Oswall didn't move much by the time he reached the makeshift infirmary that the clan had. It was a small chamber with only a few raised beds and tables for treatment, but it wasn't as if lycans had much use for it besides from Oswall's case and similar. Oswall's energy was failing him and he was paling as the initial shock wore off, but he uttered a few words while Meesei walked out. "He is a child, but see he doesn't stick anyone else in the clan."

Crossing his arms, Janius remained in the infirmary. He had a look of worry on his face, but also one of silent disappointment. He was meant to guard Oswall from danger. He blamed himself for allowing this as much as he did Caleb.

The chamber that Meesei was directed to was Vera's bedchamber. Darahil was standing outside and gave a curt nod to Meesei as she approached. The door was shut. "I believe the loud crying ceased a few minutes ago. It was a mother's place to calm her child, not mine." Without being asked, Darahil turned around and lightly knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Vera's muffled voice sounded.

Darahil raised his voice as necessary, "The champion is back."

There was a pause where a short, quiet exchange could be heard between Vera and Caleb. "You may enter," Vera said after a while.

As Darahil opened the door, Meesei found Vera back in Redguard form sitting at the foot of her bed with her arm around Caleb. Caleb had his hands clasped together tightly and his head down. It seemed like only his own tears had marked Oswall's blood still on his hands. Occasionally, Caleb would sniff or a tear would fall from his nose.

"How is Oswall? Will he be alright?" Vera asked first.

Like most rooms in the ruin, Vera's chamber was fairly simple, but there was an old wooden table with a similarly aged chair that Meesei could make use of. She grabbed the chair and moved it in front of the bed, just far enough from Vera and Caleb to give them an adequate amount of room, before taking a seat. "I can say that he was stable last I saw him. With some nontraditional techniques, I was able to mend the major vessels and stop the majority of the bleeding, and we brought him to a chamber where your surgeons can tend to him, so he is being treated. There are no guarantees, but, well, I have seen worse. His wound is survivable." She explained.

There was silence for a few moments as Meesei shifted her attention to Caleb. He was obviously overcome with emotion, but she could not tell if it was due to regret. So far, Caleb had said nothing that made Meesei believe Oswall was the killer. If he did have evidence, then she wanted to hear it, and if not, she would need to explain to him why Oswall was not likely the traitor. "Caleb, do you think you are ready to speak to me about this?"

At first, Vera breathed in to speak. She stopped herself and looked to Caleb again, waiting for a response.

Caleb did not so much as move for a good few seconds. Without looking up at Meesei, he slowly nodded. A croaky and emotion-filled voice sounded from him, "I had to make sure that he didn't get away with it."

Meesei took in a deep breath. She had to give Caleb her evidence which exonerated Oswall, and unless he had gathered more proof of which she was unaware, then Caleb was not going to like it. "I learned about that potential opportunity as well. He would have been left alone with the waterskin, and it would have been an opportunity to poison it; however, my investigation also uncovered information which shows that he could not have been poisoned so soon in the day. Since we had access to the poison itself, we performed a test to determine how long it would take for it to kill. The test showed that Jerrick must have ingested the poison sometime during or after the meeting, not before. In addition, not only does Oswall say that he saw Jerrick drink from his waterskin after their training session, but Darahil confirmed it. Currently, we are in the process of performing a second test on the poison to confirm the results of the first. Unless the first test is proven false, then I do not believe he could have been poisoned before the meeting."

There was only a brief pause to gauge Caleb's reaction before Meesei continued her explanation. If Oswall was not the traitor, then there was no doubt that Caleb would have to face some form of punishment. For Caleb's sake, and the safety of the clan as a whole, she hoped that Oswall survived. There was no way that Oswall's packs would accept anything less than a severe punishment for Caleb if he successfully killed Oswall, and if he did survive, he could only hope for leniency from Oswall himself for his packs to accept a lesser punishment. For the moment, however, Meesei focused on seeing if Caleb had gathered any new evidence. "The reason I have accused Harriet is because she was alone with Jerrick's waterskin after the end of their meeting, as he had forgotten it in the meeting room. Not only that, but I caught her in a lie when I asked her about the order in which the lieutenants left the room. She attempted to claim that your mother was the last to leave, while multiple others confirm that Harriet was the last. Those are the reasons that I have accused Harriet instead of Oswall, but if you have gathered more evidence, please tell me. I want to uncover the truth, not just make an accusation."

