RP:The Primal Alpha

Part of the Sauriangate Arc

This is a Warrior's Guild RP.

Summary: Rorin and Ameno, fellow members of the Warrior's Guild, meet in Southern Sage. Ameno, a native of Venturil who has shared his story of strange saurian behavior patterns with Knight-Commander Lionel in the past, reveals the truth behind the saurian threat. Both warriors are now determined to take the fight to this 'Primal Alpha' and end the threat once and for all.

Southern Sage Forest

Ameno sat in the forest on a hill overlooking the temple area where raptors almost 30 of them and a spinosaurus were all gathering, he heard them screech and roar at each other, but his eyes were less on them, and more on the Dark blue Raptor entering the temple plaza and the Black and green Raptor that seemed to almost stand erect above on a temple rise, overlooking with the dinosaurs and the dark blue raptor. Ameno himself was well concealed and was dressed in dark blue garmets that covered him from neck to feet, he wore a hood that was also of the same color as his garmets which looked well on his white scaled skin, his eyes didn't shine out from under his hood because they were icy grey in color. Like a dragon his features were, but draconian he was in his stance and gait. upon his back was a hiltless blade which seemed to lack as much use as a long quarterstaff. Ameno kneeled watching the dinosaurs.

Rorin entered the scene somewhere behind Ameno as quietly as he possibly could. The sounds below were exactly like those he had heard in the Northern Sage Forest not long ago. The aspiring paladin would join the draconian in his hiding place, kneeling down and withdrawing a periscope from his armored coat. "What's the situation?" He asked Ameno on a wager the scaled man was more well informed than him. Rorim had been sent by Lionel as another scouting mission this time in lieu of the saurian threat. Rorin wore a heavy coat and pants tucked into full grieves and armored boots, with a full helm that hid his face and did nothing to help carry his muffled whispers. Around his hips were his usual weapons- an oddly shaped battle lance and a throwing weapon sometimes known as a glaive. Along with his shield he looked every but the knight on the move and today Rorin proved that even in his medium armor he was sent as a scout for good reason. His training under the master ranger of kelay before he came to academy of Aramonth made him quick, quiet, and efficient, regardless that he wasn't truly the heaviest of lads to begin with. These saurians looked different than before though the details he was hoping could be briefed. Knowledge is half the battle and Rorin prized little more than being prepared.

Ameno turned his head slightly at the fellow guild member he had heard about from Lionel, "Situations grim, I had wondered why during that crustaceans capture of those dinosaurs that information I had gathered on two raptor packs, a spino, and well" he cast his head toward where the black and Green raptor stood posture erect and very non bestial, "A Primal Alpha, as we know them in venturil. Very dangerous, I went back aways through the pass and was able to verify that the group broke into two, and was able to track them up till here."

Rorin eyed his partner with both worry and curiosity, if such things could be garnered from underneath the mask of his helm. "A Primal Alpha? What in heaven's name does that do?" He eyed the strangely colored dinosaurs. His mind was already turning on all the possibilities. "They look smart," he said with definite worry, "any idea what they were doing down here in the south?" Rorin fixed his periscope on the one that entered the clearing. Those markings... could they be natural?

Ameno glanced back at the raptors. "Your guess is as good as mine, it wasn't until a year or two after the preklek's realm was sealed off, when we started noticing a different kind of Raptor, they walk like bipedally but when they run it's the same as if it were a common feral raptor, and if you notice closely at them, the blue and the black green one, they have belts of cloth with stone daggers, i am pretty sure the green is not natural. Nor is the scar on the left side of the Dark blue raptors head just any scar it looks intentional. As for them being south, your guess is as good as mine, but they are more than responsible for 50+ deaths by now." Ameno replied. Ameno watched as the Dark Blue raptor entered the clearing and walked straight up to the Black and Green Raptor. and then it knelt its head before it and rose its clawed hand and then struck it claws on air, like a kind of salute. Ameno looked harder noticing that the claws did in fact contain opposable thumb like appendages a trait not found in the common raptor. "They are definitely something different."

Rorin observed quietly while he listened to Amenos report. "So you're saying we may be seeing more intelligent saurians? Possibly preklek half breeds even, or something changed," speculation. Only experimentation and observation would tell the truth of it. It was not a prospect Rorin enjoyed. "Using tools, making ranks, wearing clothes. Dinosaurs are getting smarter. It's something new every day." Rorin woukd watch for how Green gave it's orders, if it spoke- by Akrhen if dinosaurs started talking his heart would give out right here and now. They would have to wait. Watch and listen. A particular set of skills Rorin had been honing for some time as a squire. Now to put them to use.

