of the team surrounding him and the fact that he felt, for the first time in a long while, that someone actually did care. He hadn't seen what Zangen had done behind the group, all he knew is that when something rumbled behind him, he could hear the Tauren's reply.

"Moo, mother fucker."

"How did you know it was the blue button?" Darnath grinned, glancing from Gentil who had finally breathed in a sigh of relief from the air to the Tauren who seemed quite pleased with himself.

"It's always the blue one..." Jackary mumbled, hardly thinking the man could hear him. "Red one stops the bombs..."

Zangen smirked, "I've been around you long enough to know what you would wire a remote."

The explosives finally echoed within the tombs they had stepped out of, causing Azurick to blink and turn back, glancing from the archway they had all just come from. "That'll do it." With that, his arm slipped around the Priest who had pulled out a puzzle box to toy with it.

Gentil relaxed, easing into the grip around him. "We should take him to the estate."

"There are portals in Shattrath that lead to the Isle of Quel'Danas. We can take transport from there to the estate." Azurick reminded, offering the safest route for the team.

"A tree really is fine..." Jack whispered, flicking his ear. The guilt had begun to wash over him, paling his body further. He felt sick.

"Shh," Darnath whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of the Mage's head who stayed nestled within his arms. "Wounded get pampered."

Gentil frowned towards his partner. "No trees for at LEAST a week!"

Zangen had shuffled over, having already transformed himself into the prettiest of oak trees. His arms had been thrown up in excitement to try and cheer Jackary up, but the moment Gentil stated no, his arms fell and shoulders slumped. "... Aw..."

For as splendid and amusing at the idea was that Zangen had done such a thing, Jack sulked all the more in just as much disappointment as the Druid.

"Clever." Az sneered in amusement.

"I thought so," Zan replied once his form shifted into it's natural embodiment.

"I presume things are under control? If so, I'll be returning to my estate for the night. Need to check up on Talon anyhow." Val finally piped up.

Jackary had missed the good-byes and safe departure of the Rogue that he wouldn't forget and would later question Darnath over. His eyes gave in once more  to a closed state and the travel became nothing but a blur. The Death Knight hadn't let Jack out of his grip the whole time until they were safe within the Estate where they all stayed. It had been emotionally traumatic.

He would awaken when his back settled into cool, clean sheets of a bed. The mental conversations Darnath had kept up with had been the only saving grace to keep the Mage attached to the world he was barely surviving in. It was a heavy heart, a pained breath each time that night. Not only from Gentil's delicate caresses to clean him and bandage what he needed to... But because he realized something.

Even surrounded by people who had cared for him, even the Warlock he didn't trust and the Tauren that placed a plant under the bed to help the situation... From the Knight who had kept his promise and the delicate physician that won over Jackary's heart....

He felt alone.

That night, he had wedged himself between Darnath and Gentil, keeping both close. One arm stayed tightly around the small Priest all night, suffering within his own nightmares so badly that he hadn't even awoken to Gen's. Darnath had kept a steady watch over both of them, soothing each in turn to assure they would sleep.

The warmth and security of bodies on either side, the familiar scent of Darnath and Gentil had been the assurance he so desperately needed. He'd cried and whined in his sleep; spoken words of begging not to be left behind and to let him die mumbled from chapped lips. Whatever plagued the wounded mind kept a tight hold on both spell casters. Their fear knew no bounds within the night.

Through it all, Darnath kept his promise, from beginning to end. He wouldn't leave until he knew Gentil and Jackary were to wake up and be stable enough to handle themselves.

Another antagonizing, excruciating  session had left Jackary to be thrown carelessly into the cage again, his body torn and filled with burns. They had cauterized the wounds, not wanting him to bleed out... But why?

He swallowed hard once he managed to pull himself to let his broke arm flop lifelessly  on the ground. Wounds still bled down his back, the whip marks crossed over each other as if carelessly put there. Patches of his skin were flaking, appearing almost as if a sunburn was finally healing.

Dulled eyes fluttered to stay open through his blurred, teary vision. He felt that if they closed, he would finally slip away and be unable to breathe any longer.

His lungs hurt, his throat burned from the tubes shoved so forcefully down into them to feed him. Why had they kept him alive? Why had they insisted on pushing him to the brink only to pull him back from the edge over and over was beyond his understanding.

