[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[EliteCommander]

"I intend to reserve Ariel a chamber of her own, and give her any tools and resources she needs for her research." Meesei continued. It was the same offer that she had made for Marcaille, so it was not likely a surprise to others on the council. "We may have to relocate one or more people, but I have no doubt there will be volunteers, and we can make up for the inconvenience. Otherwise, there is not much else to say. There were no complications to note during our journey, and Ariel should be able to get to work immediately."

Marcaille gave a quick motion towards Ariel as she started to speak. "I can educate her on our rules and procedures after we're done here, if her sister hasn't already. There really aren't many." She said, looking more directly towards Ariel. There were hardly any rules among the clan that would not be expected of any civilized place. Most of what Ariel would need to adapt to would be how the clan handled the rationing of resources, as well as the cultural differences that were common among lycans compared to the lifestyle she was accustomed to. When they had traveled together previously, Meesei's pack had, for the most part, respected the norms that Ariel was familiar with. Now, Ariel would have to be the one to adapt.

Meesei nodded. "Very good. Now, I understand there have also been some developments in a few of our long-term projects while we were away. I have seen the Dwemer machines patrolling our home, so I presume that you and your peers have discovered how to command them, Brenann?"

The Breton scholar was sitting in his plain brown robe, wearing an abundance of satchels and bags containing papers and other resources related to his research. He always tended to be over-prepared for most everything he did, meetings in particular. He had one of the Dwemer spiders standing at the side of his chair, presumably for demonstration purposes. "Uh, well...sort of." He answered. "Over the past few months of study, we have learned more about the aninonculory. We are still nowhere close to understanding completely how it functions; I doubt we will ever get to that point, but we do know enough to be able to manipulate the process in some ways. We know that it is the soul gems that provide...life, for the lack of a better word, to the machines. They do not provide power, they provide the ability for the machines to act autonomously. We were able to use a unique feature of lycans in order to mark you as allies that they are meant to serve. In this case, lycan blood. Fortunately, the automatons do seem to possess the cognitive ability to understand context, so they will not attack something that their masters treat as an ally, such as non-lycans like myself. But, that alone did not make them listen to us. They did not attack us, and they would perform some default autonomous functions, but they wouldn't obey commands. Control rods could be linked to them and be used to give them fine, detailed commands, but we, uh, don't know how to make those yet. We were just able to take the control rods we found here and link them to the machines we produced."

Pausing a moment, Brenann looked down at the spider beside him and tapped his hand on the edge of the table. "Up, sparks."

As commanded, the Dwemer spider jumped up from the floor onto the table and stood still, waiting patiently for another command. As Meesei was observing it, Brenann continued his explanation. "Our greatest breakthrough came somewhat recently. Using a person's blood, we can bound an automaton to that person at its creations. But, only that person. It will listen to any verbal commands that the person gives, but even though they can understand context, that authority cannot be transferred to anyone else. It will only ever listen to that one person. If that person dies, it will just perform its default functions and never listen to anyone else again, except for a control rod. We are currently trying to work out a solution to that problem, but until then, we have been making automatons and assigning them to people based on the requests of the council. The spheres are mostly assigned to our soldiers and scouts. The spiders can perform maintenance and construction work, and I personally find them to be good assistants. They have surprisingly fine motor control with their pincers."

[Muttonhawk]

Vera spoke up. "We have been more comprehensive with our patrols since getting spheres to accompany them. No patrol is ever going to be purely made up of machines, but the manpower saved means that we have been able to explore the cavern further and keep a wider safe area around the city." Vera tilted her head to one side and lifted a hand. "Of course, trust was something to overcome. Well, it still is in some cases. As well, the spiders have been useful for retrieving items out of reach or in dangerous places. We have been able to recover yet more artifacts in our own territory thanks to them."

Even if it was perhaps not her place to speak, Ariel found words coming out of her mouth as she stared down at the spider on the table. "That is simply amazing! Do they work up on the surface?"

[EliteCommander]

"Well, our patrols are not going to be made up completely of automatons, but we do have some spheres that are assigned independent tasks." Ri'vashi clarified. "For example, there are a few spheres we have that just roll up and down the road from the Silent City to Raldbthar. Evidently, the Falmer avoid the Dwemer machines, so merely having them there can prevent attacks. They can operate continuously, without rest. This one does not know how, or if they will ever need their power source replaced, but it has been useful."

