Darahil was the first to answer with a "yes."

At the edge of the dais, Vera stepped forward and stood beside Darahil. "The champion's words are true."

Some of the crowd's attention went to Harriet in that moment. She was the only other lieutenant present. As she had been before, she sat in silent indifference. Looking at the centre of her table.

Najirra himself did not seem to expect any answer from Harriet. Rather, he turned slightly in his chair to face his daughters. "Saraya, my writing implements are in the bag. If you please."

One of Najirra's daughters was indeed carrying a sack of various things. She hurried forward and produced an ink pot, a quill, a sharpening knife, and a scroll of spare paper. After Saraya withdrew, Najirra set up his tools and began scrawling some points on his parchment. Everyone waited patiently.

"Harriet," Najirra did not look up from his writing, "Can you confirm what the champion says?"

Harriet's eyes shifted up to Najirra now that she had been addressed directly. "I'll defer my answer until I get to speak."

With a glance up, Najirra considered, then slowly gave a nod. "Very well." He finished his writing in short time and gestured again for Meesei to continue.

Meesei turned the page in her notes as she was given the floor to speak once more. The testimonies and physical evidence she had provided so far placed Harriet in the meeting room, alone, with the waterskin which had been used to poison Jerrick, in the time frame that their tests had shown he had been poisoned. There were not too many points left which she needed to present.

"Shortly after the meeting concluded, Jerrick went to the dining chamber, as I, and any were were listening to the story I was telling, can confirm. He pulled me aside to a private room once my story had concluded, at which point he explained to me everything about the vision Hircine had given him. We made our plans for ambushing the traitor later that night, then parted ways. Jerrick set out to make his preparations, and to gather some materials for me, including a soul gem so I could enchant an invisibility scroll for him, and a welkynd stone to aid me in sustaining my spells over the course of the night. Through all of my investigation, neither I, nor anyone assisting me, has found evidence for any other opportunity at which Jerrick's waterskin could have been poisoned. At that point, he was aware the traitor would be targeting him that day, so he would have been on alert, and I had cautioned him not to eat nor drink anything for the rest of the day, to which he had agreed." Meesei explained. With that point, she had given strong evidence that the only lieutenant who could have poisoned Jerrick was Harriet. However, there was still the vial remaining.

Reaching into her bag, Meesei produced two sealed glass containers, one with the vial, and the other with the rag. The corner of the rag which the witnesses had touched had been cut away, while the vial was entirely intact. "I believe the evidence presented so far is enough to show that Harriet was the only lieutenant with the opportunity to poison Jerrick. However, there is another piece of evidence. During the course of my investigation, I had Grolak search Harriet's room. In it, he discovered a hiding space under a broken stone in her floor. In that space was this vial, and this rag wrapped around it. The vial contained traces of a black liquid, which Sabine and Carana tested and confirmed to be the same poison used on Jerrick. Furthermore, the vial bears a symbol which resembles certain depictions of Clavicus Vile. One of my first thoughts upon learning of this was that it could have been planted, as its discovery did seem almost too suspicious. However, after investigating myself, I found nothing that would suggest it had been planted by anyone but Harriet. The hiding space in which it was found was well-hidden, and would have been easy to miss. It was fortunate that Grolak managed to locate it. If the traitor wished to plant false evidence, then it would make more sense to plant said evidence among her belongings, rather than in a place where it would not so easily be found. Additionally, the only scents which I could detect in the hiding spot, and on the rag found within, were Grolak's, Harreit's, and of course my own. There were no traces of anyone else on any of the items. When I confronted Harriet with this and asked her to show how it could have been planted, she made no effort to prove that the vial was not hers. Being made primarily of glass, the vial itself does not easily hold a scent. The cork may still hold the traitor's scent, however; there was not sufficient time before the trial for Sabine and Carana to finish their test. I have brought both the rag and vial in sealed containers so that you may inspect them. I still would like to allow them to finish their tests on the cork, so I would ask that you not open its container. But, the rag has been sealed away for a few days and still should hold its scents." Meesei said as she moved to give the containers to Najirra.

There was a wave of murmurings from the crowd at the mention of the vial's details. A few gasps were even sounded to accentuate the crowd's surprise. There had been rumours of the murder having Vile involved, but this was material proof. Even Najirra had a reaction of turning his head slightly and squinting his eyes in initial scepticism.

Najirra leaned forward and took the sealed jar containing the vial in both hands. He carefully held it closer to his eyes, rotating it to inspect its metallic motif of Vile's horned face. He was patient enough to satisfy his curiosity visually with both the vial and the rag before the crowd got too loud. Before opening the jar with the rag to inspect its scent, Najirra picked up Darahil's staff and struck it enough times against the floor to quiet the crowd. "Silence! I require silence," Najirra added to deal with the more obstinate voices. It took some work to open the container with the rag, but Najirra managed. He hovered the opening of the jar below his nose and nodded, and then reached in and lifted the rag out between the claws of his thumb and forefinger. "This does indeed hold Harriet's scent. And some traces of your scent, champion. This is to be expected as you handled it." Najirra replaced the rag and the lid and put the both aside, "You will have to forgive this one if he is seeing details that are irrelevant, but this one could not help but notice there is a cut corner on the rag. It has less fraying than the other edges. It may have been cut more recently, or with a sharper blade in a careful hand," Najirra turned his eyes to Meesei and weaved his hands together on the table in front of him. "Do you know why that might be?"