 With fingers that slowly began to curl around his necklace once more, the ring that used to fit so well was glossed over by his pinkie in a soothing caress. His thumb had done the same movements up and down the gnarlpine claw, his mind nothing more than a blank slate. 

As he laid there in his haze, everything fell quiet and dark. The comfort of sleep was finally embracing his body, forcing him to lose the battle of keeping his eyes open. A slow breath escaped him and soon his head lowered to breath slower.

No sleep had been allowed for the Mage, he was pale from blood loss and pain. His form shook from being far too cold to generate body heat, his blood slowed and he could barely feel a thing... Minus every single wound he endured.

One hand stayed on the back of his head as fingers carded through shortened locks, almost as if the movements would have made the proud foxtail of hair grow back upon his command. Each time the short, uneven ends fell through his fingers, it only harmedand upset him more.

That was all he could do, though. That one hand continued to pet through his own hair, careful not to graze his swollen ear that had begun to throb in minor infection. What had happened to the other arm? It hung limp.

Shattered and popped out of place, Jackary had spent a better portion of the evening writhing in pain on the ground, popping the joints back in place by driving his shoulder across the grimy, rough stone floor before he collapsed. Bruises were everywhere, remnants of blood and dirt.

As soon as the doors opened once more to the massive room he had been caged in, his eyes closed, a single droplet of salty fear dripped down his cheek. He wasn't ready, he couldn't even stand, he couldn't move his arm... All he could do was lay helplessly, shaking in violent tremors.

Where had his spirit gone? Where had his boiling anger that helped him fight disappear to? Once he heard the cage open, fangs bit even harder into his lip to hold back a whimper in terror. Fingers left his hair to slowly curl around his necklace firmly, his thumb had begun to caress along the smooth diamond ring still attached. It was a futile attempt to calm himself, for they were back again. They were back for him.

Written in a rolled up, sealed scroll reads a current report, slightly dusty from ground travel.

Scout Team 25

Location: Outlands

Discovery: Terokkar

Delivery: Aeredyn Antulien

Time: 1:29am

Team came across Emerald Dragon Scales within the edge of Terokkar Forest. Confirming that it's not a natural habitat for such animals, the team followed the trail.

Scales seem to glow, but are stale, a sign of molting. They were not forced off, they have naturally fallen from their wearer.There appear to be sparkles or specs in each one we've found, a dragon trainer has concluded that they're unique in design, all from the same drake.

Time: 1:44am

Followed the trail to the Bone Wastes where the wind and dust cut the trail short. We've lost our lead.

Time: 3:15am

Heard loud noises from Auchindoun, unable to decipher what it was.

Time:9:34am

Heard the same loud noise, different pitch.

Time: 12:03pm

Jackary's book struggled to flick to a new page, the movements slow and wary, as if it took everything the Mage had to conjure such a spell from far away. The writing was shaken, shoddy at most. There was no grace to it, no elegant swirls within the native language he used. It was in Thelassian.... Elven Tongue.

They cut my hair.... Took my ear... I did not think they could do anything else any more humiliating, but I was wrong. They took that female I tried to protect and then they took me into this odd room... They tortured her, plucked her scales with hot iron... It was the same scent that we smelled... They tortured her... Ripped her body apart piece by piece just for the sake of me watching, and all I could do was sit there...

They killed her after gutting her alive.... I could see her forcefully breathing while she bled out. Is this what they do? Is this how they make the blades...? I wonder if we've been searching the wrong beings this whole time...

Upon the last of her light fading from her eyes they turned to me. Cuts... Cuts so small that when any bead of sweat forms it bites into the wounds... They worked with fear just to get a rise out of me. What is worse.... Is that they beat me... Simply because they could. Because of defending myself.

Degrading names, cuts, carvings, all for the sake of what...? Why...? I don't even know these people... What did these dragons do? What did I do...

I keep reaching back and find my hair gone... My pride is nothing more. I feel completely helpless... Is that what they want? For me to beg for mercy and death..?

I don't know how much more I can handle... I.... I have begun to wonder... With this anklet collecting so much mana.... If I simply just... Cast a spell it will overload and break. It hurts... I'm trapped...

I don't want to die here.

I don't want to die here.