Brenann scratched his head in thought. "It is...somewhat difficult to describe. The dynamos provide the source of their steam power through means we do not entirely understand. Or, really understand at all, actually. The Aninonculory creates the dynamos on its own as long as we provide the raw inputs, so we have not needed to understand them."

Brenann could not help but to smile when Ariel actually seemed to be impressed by the automatons. Meesei was far more reserved in her reactions, so it was refreshing to see obvious, visible appreciation for his work. "They...should work up there. We don't have too much of a reason to think they won't. We've already brought them just outside Raldbthar and they were able to function, but we haven't yet been approved to test them farther away. Too much of a risk, I believe. It is well-known that the automatons in Morrowind will stop functioning if they are brought away from their strongholds, but the automatons in Skyrim work differently. We have not seen anything to suggest that our machines rely on something here to keep working, but it is not yet proven for certain. Regardless, I agree on how amazing they are. You are going to be doing important work here; do you need an assistant? All I would need is a sample of your blood."

Since Ariel was interested, Brenann looked to his spider, then pointed to the spot on the table directly in front of Ariel. It obediently walked over in front of her and stopped in place, its only movements being a slight swaying and the spinning of its gyro.

[Muttonhawk]

As impressed as Ariel was, the sight of a multi-legged, spiked, shuddering metal insect scuttling towards her was perturbing to say the least. She kept her hands firmly on her legs while seated and leaned away from the Dwemer spider with a tight smile.

"That is generous of you, but I think I can manage." Ariel's eyes turned up to Brenann. "I fear my husband would attack it on sight with a chair," she said, visualising herself attacking the spider with a chair.

Sabine was not quite as apprehensive. She leaned and reached to touch the spider's metallic chassis with her finger. A harder nudge caused the spider to extend only one of its legs further out to remain standing still. "How smart is he?" Sabine asked.

[EliteCommander]

"That is also difficult to describe, which I suppose is something of a theme with Dwemer machines." Brenann answered. "As I said before, they can understand context and can follow verbal instructions, but there are certainly limits to what they can do, which also varies based on the automaton. Spiders seem to have a sort of innate understanding of maintenance tasks that are common around the city; they have actually made improvements to the Silent City's pumps and steam systems. Or more likely, restored them to be closer to how they functioned when the Dwemer lived here. Dwemer spheres can perform more complicated tasks relating to combat, but generally speaking, the automatons have difficulty following instructions that require multiple steps that are not immediately obvious. They lack a capacity for critical thinking or problem-solving. They are best for performing simple tasks, or following specific, step-by-step instructions. Anyways, if you, or any of the Champion's pack, are in need of an automaton, we can make the time to produce one."

Unfortunately, Meesei had to reign in the conversation before it got too far out of hand. "While I am indeed interested in how these machines function, we should keep this meeting focused on the more practical advancements and issues regarding your research. Is there any other news relating to your work that I should be aware of, Brenann?"

Brenann nodded. "Oh, of course, ma'am. Well...I can say that we have begun construction on our first centurion. It is the most powerful and complex automaton that we know of, and there are certainly some unknowns. We do not know how long it will take, or if the Animonculory still retains the capacity to produce them at all. We do know that progress has been slow so far, and the process consumes a considerable portion of the Animonculory's production capabilities. Hopefully, we will be able to expand that capacity soon."

Ri'vashi continued where Brenann left off. "The addition of the automatons to our forces has reduced the burden on our forces to keep us protected. As such, we have more freedom to expand. This one has approved an operation to clear the Dwemer ruin to the northeast of the City. Alftand, if she remembers correctly. Brenann hopes it will have a working...Animonculory, and the additional territory may provide us with other benefits. Most notably, we will have another exit from Blackreach reasonably close to Skyrim's northern coast."

[Muttonhawk]

Vera leaned forward, reserved. "That is good news for more than just more automatons. For all the room to manoeuvre in the cavern, I think everyone would feel safer with a second escape route to the surface." She weaved her hands together on the table. "Not to mention, access to the coast may make importing larger goods more feasible. Greater things can be smuggled on ships than on patrolled roads."

While the discussions went on, Sabine's continuing interactions with the Dwemer spider gave Ariel enough curiosity to carefully reach and touch it herself. It was strange how still it stood without orders.