Caleb's head raised slightly as Meesei explained the current evidence, but he didn't look at her directly. His breathing seemed to become shallow in the silent moments after Meesei finished. He was clearly anxious. "I didn't gather evidence myself, I was told by Galsek what he had found out about dad's murder. He told me you would lie and accuse Harriet rather than Oswall."

"Galsek?" Vera leaned forward and looked at her son's face, "Are you sure, Caleb?"

Caleb nodded. "I got angry. What he said about Oswall having the chance to poison dad was true, I found that out, so I sneaked into the armoury and got a silver knife to kill him. I knew he wouldn't get caught if you were going to lie. I don't know any more, though."

Vera looked up at Meesei, "Galsek is one of Harriet's alphas. A sly one at that. He has to be working on his own terms."

From that reminder, Caleb lowered his head again. If seemed his blind rage had turned to doubt already. He knew he was in trouble.

"This is...troubling." Meesei said in a severe tone as she paused to consider the implications of this information, and how they should respond to it. The simple answer was to detain this Galsek for spreading dangerous misinformation and attempting to subvert the ongoing investigation. However, she feared the situation might not be so simple. "So Galsek has attempted to sabotage the investigation? I wonder if this was his intended goal, or if he just wanted Caleb to discredit me? In either case, this puts us in a difficult situation. He does not seem to have any new evidence to support Harriet, so he simply omitted the evidence which exonerated Oswall. He spread only part of the story in order to influence Caleb, and I doubt he will stop with him. But, it could be a dangerous move to detain him, as the others in Harriet's packs may start to believe we are targeting their leadership."

Meesei let out a sigh, leaning forward slightly as she clasped her hands together. "I wonder, does he act purely out of loyalty to Harriet, or has he been influenced by our enemy as well?" She commented as her gaze shifted straight to Caleb's eyes. "Caleb, no one has been able to find you for quite a while. When did Galsek give you this information?"

Vera seemed as concerned as Meesei was with this revelation. In as tenuous a time as this, they would be taking a risk by acting against one of Harriet's followers.

Raising his eyes to meet Meesei's for only the smallest moment, Caleb responded. His guilt was getting mixed with some confusion at what Meesei said, but he settled for answering her question. "He...he told me yesterday evening," Caleb said quietly, "I was hiding in the chamber beyond the pool chamber. The one you have to dive under the water to get to. I only snuck out during the night to get food. Galsek was up late, walking around. We spoke, eventually we both found out that we knew about dad."

"Caleb, why were you hiding in such a place?" Vera asked her son softly.

"It's..." Caleb blinked slowly, then gave a lingering look to Meesei, "I just wanted to be alone."

"Hmm, this must have happened rather late into the evening. I was with Galsek and the rest of Harriet's alphas for several hours in the evening, as I had allowed Harriet the chance to form her defense. Unless Galsek knew about this well beforehand, then Harriet could not have instructed this herself, as I was present for their entire conversation. So, loyalty is a possible motivation, though we do not have enough evidence to say for certain that he does or does not know if Harriet is truly the traitor. In any case, we cannot simply allow Galsek to act unhindered. He has shown himself dangerous to the clan as a whole, even knowing the evidence against Harriet. There is also the possibility that some of her other alphas could resort to tactics like this. We just cannot act on this without causing more problems." Meesei observed.

Meesei crossed one arm over her chest and leaned her head on her other hand as she lost herself briefly in thought. This was a difficult situation, reminiscent of the Imperial politics she had heard so many people complain about in the past. It seemed like both action and inaction led to undesirable outcomes, which was likely just what Galsek intended to protect himself. But, after a moment, an idea sparked in Meesei's mind that could offer a potential way out.