I don't want to die here.

Jack had started to lose track of days. After the burning scent had finally died down, the corpse of the Emerald was brought back and thrown against the two remaining cages to let them stare at the eternally horrified gaze the male had before his last breath was taken. Jack couldn't even stomach going anywhere near it and thus he had tucked himself in a corner as close as he could without touching the barrier around him.

Arms had curled around his stomach, dark rings under his eyes. He looked sickly and exhausted, pale from the drained energy of the walls around him. By now, his entire leg had been scorched from the brightly glowing ringlet around his ankle, walking had been something he no longer wished to try. As proud as Jackary was.... His spirit was finally breaking.

Just as his head hung and eyes began to flutter closed, giving into his own exhaustion, ears twitched at the noise of the door to their room opening. He had ignored the Zealots who poked and prodded at him for a reaction, but the moment a whine escaped the female across the way, his eyes snapped open.

The Mage's head whipped around to look over his shoulder, the bright barrier still contorted his vision, but he could see the struggle. His hues widened once he realized they had put something around her neck, a rope or a chain of some sort and had been dragging the squirming female out as best they could.

"H... HEY! LET GO OF HER!" He barked out, forcing himself to stand, stumbling in the process. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" Fangs bared in warning as he seemed to bristle, pacing in strained limps with a low, threatening growl that rumbled from his chest.

The two that had been tugging at the Emerald stopped and turned their attention towards Jackary, staring for a long moment in an unnerving manner. At the same time, they released the female and reconjured the wall to keep her penned, strutting towards Jack's cage soon after.

"I'm sorry... Were you telling us to stop?" a deep voice came from what Jack could only figure was male.

"Don't you fucking hurt her. Take me instead!" Jack snarled, pupils nothing more than vertical slits of crazed warning.

"We heard what you did and what happened to capture you... Pretty tough guy, huh?" the other egged on, both chuckling in amusement. "Bet you're not to tough now, locked up in that box. Baby dragon wanna play?"

"Come in here and find out for yourselves..." Peridot optics narrowed in challenge and much to Jack's surprise.... They took his invitation. Stepping through the force field as if it were nothing, the two were calm enough to pull a set of daggers, slowly backing the blond into a corner.

Jack took a limping step away, forced to swallow his words and when the two Zealots came at him, he tried to push forward and fight back. A single, solid punch landed directly into one face but the power that he normally had behind it was barely there. It was enough to stun the target if only for a few moments, but with sluggish movements, the second easily grabbed him by his knotted ponytail.

The human lurched forward, shoving Jackary hard against the barrier wall which kept him in place, a wince and pained whimper escaped him, for the magic that was being forced against his frame activated the anklet, burning the severe wounds again. He was unable to move, his entire form trembled from the shock that took him over.

"That was a good hit, whelp." The man explained, wiping a small dribble of blood from his nose. "How about I repay you for that?" The figure approached his cohort who still held the struggling Mage in place until Jack couldn't even stay standing. He sank to a knee when the second finally joined them.

A dagger was drawn up, delicately caressing one of the green-tipped ears which forced the dragon's eyes to flutter his eyes closed. For a moment, he thought he was surely going to die right then and there.

"Elves are too fucking pretty for something like you... Their long ears make me sick." With that, the blade bit heavily into just before the second green line of Jack's ear, severing it after a few jagged carvings. The back and forth hacking left the remaining ear with a very unclean cut. The bellowing cry of pain that left Jackary seemed to satisfy the sick set of Zealots, gloating once the chunk so carelessly fell to the floor. Their amusement was heightened even more when tears had begun to form.

The man who had kept him pinned yanked upon the messy locks that was the famous mane of Jack's, the long tresses knotted and dirty and had become highly uncomfortable. He'd spent hours trying to comb them with his fingers, but had hadn't had much luck.

"Hold him still while I get the other ear." The voice was laughing as such was suggested. Jack's eyes widened again when he heard the second voice chime in right after.

"I have a better idea..."

The tension of his hair had begun to hurt the dragon's head and such only intensified when one of the blades was pressed under the matted mess, just between his scalp and the human's hands.

"D.... Don't... Please...." For a moment, Jackary actually begged. It wasn't because he was vain or even cared about his looks, but he had always loved his hair, if only for the natural green locks that streaks through his left side. He had never cut it.