Oswall gave a few words as well. "Keep it up. Whatever advantage we can get on the field to make up for the weapons the enemy uses is valuable."

[EliteCommander]

As encouraging as their progress was with research and expansion, Ri'vashi could not help but to let out a sigh after Oswall's comment. "Unfortunately, everything we are doing for now is mostly delaying tactics. There is no way for us to feasibly face the enemy in the open. With automatons, non-lycan allies, and simple good strategy, we can still do considerable damage. We can strike from the shadows and slow down the enemy, but we will lose in the long run. There simply is no possibility for us to strike any real, decisive blows; we cannot attack their strongholds or move them out of territory. Ri'vashi is as hopeful as everyone else about these discoveries, but we need to be careful not to lose sight of the stakes. We cannot be too aggressive. We must keep our home hidden until this antidote is complete. There is another...potential issue you should know about, Champion. The Arenthia clan, in northern Valenwood, has missed its usual schedule for contact. There are no guarantees of trouble yet. It could be that something happened to their messenger, or some other delay, but our reports of enemy activity in the Dominion have Ri'vashi worried. Enough time has passed since our attack on their stronghold that they have likely recovered."

"I can have someone investigate the clan." Saras responded. "I have been personally training talented individuals within the clan to serve as more...specialized agents across Tamriel. The risk of detection will be minimal."

"Good, good." Meesei responded somewhat solemnly. "Is there anything else?"

Although hesitant, Paralain slightly raised up one hand to call attention to himself. "Um, well, we have had some progress with the chaurus. Breeding has obviously gone well; the chaurus lay multitudes of eggs perfectly fine on their own. It was more difficult than I had imagined to get started training them. I had hoped that there would be a scholar among us who could tranlsate the Falmer language, and there is, but it turns out that the Falmer don't actually...write anymore. So we couldn't read about their methods, but we were able to have scouts make observations on the Falmer, and mix that knowledge with our own expertise on beast taming. We have raised chaurus that are not only peaceful towards us, but can obey commands. I was actually going to request permission from this council to bring one of our chaurus into the city proper more long-term, as a trial. Under guard, of course."

[Muttonhawk]

Members of the council exchanged glances after Paralain's request. Vera spoke through the collective hesitation. "With the reports you have been giving us up until this point, Paralain, I would not be wholly against letting one trained and guarded chaurus into the city. However, it stands that they are dangerous creatures and their venom has caused permanent scars on some of our scouts and soldiers. We would need your guarantee that you have taken all reasonable measures to keep this trial safe."

"I have a question as well," Darahil interjected before Paralain could respond. "The chaurus eggs have been most valuable. That supply alone is a reason to pursue domestication. However, which roles have you been pursuing with training them? A military application would be useful, of course, but I do not imagine that being simple. Using them as beasts of burden may save us using fickle horses in these dangerous caves and the chaurus are more suited to this habitat. Do you know how soon it would be to put them to work, if at all possible?"

[EliteCommander]

Given his experience with the insects, Paralain was able to speak confidently in their defense. "I won't deny that they are dangerous, but I can say that their poison won't be a specific issue as long as the Chaurus remains peaceful. Their poison is a valuable resource to them that takes energy for their body to produce, so they only use it when hunting, or when threatened. There will not be any accidental injuries from acid spray, or anything like that. The particular chaurus I have in mind is one of the older ones that I have personally spent a lot of time around. She is well-behaved; we just have to make sure that our chaurus can handle being around crowds of people. I plan on bringing her at first to some of the more sparsely populated areas of the city, then slowly introducing her to more and more crowded areas. I think that would reduce any surprise for both her and the clan."