"Actually, wait, there may be a way for us to turn this to our advantage. Just like we have to maintain our perception to the people of Harriet's pack, so too does Harriet to the rest of the clan. I could suggest to Harriet that she publicly denounce Galsek's actions. If she is the traitor, then she would want her alphas to cause chaos like this, but if she wants to be found innocent, she cannot appear to be in support of his actions. If she refuses to speak out against them, then that would cast considerable doubt on her during her trial, and if she does publicly denounce Galsek, then it gives us free reign to act against him." Meesei suggested before shifting her focus to Caleb. "However, for this to work, you must have credibility. The people need to believe what you have told us is true. Undoubtedly, Galsek is going to try to cast doubt on you, likely by claiming you lied to escape punishment. It is doubtful that anyone would believe that you, of all people, would lie to protect the traitor. However, some may believe you would lie to protect yourself from punishment, so to keep that argument from holding any weight, you must face punishment for your crime. We cannot appear to be going easy on you. So, it is my suggestion that we announce that we will allow Oswall himself to decide your punishment."

Though he paid attention, Caleb had no response to Meesei. He just held his arms around himself, brought his shoulders forward and tried not to cry about the trouble he had caused.

Vera curled her lips for a moment. She understood that her child would need to be punished, but she had more to say. "There may be a problem," Vera said, starting slowly, "Normally the punishment for grievously wounding another member of the pack is banishment. Caleb is young, so his sentence may not be as harsh. I know that Oswall would not be so cruel as to exile him. The clan's reaction, though..." Vera wiped her cheek and looked at Meesei directly. "Galsek might make the argument that we framed him, and the clan need only look at us to see that we might have offered Caleb leniency for speaking out against him. It may help to have Harriet denounce him, but even Harriet doesn't have to acknowledge that is was Galsek who put these ideas into Caleb's mind. I think it might be better to not announce a name, but mention there is a traitor who is poisoning minds before the trial. We might demand they come forward for punishment. The clan is more likely to view any influence from Galsek with suspicion from then on." Vera looked to one side and gestured, "Perhaps the others might have thoughts as well."

"Hmm, and you truly believe that Harriet's packs will believe Galsek to be framed, even after seeing that we are allowing Caleb be sentenced by the one he attempted to kill? You know your people, and I will trust your advice, but..." Meesei began, her mind shifting to the thoughts this entire situation had brought up within her since Jerrick first explained it to her. By all accounts, he was an honorable individual and an effective leader, but there was one mistake of his she saw that had allowed all of this to happen. It likely started with good intentions, and he may have even inherited the issue with his position, but it was a weakness of the clan that threatened its very existence.

Meesei let out a deep breath. "I never thought I would say this, but loyalty is a problem in the clan. Its members are more loyal to people than our lord Hircine, and they are loyal to different people. I have noticed it ever since we arrived, the division among the packs. The people are separated into these groups which isolate themselves from one another. They don't know their brothers and sisters from some other packs, and they form suspicions of them. It is why this murder, this situation we are in, is so dangerous. There are people who would be willing to fight against their clan based only on their faith in their leader. The clan does need the loyalty, and the structure of the current system, but what it needs most is unity. The people need to get to know all of their brothers and sisters, at least to the point where they can see that they are not so different. The scholars should know the scouts who keep watch over the area; the warriors should know the alchemists who brew their potions. After all of this is over, after the traitor has been sentenced and a new leader selected, we need to tackle this issue. We have to build unity, so that this cannot happen again."