Ameno paused. "A possibility, but unlikely as if they were half breeds they would not be able to produce eggs," again pausing, "Yes in venturil we did find a nest after killing the owners." Ameno then listened as some action began to happen. The Primal seemed to be listening to the Dark Blue one, the dark blue ones mouth seemed to be moving far too quickly to be made up roars, but the overwhelming sound of the dinos in the courtyard made it impossible to hear. But then he saw the the primal suddenly grab the dark blue one and toss it off the temple wall, and before the raptor hit the ground the Primal lept after it, knife unsheathed.

Rorin nodded. He himself could never spawn child- the half bloods curse. If there were more than a few half breeds they would not be seen for long. "All right. Nests are what I want to hear," he had been cleaning up the forests for some time after their initial attack. His scouting missions produced aught of use. Wherever the saurians had intended to go, they did not stop to lay eggs on the way. There was some sort of communication going on. Noises to low to hear- too low from here, at least. There. Green had ousted Blue as a failure. "We must wait until they pass, then find out what we can," he told Ameno as Rorin watched. Corpses spoke even though dead men told no tales. He would just have to know what to look for. Anything in this case. Anything at all could help them now.

Ameno watched. "We'll know soon enough." As he said this the dinosaurs in the courtyard became silent and a lone roar occurred, and then the raptors and the spino and the primal began to run off westward. Once they had gone, Ameno nodded to Rorin. "might as well check and see if the blue one is still alive, who knows, i didn't see any other dino's go after it."

Rorin affirmed Amenos request. He would wait for the others to leave westward a bit before sliding down from their location and managing to jump onto the ruins of the dwarven temple below them. He would walk crouched as of he expected something to jump out and snap up at him before looking down on Blue supposed corpse. After checking his surroundings were clear he hand signalled Ameno the go ahead.

Ameno slid down the hill as soon as he got the allclear from ameno, once down he scanned the courtyard, amidst the numerous amount of bones and worse still human remains in excrement from the larger spinosaurus. As he turned to face the temple he spotted the blue raptor leaning against a large fallen stone. From the looks he could see it was cut in numerous places and bleeding out, its breathes were numerous amounts of wheezing, it eyed them with its golden eyes, coughed. Ameno moved toward with some hestiance, mindful of how dangerous these beings were. He stopped midway when it growled. "Far...enough... filth." its voice guttural, but wheezing.

Rorin waited for Ameno on the edge of the dwarven temple ruins before entering the courtyard with him. There was Blue, in all his tattered scaly glory. Rorin had already drawn his lance and shield though they were not actually raised. "So you can speak?" He addressed the saurian, questioning the things intelligence. "Then you should know I can help you. I can heal you. You don't have to die, but we all know you won't last long. Not like this." His voice carried a certain tin and gravel through the mask, as serious as it was cautious. Rorin did not exactly know what this creature could do though in this state it was likely not much. The aspiring paladins offer came without request, without order. He asked nothing in return. Such was his way.

Ameno nodded, "he's right you know, among us, he's the healer." The Blue raptor chuckled, "Death is inevitable, but the desire is to live, heal me if you can, mammal."

Rorin shrugs at Ameno who doesn't seem to mind at all. Rorin would approach the Saurian with care, ready to defend against any possible strike should the need arise but for the moment it would appear the lizard man truly values his life. The squire would inspect Blues wounds carefully, seeing what was truly damaged and what was in absolute need of repair.

Ameno knelt nearby watching as small whisps of cold air came from his mouth visibly as he pulled off his hood. "Why leave Venturil?" The Blue gritted his teeth. "Because Prim'ar desired to learn more of your kinds, we went to villages to observe, but every time we were spotted, and so we had to keep our secrecy, clearly in that too we failed, goes to show you what good comes of using our feral brethren instead of our tribes warriors." Ameno paused. "why tell us this?" Blue glared right into his ameno's eyes then into Rorin's "I intend to die, but you, need to kill Prim'ar, before he returns, he'll no doubt reign wrath upon my tribe for my own failure to lead. Kill me but then kill him."

