Fendros gave an understanding nod while they walked. "Very well."

Sensing her nervousness, Fendros put an arm around Ahnasha's shoulders and pulled her into a quick sideways hug. "Hopefully we find out what we need to here," he said with an encouraging smile.

The two had apparently entered the laboratory quietly enough that Marcaille hadn't noticed them. Either that or she was too engrossed in her work. Fendros put his fist against his lips and cleared his throat to politely get her attention. "Greetings, Marcaille," Fendros began. "We were wondering if you could help us with something unusual. Do you have time to talk?"

---

"Mhm." Sabine nodded. She stood up and tilted her head to one side. "She is a friend anyway. It might be nice to catch up."

Sabine walked around and extended a hand to Peiter. "Come."

The two would see if La'khay was in her room, though asking around would not go astray if that was not the case. Sabine hoped that Do'ajee's death had not hit La'khay too hard.

"What? No, I'm very busy. I have a lot of-" Marcaille began, but she stopped herself as soon as she actually turned her head to look at her visitors. "Oh, I thought you were some of the apprentices. So bothersome, that lot. Ahnasha and...Fendas, right? From the Champion's pack?"

Ahnasha answered with a bit of uncertainty, as Marcaille's response had not inspired her with confidence that questioning her now was a good idea. "Yes, though his name is Fendros, actually. Anyway, um, are you sure this is a good time to talk? We can come back tomorrow."

Marcaille waved her hand dismissively. "No, no, don't worry about that. Those apprentices just like to bother me with all sorts of trivial nonsense. I doubt you two would be here if it wasn't about something at least marginally important."

"Of course, thank you. What I wanted to ask you about was...well, your age, actually. There is something very important to me that I think you might be able to help me with." Ahnasha explained, though she could not help herself from describing her desire in such vague terms, despite the fact that Marcaille was the one person she needed to speak to in detail.

Marcaille nodded. "Okay, what would that be?"

---

With some hesitation, Peiter knocked on La'khay's door once they reached her room. Standing outside the door, he could hear some muffled noises from within, but it was difficult to make out exactly what they were. A few seconds later, La'khay's weakened, somewhat strained voice sounded out from within. "Come in." She said simply.

Even more hesitantly, Peiter slowly opened the door. With La'khay's reputation, he was worried on what they might accidentally be walking in on, but in several ways, the reality was worse than that fear. At least it would have been easy to respond to walking in on something private. La'tahne was sitting in a chair directly in front of La'khay, leaned forward with her hands clasped around La'khay's. Both of them had a sullen expression, with the fur underneath La'khay's eyes darkened by her tears. "Oh, Sabine, Peiter. It is so good to see you two safe, but...Peiter, what happened to you?"

Fendros didn't think he would have to speak during the meeting, but between Ahnasha's pause and the way Marcaille was commonly bothered, it struck him that he should perhaps lay a foundation.

"Before we start...excuse me," Fendros interrupted with one hand slightly raised. "Before we start, know that this is not something we have only recently thought about. Ahnasha has been working on this for a few years now. We're coming to you because this is an opportunity to get otherwise rare guidance. It's..." Fendros trailed off as he realised that he was probably speaking too much for Ahnasha. He looked to Ahnasha and said, "Well, you had better be the one to speak about it, Ahna."

---

Sabine knew something was wrong as soon as she heard La'khay's voice. Even if they had interrupted an intimate moment, La'khay always had some semblance of relaxed confidence about her. This was different.

When they walked in, Sabine looked upon La'khay's weeping eyes and immediately had a good guess as to the cause. Therefore, Sabine's response was not one of surprise, but of sympathy. She gave La'khay a sad smile and spoke. "Hello La'khay. We thought we would visit but...well..." Sabine shifted awkwardly, her smile fading. "You must have heard about Do'ajee. I am sorry."