Meesei nodded to Najirra. "Yes, I do. After Grolak found the vial and brought it to me, I decided to collect a group of individuals from each of the lieutenant's packs, including Harriet's, to serve as guards and witnesses that night." She explained, pausing to point out the individuals she spoke of among the witnesses. "They can confirm my statements about that night. I intended to gauge her reaction when I uncovered the hiding spot, however; she picked up Grolak's scent and was aware her room had been searched, so that was no longer practical. Instead, when I retrieved the rag, I passed it around by that corner so they could confirm which scents were present. Later, we cut away that corner to prevent it from contaminating the rest of the rag."

With Najirra's question answered, Meesei was finished with her initial presentation of her case. "I do not have any further statements to make for the moment, aside from the remaining witnesses who have not yet spoken giving their statements."

From then on, Najirra had a few questions to ask of the witnesses to clarify their statements. The proceedings were dry, as they were mostly inconsequential detail. After a short while, Najirra requested that Oswall be summoned to give statements in person. While they waited, Najirra offered Harriet the opportunity to ask some questions of the witnesses leading up to her defence. Harriet simply shook her head calmly. The wait was instead replaced with a short break that gave space for the crowd to converse.

The crowd mostly hushed itself as Oswall came forth. He was laid on a cloth stretcher with only light bed clothing on, carried by two people that appeared to be healers. The crowd parted for his passing and he was carefully deposited on a table. Under the light above the dais, he was pale and breathing slowly. The bandages over his wound were clean, but tiny spot of blood had already seeped through. Without the benefit of Ariel's alchemy to push the silver around his body evenly, his healing was slower than when Meesei took a silver spear to her torso. Still, he displayed enough strength to sit up on his own, even if he did so painfully. The healers moved to help him, but Oswall waved them off. He sat silently, trying to breathe without hurting himself.

Najirra was the first to speak with him, leaning forward in his seat with concern. "Oswall, are you well enough to speak with us?"

"Of course..." Oswall started quiet, but raised his voice as he turned his head to Najirra. "Of course I am! It's going to take more than a needle to my side to bring me down."

Aside from Oswall's defiant spirit in the face of his evidently serious wound, his answers to Najirra's questions were clear and straightforward. Najirra read his questions off the parchment he had been taking notes from, and for the most part were the questions that Meesei asked of other witnesses. Again, there were questions to clarify details, however the answers were still in line with what Meesei had presented.

By the end of Najirra's queries, he surveyed the crowd and the parties present. The trial had already gone on for the entire morning. He could see that there were yawns amongst the worry. Many had wandered off to find food. He struck his staff on the ground twice and regarded everyone present. "This one believes a break for lunch is in order. The trial will resume in one hour, at which time Harriet will give her defence. Vharei?" Najirra looked over his shoulder, "Could you prepare some tea?"

The entire chamber began to shift and shuffle with combined voices and feet. The break would help everyone to refresh. Even under her guard, Harriet strode to her alphas, beckoning each one to convene with her.

While Oswall was still sitting up on one of the tables, Janius took the time to approach Meesei and give his own opinion. "I don't get it, Meesei. Why isn't she doing anything?" Janius looked over to the huddle of alphas around Harriet, "She hasn't given up, has she?"

Lorag was quick to join the crowd for lunch, and even offered to grab Meesei's for her as well. Ahnasha too went to feed both Rhazii and herself, while Meesei remained to speak to Janius. She too stared at the group surrounding Harriet on the other side of the chamber, pondering on what her strategy might be. "It is hard to say. One of us, either myself or Lorag, has always been with her since the night of the murder, but even so, it is difficult to tell what kind of defense she might make. Nothing she has told me so far has convinced me that she is not guilty. If she had, then this trial would not have started." She commented as she let out a sigh. "I suppose we will know once it is time to hear her testimony.'

Meesei shifted her attention to Oswall. She had been able to visit him on occasion, but for the most part, she had been too busy for the past few days to keep up closely with his health. Now that she had a moment, though, she could at least speak to him. She motioned for Janius to join her as she approached Oswall's table. It is good to see you alive and alert, Oswall. What have the healers been saying about your condition? And do not give me pride, Oswall." She said quickly, giving him a stern look. "Be completely honest. If you need any more help, I might be able to provide it."

Oswall's face softened to be more calm at Meesei's insistence. "That is quite alright, champion. The healers say that this wound is no longer going to kill me. I've been given as much help as I can make use of." Oswall looked in front of himself and huffed, taking on a low, frustrated tone, "It's all down to bloody waiting now. Lycan regeneration makes you take the time saved on normal wounds for granted, I'll tell you." He shook his head and waved Meesei away, "Don't worry about me, you have work to do. Get to it."