Paralain, unfortunately, could not give a definitive answer to Darahil, but he could make a few strong educated guesses based on what he knew. "Well...we do know that they certainly grow large enough to be used in that capacity, or even as mounts. The Falmer do not seem to use them to carry anything, but that may be because the Falmer do not need them for that with their lifestyle, or a simple lack of intelligence on their part to train them in that way. As it stands now, the chaurus we have now are not yet large enough to be used as beasts of burden, though we can begin training for that. Right now, our oldest chaurus are just starting to reach the age where they are laying eggs of their own. We won't need to scavenge them from around the cavern for much longer. The greatest issue is that there are some things we don't know about their life cycle. The most common kind of chaurus that you see around the cavern, the kind that crawl around on the ground, are sort of like their larval stage. Though, not exactly. They are still adults at that stage and can lay their own eggs, but it is not their final form. From what we have observed, they eventually go into a cocoon and transform into a flying insect, which some of the literature refers to as a chaurus hunter. They would be useful for other things, but not for that kind of work. Unfortunately, we don't know how long it will be before our chaurus reach that stage. Based on how fast they've grown so far, we estimate it will be one and a half to two years before they reach the common size of the chaurus we see with the Falmer. Though, they will continue growing even after that. The thing is, we don't know how long they stay as an adult before transforming. If it happens too quickly, it might not be worth it to train them to replace our horses. Just based on the relative rarity of the hunters, though, it might be possible."

Paralain paused for a few moments before remembering one of the other points he had intended to make, and was actually rather excited about. "Oh, but there is one other definite use for them. They should be able to be farmed. The Falmer do that effectively for meat, chitin, and probably poison. They are omnivorous, and in addition to meat, they can actually eat the glowing mushrooms that grows all around the cavern. The same mushrooms that are toxic to us. It means we can feed them something that is both abundant, and useless to us as food."

[Muttonhawk]

Darahil remained still as ever, though his response was swift. "If they begin to make cocoons, it would be prudent to put them back into captivity until we can learn more about these 'hunters.'"

Vera nodded. "I agree. While they may be tame before changing, we should learn more about how they behave before allowing a flying chaurus near the city." Vera gave a small smile in consolidation. "The other roles they can take in the meantime sound quite useful. Your work is valuable as always, Paralain."

Ariel sat with pursed lips at the latest topic. She had been shown the chaurus pens on her tour yesterday, and though she had curiosity then, the chaurus were as interesting as they were terrifying. One had pierced a pig skull with its pincers in front of her eyes and dissolved it partly with its acid. The sight and smell was not soon one she would forget, much less the mental image of a larger one with wings.

[EliteCommander]

"Of course, ma'am." Paralain responded with a nod. "The scouts have observed the hunters serving the Falmer as well, but it will certainly be years at minimum before it becomes an issue. Hopefully, our scouts will be able to make more detailed observations in all that time."

"If nothing else, I am glad we will have a reliable source of meat without the normal cost on resources." Meesei added. "Is there any other news, or should we bring this meeting to a close?"

There was a few seconds of a pause as the rest of the council waited to see if anyone else was going to speak. When they were met with silence, Ri'vashi shook her head and began to gather up the papers in front of us. "There doesn't seem to be anything else. We can all get back to our duties."

Meesei nodded. "Agreed, though if you would wait behind a moment, Ri'vashi, I would like to personally join the mission to clear Alftand. I would like to ask about a few details."

As the meeting was dismissed, Brenann stood up from his seat and patted his leg as he walked over to Sabine and Ariel. "Come on, sparks, follow me." He ordered, though he paused with some uncertainty to look at Sabine. "So, um, did you want an assistant, or..."

[Muttonhawk]

Feet and chairs shuffled and scraped on the stony floor as the meeting adjourned. The movement included Ariel and Sabine, though they were interrupted.

Ariel raised her brow at the question and looked to Sabine. Sabine twisted her mouth and looked at Sparks for a few seconds before turning a smile up at Brenann. "Yes," she said cheerfully. "We do not work far apart in the scholar's compound. Come for some blood when you need it."

"Oh dear," Ariel breathed with an uneasy smile.

---

Some weeks passed where the clan's new additions settled in.

Ariel was swiftly made busy for most of the day every day. More so even than her shop. While her contributions to understanding how the soul tearing gas could have been made up were an immediately invaluable addition, her busy schedule kept her away from Rukeewei much of the time. To keep him occupied rather than shut away all day, Ariel spoke to Sabine, who spoke to Fendros and Janius, who eventually tried to find an occupation for Rukeewei with the clan's farming and food processing. Thankfully, with the lack of bloodshed or desperate times, there were no humanoid meats that Rukeewei could be made aware of. Not only that, but the less-than-sanitary food handling practices were easier to swallow for an iron-stomached Argonian such as him.

As quickly as that, the pack's life settled back into the clan. Sabine and Peiter's interactions were cordial and awkward at first, but they eventually settled back into the habits of their previous friendship with the rest of their group.