"What? I thought you wanted to show us what you were made of, pretty boy." With a hard yank upon Jackary's pony tail, the painful tension slacked.

Shhhhhhink.

Instead of feeling all of the weight of his hair, only a few short strands fell to caress the back of his neck. He hardly realized that the men had backed away, taking one of his striped ears... And the golden and emerald locks with them. It was all he could do to finally scurry away from the edge of the arcane cages, relieving himself of the coursing pain once the barrier was reactivated.

Trembling fingertips reached back in horror, but all they found were the short, uneven strands left from such an action. When they caressed along his skull, he choked back a sob from the pain and humiliation he had just suffered for the sake of protecting the Emerald. She had quietly sat and watched the whole time.

Fresh blood upon his leg stained his pants even further while the obnoxious trickle of it drizzled down his stubbed ear and yet all he could do was cup his mouth with his free hand to muffle his pained noises. Exhaustion, stress, what he would have handled with his head held high was instead handled as a terrified child would have.

Jack opened his mouth and screamed out within his cries, not so much from physical discomfort, but from the realization that two of the things he actually liked about himself were taken away so carelessly. That he was actually completely helpless and unable to defend himself.

It had taken Jack days to finally close his eyes and rest, tuning out the loud humming of the walls around him. He exhaled and curled up, colder than he preferred to be, it was forcing him to be a bit sluggish. His stomach had begun to hurt, hungry enough to show mild aggression.

"Jack?" the female called out just enough for his ears to twitch at his name. "Are you awake?"

"I am now..." he mumbled and sighed, curling up further to try and obtain any sort of body heat.

"Do you smell that...?" She whispered again, shifting cautiously within her own cell.

"I smell rotting flesh and acid..." He whispered, lowering his ears. "Why? Can you smell something else?"

"Burning... I smell burning, something is on fi---" just as she spoke out, the entire room began to violently shake from a loud, beastly roar. The female's eyes went wide while her claws dug into the ground, forcing her balance while her belly laid flat.

Jackary yelped and clung to the ground, panicked while he looked around. The adrenaline raced through his heart and body, panting from the strange sensation coursing in the air. "Fuck...! What was that?!" He whispered, looking around through the blinding lights in attempt to see anything other than the corpses above him.

Both dragons stayed hunkered down until they glanced to the third cage, having realized the male was gone. They exchanged glances in worry only to redirect their eyes back to the door. It was becoming more apparent to Jack's nose now...

With items piled atop the stolen Tome, it had begun to tremble and shake, forcing a tremor through it's perch until it finally forced the dresser it was on, as well as the items atop it to go crashing to the floor. Once more, the pages opened and flipped themselves to a new page, the brilliant glow lit up the entire room in a near blinding light. It began to write within itself -- The Mage was alive.

My eyes have come to adjust... I'm not sure if my book can still hear me or can record, but I hope that it's found soon.I don't know where I am, now... I left East's side and traveled through Eastern Plaguelands, I should have simply taken the horse that Dakkian offered me.

Upon a path, I was cornered by a group of people dressed in strange, uniformed cloaks. They looked like Zealots... Who they were working for is beyond me. There were so many of them, I lost count at how many I killed before they finally got a good, solid hit in in the back of my ribs... It wasn't lethal, they had no intentions of killing me, only to capture, it seems.

My eyes have adjusted to this hell finally, the blinding light and obnoxious humming of this prison have made it hard to listen to the others... There are two living drakes beside me... But as my eyes finally saw the darkness again above me... I started to make figures out.

They are all dead.... They hang from their wings and tails, their broken limbs and necks dangle and sway through rusted chains. I was told by the female near me that a few are bronze, two are emeralds, two are rubies and the one most mangled in the center is a black. These dragons... The faces that I can see, though rotting flesh, looked pained and horrified as if they were left up there to die after being tortured.

Is that what my captor's intentions are? To add me to the gruesome collection above us...? The air has become stale... Each breath in forces me to smell the rotting bodies above.... The other drakes have become afraid...

I want to look away.... But the carcass keeps staring right at me... I can't seem to wonder if it's somehow still alive, even if I know there is no possible way. Am I just going crazy..? I need to think of a plan, before it's too late.

I need air.