The hour went by without outward trouble from there on. Harriet's huddle with her alphas was finished within a minute. It seemed as though whatever they conversed about was organised too quickly for any eavesdroppers to relay any useful information. What was clear to see, though, was that Harriet had a more determined look about her as she dined on a light lunch. She spoke to no one else as she waited for the trial to resume.

The end of the break came about with the sound of Darahil's staff pounding upon the ground once more. The crowd wasn't quite as large as last time. Many of the younger members of the clan had moved on to go play or get chores out of the way. All those wise enough to know the weight of the trial remained to observe. It was still the majority of the clan present.

"Now we will resume this trial," Najirra announced from his previous seat. The only difference on his table was a tray of tea making implements now used and mostly depleted. He had been sipping away on his seat during the entire break. "Harriet. It is your right to speak in your own defence here. This is now the opportunity to refute the accusations and affirm your innocence." Najirra's hand gestured smoothly in Harriet's direction, "You may begin."

Harriet started by taking a long, slow breath and unfolding her arms from across her chest. Her eyes went up to meet Najirra's as she stood up from her seat, keeping her fingers in contact with the table. "This entire trial is a joke," she said with disdain. "As soon as the champion pulled out that vial with Clavicus' icon on it, I knew this whole thing was a big, sick joke. This entire time, Meesei, you have been calling the shots!" Harriet looked to Meesei as soon as she addressed her by name, "You had been with Jerrick, you had been convincing him of falsehoods, you had your pack all over this joint setting up your petard while we trusted you. What's the point of having a trial where the evidence being used is clearly planted!? What's the point of saying that I only had the opportunity to poison Jerrick when you were with him all night? And then you have the gall to back up the claim by having tests run on the poison's length of time by your little twerp who didn't even have the courage to speak the lies herself!" Harriet's scathing tone was directed with her finger to Sabine standing at the edge of the crowd.

Harriet stopped and stood up straight, spreading her arms, "This whole thing has been you covering your own tracks. Locking all of us down while you did all the significant 'investigating' in your favour. Truth? Pah! You want to cripple this clan!" She brought one arm to her chest, "I have no cause to kill Jerrick. No motive! He was an effective leader." She pointed at Meesei again, "The only difference in this clan shortly before Jerrick died is that a certain strange pack rapped on the door and the alpha claimed she was the champion of Hircine itself. Spin up an epic tale of killing the Orc slayer who stole the ring, and then suddenly it isn't just that bit of carved bone that's around your finger, it's everyone you need to destabilise our community." Harriet paced slowly around her table, keeping her eyes on Meesei, "I'm not going to let you pull off your next move. Galsek?!"

Amongst the now partially inflamed crowd, an Argonian arm tossed something small that glinted on the light as it shot towards Harriet. She caught it out of the air and put it on her finger. It was a gold ring with a diamond upon it, but it exuded a subtle magical glow. Attempts to catch in in telekinesis seemed to fail and cause a strange stirring in the flow of magicka.

The crowd itself was murmuring again, but this time a proportion of people were regarding Meesei with more suspicion than Harriet. Najirra had let the tirade continue until he saw the ring, at which point he sat up and widened his eyes. "Harriet? What do you think you are doing?" Najirra asked forcefully.

Harriet only had eyes for Meesei. "I've got a proposal for you, Meesei." Her sentence ended with a high scream from the crowd as a large werewolf ploughed through a couple of the guards at the edge of the dais as well as knocking down the edge of the crowd. The lycan's lunge made way for a line of warriors aligned to Harriet. They encircled her protectively and drew their weapons.

A flash of anger spread across Najirra's face. "You will halt, Harriet!" he shouted firmly. Both his hands glowed a brilliant green and unleashed a great torrent of paralysing magic upon the circle. It seemed to work for an instant, but before it could take hold, Harriet's entire body took on a purple sheen that repelled all of the power displayed. It was such a sheer reaction that Najirra dropped back into his seat and began to breathe shallowly with a wince. The magic had been reflected, but Najirra had expended his energy in resisting his own spell.

The crowd itself was a chaos of movement. Everybody who wasn't a warrior was desperately trying to stream out of the room down whatever exits they could find. At the same time, others were trying to work against the crowd, coming to Meesei or Harriet's aid. It was unclear enough that no one except the alphas around the rim of the dais had also drawn their weapons. Meesei's pack was let through, however. Janius and Fendros both moved to Meesei's side. Fendros took a couple of seconds more after imploring Sabine to find Ahnasha and make sure that Rhazii was protected.

Now that Harriet had destabilised the crowd itself, she shouted to make her words heard. "Meesei, you killed Jerrick. Fight me one on one and prove that you have Hircine's favour, or you know what's going to happen." Harriet was handed a longsword by one of her warriors and she pulled it aggressively from its scabbard. "Let's see if you have more than just deceit to hunt your prey."

The challenge had subtle undertones in Harriet's wording. Despite Harriet's claims that Meesei was the one destabilising the clan, the situation seemed to point to a bloodbath if it wasn't resolved on Harriet's terms. With what she said, Harriet understood that fully.

Meesei gave a nearly inaudible sigh when Harriet started to give her "testimony." As she feared, Harriet did not intend to present any evidence; she intended to attack Meesei directly. Meesei felt it was fortunate that she had given the suggestion that Harriet's mind could have been magically influenced a few days prior, as that rumor had been spreading around ever since that day. Hopefully, it would create doubt among those that might have otherwise supported Harriet.