---

A few weeks after his talk with Ri'vashi in the training room, Gallus' feelings regarding his expedition had gone from difficult to managed. He doubted that he would ever live down that day, but coming to terms with his failures had required the contrast Ri'vashi had presented. He had to keep moving forward with what he had and that was what he did.

In light of the relative recovery, the tides had turned once again to how they were. He stepped into Ri'vashi's chambers after a knock, knowing full well that she was reading scouting reports like she did this time every week.

Gallus greeted Ri'vashi with a tight-lipped smile, crossed his arms, and leaned against the door frame. "Ri'vashi, this is an intervention," he said. "You have been working without balance this week. You've been taking on all these extra jobs since we took Alftand that are long overdue to be delegated, you've consistently been working late, not even your khajiit features can hide the stress gathering around your eyes, and its getting dangerously close to what most would call the end of the week." Gallus pointed a finger at her, "You-" The same hand pointed a thumb at his chest, "And me-" his finger pointed to the open door. "...Are going to get a drink."

---

Tzirret's life before his journey to Elsweyr was a distant memory at this point. The courage he had gained had won him some new friends when he reunited with the clan. As Peiter and his friendship group were edging into adulthood, it was natural that he would look for those closer to his age. It was almost as difficult as when he had met new friends in the Senchal clan, though not quite as much.

What hadn't changed from when he returned was the flow of letters. He had penned one a few weeks ago that read as follows, showing marked improvement in his writing skills just by the practice over time.

Dear Ma'tanza,
The champion's pack returned safely today with Sabine's older sister Ariel. They say that Ariel will be helping to find the antidote to the gas and she has been helping a lot. Khajiit wishes he could meet her but she works all day and he does not want to disturb important work. Peiter and Sabine seem okay with not being together anymore but Tzirret thinks Peiter does not know how to act around her anymore. Sabine might be the same but she is hard to read sometimes. Tzirret is mostly afraid of her new pet. She named it daisy of all things. It is not like a daisy at all. It is cold and spiky and strange! Anyway, like he said in Tzirret's last letter Gallus has been sad since he came back but tried to hide it. Tzirret does not blame him - I wrote what happened to you. Recently though Ri'vashi spoke to Gallus and he has been feeling better. Gallus did not say exactly what she said, only that he got perspective or something, whatever that means. Tzirret is glad that Gallus has friends that are not in his pack like that as we could not get past his pride. Uthri has been well. She has been going on more scouting missions now that Gallus is feeling better. She says this place gets bigger every time she goes out there. It is amazing but Tzirret wonders how it doesn't cave in. At least it is beginning to feel like home again. In fact Darahil worked out how to melt the ice that was stopping some dwemer pipes and now we have water for baths! It is not as big or clean as the big bath chamber in Bruma but Tzirret was getting sick of drawing water every time he wanted to wash himself. There are no clean places to swim where we live. Tzirret wishes Ma'tanza could visit. The things here are not like anything Khajiit has ever seen and he is frustrated that he cannot tell you more! The orders to keep our home secret make it impossible. Tzirret knows that he has said so before but new things keep appearing! If there is anything that I wish you would not have to see, Tzirret supposes that it is the chaurus. Some Bosmeri clanspeople have been taming them and Tzirret saw one walking through the street. They are like short centipedes except the size of large dogs. Anyway, Tzirret is glad to hear that you managed to cast that spell you were working hard on. Congratulation! Even if she said she was frustrated, Tzirret knew that Ma'tanza had the talent. He also hopes that Mi'basa's first transformation is not too bad for him. He probably would have done so by the time Tzirret's letter reaches you. Give Mi'basa Tzirret's best wishes. Even if it is quiet over there in Elsweyr Tzirret still loves to read Ma'tanza's letters. Even if it is just to say hello. He would speak more but Khajiit is running out of space on paper again. He thinks about you every day. Missing you...
Love from, Tzirret

Tzirret had a spring in his step as he proceeded to the latest mail run from Winterhold. The Nord man sorting through the contents of the sack of letters recognised Tzirret's approach and gave him a grin. Tzirret's tail curled side to side in anticipation when he received the paper with his name on it. It still had a faint trace of the jungle in its scent.