After a second of hesitation, Sabine walked up to La'khay to give her a hug. When Sabine pulled away, not rushing to do so, Sabine glanced to Peiter and then back to the Khajiit couple. There was no use being humorous or poetic about it, even if Sabine was so inclined normally. "Peiter lost his arm in the battle," she stated.

Ahnasha nodded. "Right." She commented, taking in a deep breath to try and get over her reluctance to speak. "Basically, I want to extend my life as you have. As Fendros said, I have already been learning about what I will need to do, but I know I am not yet skilled enough to do it. I just need something to help me along that path."

Marcaille's eyes scanned over Ahnasha, while her overall demeanor was skeptical. She gave a small huff and crossed her arms. "Hmm, I've been asked that question many times before, but people usually don't like my answer. Life extension is not some simple trick, no matter how you do it. Extending one's life is fundamentally tied to the concept of death. To extend your life, you will have to become a necromancer, and a strong one."

"Well...I am actually already a necromancer. As I said, I have already been studying this, and by that I mean I have actually been practicing the relevant skills, not just researching what I will need to do. I received a tome a few years ago that has helped me get this far, but it was not complete. If you have any notes you could part with or copy, I would be grateful." Ahnasha explained.

Marcaille gave her shoulders a quick shrug. "Oh, well that's the hard part out of the way, then. Necromancy always leaves a bad taste in people's mouths. I'm hardly going to deny a request like this from one of the Champion's pack. But, I'm not just going to give you a book and let you figure it out on your own. No, I think I'd rather give you some lessons myself."

While certainly not disappointed, Ahnasha could not help but to be confused by Marcaille's offer. "I...thank you, of course, but...we will be leaving in a few days. I know these things take quite a long time to learn, so I don't think there will be time."

Marcaille began to chuckle. "I know, but that's not going to be a problem since I'm coming with you to Bruma. The Champion already approached me earlier. Apparently, my alchemical knowledge impressed her, and she wants me working on finding an antidote for that gas. It's going to be a big change leaving here, but after hearing what that gas does, I'm not about to sit around and do nothing about it. I suppose, when there's time, I can give you some lessons as well."

---

La'khay closed her eyes and started shaking her head. "This was all just one big mistake, wasn't it? So much death and loss; it's horrible. Come here." She said, looking directly at Peiter. With the attention drawn to his arm, Peiter was once again visibly uncomfortable, but not so much so that he would completely ignore La'khay. He reluctantly stepped forward, only to be nearly taken off of his feet when La'khay stood up and hugged him.

"La'khay wishes you could have just stayed here with us. People your age shouldn't be heading into battle. You still have your whole lives ahead of you; we shouldn't let them be ruined by some...faceless soldier's sword. La'khay would rather just leave this war altogether." She said, almost angrily.

Marcaille's resolution was more than they had bargained for. Fendros was surprised. For the first time, Ahnasha could have direct instruction rather than working everything out for herself. At the same time, Fendros was cautious. He had an odd feeling about Marcaille, not because of any behaviour she had displayed so far, but something else. It was something Fendros couldn't put his finger on.

Fendros crossed his arms, despite his curious look, and turned to Ahnasha to hear her answer.

---

Sabine walked over to La'tahne as well and gave her a solemn hug. "Hello to you, too, La'tahne." It was really more of a distraction from the mixed feelings that Sabine had. She felt incredibly sorry for La'khay and the pain she was going through, but at the same time, she was disappointed that this visit would not be as jovial as she had rashly anticipated. Peiter was just being immersed in more sadness and he was being doted on for his arm some more. Sabine bit her lips and glanced around, but there wasn't much else to change the situation now. She resolved to comfort La'khay some more and hopefully take attention away from Peiter.

"We are here for you, La'khay," Sabine said softly. She was more mimicking the comforting words of others than anything she knew to say herself. "When did you find out?"

Ahnasha was genuinely surprised with the revelation that Marcaille would be joining them, though she supposed it did make sense. Meesei has spoke of her plan to gather more experts, and they were certainly going to need alchemists. She simply did not expect to be able to receive lessons in person from someone with the knowledge she needed.