As her statements progressed, Harriet grew even more aggressive, until she did something that surprised even Meesei. She tried to catch the ring as it was being thrown, but Meesei's magic had seemingly no effect. She stood to her feet, along with most everyone else, but despite the chaos that was unfolding, she kept a good measure of her composure. Harriet's remarks had been designed to rile up the crowd and create chaos, to reasonable success. Fortunately, the fact that fighting had not yet broken out meant there was still a chance to avoid a veritable civil war within the clan, and that chance rested with Harriet's challenge.

Meesei stepped forward, standing just in front of those who had moved to support her. "You draw weapons against your brothers and sisters, then claim that I am the one seeking to destabilize this clan? You claim what? That in a few hours after I arrived here, I managed to persuade Jerrick, a man you just described as an effective leader, of some nonspecific 'falsehoods' you keep mentioning. Or that Najirra, Grolak, Carana, and all others that Jerrick deemed trustworthy, people that have served this clan faithfully for countless years before I even arrived, suddenly decided to conspire against the clan? No, I believe that, when we walked into that meeting that day, you saw an opportunity to get away with your betrayal. Jerrick is murdered the same day the Champion arrives; the blame would immediately be cast onto me. In one fell swoop, you would kill both Jerrick, and the Champion of Hircine herself. But what you did not expect was Hircine's foresight; you did not expect us to be prepared. You did not expect Jerrick to draft those letters that would prove to your fellow lieutenants, and the clan as a whole, that it was one of his own lieutenants that betrayed him. So now, with that plan in ruins, you have moved to a final act of desperation to destabilize this family. But, for your challenge, none of that matters. Whether you are a traitor, or I have made some terrible mistake and accused an innocent, you have the right to challenge me, and I am honor-bound to accept."

Meesei took a few more steps forward into the empty space between the two groups. "I accept your challenge, Harriet. We will fight in single combat, here and now. May Hircine's will be shown through its outcome." She stated, her gaze moving briefly to the crowd. As they were in the main chamber, they already had ample space for the fight, as long as the crowd kept their distance. "Clear the training area, and give us space."

As commanded, the clan warriors on the dais started backing off. They gave sideways glances to each other with suspicion, and there was some small relief that the matter would be resolved in an isolated manner.

"I am disappointed that it has come to this." Najirra wheezed. He gathered up the energy to slowly rise from his seat. "Saraya, Vharei. Help me up, if you please. We must stand aside." Najirra's already extremely worried daughters were already at their father's side and wasted no time in helping him up and past the warriors lined around the dais. Vharei and Saraya both gave glances over their shoulders as they left, but Najirra's expression was defeated and grave.

Only once the Dais had cleared did Harriet's circle of warriors back off into a line behind Harriet. They kept their weapons out, but kept their points to the ground. The werewolf that had transformed sat on his haunches and looked on with a snarl.

Janius and Fendros acted similarly, giving uncertain glances to Meesei. She had to know what she was doing, but they couldn't shake the feeling of danger. Meesei's magic could not be used to such powerful direct effect like it normally could, and Harriet was clearly a seasoned and skilled fighter. "Be careful," Janius warned, "This may be desperate, but she's prepared."

Indeed, Harriet had no visible reaction to Meesei's retort. This was her last chance, and she faced it down with the resolve befitting an Orc warrior and werewolf alpha alike. Her sword was held forward in both hands. She took a few steps forward and sized Meesei up. Just because Harriet had protection from spells, it didn't mean that Meesei had tricks up her sleeve. Harriet kept Meesei on edge by pacing around just out of reach and flinching in the occasional feint. It wasn't clear whether she was still working out how to strike first, or waiting for Meesei to open the duel.

The atmosphere in the crowd was tense at first, but soon enough a few voices threw out encouragement to either side, or just goaded them. "Strike!" Shouted one man. Another, younger voice added to it, "Bring the traitor down!" The shouts were few and far between, but they were present. What sounded like a high voiced woman gave her encouragement as well, "Harriet the untouchable!" To that, almost all those in Harriet's pack's repeated in unison. "Harriet the untouchable!"

Meesei's eyes were locked onto Harriet, watching every move she made. They paced out of one another's range as the air filled with anticipation on who would make the first move. Some individuals in the crowd shouted out their support for one fighter or the other, but Harriet herself was the only thing that held Meesei's focus. With a flick of her wrist, a bound weapon materialized in her hand; not a blade, but a spear. While conjuration was not generally Meesei's specialty, simply conjuring weapons was well-within her capabilities. Harriet's reputation of her skill in combat preceded her, so Meesei did not expect to match her skill with a blade. Even being trained as a Treeminder, the spear was a weapon she had some experience with, and there were some aspects of fighting with a spear that Meesei might be able to exploit with the assistance of her magic. Namely, its reach.

