Do'Karth's hopes and dreams were about to be crushed by the announcement that evening. Along with Keegan, Sevine and Rhasha, the seasick-prone members of the company were unimpressed (to say the least) about their incoming assignment. After cleaning up the dueling ground and paying Thoring for the mess, Ashav and Gustav held a meeting in a fenced area near the Argonian camp. What everyone have to do next, Ashav explained, is to secure an edge against very possible Kamal incursions. The town guards have busied themselves by reoccupying old forts of the hold and beefing up seaworthy ships for combat. According to several sailors that escaped Windhelm, traditional rams and projectiles have little effect versus Kamal ship armor. The snow demons sailed state-of-the-art vessels on par with those of the Summerset Isle, differing in that maneuverability was traded for even more defense. Some proposed a brute-force counter, that was bringing in bigger ships of their own. However, the remainder of Skyrim's neglected navy, the victims of the Dragonborn's obsession with his army, stay docked in Solitude. Skald's reluctance from taking sides in the standoff between Manis' hardliners and Balgruuf's jarls resulted in little aid coming his way. There were several advisers from both side that offered help, but those offers quickly broke down as the sides argued and threatened to cut each others' heads off. Thankfully, Skald still had his thane and a mercenary company.

Before the survivors from the [i]Courtesan[/i] returned, the thane's [i]Steelhead[/i] brought back the largest contingent of Winterhold mages. Around ten made it to port safely, while a few succumbed to their sicknesses due to the lack of amenities on the boat. Along with various magical supplies salvaged were the last batch of arcane bombs. These items have been deemed far too unstable to be produced, and many prototypes have caused grief by blowing up student quarters during the disaster. However, a small crate was brought by the thane. This crate housed the most up-to-date experiments, and four bombs would be allocated to Ashav.

In exchange, Ashav would be riding the [i]Kyne's Tear[/i], Gustav's armed freighter (though it seemed like a blockade runner to trained eyes), northwards. Gustav located a smuggler's map of the Sea of Ghosts, he studied possible summer routes and found one promising name; Bthamz. It was an old sailors' hideout, farther up so that it was only safe for summer travel. The place housed a dwarven ruin, and as the rumors have told, it was a weapon storage. The more knowledgeable members of the White River Braves have been suggesting Dwemmer ballistas and crossbows for days, finally, Skald relented on what he previously called a "wild goose chase". 

But that's not all. Gustav said he had shipped supplies to a place called Bleakrock Isle before. He said the shipment was ordered by Morrowind officials, and it was confirmed by a local sailor who served on a Redoran ship before. Bleakrock had not seen habitation since the Ebonheart Pact days, that was, when the first Kamal invasion was repelled two eras ago. Historians suggested that the location of the isle was perfect for monitoring future invasions, being in between Blacklight, Eastmarch and Solstheim, it couldn't have been a better spot to launch reconnaissance squadrons. With Solstheim being emptied for a supposed plague, it was determined that the armiger scouts must have originated from Bleakrock. This was too convenient for Skald, who wanted to kill two birds with one stone. Why stop at retrieving dwarven weapons? Why not test them on an enemy garrison?

The departure was set for the 20[sup]th[/sup] morning, then Gustav introduced the company to the sailors that would take everyone there. Karena, the ship captain with a [url=http://www.uesp.net/w/images/thumb/3/34/ON-creature-Nixad.jpg/600px-ON-creature-Nixad.jpg]nixad[/url] perched on her shoulder, looked like she could barely stand her first mate, Hargjorn. Fourteen other sailors crewed the ship, and about another fourteen could be carried on the trip. In addition, the volunteer ship that turned back halfway during the college rescue would be accompanying [i]Kyne's Tear[/i], albeit with a completely different crew than it last held. Keegan dreaded to be on the sea once more, with cramped quarters and rowdy sailors, not to mention horribly uncertain objectives, he could already feel his stomach doing knots. Good thing for him (and several others) though, there was an alternative.

Forest fires have been scorching the Pale forests. A couple of burning trees once in a while was perfectly normal, but this fire struck out of normal seasons and have somehow angered spriggans. Some spriggans have been corrupted into lurchers and attacking already strained refugee flows. It suddenly seemed important to clear way for the hundreds of refugees that would surely flock to Dawnstar, and perhaps even more importantly, to see if the cause of those fires could somehow be used against the Kamals. Skald already had the idea of Dunmers starting the fire, and if not for his more sensible court, he would have rounded up and jailed every single dark elf. Daelin took it upon himself to accept the contract. Ashav, Edith and even Madura were slated for the north sea, while Ariane attached herself to a second rescue of the college and Dumhuvud were assigned to babysit Gustav. As the night fell and meeting adjourned, Keegan lined up first outside of the command tent to get himself on the forest mission. Inside the tent, Ashav recommended another man for Daelin; Marcel Gwain.

"How can we help you?" Gustav welcomed Keegan inside, though none of the other commanders seemed welcoming.

"Well, I would like to volunteer with Daelin." Keegan announced. Even after all this time, he felt nervous being around the big bosses. What he was doing now felt like a recurrence of the night before the Reach assault. "I believe seasi-, believe my skill sets could be put much better use in the wilderness than the sea." He half-lied. Truth was, if not for the debt enforcers, he would have lingered no more in this camp. But the Altmer could say he was among friendlier crowds, believe it or not, than basically everywhere else. He had not heard a single word back from Summerset, understandable considering the distance his letter would travel. "So..."

"Done." Gustav nodded. Ashav was about to object but was silenced. "Keegan Vasque, right? I've got your requisitions." He unraveled a packet of clothing from its bindings. "Anything else?"

Pushing his luck was going to be a bad idea, but with Gustav in a optimistic mood, Keegan had to try it. "Can we please import some tea bags?"