[USER=6065]@ezalB[/USER] Carrhen invasion

• Admiral Haszlal of the Southmark leads Si-Zralli, Briareth, Iranela and Mirabel to secure the passage to Ceardia and blockade any further attempt to reach this land, blasting some more civilian ships out of the water that were already sailing around in the area. Orders were given to spare the locals, but the fleets were left no other option as the ships refused to slow down or stop, and on occasion would even start ramming Regalian ships to try and get away. As per usual, these ships offered no survivors. They also scout the coastline, finding a few makeshift camps of what looks like Carrhen locals, but they always run into the thick forests beyond their line of sight when the ships approach. The locals are aware they are being hunted.

[USER=6065]@ezalB[/USER] A rescue mission for Cro-Zzhin

• Clan Morathes guerrillas along with Si'Zralli, Zzen, Matski, Barbossa and Mirabel travel to Batara Guru's lands to try and rescue Cro-Zzhin.
• The Guerrillas take up positions outside the palace while the group sneaks in under the leadership of Barbossa and Mirabel, the senior rogues calling the shots. They time their arrival with a battle between the champions of Batara Guru and another Digmaan who had not yet been defeated. The shouting and carousing of the arena deafened much of their movements, and many of the guards had even left to watch the fight in the ring.
• Batara Guru's Palace was vast, and also very peculiar. Many of the artifacts inside the gallery seemed strange. Sendrassian even. Void Worship related even. They passed by a very peculiar looking pavillion that seemed very un-allar, and indeed, it was. Outside, a set of Slizzar guards stood with their snake-like tails blocking the way and bows at attention, though they did not notice them.
• The further they went, the more muted the fight outside was. At some point, the fight had seemingly died down, with the rogues signaling the others they likely had less than 15 minutes left until the other guards would return. They sped their way further and further to the interior, hoping to find some sort of prison there.
• Quite the opposite however, the further in they went, the more luxurious the place became, and even more curiously, some of the walls had distinct Yaotl features on or near them. Si'Zralli recognized some of the art that had once been in Yaotl's estate in Regalia, which was shipped to his Palace when he became Qar-Digmaan. They were absolutely certain, Cro-Zzhin, or whatever remained of him, had to be here.
• Eventually they reached a large gilded room that had a balcony overlooking the ocean beyond. The room was covered in thick and long cyan and blue draperies and curtains, making it very easy for the group to silently walk around, having bound their claws in padded cottons to prevent them from clicking on the marble floor.
• And there he was. Yaotl was lounging on a pile of pillows, one hand on a long smoking pipe, another on a stone tablet, seemingly reading by some dangling candles. No chains. No guards. Nothing. In fact the room was so large and open Cro-Zzhin could have easily escaped, just jumped off the balcony, so why didn't he? The other party members were less thoughtful about the matter however, and were just about to run out of the shadows to try and nab Cro-Zzhin and free him, until Mirabel stopped them when she sussed out approaching claw clicks.
• The door swung open, and there stood Cro-Droq, wounded from battle, with one eye-hald closed, and blood dripping on the floor. Cro-Zzhin looked surprised, alarmed even to a degree. The group decided to silently watch what would happen next.
• Cro-Droq immediately began a running sprint towards Cro-Zzhin, and leapt towards him, claws out and jumping on top of him as he let out a yelp. The two struggled and struggled, Cro-Droq's claws imbedding themselves inside Cro-Yaotl, and his jaws even snapping around Yaotl's neck. Mirabel muttered "Shit! He's killing him! They must finally have decided to get rid of him, we've been found out!". The group was just about to burst out, before Zzen noticed that Yaotl's tail was curling around Droq's tail, and in that moment, it clicked exactly what they were doing. Si'Zralli didn't have enough hands to try and cover the eyes of the other party members, but before anything could happen, Mirabel loudly tapped her weapon on the marble floor, because she wasn't about to watch National Geographic.
• The two Cro immediately ceased what they were doing, Cro-Droq jumping up into a defensive stance in front of Cro-Yaotl and Yaotl startled behind them. They eventually recognized the group however, and Yaotl called Droq off from trying to jump them. The situation calmed down, and Yaotl eventually agreed to explain the situation.
• He explained that his position as Qar-Digmaan was completely untenable. He tried his hardest for years to subjugate the other Digmaans, but found that without having properly conquered all of them, they just didn't listen to him. While he could count on the loyalty of the other castes, the Cro remained fiercely disloyal, and would never subject to someone who only attained the Qar-Digmaan position by abusing the apathy of the Ailor governors in getting the land written to him on a piece of paper. He then explained that the only way to properly unite Hadar so it could be taken seriously by Regalia was to do so through conquest, but that he could not be part of it. He added that he had already been a symbol of Regalian Dukedom given his proximity to Regalia, and that they needed a Qar-Digmaan who would stand fiercely and independently from Regalia, with none of the baggage that Yaotl had in Regalia.
• As such, Yaotl and Batara hatched a plan, that Yaotl would fake his death or disappearance and essentially trigger a pseudo civil war, which would draw out all the Digmaan who had ambitions of their own. Cro-Droq would be Batara's champion and could finally be Yaotl's consort, while Yaotl also acted as a shadow-chancellor for Batara, who would take his political advice on board. With Batara's charisma, Yaotl's scheming, and Droq's fierceness in battle, the three of them would set out to unite Hadar under a firm Qar-Digmaan and ensure that it would rise to the same height as Ithania in respect of the Empire and finally become a heartland member.
• Cro-Droq was constantly hissing and protesting. Both at having been cock-blocked, but also because he just didn't trust the others. Eventually the group departed, with Cro-Yaotl pressing it on them that they should not tell anyone, and in fact assist in their efforts to get Batara to become the next Qar-Digmaan if they don't want Hadar to forever be a shit hole.
• On their way out. The group turned the corner and were suddenly faced by a group of Slizzar, one of which had Iridescent scales and red eyes, surrounded by other Makara Slizzar. The two groups stared at each other for a while, until the Slizzar parted ways, and the rescue party could pass through, safely, but slowly. The group afterwards theorized that these Slizzar were essentially T-posing on them, and had known they were there the entire time, and wanted them to know that they knew, but why they were there, or why they wanted them to know, they could not figure out.
• The Morathes guerrillas were picked up on the way out, seeming to have been unnecessary. One of the asha joked that it was "good that all ended well, because if one of these hair-less scaleskins was going to try to clip even one of my nails, I would have immediately ratted you all out. I am not dying for a hair-less scaleskin".