Recognizing the spell-reflecting effect the ring had granted Harriet, Meesei knew she could not start with the more direct applications of her magic. Only defensive magic, or those spells with some other form of utility could be used with any effect against. To start, Meesei cast over herself a shield spell, which provided an armor-like layer of alteration energy just over her scales. She would have the advantage of physical protection, though if she wanted to ensure her victory against Harriet, Meesei knew she would have to contend with spell-reflection protecting her foe. She knew the spell and enchantment, which also meant she knew its limitations. An enchantment of that nature could not protect against an unlimited number or strength of spells. Every time the ring reflected a spell, it would drain some of its own charge until it did not have enough energy to sustain the enchantment. As well, there was another aspect of spell reflection of which Meesei was aware: a single downside which Meesei could exploit.

As they were pacing outside of one another's reach, Meesei extended one hand forward, while keeping her spear ready in the other. A spell shot forward, but instead of destruction, the ball of energy carried the familiar orange glow of a restoration spell. As soon as the spell impacted Harriet, the spell reflection activated, sending the tendrils of energy through the air back at Meesei. The magic had the effect of fortifying her stamina, but that was irrelevant to the enchantment on the ring. Neither spell absorption nor reflection could discriminate against what kind of magic could activate it. This meant that healing, fortification, and any other kind of beneficial magic would be reflected, but would still reduce the item's charge. Unfortunately, Meesei had no way of knowing how much of a charge the ring possessed, or how many spells it would take. However, Harriet would have to be the one to initiate the fight, as Meesei could simply stay at a distance and use restoration to deplete her magical protection.

By habit, Harriet flinched to avoid Meesei's spell, but stopped herself right before impact. There was not enough time to process the possibility of Meesei's plan in the time that the spell flew through the air, so Harriet decided to take whatever it was she could reflect. A flash of confusion flashed across Harriet's eyes as she realised the result. In the following second, Harriet discerned what was going on. She knew that the time for tarrying was over.

Harriet brought herself forward and stepped to provoke a thrust from Meesei that she could knock aside and use to close distance. She would attempt a short combination of strikes to Meesei's forward arm, left shoulder, and arm again in quick succession before breaking off. The shield spell would make it difficult but not impossible to harm her opponent. Despite her relative stature, Harriet's blows came raining down with a strength and speed to match Lorag, and a calculated skill to surpass him.

Meesei did not behave quite as expected, though neither were Harriet's attacks entirely ineffective. Despite the reach of her spear, Meesei behaved decidedly defensively. Instead of thrusting when presented the opportunity, Meesei feigned, them moved to parry Harriet's blade. Unfortunately, Harriet's reactions were like lightning, allowing her to readjust mid-swing and snap the blade toward Meesei's forearm. The shield spell immediately proved its usefulness, as blades which struck at a sufficient angle would simply deflect away, as if they had struck armor. Harriet's strike was a bit more direct, but the blade was still slowed enough that the cut it left through her scales was relatively minor. Nevertheless, the sudden pain was enough to cause Meesei to flinch, leaving an opening towards her shoulder that Harriet was, of course, quick to exploit. The blade would have found its mark directly, but as soon as her guard was down Meesei used a bolt escape to essentially teleport a few feet behind herself and out of danger. As long as she did not pass through Harriet, the lightning would not be reflected back.

Meesei expected some surprise from Harriet at the sudden use of such a lightning spell, though she doubted her body language would show it. That technique, along with several others Meesei knew, was from magical traditions that many mages in Tamriel considered lost. She had never met a mage outside of a cluster of a few villages in her homeland who had heard of the technique, much less seen it in practice. Undoubtedly, there were other magical traditions in other parts of Tamriel of which Meesei was unaware, but it was unlikely that Harriet would be making use of such magic.

With a bit more distance between them, Meesei readied her spear and watched Harriet's movements closely. Harriet's skill with a blade was undeniable, and for Meesei, would be insurmountable in any normal fight. She knew she simply could not keep up with Harriet's rapid, and expertly timed attacks. If Meesei wanted to attain any form of success, she would need to be clever and unpredictable in her tactics.

This time, when Harriet moved to close the gap, Meesei initiated an attack as well. She thrust the spear forward, towards Harriet's neck, but when she went to parry, Meesei suddenly dispelled the bound weapon just before the blade reached it. As her momentum carried her blade clean through the space the spear once occupied, Meesei thrust her left hand forward at Harriet's now-exposed torso while simultaneously conjuring a bound sword in it. Meesei doubted it would end so easily, but hopefully she could show that Harriet was not so untouchable.

The flash of lightning from Meesei's escape made many in the crowd gasp or yelp with surprise. Harriet's hubris made her over-swing with a short shout. Slicing the air did not quite bring about the triumph she almost had. Even so, she spotted Meesei's arm weeping and gained a confident snarl.

Harriet did not give Meesei much time. She stepped up for another attack and parried as expected. Harriet's next motion was planned; she began to bring her sword around to cut at Meesei's exposed middle right, but jerked to defend herself from the sudden bound sword coming from the other side. Harriet partially sidestepped, causing the blade to glance off her torso. It had cut through the cloth on its way through but by the texture felt up the blade, Harriet was wearing mail to protect her body. By the way her clothes moved, it seemed that her head, arms, and legs were not similarly protected. It was likely all she could successfully hide from the trial.

