Meesei was not even in a position to be able to see the river with her own eyes, instead using both forms of life detection periodically to observe her surroundings. They had been waiting long enough that their target was due to arrive. Sabine had previously scouted ahead and knew they were on approach. She had not been able to close in enough to glean many details, but their target, the Altmer named Areldril, was on horseback, along with two others. This was the closest river crossing that was suitable for their mounts. 

"It would not surprise me if he had command of uncommon forms of magic." Meesei commented. "He was the chief scholar and researcher of ancient civilizations for the Thalmor. Not to mention his work on Daedra and the Divine. With the resources available to him, I would wager on him being among the most educated people in Tamriel. With any magical ability of his own, he could be a serious threat."

There was another ten minutes of waiting before Meesei detected something. Quite a few things, actually. It was a large group, consistent with the size that Sabine had reported. None of their life forces were obscured in any way, so either Areldril did not know how to hide him, he did not know they were being tracked, or he simply did not care if they were found. 

From the treeline on the other side of the river, Areldril's group started making their way down the hill to the crossing. Areldril himself was on a horse near the back, surrounded by about ten or so Altmer and a few Bosmer in Elven armor. However, they were also joined by another ten individuals of varying races wearing no kind of uniform. Areldril had, according to their information, been joined exclusively by other Thalmor soldiers, so these others were likely, based on the context, followers of Vile leading him out of the Dominion. 

Marod, Lunise, and Meesei's pack were all on edge, ready and waiting for their moment to strike. The plan was for them to wait until as many of them were in the water as possible, or until they were spotted, to put their enemy in the worst tactical position as possible. After a few moments, Vile's followers were crossing the river ahead of the rogue Thalmor, but it was at that point that a dog with the group of Vile's started sniffing the air, then began barking loudly and ceaselessly. The dog's handler immediately recognized the signal, so they started to draw their weapons. Meesei's pack too were just about to begin their attack, but Areldril had an entirely different plan in mind. He was in the back on his horse, with a slight glow on his hand. He had already used his magic on approach to detect the ambushers, and yet he had done nothing to stop Vile's followers from springing the trap. Instead, he looked out over the trees across the river with a calm confidence in his expression. 

"Ah, it seems our acquaintances have brought me exactly what I wanted. Men, you know what to do." Areldril said aloud. His Elven soldiers drew bows, swords, and readied their spells, but Vile's followers in the river were too caught up in the confusion to notice that they were not aiming at the lycans. Instead, arrows and spellfire rained down on those in the river, from behind as well as from Meesei's pack. With no preparations against this surprise betrayal, Areldril's supposed allies were cut down in mere moments; some to arrows, and others to the shock spells that were amplified by the water of the river. 

The very moment the betrayal was complete, Areldril raised up his hand, signaling for his men to lower their weapons. They were on the other side of the river from Meesei's pack, and still armed, but Meesei was both surprised and uncertain enough to halt her attack before it could begin, at least for the moment. The last thing she had expected from this ambush was for the rogue Thalmor to turn on their allies in the opening of the fight. The situation was certainly even more complicated than it had initially appeared.

"You are the lycanthropes, yes? Good to see that you were competent enough to track me. At any rate, I surrender." He shouted across the river. Despite his words, his tone still had that unmistakable air of Thalmor superiority.