"I would be grateful, thank you. I have already...well I guess I really don't know how to describe how far along I am already. I can just show you when we start practicing. Now, if you are busy, I suppose we should not take up any more of your time." Ahnasha answered.

Marcaille shrugged her shoulders. "Just sorting and packing my ingredients. But, that is something I need to get done, I guess. As long as you can get me bodies and souls, I can give you lessons."

---

La'khay sniffed, then wiped away a few of the tears from her eyes. "Just after Ra'kalesh gathered us all together. He said what happened to Do'ajee, to Ra'jorr, and some of the others we knew. A memorial isn't enough to honor them; this one wishes we could do more. She was not even able to face her killer. They all deserved better. Why can't Vile just leave us all in peace?"

La'tahne had one hand on La'khay's knee, and another rubbing her back. Leaning in, she kissed her cheek. "It will be alright, dear. Her spirit lives on, and you'll get to see her again someday."

Peiter, meanwhile, had no helpful words to give to La'khay, as he was barely in any better of a mood himself. He was silent, and for a brief moment while he was standing idle, his reaction was to try and clasp his hands together behind his back. This, of course, only caused him to clench his hand into a fist in frustration.

Fendros was still for a moment. He had turned a blind eye to Ahnasha's research before, and that undoubtedly involved souls and bodies. All the same, hearing it from Marcaille's mouth sounded unsettling for some reason. Fendros took a breath to silence his mind and attempted a grateful smile.

"Thank you so much, Marcaille. This means a lot to us." Fendros said, successfully hiding his concerns. "If there is anything that we can help you with in the meantime, please say so."

---

Sabine resisted the temptations to clarify some things to La'khay. Mainly that they were part of the attacking force and it was possible that some of their friends fell to the gas, meaning that their spirits would not be living on in the traditional sense. However, if there was one thing that Sabine had plenty of practice with in her entire life, it was leaving things unsaid.

Instead, Sabine just found a seat next to La'khay and gave her shoulder a comforting rub. She looked to Peiter and tried to improve his mood with a smile, for what it was worth. With her other hand, she gestured for Peiter to sit next to her.

Sabine resolved to be by La'khay's side for as long as they were needed. They could pick up the painting on the way out. Sabine would have some words to say to Peiter afterwards, as well.

"Well, you could...eh, no, you'd need to be an alchemist to do that right." Marcaille answered, briefly shaking her head as she turned back to her ingredients. "I'll tell you if I think of anything. Maybe just think of me if you happen across any rare ingredients?"

Ahnasha nodded. "I think we can do that. Thank you, and have a good evening."

Ahnasha and Fendros took their leave and started to head back towards their quarters. This meeting had been more productive than Ahnasha had expected, but she was also fully expecting that she would be having a conversation with Fendros very soon. Even without seeing any reactions from him, she knew him well enough to know that he would want to talk about it. Whether he would be accepting of her plans, or have some objections, however, she could not say for sure.

---

La'khay did not have much more to say, other than to thank Sabine and Pieter for being supportive. She walked over and sat down on her bed, alongide La'tahne, and while she did not say anything to Sabine or Peiter indicating that she wanted them to leave, she did not seem like she was much for conversation at the moment.

Peiter, too, was just as silent as he had been since they stepped into the room. They, and the rest of the warriors, had a chance to mourn during the journey, but La'khay had learned of Do'ajee's death mere hours ago. Seeing her in this state brought back memories of Irenya, in addition to his arm. Altogether, he was on the verge of tears himself.

"Farewell, Marcaille." Fendros unfolded his arms and waved to the alchemist on the way out.

On the walk back, Fendros had his brow lowered in thought, but it may not have been exactly about what Ahnasha was concerned about. They walked along in silence for barely a minute before Fendros said anything.