[EliteCommander]

Ri'vashi was at first going to say that she was busy when she heard a knock at her door, but Gallus did not afford her that option. She pretty much knew who it was before she turned around. There were few in the clan who would be so bold with her as Gallus was. After all, she was technically in a position of leadership over all clans.

As Gallus might have expected, Ri'vashi put up some resistance to his suggestions. "Gallus, you know well why Ri'vashi is working. Every new bit of territory we capture comes with it a thousand security concerns. More soldiers to manage, more problems to solve. Saras has started tightening up restrictions on the kind of information we can send out and receive. Now, this one has to write orders to anyone outside the cavern in this code he came up with. And if she's writing to the leaders in different clans, she has to use a whole separate, even more complicated kind of code. It takes forever with how often she has to look at his instructions, and she can't delegate it. She would love to drink, but she has just a few more things to do..."

---

What Tzirret would have noticed upon opening Ma'tanza's letter was that it was not a letter at all. Or at least, it did not seem to be. Folded inside the package was a parchment with a few lines of Daedric writing, along with a small, torn piece of parchment with just a few lines written in Cyrodilic: Tzirret, find a quiet place, then say these words while holding the scroll. What followed was the same phrase as on the scroll, but written out in Cyrodilic lettering so that Tzirret could pronounce it correctly.

As soon as Tzirret spoke the words, he would hear a voice that, while somewhat distorted by the magic, was unmistakably Ma'tanza's: Hello Tzirret! Ma'tanza learned a new enchanting trick, as you can tell. It's not actually too hard, really, but her mentor says that mages don't use it that often since it isn't very useful. One downside of this scroll is that after you use it two or three times, it will stop working and can't be recharged. So...sorry about that, but Ma'tanza thought you might want to hear her voice, so she thought it would be worth it. Anyways, this one was very glad to get your last letter. Though you kind of really do need to be a bit more careful about some of the things you say. Just, um, try not to mention specific important things going on in your clan, or things that might identify it. Ma'tanza wishes we could talk more about those things, but she wants you to be safe. The people in charge of our letters have been giving us lectures about that every single time we send one. But, she is glad that you are having a better time in your new home. Ma'tanza wishes she could be there to swim with you; she isn't so picky about clean or dirty water. It's not like we can get sick. This one would just like to have any water at this point; we always have to be so careful with it here where we are. Luckily, that might change soon. There has been talk going around that it's finally time for our clan to have our own home. Ri'vashi's old clan has been very kind to us, but it is still crowded here, and we have recovered a lot since you left. We apparently have the means to move ourselves to a new place, like things used to be. Ma'tanza is not looking forward to the trip, but we will all be glad to have our own home again. Mi'basa will definitely be glad to have more places to run around and hunt. He has started transforming, and it's hard for him to keep himself calm without many real hunts. Ma'tanza's sister has been good at teaching him, though. She is very experienced. Ma'tanza can only talk for so long with the enchantment, but she hopes that maybe we can talk to each other face-to-face one day again. Did you decide to keep learning about healing? If you did, she is sure you will be good at it. Compassionate healers are always Ma'tanza's favorite. She can feel the soul gem's energy is about to drain, but Ma'tanza misses you too and is looking forward to hearing from you again. Make sure to mention if you want Ma'tanza to send more of these scrolls, or just regular letters. Goodbye!

[Muttonhawk]

Gallus let Ri'vashi speak as he looked on, regarding her with his head held forward, his eyes raised sceptically, and his lips in a small smirk. He waited until the word 'few' was spoken and pointed his finger again. "A 'few' more things, hm? There's your problem. You're not going to send out a messenger this late and a 'few' more things are things that can be done in the morning. You know what shouldn't be done in the morning?" He stepped up and leaned his hands on the back of Ri'vashi's seat. "Winding down and having a drink." He grinned. "Come now, you'll regret it if you miss out. Think of it as humble me looking out for your wellbeing."

---

Tzirret found a candle and crept to a spot in his pack's rooms, unused as they were during the middle of the day. Ma'tanza's voice made him frantically look around in shock, trying to find its source, but it was obvious after a moment that it was the scroll. At that, Tzirret couldn't help but spread a wide smile.

Ma'tanza's voice was just as he remembered it. He could close his eyes and visualise himself back in the Orcrest clanhome with her opposite him across the table. It was so nice to hear her voice again.