While the move did take her by surprise, Harriet was ready to recover. Her first move was more something to ward Meesei off; a step back and forward with a swing to Meesei's side. Now Meesei had forgone her advantage of reach, Harriet would press further. Her next strike was quick and aggressive. Harriet's sword swung high as if to strike Meesei's shoulders again, but turned low at the last moment. It was followed up by a thrust to Meesei's chest to keep her on her back foot.

Once Meesei's strike failed, her first reaction was to get to safety. With a sword, she had no advantage at all over Harriet. Instead of attempting to block or parry, Meesei performed another bolt escape just before her thrust could connect, this time to the diagonal in order to end up a fair distance behind Harriet. Finding that the sword would be useless to her, she shifted her grip so that her fingers were resting just behind the guard, then threw the blade almost like a javelin. She expected that Harriet would deflect the attack, but it would stall her for a brief moment. Moving in close was obviously not going to be of any benefit to Meesei, so she had to find a way to keep her distance.

Meesei summoned up another spear. If she did not commit to greatly to her thrusts, it would be more difficult for Harriet to get past its point to get in range of her own weapon. Reach seemed to be the only advantage Meesei could gain over Harriet in melee combat. However, she did not intend to fight on Harriet's terms if she could help it. While Harriet was deflecting the thrown blade, Meesei charged another restoration spell. She fired the ball of glowing energy at Harriet feet, which exploded into a small wave of benevolent energy in an area around it, to prevent her from dodging the "attack." The spell reflected back, this time fortifying Meesei's speed.

Now, Meesei had a new plan, though it was risky. Once Harriet charged, Meesei would use her magic to escape again, then hit Harriet with another body-enhancing spell. She intended to repeat this for as long as she could, but it was going to be a magicka-intensive strategy. She did not know how long it would take to drain the charge on Harriet's ring, and it was possible that Meesei could magically exhaust herself before the enchantment failed. And of course, if she did drain the ring, her last spell would end up helping Harriet. However, even if Meesei began to run low on magicka, there was another way she might outmatch Harriet without the use of her magic, something inherent to the position of Champion.

Harriet's approach became subdued after Meesei's next bolt escape. She had to pivot harshly in place to face her opponent again, and jump even more quickly to avoid the oncoming bound sword. Harriet's dodge would have meant an injury for a spectator, but fortunately the bound sword faded out of existence right before it hit the raised hands of the man behind Harriet. Harriet attempted to dodge again the spell thrown by Meesei, but was caught in its radius as Meesei planned.

Harriet regained her balance and faced Meesei down again. Meesei's evasive strategy may have seemed cowardly, but Harriet knew that she was not fighting a martial warrior. She would have to counter her strategy in kind.

There were no uncaring charged from Harriet this time. Though she was cautious enough to at least attempt dodging Meesei's spells. Her effort to fight Meesei now was to keep her under pressure. Wherever Meesei bolted to, she would turn and attack. Harriet was going to test her own endurance against Meesei's magicka reserves.

The dance went on for another two bolt escapes. Harriet was being hit by spells such that it was taking a toll on her ring, but she seemed more concerned by adapting to the spells that Meesei was reflecting onto herself. While Meesei was still as focussed and calculated, the crowd continued to jeer and encourage them both. "You can't run forever!" One man said. "Keep going! You can defeat her!" Another said, not being clear on who he was supporting.

---

On the edge, Janius and Fendros continued, concerned. Meesei seemed to be handling herself well, but Harriet's blows were getting too close for comfort. They didn't want another incident similar to the Orc Slayer's spear. It was luck that Meesei had gotten through that at all. The same luck may not extend this far.

"Wait," Janius looked to something across the crowd. He touched Fendros on the shoulder without taking his eyes off it. "I'll be back in a moment..." Janius started to move into the crowd to get past it.

"What? Where are you going?" Fendros asked incredulously. He tried looking at what Janius was seeing, but he couldn't find anything of note. "Janius?"

"I'll just be a moment," Janius held onto the top of his axe and strode as fast as he could through the crowd.

Fendros was left wondering what was going on. How could he go at a time like this!?

Janius followed his quarry until the entrance to the dining chamber. He would need some help. As fast as he could, he skirted the crowd until he found Lorag. He didn't even greet him before he pulled his shoulder down so that he could speak into his ear over the sounds of the crowd. "The one who threw her the ring is trying to sneak away. I have a feeling he's someone we should grab. Let's go." Janius glanced to Meesei, then to Lorag again, "This is Meesei's fight. She can take care of herself."

Physically, Meesei was growing stronger, even as her magic grew steadily more strained. The effects of each restoration spell was compounding on top of the others, making her more threatening to Harriet in melee combat. Although, Meesei did not doubt that her skill would still outmatch her own. The words of the crowd did not register in her mind as Meesei continued to bolt around her opponent. She kept her pattern as unpredictable as possible, often changing the direction she escaped, but sometimes repeating them so Harriet could not rule out any direction. At one point, Meesei even teleported close enough to make a thrust with her spear, though she had to bolt away again when the attack failed.