Rorin approached the lizardmans back first and- clasped his hands in holy irons. It was a little spell Rorin had begun to grow fond of, light spilling forth from his hands in divine runic cuffs that slapped together with a sound Rorin felt was quite like how one aould define rhe word 'finality'. After that he began working his hands slowly down them saurians body, light spilling forth warmly straight from the gods. It poured into the wounds and sealed them up, the blood itself retreating or falling away in a crust. As he worked he listened. Watched. Waited. "Prim'ar? That Green one?" Lizards with a hierarchy. Who knew. "Scouting out while you moved your lessers like cattle?" The rest of the pieces were falling into place. "So your failure lead to the Prim'ars punishment. Typical. If it's as you say killing him will strike a chord somewhere up the chain of command- although that in its self is am act like a double edged sword. You though? No. Won't kill you. Need you a little while longer." As he was nearly done he patted the thing on it's scaly shoulder. "Good to go. You'll be coming back with us. But first youryou're going to help us set up an ambush." He thought for a moment and looked off a bit. "If I was a militia commander, I would have a lesser ready to receive the troups when I arrived. Recovering the fallens body- on a dishonorable sort of lizardly discharge- would be next on my list. Which means," he felt the tug of magic between his connection to the cuffs from the divine. Tight. Good. "Where is your next stopping point? What sort of underling would meet the Green one, where, on what land?" Something bothered him much more than that though. "Why have we never seen your kind before?" This was the important question. And a very, very serious one. How does an entire intelligent species go without notice? Dinosaur herders would be a big deal in Rorins mind.

Ameno picked up on the word Prim'ar. "Prim'ar that's an alternative term for Prime, I am guessing he's the heighest on the chain of command?" The blue growled, "He is, Chief among chiefs, we don't typically have those, but when we do, we are all weary. I am an Akr'ra a chief, of a tribe, that Prim'ar is rogue, I signed on because I was disgraced in my tribe, when they return to Jungle of Venturil, our cattle as you say will be a feast, for our tribes, you wouldn't know our kind, we fled from beyond, and we settled thar, our intent to live, but then we were hunted, and so as hunters we hunt them back, we will endure, we are not like the cattle." And with that the blue rolled to the side, and used its tail trying to release its hands as it took off in a sprint toward the top of pyramid.

Rorin tried to understand the many nuiances of the tribal culture. Having been born into city folk and their society he was honestly at a loss here. However there were some things he could understand. "You were disgraced and so you joined in with a barbarian to gain some footing. If that's true then your lessers who will be lead to slaughter-" Rorins query was cut ofc as the lizardman rolled away from him and tried to sprint off. "Oh no you don't-" Rorin pulled out his glaive and threw it, the weapon tracing an arc before it was aimed to disable one of the lizards legs just as he crested the ruins hopefully allowing Rorin and Ameno a chance to catch him again. The bindings however would not have gone away. The light they were etched from existed within and without the material plane. More than a tail would be needed to break those so it was not as if Blue could go far.

Ameno was quick to chase after the Ahk'ra but he wasn't as fast as it was, as he watched the lizard roll in air away from the glaive and then proceeded to jump off the pyraimid head first. Ameno winced as he saw it hit the ground, its orangish blood splattering the wall. "Damn" he gritted his teeth. "They go out like lemmings when they reveal info."

Rorin caught his glaive on the return as well as caught up to Ameno. "Bloody bastard gets healed enough to die. Scratch one smart lizard. But if it's true what he said about his mates being lead to slaughter we only have so much time before Green comes back for his corpse." Rorin looks at Ameno while his brain configures so many plans. "We need to ambush the defector, then save the tribe. Even if they may or may not be dumb animals, a bunch of barbaric back stabbing lizards killing their own kind after Blue down their confesses his life story doesn't sit well in stomach. I'll call a carrier hawk and send word to Lionel for a meet up with another Warriors Guild member on the way. Meantime, you start on the traps." He looked Ameno over and set an armored hand on the comrades shoulder. "Ready to slay and save some dino tail?"

Ameno nodded pulling his hood over his head. "Always ready, to do what needs to be done." and jumped off the pyramid letting his wings slow his fall. He turns back to him as he touches the ground. "It has been a pleasure Rorin, I will look forward to our next meeting." As he said his goodbye, he couldn't help but wonder. The blue had said tribes, so what if only tribe was at fault, or worse, what if they all were?