He opened his eyes when the message ended and looked at the scroll. He had sunken into a daze focussing on Ma'tanza's voice, and by the end of the message, he felt a pang in his eyes that almost turned into tears. "Goodbye," he murmured to the paper as if Ma'tanza could hear. He missed her so much.

Reality hit him as he blinked and looked left and right. He had no idea that an enchantment existed to record someone's voice in a scroll. He stood up from his seat and went immediately to find an enchanter -- probably Sabine -- to help him do something similar. The things he would say rolled through his head as he walked; he wanted to talk about the progress he had made in learning restoration magic, he wanted to wish Ma'tanza and her clan good luck on the journey to their new home. All these things, without the premonition that he would freeze up under the pressure of the limited time that soul gems offered such an enchantment.

Letters and scrolls combined were better, he eventually concluded after sorting out his reply. It meant that he could write down what he wanted to say beforehand and read it off, as well as re-read anything that was sent back without worrying about it losing its charge.

[EliteCommander]

Ri'vashi let out a long sigh as she leaned back in her chair. She looked up at the ceiling in silence for a few seconds before allowing her head to lazily fall to the side in Gallus' direction. "Fine, Ri'vashi will come with you. But she swears, if you are wrong and this does end up causing more work for her." She began, lifting up her hand and poking her finger into his chest. "She is assigning you to do it."

Despite her general frustration for work at the moment, Ri'vashi did take the time to organize and secure her documents in a locked Dwemer chest beside her desk. With how fervently Saras had been drilling his new security procedures into the clan's leadership, such measures were routine by this point.

"So, are we planning on staying in the city, or are you going to take her off outside it somewhere for some reason?" Ri'vashi asked. The Dwemer machinery in the city produced enough heat that the air in the city itself tended to be fairly warm, but while the rest of the cavern was not cold by any means, it was cool enough that Ri'vashi preferred to have a coat.

[Muttonhawk]

Gallus tapped Ri'vashi on her cheek. "That's the spirit!" He pushed off the chair and patiently waited for her to finish packing up. "Nothing special, just heading to the dining chamber -- or, it's more of a common room now that most people have safe spots to cook these days. Just a catch up and a chat, no strings attached."

When Ri'vashi was eventually ready to leave, the pair proceeded to the hall that served a similar purpose to the dining chamber in the Bruma clanhome. Much of the food rations were laid out here to be handed out and there were rows of tables, seats, and fire pits to proceed with them. Most of the Blackreach clan still prepared and ate their meals here with their packs by habit. Though, many packs were constructing their own fire pits nearer to their quarters in the extra space that the city provided.

At the door, Gallus turned around and raised a hand to stop Ri'vashi. "Now, some of these folks have been to the bottom of a few cups by now. Just tell them to shove off if they annoy you, alright?" Gallus smiled and turned to continue without elaborating.

After Gallus collected a mug of ale and allowed Ri'vashi to find a drink of her choice, he lead her past a table of his friends from various places around the clan, including Uthri. Notably, very few of them were soldiers, making the reaction to Ri'vashi similar to Gallus himself; a small collective cheer of their names, raising mugs of home made ale, and a quick resuming of their previous conversations. Gallus gave a wave and a greeting. None of them except one or two looked nervous at having Ri'vashi near, but none seemed especially interested in engaging Ri'vashi or Gallus right now.

Instead of pushing the usually less-than-social Ri'vashi into the deep end, Gallus lead her to the end of a different table where the two could sit without being interrupted. "So, how have you been lately? I don't imagine your role tends to get any less stressful these days."

[EliteCommander]

Ri'vashi huffed incredulously as they were entering the dining chamber. "How drunk would they have to be to annoy Ri'vashi, of all people?" If not her reputation, she reasoned her size alone would be enough of a deterrent for most drunks. Then again, inebriation and rationality were concepts that rarely mixed. Regardless, she followed Gallus inside, not expecting any issues. Indeed, they were hardly acknowledged apart from passing greetings.