"Ahna," Fendros said in a surprisingly puzzled manner. "I don't want to sound superstitious, or paranoid, or anything but...don't you feel like there's something we're missing about Marcaille?" Fendros raised an eyebrow and turned his head to face Ahnasha while they walked. "Something doesn't seem right. I know Marcaille seems fine and she's undoubtedly an expert -- we're lucky to have found her, though..." Fendros looked ahead, tensed his lips up, and sucked in a breath through his teeth. "I don't know."

---

After another several minutes giving La'khay some comfort, Sabine eventually picked up on Peiter's emotions again. There was little purpose in making Peiter sit through this all with how tense he seemed to be getting. Sabine rose up from her seat on the bed next to La'khay and tilted her head to speak to her.

"La'khay, we are sorry. We must be going." Sabine reached a hand out to her shoulder. "Let us know if you need anything. We are here for you, like you were for us." Sabine wrapped her arms around La'khay and gave her one, last, long hug. When she pulled away, Sabine gestured to where she could see their painting in the corner of the room. "We will take the painting over to our belongings so we do not forget it. Thank you again for making it for us. We will see you both later." Sabine waved to La'tahne as well. "Bye."

Even though it may have seemed abrupt, Sabine walked over to take Peiter's hand after she picked up the painting and walked him outside of the room. Once they were in the hallway, Sabine stopped, leaned the painting against the wall, and took Peiter's hand between hers. "Are you okay?" she asked with a look of worry.

Ahnasha looked at Fendros quizzically, with her head tilted slightly to the side. "I can say I have no honest idea what in Oblivion you are talking about. Marcaille is an alchemist, and obviously a skilled necromancer. I don't see that there's anything wrong with her; she can help me. High Rock witches are known to have access to strange and unique kinds of magic, so I'm sure there is a lot I could learn. Remember, she helped to save Meesei's life; she and Sabine stayed up all night with her. Plus, Meesei obviously trusts her if she was willing to offer her the opportunity to come to Bruma with us. Do you have anything...specific you've noticed about her that you don't like?" She asked.

---

Peiter was distracted in his thoughts and did not notice Sabine stopping out in the hall at first. When he felt her tug at his hand, he looked back at her with a blank expression. He seemed like he was disconnected from the present, as he was only really engaging with anyone around him when spoken to directly. "No, I'm just...thinking about Irenya. I keep going back to it; thinking about how I'm not going to be able to see her again. She wasn't a perfect person, not outgoing, or even friendly, but...she was still part of my pack. She was wise, and really went out of her way to help us when we needed it. She was like...a strict grandmother. Not always pleasant, but she would do anything to look out for her family. I just know she would have stopped Gallus and got me out of there in one piece."

Fendros paused for a while, frowning in thought. Without anything specifically coming to his mind, he slowly shook his head. "No, she appears to be perfectly trustworthy," Fendros stated. He looked to Ahnasha with a consoling smile and slid a hand down her back. "It might just be a memory or something. I'm sure it'll come to me eventually if its important."

They proceeded for a little while longer before Fendros spoke up again. He was apparently in a good mood, considering recent events. "Ahna? Would you be interested in doing some archery practice, outside, tomorrow evening with me?" Fendros took Ahnasha's hand as they walked the halls. "I have an idea for something we could try in these hills that we don't normally get to do."

---

Peiter could try to hide himself all he wanted. His words made his feelings abundantly clear to Sabine. As he spoke, Sabine started to become somewhat blank herself. Perhaps it was simply mirroring Peiter's expression, or perhaps she didn't want to make the situation worse. However, in the end, Sabine still stepped forward and hugged Peiter as tightly as she could.

After a short time embracing, Sabine sniffed and Peiter could feel her tears against his shoulder. "I...feel like a fool," Sabine mumbled in a high pitch. "I said the visit would cheer you up and it did not help at all. I should have known La'khay would be mourning. I am sorry, Peiter."

