The fighting had already begun, blood had already been shed in the streets, with the Scylla and their Temrenosian allies quickly taking control of the major routes into and out of the western slums. Scyllan forces had already moved in and taken control of the dilapidated port in the western section, this had occurred at the exact same time as the combined allied forces moved to strike the headquarters of the Taureas. Rather than attacking a single area, the Scholar had organized and planned the rapid assault, its primary purpose to strike at the heart of the enemy and retrieve any captives.
In that process both the Scylla family and their allies sought to eliminate all vestiges of remaining power of the Taureas family in Merlabria. This undoubtedly meant an inevitable conflict with the Taureas’s head family, the Gorgion of Myrmien. For this reason, they could not allow the enemy forces within the city to remain, every single aspect of their structure and business had to be utterly and completely wiped out, the city scrubbed clean of their presence.
Thousands of eyes observed the forces marching through the streets, barricades set as checkpoints were put in place to restrict escape. Hundreds of scyllan fighters coordinated into small five-man squads led by a Temrenosian soldier, with multiple squads working in tandem as they pushed towards the headquarters, street by dilapidated street.
Soon enough clashes erupted between Taurean fighters and Scyllan combined squads, the much less disciplined Taureans quickly fell apart. The operation was expertly planned, as Scylla agents planted within the Taureaus group had provided significant information about their opponent’s hideouts, safehouses, and command structure. Even if Gylippos hadn’t delivered the information directly to Jezebela, it would have only been a matter of time before they had learned, but by that point Argades may have escaped, now they were slowly closing in, tightening the noose to cut the head of the snake.
Timeaus and his group had reunited with the main host after being informed of the new plan. Maatilani however, had been furious at their insubordination, but was quickly deterred from any punishment due to Caedyrn’s direct intervention. Their actions resulted in relegating them to the rear of the battle, tasked with securing and holding the western port located in a corner of the northern part of that section of the city. Meanwhile Malakos, Maatilani, and Caedyrn led the main force in their three-pronged synchronous assault from the north, east, and south.
“Uncle can’t we go to the front, why should it matter, the rest of the forces are pushing forward, we should be there to protect mother!” Apollonius paced along the dockyard, their group was forced to remain on patrol, on guard for any enemies who managed to escape.
“No! Please No! I- Ahhh!” Mera stood across from a group of men, specifically one man and three corpses. Each corpse like the last remaining man was restrained, both hands and feet secured with rope. The dead men had the same tattoo etched into their skin, that of the Bullheaded god of slaughter, Tauros. However, now they were lying face down, skin blue with black veins running underneath the skin, remnants of foam at the sides of their mouth.
These men lasted around a minute each, Mera, her mouth, and nose obscured with a wet scarf had kept the others away. Informing everyone that should they inhale the fumes, to always remember that it is only a dream, that what they see doesn’t exist and not to lose themselves within the hallucination. There were times where if the subject experienced nightmares within the hallucination their body would react, as a prisoner who had been used as a test subject once died from numerous burn wounds, from a fire that occurred only within their mind.
The primary purpose of the hallucinogenic poison was to dull the mind, theoretically allowing the user to coax valuable information from the subject. This was not usually successful, as subjects often became unresponsive or were trapped in never ending nightmares. However, as a tool for torture it excelled, at first lulling victims into a happy dream, only to quickly transform into a torturous nightmare, a drug often found within Temrenos’s dungeons.
As the ingredients were common, save for a few very rare reagents found within the swamps and marshes of the Jormani forest, it could be produced quickly and easily. Mera like all Temrenosian alchemists carried such reagents on their person, things that are only found within the dark forest, allowing them to craft everything they may need while on the move. Similar to what Mera had done earlier that very morning.
“Come on now… open your mouth… Or would you prefer I cut a little deeper this time?” The prisoner was bleeding from multiple lacerations across his body. After witnessing the effect of the poison on his comrades, the man remained tight lipped, death from exsanguination was a far better option than the cruel concoction Mera wished to employ.
The entire affair was pointless, there was no information Mera wanted, nothing he could give that they didn’t already know. It was a simple execution, she didn’t show it, but Mera was on edge, her calm demeanor hiding the anxiety beneath. Torturing and murdering these men who were part of the group responsible for her capture was a method of distracting from those fears, allowed a focus for her attention, their suffering providing a small measure of retribution she believed owed.
Niko and the others, specifically Spurius and Paulus would have rather she just cut off the man’s head and been done with it. Torture of the prisoners would only harm their reputation, or that was the way it would have been had these men not created such animosity and hatred within the area they governed. Not many citizens of the slum raised their weapons or voice in defense of Argades and his men, instead watching with undisguised glee as his fighters were slaughtered wholesale.
Within this entire operation up until this point Caedyrn had been thorough, at the docks and throughout the rest of the district he had ordered that none who carry Tauros’s mark be spared. Anyone who was marked as such had to have completed the organizations final task, none of which were known to be thoughtful, often revolving around rape, murder, or abduction. The Scholar was adamant that the group which had only grown after his departure would be wiped out completely, with the Scylla waiting in the wings to acquire and administer the new territory.
Yet even as the streets ran red with the blood, things were not exactly playing out in the way Caedyrn had expected. For even he was not fully aware of all the variables at play, oblivious of the fact that even as their assault pushed towards the Taureas headquarters, the captured women were making their own play at escape. That a common resident of the slums was willing to risk his life for revenge, and that one of his commanders was a monster wearing human skin. All of which would in one way or another sway reactions across the field.