As feared, Meesei's magicka was draining, but the ring's enchantment had not yet failed. Worse yet, there was no way to know how much of a charge was remaining on it. Although she was not yet entirely exhausted, she could feel the magical fatigue creeping through her body. If there was one thing she had to avoid, it was draining herself of magicka entirely. It was time for a new strategy, one that did not rely on magicka, and one which could actually give her the advantage.

Meesei bolted as far as possible from Harriet while still remaining in their fighting area, then threw her spear at Harriet to delay her while she renewed the shield spell on herself. For the first time since their fight began, Meesei spoke, though only briefly. "You should not forget, Harriet. I have my own magic ring."

With those words, Meesei underwent a rapid transformation into her werewolf form. She showed no need for any mental or physical transformation; it simply occurred on demand. This was the first time Meesei had taken her wolf form in front of the clan, and it was a sight that might give even Harriet's supporter's pause. In her normal form, Meesei did not appear exceptional for a lycan. By virtue of her beast blood, she did of course have a muscular build, but not to the extent of someone like Harriet. However, in her werewolf form, that did not seem to matter in the slightest. She was larger and stronger than a normal lycan in no insignificant way. As the Champion, with Hircine's blessing, she had a body fit for the alpha of alphas. Beyond that, the Ring of Hircine granted her perfect control, in and out of beast form. By its influence, her and her beast spirit could work in unison, with each of their strengths complementing the other. If those factors were not enough, Meesei had not just maintained her stamina for the fight, she had increased it with her restoration spells. She had fortified her speed, strength, agility, and perceptions, and her shield spell still protected her, though she would not be able to renew it without transitioning back to her normal form.

Altogether, Meesei had been increasing her own strength while working to tire out Harriet. It had not been her only plan for the fight, but it was not an accident. Without transforming, Harriet would be at a massive physical disadvantage to Meesei, and if she did transform, she would be losing both the ring and her mail. Harriet had been keeping Meesei on the defensive so far, but she hoped to make this the turning point of their battle. She did not attack first, and instead waited for Harriet to make the first move. She let out a menacing growl, a display that was more a show of power for the crowd than for Harriet.

---

"With pleasure." Lorag grunted before stepping away from his position in the front of the crowd to join Janius. Most of the people were too fixated on the action to bother giving them any more than a passing glance. As they reached the exit to the chamber, Lorag looked to Janius beside him. "You have his scent? I think I've heard about this squirrely little worm, if it's the one I'm thinkin' about. It'll be a cold day in the Deadlands before I let this one get away."

A silence swept over the shouting audience around Meesei as she assumed her beast form. The front row pressed against those behind them as they instinctively backed away a small step as a collective. Harriet maintained her guarded stance, but her eyes grew a touch wider and one side of her upper lip lifted in barely suppressed fright.

"What? How did...?" Harriet stopped herself from getting too confused at the expediency of Meesei's transformation and levelled her expression. The champion was easily twice her current height, four times her weight, and Harriet suspected that even sixteen of herself would not match Meesei's strength. Short of a suicidal attack to just the right spot on Meesei's throat, the Harriet's steel was useless. She stood up straight and tossed her sword lazily to one side. It sang briefly as it hit the stone. Harriet had no other choice but to transform herself. She pulled off her ring in preparation, it being the only thing she was wearing that wouldn't come apart in a planned way like her clothing. Unlike Meesei's transformation, Harriet's one was conventional, leaving her vulnerable for a moment. Harriet's survival in that moment really depended on Meesei's good will to allow her to keep fighting, but given Meesei's position, underhanded tactics were least necessary now.

---

Janius came upon the door to the dining chamber and held up a hand to Lorag while he looked ahead. "Yes, I've a scent. It is most likely our man." Janius continued forward, leading the way. In truth, the commotion had choked this particular passage with scented tracks, but Janius' nose had been practised in Black Marsh now. He had a better handle on such things. What is the weather like in the Deadlands, I wonder?

As it happened, Janius did not need to follow his nose far. Their quarry was by the rations amongst the gaze of a few curious onlookers at their fires. Lorag and Janius both came across a dark-green scaled Argonian in fur lined hide armour frantically filling a hempen sack full of as much food as he could carry. He was alone, so Janius walked carefully up to him and loudly cleared his throat once he and Lorag were in reach. He didn't even seem to sense their approach in his distraction.

The Argonian fumbled and dropped an apple back into the barrel he had just fished it out of and became very still. Janius was about to reach forward when the Argonian twirled around quickly and threw his food bag in Janius' face. By the time Janius blocked the bag and regained his balance, the Argonian was sprinting away. This was the kind of situation Janius was thinking of when he reasoned to bring a packmate along. The Argonian was not an impressive sprinter.

Harriet's response was exactly what Meesei had been wanting, as it finally separated that ring from her finger. Unfortunately, Meesei did not yet have the magicka to transform back and press the advantage of her magic, but with the strength of her beast form, that might not be necessary. Harriet's transformation would give a brief moment of vulnerability, but Meesei was hesitant to take it in order to finish her opponent. After this crisis was over, Meesei was going to need the confidence and loyalty of the clan's people, but to kill Harriet during her transformation could be seen as dishonorable. It could suggest that she did not believe she could best Harriet in a direct fight. Nevertheless, Meesei was not going to let the opportunity go to waste, so she settled on a compromise.