Ahnasha was not sure she had heard the last of Fendros' objections, but she had no desire to continue that discussion at the moment. His next question caused her to raise her brow curiously. They had trained in quite a few ways over the years, and she could not think off the top of her head what the hills would help them accomplish in training. Regardless, as long as he was in a good mood, she was more than willing to agree.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind some practice, or beating you in a competition, if that's what you have in mind. As long as we have time, of course. I don't know if we're going to have anything to do over the next few days, or if Meesei will be handling everything. Anyway, you think we should head back to our room now?" Ahnasha asked.

---

"It's alright." Peiter responded, somewhat weakly. Even now, he would not believe that Sabine would actually want to send him into an even deeper depression. He returned her hug, though there was not a great deal of passion in it. Instead, he was silent, and looking ahead in deep thought.

Eventually, Peiter suddenly decided to speak up on a seemingly random tangent. "Do you think you could have lifted it off of me?' He asked. "Back at the fortress, could you have lifted the masonry?"

"Oh, I was just thinking of some distance things with different elevations." Fendros' smile broadened. "I knew you'd be up for a competition." Fendros glanced ahead. "And, yes, I might get an early night's sleep tonight after today's travelling."

---

Sabine sniffed again. She did not loosen her grip on Peiter at all, neither did she hesitate to answer. She shook her head and swallowed before speaking. "I tried. I tried with all my strength. It was too heavy."

Peiter looked away, giving nothing but a blank expression. He was thinking, intensely, until his face started to show a hint of the pain within him. He closed his eyes and gave a very subtle sigh. "I see, thank you."

Without elaborating any further on his thoughts, Peiter tugged on Sabine's hand and looked down the hallway. "We should just get back to our room. Maybe find something to pack the painting in? Really, I just think I need some rest."

The night that followed was uneventful for the packs. The combination of travel and vicarious grief from the families and prides of the soldiers that did not return had caused everyone to be tired out. The memorial would be soon, and that would be enough for most to pour out the rest of their grief and say farewell. For many others, the pain would not subside for a while.

The morning came around with the same routine as always. The structure of life in the Orcrest clan was something of a stable foundation for those traumatised and grieving to lean upon. Things went smoothly, even with somewhat less tension than before. However, it was still quieter than usual and there were still fewer smiles.

Ma'tanza awoke to the comparatively odd occurrence of Tzirret not having breakfast with her. He had been doing so more often since after the attack to the point where there was barely a morning that he dined with his own pack. Discussions with him had previously revealed how unstable it was in his pack during that time, but that made this sudden change strange. When she proceeded to her first habit after breakfast, whether that had been a duty, some kind of grooming routine, or something else, she found a scroll of parchment rolled up and tied with twine. It had Ma'tanza written across its outside corner, in Cyrodilic.

Since Ma'tanza was not a member of the Orcrest clan, she did not have any official duties among their clan. Before she left in the warband, she had helped the healers and alchemists, but since they had just returned, the warband was being given time to rest. After her breakfast, she decided she would simply return to her room. It was a room she shared with her brother and a few others, though he was away at the moment. In the time they were away on the attack, he had made a few friends within the Orcrest clan. They had spent much of the previous day together, but now that they had caught up, he was returning to the routine he had developed over the past month.

Strangely, Ma'tanza noticed a note posted on her door when she returned. It had either been placed on the door after she left, or she had not noticed it when leaving in the morning. Either way, the fact that it bore her name meant that it was certainly hers. Heading into the room, she sat down on her bedroll and opened the letter curiously.

On the top of the parchment that Ma'tanza held was written some lines of nervously penned Ta'agra that had been viciously scratched out. Upon closer inspection, the Ta'agra handwriting was jagged, the spelling was atrocious, and the grammar made it all but incomprehensible. Below the crossed out Ta'agra, however, was some marginally better written Cyrodilic. This Cyrodilic appeared to be a repeat of the above Ta'agra, except completed this time. The top of the letter had a few crossed out beginnings, apparently indecisive.