Ri'vashi was not normally a particularly heavy drinker, but her size alone allowed her to easily tolerate what most would consider strong drinks. Indeed, she had to select something strong if she wanted to feel anything of note from her drinks. Given the question that Gallus had opened with, she expected that she was going to go through quite a few drinks before the end of the night. She leaned forward with her head in her hands and let out a sigh. "That is an understatement. Honestly, Ri'vashi wishes she only had the Falmer and Dwemer machines to deal with. She'd rather have a Falmer attack on the city every day than have to deal with Vile. Losing the Arenthia clan really put things into perspective for everyone, this one thinks. They were lucky to have so many survivors, but that was only because of how many of them were werevultures. Almost everyone who was confined to the ground was slaughtered. It is getting difficult for Ri'vashi to bring herself to assign anyone to make any sort of attack against the enemy's forces. We have to slow them down, but she cannot help but to feel that she is sending good men and women to their deaths. Saras' spies have been providing wonderful information, but it has been so hard to do anything with it. Even just a simple ambush on a supply caravan requires absolute perfection from our soldiers. If they make just one mistake, then the gas takes them."

[Muttonhawk]

Gallus leaned back and slowly twirled his mug on the table while he listened. He gave Ri'vashi a sympathetic smile. "Being on the back foot on the field again is certainly frightening. Even if most of us are no strangers to geurilla warfare, keeping spirits up is something I've had to do with quite a few people these days."

Pausing for a sip, Gallus leaned forward and crossed his arms on the table. "Look, I don't know how I could make this any easier. I do reckon that we'll be able to get out of this bind somehow. Nothing gets past you, and something will soon try that'll turn the tables again." He smirked. "Anyway, you can talk about war all you like with other officers. Take some time to think about something else." He leaned back again. "How have other things been going in your life? Have you got to know the other council members any better? I'd hate to think that I'm still one of your only friends in this place."

[EliteCommander]

"Morale is invaluable, but against that gas? It just means our warriors will die in a better mood." Ri'vashi sighed. "Still, we do have at least a few small advantages. Using the automatons on the surface would be like sending a signed letter to Do'rhajul himself telling him to search every Dwarven ruin in Skyrim, but we can use them defensively, at least. They can keep troublemakers away from the entrances, without arousing suspicion. Otherwise, we have made the decision to call on Hircine's...other worshipers for assistance. A lot of the warriors won't like it, your father didn't like it, even Ri'vashi doesn't like it, but we all agree it is necessary. Lycans don't tend to like working with lycan hunters that may have once killed their friends and family, but the gas does nothing to them, so they can make attacks more safely."

As much as Ri'vashi liked to vent her troubles, she had to agree that the prospect of discussing something else entirely was even more appealing. So, she certainly did not dwell on it when Gallus changed the subject. "Ri'vashi spent quite a lot of time getting to know her peers, yes. At least as much as they would let her. Saras and Darahil are both similar in that they do not let people get close to them. Though in Darahil's case, there may not be a such thing as 'close' to him. This one is not entirely convinced that he actually feels emotions. It makes him quite reliable, though. Your father, well, meeting him answered many questions about you." Ri'vashi smirked. "But there are a lot more people in the clan than its leadership, and Ri'vashi would call a few of them friends, thank you very much. She can't get too close to her soldiers to avoid any claims of favoritism, but there that Bosmer couple that helps Peralain raise the chaurus, there's that representative from Black Marsh, and she even tried to speak with Ariel's husband for a while to try to help him get more comfortable in this place, but he might still be afraid of Ri'vashi."

[Muttonhawk]

Mention of the hunters did mar Gallus' mirth for a few seconds. He nodded in agreement of its necessity with every indication that he felt a similar way.

Gallus tilted his head to one side and nodded. "I'm impressed. It sounds like you're doing well on that front, at least." He chuckled. "I apologised in advance for father, didn't I? If not, I apologise now. As for Darahil, don't worry, he has emotions. Like..." Gallus lifted his eyes to the ceiling and placed a finger on his other hand. "Anger, disdain..." Gallus froze for several seconds. In his thought, he couldn't produce anything further than an open-mouthed hum.

"Actually, that's all I have seen him express. Oh! I once saw him smile. That was..." Gallus shuddered. "That was a strange experience." Gallus lifted his lips and moved past the topic. "Anyway, I can't say I've met Ariel's husband yet. Friendly as far as I've heard."

Lifting up his drink, Gallus took another leisurely swig while holding up one finger. "On that note," he said as soon as he swallowed. His mug hit the table while he held his head forward mischievously. "Anyone caught your eye?"

The question was as much a tease as it was genuine.