Whether it was in guilt or just sadness, Vera lowered her eyes and sighed as well. "It was not always this way. Divided as such." She took a slow breath in to give her thoughts words, "It has only been in the last few months. Before, our clan was still large for a lycan community, but it was small enough that we could know everyone by name. These great numbers have made it harder and harder to have everyone relate to one another." Vera put a hand on Caleb's shoulder, "The children, those that grow up here, they seem to know the most people. Others, however...it is difficult. We had all known this problem as leaders, but our efforts to change it had proven ineffective. We're just not used to managing so many at once. The shrine to Hircine is indeed neglected. Many of our number are indifferent towards him. Some even have a resentment towards him for bestowing lycanthropy on them. Too many in this clan are here because we simply have no other place to go. You probably weren't even taken there on your tour of the ruin."

Far from letting the disappointing situation slow her mind, Vera squinted her eyes at an idea. "Meesei, you are Hircine's champion," Vera looked at Meesei when she addressed her by name for the first time after their introduction, "Do you think trying to create loyalty to Hircine might help keep this clan together? How would we do such a thing?"

"Yes, I do, and I have some ideas on how to bring this clan together, even at its current size. The kind of leadership structure we are used to as lycans works well for us in most cases, but it is not ideal for a clan of this size. There has to be change, but it will not be easy, nor quick. The ideas I have will take time to work, perhaps even years. We can speak about it in more detail after all of this is over. For now, we should focus on the task at hand." Meesei answered as she stood to her feet.

"Do with Caleb whatever it is you would normally do with someone who commits a crime before their sentence. I understand you were in a great deal of emotional pain, Caleb, but we cannot afford to show favoritism, especially now. Considering your situation, Oswall may show leniency, and no one will question his decision. We will proceed with your plan for handling Galsek. Announce that someone is spreading misinformation, but do not specify who. And Vera, keep yourself protected. You, Darahil, and Oswall are not safe. My pack will stay with you, and you may wish to have other trusted individuals close at hand as well." Meesei advised before taking her leave. It was going to be some time yet before the test on the poison produced any results, and there was another matter Meesei needed to attend to while she had the chance. The previous night, Meesei had found the opportunity to instruct Gorlak to search Harriet's room, and she needed to see if he had found anything tangible.

As usual, Gorlak was likely going to be near the food, so Meesei quickly made her way to the dining chamber. She saw Gorlak, but made sure that he was not serving anyone else when she approached. It was between meals, so the chamber was not crowded, but she still had to be cautious. Although the secret of Jerrick's death had been revealed to the clan, Meesei was still keeping the identities of her allies a secret. They could still be very helpful, but only if no one knew about them. As she approached, she turned her eyes to the food. "Would I be able to get something simple. perhaps some bread?" She asked aloud before quickly following up much more quietly with her actual question. "Any results?" If he had found something, a simple nod would prompt her to arrange a place for them to meet and speak privately, likely somewhere near the meeting room, as it was a low-traffic area.

Grolak gave Meesei a slow nod as she approached and pushed off the wall he was leaning against. He looked upon the loaves of bread nearby upon being addressed by Meesei, but wasn't so slow as to need any further reminding. He jerked his head towards the door to the main chamber before answering. "Come to the ovens, the fresh ones always go fast and I think the baker wants to meet you. He's a religious type."

With a quick gesture, Grolak started walking with Meesei following. Whether the clan had ovens or not, Grolak did not head there. They ended up at a quiet corner of the clan's indoor crop system. Their conversation was hidden from the naked eye by soon to be harvested corn stalks. Before saying a word, Grolak reached into his tunic and quickly pulled out something that make a glass clink on one of his buttons. Once in view it was clearly a vial, but the metal stopper brought pause to its mundane appearance. The top of the stopper had etched a fine depiction of a snarling face with sharp teeth and horns that curled back from the forehead.

"Like I said, a religious type," Grolak commented as he held the vial forward for Meesei to take. "I'm pretty sure I know what this little guy means."

Upon closer inspection, the tiniest drop of a black liquid had gathered at the bottom of the vial. It was thick, and left a thin dark streak wherever it flowed.

Meesei took the vial in her hand, examining it and the liquid within. She would have Sabine examine it just in case, but it was not difficult to guess what the liquid might be. As well, the symbol etched upon the stopper was easy enough to recognize. If nothing else, it strongly suggested that Clavicus Vile was involved in the murder. However, as suspicious as the find was, Meesei was going to do everything she could to make sure the vial implied what she feared.