My De
To the most bea
Good morning, sunsh
Hi Ma'tanza,
Tzirret is leeving to go home to Bruma in a few days. He has been working on a serprise for you. It is not a carving, but Ma'tanza might like it. Come to the roum this one shows in the map below at diner time and he will show you. DO NOT ARRIVE EARLY!!
-Always yours, Tzirret

The line beside the final words could have been another scratch that Tzirret may not have decided to follow through with.

Below the writing was a drawing that depicted one of the larger chambers and the surrounding halls. In the main chamber was a small drawing of Ma'tanza's face in surprisingly good quality, with an arrow drawn from her, through the halls and to a storage room nearby. In the storage room was a small picture of Tzirret's face as well, again drawn very well.

Upon reading the letter, Ma'tanza had quite a few questions in her mind. She had an idea of why Tzirret was doing something special for her, but she hadn't the faintest idea of what that might be. He wanted her to meet him at dinner time, so it was probably something that would take some time for him to set up, but beyond that, she had no guesses. Overall, she was greatly intrigued. She had been in relationships before, but none of her partners had something so elaborate for her. Thinking about it, she could not help but to smile.

---

As Tzirret had requested, Ma'tanza waited until dinner time to start making her way towards the room Tzirret had specified, after having spent the majority of the day looking forward to it. She had not seen Tzirret around the clanhome during the day, though she also had not been looking for him. Whatever he had planned, she knew he wanted it to be a surprise. She was not entirely certain if he wanted her to arrive before or after she had eaten, but her impatience drove her to pick the former.

The storage room Tzirret had selected was not one that was often used, so the hallway outside was not particularly crowded, apart from a few people making their way to the west wing of the clanhome. Taking in a deep breath and putting on a smile, Ma'tanza opened the door and stepped inside.

The light from the door lit up some features in the room beyond, but Ma'tanza could see little in the dark storage room but Tzirret squatting over an array of cups, mugs, bowls, and other vessels arranged on the ground below him. A candlelight spell hovered above him, lighting the immediate area. Tzirret jolted at the sound of the door opening and looked up to see who was there. He smiled brightly at seeing Ma'tanza's silhouette.

"Ah, Ma'tanza, you are just in time! Come in, come in." Tzirret beckoned Ma'tanza to come inside. "Close the door behind you -- er...watch your step.

The rest of the room became more apparent without the brighter torch light from outside. The candlelight lit the room well when Ma'tanza's eyes adjusted. Apart from the usual fare of a storage room, the centre was cleared out to make way for all the cups. There must have been at least forty of them, arrayed in some unknown pattern. All of them were half-full with an unknown liquid. The detail of an unattended chopping board, a mortar and pestle, and a hempen sack of seeds spoke of alchemy at work. Tzirret spent a few moments carefully adjusting the position of a couple of the cups before precariously stepping over them all to join Ma'tanza.

Tzirret took Ma'tanza's hands. "So, um..." Tzirret grinned and chuckled nervously. "This took a while. He had to get help from some apprentice alchemists he met on the march, to teach him how to do it. Tzirret hopes it works."

Running a hand over one ear, Tzirret looked over the cups unsurely. He carefully nudged one across a short distance with his foot and then paused, staring. He then perked his ears and widened his eyes. "Right! Um..." Letting go of Ma'tanza for a moment, Tzirret went to collect the sack of seeds from nearby and brought them back.

Ma'tanza's first reaction upon seeing the cups and bowls laid out on the floor was that Tzirret had prepared a private dinner for them, but the strangely large number of vessels quickly made that seem unlikely. She closed the door behind her and allowed herself a few moments to adjust to the relative darkness. A closer look suggested that he was attempting something with alchemy, though she had no idea what it might be off the top of her head. She thought she recognized the scents of some of the ingredients present, but she would not be able to know for sure without being able to examine the contents of the cups.

Ma'tanza was not certain if she should sit or stand, but seeing as Tzirret was trying something with alchemy, without much experience, she elected to keep her distance. "This is...well Ma'tanza honestly doesn't know what this is. It isn't dangerous is it?" She asked.