Having kept her eyes on the ring since Harriet removed it, Meesei dashed forward and struck Harriet mid-transformation not with her claws, but with the sheer weight of her body, intent on throwing her to the ground. At the same time, she went for the ring. Obviously, she could not wear it in her current state, but she wanted to make sure she was the one in control of the powerful tool.

---

As luck would have it, Lorag and Janius did not actually have to scour the entire Ayleid city looking for their quarry, as he was not too far away. As they walked up on him, neither of them really knew what the Argonian was planning, but evidently, he was afraid enough try try and run away. The Argonian threw the bag he had been filling at Janius' face, but could do no such thing to delay Lorag. Perhaps he thought it would be easier to outrun the big Orc. Indeed, Lorag was wearing his iron armor, but it wasn't exactly a full suit, and it did not weigh him down that much. Still, as Lorag was chasing him down, he decided to make the effort a bit easier on himself. Lorag grabbed the hammer from his back by its head, then threw it at the Argonian's back. He was close enough that it was an easy throw to make, and it was probably enough to cause him to fall on his face without seriously injuring him. Lorag could probably have caught him in the normal way, but using the hammer was far more satisfying.

Harriet roared with anger when she was shunted backwards by Meesei to separate her from the spell reflecting ring. She didn't quite lose her balance such that she fell over, but she stumbled far enough to be out of the way in the final moments of her transformation. Harriet's beast form was impressive on its own merit, being the alpha in charge of a number of packs. However, Meesei's imposing form still loomed over her. Another roar in Meesei's direction with her ears turned back showed that Harriet was not cowed.

Where previously Meesei had been the one evading Harriet due to disadvantage in combat, the tables were now turned. Harriet began by darting to one side and lashing out with a rake of her claws at Meesei's side. It wasn't anything of like a mortal blow, but rather meant to wound without exposing herself. Harriet's form was surprisingly light on its feet, likely a result of extensive training. Still, she never trained against the likes of Meesei after altering her own potential for strength, speed, and endurance.

---

A pained grunt sounded as the Argonian's back arched in response to the large hammer striking his back. One more step was all his balance had left to afford as he tripped onto the ground in front of him. "Good aim, Lorag," Janius remarked.

By the time he reached around to his back to feel like wound, Janius had already caught up to him. His straining attempt to get back up was cut short by Janius pressing his foot into the man's new bruise, causing him to cough as his chest hit the floor again. "Leaving so soon?" Janius asked, leaning down with his elbow on his knee. "Why is that? Have you got something to tell us?"

The few onlookers in the dining chamber remained silent. They looked concerned, but they did not move against Lorag and Janius. They were still known to be investigating on behalf of Meesei, after all.

"I will speak of nothing to you, you are both the dogs of a fool! You know nothing of-aaargh!" The Argonian was cut off by Janius pressing a little harder for a moment. Janius was sick of all the deceptive rhetoric.

"What do you think we should do, Lorag?" Janius asked.

Once Meesei had shoved Harriet back, she was quick to grab the ring. For a lycan, she had quite fine motor control, though even with the Ring, there was only so much she could do with such large, cumbersome hands. As the ring was the source of Harriet's primary protection against her, it was imperative that she not get it back. Obviously, Meesei could not wear it, she had no pouches in which to store it, and if she threw it, then one of her pack might retrieve it. As such, she settled on method of disposal that might have surprised some of the onlookers: she ate it. Or at least, that was how it appeared to those watching. In reality, she was simply holding it under her tongue. In any case, Harriet would not have an easy way of recovering it in the event that she transformed back.

Once Harriet started her attack, Meesei retaliated with her own. No longer was she going to be forced on the defensive by more skilled opponent; now, she was going to press her advantage. Instead of retreating to evade, as she had been doing for the duration of the fight so far, Meesei leaped forward to both get out of the path of Harriet's claws, and to pounce onto her. Whether Harriet's attack was successful or not, Meesei intended to deal far more damage. If she could grapple her, then she could make use her newfound strength advantage, something Harriet did not likely have to face very often. Still, Harriet's skill was not to be underestimated, and she could likely protect her head and neck, so Meesei decided to start by simply tearing into her arms to reduce her ability to fight back.

---

"Hmph, what I think we should do is probably a lot different from what Alpha would say we should do." Lorag commented as he retrieved his hammer and knelt down next to the Argonian. He wasn't that impressive for a lycan, and he certainly seemed to be a coward, but Lorag was going to keep a close eye on him regardless. He certainly wouldn't put it past the lizard to try something underhanded.

"You tried sneakin' away from the crowd, then started snatching up as many supplies as you could. You know what? That sounds real suspicious to me. Question is, where are you tryin' to go? Why are you trying to go? Seems to me like you're not confident in your Alpha actually winning this thing. Maybe I ought to tell her that if Meesei lets her live? Anyway, you've made yourself a...suspect, so why don't you make things easy and just tell us why the snake tried to slither away?" Lorag asked forcefully.