"And you found this in her room? If this means what I fear, then she could be even more dangerous than even the charges laid against her would imply. Where specifically in the room did you find this? I intend to follow this lead as far as I can." Meesei asked.

"I'd checked just about everywhere and was about to leave when I trod on a loose bit o' stone," Grolak put a hand on his hip, slipping a thumb behind his belt for support, "Normally the ruin has big solid slabs unless of damage, but a closer look made it seem cracked out deliberately. I had to find a kitchen knife to pry the cover off, but this was underneath it. Seemed like a decent hiding place. Nothin' else was in there with it, though." Grolak raised an eyebrow. "How do you think it got there? I mean, how did Harriet get it?"

"If Harriet is indeed the one who placed it there, then I fear the worst. It bears Vile's visage, which combined with the properties of the poison, suggests that she is consorting with our enemy." Meesei commented as she slipped the vial into her satchel. She was glad that Grolak had managed to make this find, as not only did it provide more evidence for the trial, but it gave a firm link to Clavicus Vile. However, before she used it in the trial, she wanted to confirm that it was Harriet who placed it there. If she had, then she certainly would not admit to it directly, but there still could be a way to learn that information indirectly. If she searched the room while Harriet was present and happened upon the hiding place Gorlak mentioned, then her reaction could provide additional evidence. She just had to make sure there were a sufficient number of witnesses present, so at some point during the day, Meesei intended to recruit at least one member of each of the lieutenants' packs to help guard her. She even intended to select one from Harriet's packs, though it would be a lower ranking member selected by Meesei herself.

"I will need to confirm my suspicions, but this is an important find. Thank you, Gorlak. Currently, I do not believe I will need your testimony in the trial itself, though that is a possibility. In either case, you are certainly deserving of recognition for your contributions to the welfare of the clan. After this is all over, I could honor you, and the others who have helped me, publicly for your assistance, if you so choose. However, if you wish to remain anonymous, I will also respect that choice. I understand if you do not wish to have that sort of attention cast upon you." Meesei offered.

Grolak wrinkled his nose and wave a hand in front of him dismissively. "Nah, I don't need any more thanks. I'm just glad you came along when you did. Lotsa bad could have happened without someone helpin' to keep things together." Grolak opened his palm, "But hey, if you need me to talk during the trial, I'll do it."

The master of the rations looked around idly for a moment, double checking that no one was listening. He lowered his voice and leaned forward anyway. "If anyone asks, I'm not this agreeable. I look out for the clan and all, but I gotta maintain the whole 'strict orc' thing, alright?" With that, Grolak leaned back to his regular posture. "D'you need anything else?"

Meesei gave a slight smile. "You would get along with Lorag. If standing silently in a room with only a brief, gruff acknowledgment of the other counts as such." She commented, her demeanor shifting for only a brief moment before returning to her former, serious attitude. "At any rate, I will do what I can to keep your involvement in all of this quiet. Based on the evidence I have so far, I will not likely require your testimony during the trial. It is possible that I will, but currently, it does not seem like I will have to disclose your identity. If so, I will of course appreciate your help. But, for now, I should let you get back to your duties."

After exchanging farewells, Meesei left the room at a different time, and going a different direction than Grolak. She now had another lead to follow, though it would be some time before she could do anything with what she had learned. She needed Harriet, and other witnesses to be present when they searched her room, but Harriet could not know beforehand that she intended to perform a search. It needed to be a surprise so that Harriet would not have time to prepare a reaction. Harriet likely already expected that she would be sleeping in her room, with guards, so that would be the time to perform the search. Until then, there were a few matters she needed to attend to before the end of the day.

Upon Meesei entering the scholar's loft, those present turned to her, but didn't seem immediately interested and went back to twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the poison test to change. Harriet inquired about Oswall's state, having heard the news from a runner. She seemed to have a frustrated expression about her with the whole issue. It was the same kind that she had most times where she found herself restricted by her current accusations.

