Eternal Beasts

Jaffa

"Cholim?" How had the Harbingers figured out where they were?? Teeth grit in a rictus of determination, he scanned the darkness for the telltale shape of gladetori and inquisitori on their way in, swords held high.

Suddenly there was a loud shriek, quickly followed by several more, each splitting the night air with their terror and pain. That was enough to get the muuler on his feet, Gereth going from deep sleep to full awareness, looking grim as he took in the dryad, Jared and his naked weapons and the shifting darkness all in one glance. Then his big war hammer was in his hands as he took a wide, defensive stance, ready for anything.

"You okay, Lord Jared?" the big muuler asked softly and Jared nodded without looking at him.

"All things considered," the big man added before falling silent as he caught sight of something moving out in the darkness.

Jared felt a cold knot form in his stomach as he watched a pair of red glowing eyes appear out of the darkness, quickly joined by several more as he stood back to the fire. There was then a subtle shifting of light before a body came flying out of the darkness towards them, falling just short of Jared's booted feet. Eyes narrowed, the big man hazarded a glance down.

And he felt the knot grow to mammoth proportions at the sight of the torn and battered form of a dryad, her body mangled almost beyond recognition. As he stared it, Jared let his breath whistle out slowly between his teeth as the body faded into mist and disappeared.

"Soulhunters!" the dryad gasped in dismay, now right behind Jared, her lithe body pressed up against his back as she shivered in fear.

"Their name for Jaffa," Gereth grimly supplied. "The Jaffa are the Legion's covert soldiers, modified to work behind enemy lines as spies and saboteurs. They also have the power to destroy a creature's soul as well as their body with their dark powers!"

"Lovely. Tell me they're easy to kill, Gereth," Jared growled as the eyes drew closer, strangely filling the big man with dread.

"Uh no, not quite," Gereth replied, looking over his shoulder for more eyes.

"Perfect!"

"Look what we have here!" a sibilant voice hissed from the darkness between a series of loud and nearby screams. "A nysim dog, a muuler rat, and a dryad whore. How cozy. A little far from home, aren't we, muuler?" One of the eyes came close, almost into the circle of light cast by the fire before retreating back into the shadows.

"No thanks to your scum sucking, moss smoking comrades, the drolim!" Gereth snarled back, almost surging forward at the taunt. Any less experienced in Legion tactics and he would have let his emotions take control and he would have charged into the shadows, hammer swinging. And right into a trap.

Sensing that it couldn't bait the muulhaden with jibes, the shifting shadow turned its attention to Jared and his unlikely ward.

"And this is a pretty picture. A filthy dryad whore cowering behind the ineffectual protection of her nysim lover. You're a bit far from home as well, nysim. Did you find the tender affections of the wood folk to your liking?"

"About as much as you're going to enjoy my sword slicing you open, asshole," Jared hissed in reply. "Why don't you step into the light and let me show you what I mean!"

"I think not, my tall friend," the voice replied with a whispery laugh, the sound like snake skins rubbing together. "I'd rather wait until your fire burns down to give us a tactical advantage."

As the words slithered through the air, the fire at Jared's back flickered and began to die.

"Shadow magic!" Gereth grimly announced as the dryad moaned in fear, clinging to Jared like a drowning woman to a life vest as the voice laughed softly yet menacingly. "They suck the life from the fire!"