A private word with Sabine had her feeling very nervous about testing what was left in the vial Meesei had obtained. The two reasons that Sabine gave was that the poison would be very dangerous in its undiluted form, and she didn't want to risk losing what was left if she failed her only chance at a test. After some persuasion she informed Meesei that testing the vial poison would be difficult, but if she was allowed to use some of the more precise glassware of the scholar's loft, there was a chance that she could do it. She was less than confident, however.

Afterwards, finding an entourage of guards from each of quarter of the clan was at first somewhat more difficult than expected where started at Darahil's packs. Each person in the scholar's loft pointed to another in a wild goose chase, all of them too absorbed in their tasks to desire guard duty. Enough persistence eventually lead Meesei once more to the young Altmer alchemist, Safina. Upon demonstration, she proved adept at battle magic as well as a rather friendly conversationalist.

Moving on to the packs of Vera's clan was fortunately successful in a shorter time. Meesei swiftly found a burly Breton man with an axe on his hip by the name of Francis. He had a stability and girth to his entire demeanour that made one mistake him for a stone pillar at times, and the few times he spoke brought about an equally stony voice. Francis always wore a small smile for some reason, but it was perhaps because he was honoured by being selected for the champion's bodyguard.

The search went on from there for a guard from Oswall and Harriet's packs. However, before even one pack could be asked, Meesei and her pair of new followers were beheld by the beginnings of a scuffle in the main chamber. Two small groups of young people, apparently from Harriet and Oswall's packs, were shouting aggressively at one another. The words blended together, but what was being said could be roughly understood.

"You heard the kid! It was Oswall that did it, not Harriet!"

"Our alpha was loyal for decades, why would he murder Jerrick now?!"

"The champion is charging Harriet with this! She's guilty!"

"You should all be banished for this! Harriet is a stronger leader than a murderer!"

"Don't speak like that about our leader!"

The aggression escalated to the point where two of the young men from the argument began to trade shoves. With the lieutenants either watching the poison test, visiting Oswall, or attending to other duties, it seemed these people had sparked their disagreement when none were present.

One by one, Meesei set about handling the tasks she needed to complete before the end of the day. Sabine expressed her concerns over testing the poison in the vial, so Meesei decided to err on the side of caution. She still needed to test the vial, but they would need to do it in the most safe, controlled manner as possible. Meesei privately informed Carana of the need for a test with a sample of the undiluted poison, though Meesei mentioned nothing about the vial or where she obtained the poison. She did, however, mention that the test needed to remain a secret for the moment. However, they did not begin testing the vial immediately. Instead, Meesei allowed Carana to rejoin Sabine in observing the still-ongoing test which would confirm or deny the timing of the poisoning. The new test did not need to be performed immediately, and Meesei wanted to give Carana ample time to make all necessary safety precautions, such as gathering protective clothing and protections against dangerous fumes. For the moment, Meesei kept the vial, as she would need it to confront Harriet later that night.

The next task was finding guards for Harriet, which Meesei was able to do more openly, though she shared the true reason for this with no one. To Harriet, Meesei explained that, in light of the attack on Oswall, the lieutenants were not safe. Since Harriet was the accused, she was the one in the most danger of being attacked by a potential vigilante, so Meesei would find reputable individuals from each of the lieutenants' packs, including Harriet's, to protect her. She was able to find the first two in a reasonable amount of time, but before she could find the last two, they came across a scene which realized Meesei's fears on this entire situation. Two groups, evidently loyal to Oswall and Harriet, were on the verge of violence, which was something that had to be stopped immediately. A fight now, even a minor would, could spark greater violence later.

"None of you are correct, not entirely." Meesei shouted in her commanding voice as she stepped up between the two groups. "There is no use arguing this with each other. Your fears are understandable, and your anger natural, but instead of turning your claws on your brothers and sisters, speak your questions to me. From what I have heard, I am in a position to answer them all."