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

[Muttonhawk]

A thought crossed Janius' mind. The corner of his mouth quirked upwards. "She's in charge all the time. Perhaps the bossiness is refreshing for her?" He said jokingly.

The military power on display from outside of the city was somewhat sobering for the pack. All around were strength and equipment that even the Blackreach clan could not match. Though there were no dwemer automata or lycans amongst Sentinel's military, there were enough men, spears, and bristling defences that even a rival nation would be bowed before it. Indeed, the Dominion were not absent by coincidence. The reminder that the lycan clans were still the smaller fish in the sea compared to fully-fledged nations made most of the pack quiet.

Rhazii, in contrast, was amazed. He stared up and around with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. "It's like they're getting ready to go to war," he said.

"They're already at war, Rhazii," Fendros said with more calm reservation than his son. "They have been for longer than you are old. Hammerfell seceded from the Empire when they made peace with the Dominion a few decades ago."

"No joking," Rhazii said. He gasped and pointed up to the walls. "Hey Julan, look! How far do you think those ballistas can shoot those huge arrows?"

[EliteCommander]

The walls above them looked even larger from Julan's perspective. He reared back his head and pulled back his hood so he could get a better look at the top of them. "I don't know; I can hardly see them from here. How could anything stop an arrow that big? How could anything even get through these walls?"

"Hmph, that's the point." Lorag commented nearby. "If they could set up trebuchets, they would have more range than those ballistas, but even that wouldn't be the best option. Now the docks, that's where the weakness really is. If the Dominion got enough naval superiority and made it to the port, that would open the city's defenses right up."

Although they had not been to Sentinel before, it fortunately did not take too long for Ahnasha to convince the stablemaster to house Leaps. In some cities, they could not convince anyone to deal with the wamasu for any price, but Sentinel was a trading hub that saw many exotic creatures, and the stables were already filled with far more than just horses. It was still expensive to pay for a spot for Leaps, but the Champion's pack was hardly struggling for gold. Soon enough, they were allowed through the gates into the city. Although, there were some unmistakable eyes of suspicion on Ahnasha and Rhazii in particular by a few of the guards. Dominion spies were undoubtedly a large concern for a city that was technically in a war with the Dominion. Any Altmer, Bosmer, or Khajiit would be watched more closely than most guests in the city.

[Muttonhawk]

Rhazii laughed. "But Hammerfell has a great navy already. They came from across the sea, I read it in a book." He craned his head as if he could see around the huge ring wall. "I wonder if we'll see any warships."

The wait at the gates ended with their admission into Sentinel proper. The main roads were wide enough for several carts to run abreast at once, though the bustling morning had most of the space occupied by people.

Now that they were on the move, Fendros mentioned quietly to Ahnasha next to her. "Did you see the looks they gave you and Rhazii? It's as if they were expecting trouble."

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha laughed quietly for a moment. "Not an uncommon occurrence for Khajiit, I'd say. Though, I suspect the reason is a bit different this time. It's hard to expect anything less in Hammerfell. Dominion spies have to be a legitimate worry for them. Of course, the Thalmor also have one of the most well-developed spy networks in the world, and they can get spies of different races, so singling people out probably isn't going to do much to help them."

The Sentinel markets were, by many visitors accounts, among the most exciting places to visit in Hammerfell. Sentinel itself, being a large port city and the intersection of many trade routes, was a cultural and economic center in the region, and a particularly popular destination for Breton nobility. Although, the war with the Dominion had diminished that splendor somewhat. They had lost many southern trade routes, and of course no longer openly imported goods from Dominion territories, even if they still could be found through black market sources. Regardless, it was ever bit as lively as it had always been, with shopkeepers in outdoor stalls and street performers all vying for the attention of every guest, particularly those who seemed foreign. Janius found himself the target of a Breton woman dressed quite provocatively in an outfit that looked like it was made of ribbons. Every movement she made looked like it was meant to be seductive in some form as she gently touched his arm. "Oh, a handsome Imperial in these lands. I am sure there will be much fortune in your future, but if you want to know for sure, I can, just for you, give you a free palm reading. Who knows what you might discover?"

[Muttonhawk]

The pack had been to plenty of markets before. Most had hawkers, crowds, and street performers as Sentinel did, but Sentinel's markets were the most demanding they had walked through. There was a sheer variety here that rivalled any other trading hub. The sheer number of people trying to catch the pack's attention was almost overwhelming. Janius and Fendros were glad that their children were now grown up enough that they were less likely to get separated from them and lost.

Regardless, progress was slow. Between the stalls, sprukers, hawkers, and the crowds, thoroughfare was narrow. Narrow enough that most of the merchants had enough time to advertise, including the Breton palm reader.

Janius' eyes lit up as he turned his head to the woman. He didn't know whether to regard her attire as more titillating or absurd. "Ahem, my apologies," he lifted a hand and pointed ahead. "We have a meeting to get to." He attempted to walk onwards.

'Free' services on the street were more often than not a con anyway.

[EliteCommander]

The Breton kept up with Janius, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep his attention. "Oh, but are you sure? I am certain you shall not regret it."

The woman's bold and somewhat rude insistence had caught Kaleeth's attention as well. She doubted that whatever she was selling would be worth it, so she hoped to try to help Janius politely get away from her. However, it was that attention that the woman really wanted, as it provided the brief distraction her partner needed.

With their eyes focused on the woman, another Breton man was able to close in on Janius and quickly snatch one of the bags around his waist; the one most likely to contain a coin-purse. He ended up snapping one of the straps in the process, so it was rather obvious what had happened.

The thief almost would have been clear to run away through the crowd, but Julan had ended up turning back as well, wondering why he was no longer walking alongside his parents. This allowed him to see the man rushing up to his father, and gave him the chance to react, even if it was not the most well-planned reaction. As the man was running past Julan, he reached out and grabbed a hold of the bag as well.

"Hey, that's not yours!" Julan shouted. Being a full grown and fairly strong adult, the Breton expected to be able to just jerk the bag out of the young Argonian's grasp with ease. However, Julan's size was deceptive to his true strength. The Breton found himself halted in his tracks by an Argonian half his size, tugging on a cloth bag. The thief's success relied upon acting quickly, and the few seconds that Julan had delayed him were already dangerous. Panicking, the Breton backhanded Julan across the face to try and force him to let go so he could sprint away.

[Muttonhawk]

The snap against his belt made Janius shoot his gaze down and back. He took barely half a second to process it all. The next second was a lunge to try and grab the man, missing him by a hair. In Janius' stumble, Julan acted. Janius was just out of reach to stop the thief from striking Julan, but the delay allowed Janius to exact retribution.

"Hey!" Janius barked furiously. He raised both hands, roughly ceased the thief by the shoulder and arm, and kicked his ankles from the side to trip him to the ground. Janius knelt down as he fell, twisting his arm and pinning him with his hands. "How dare you touch my son! Guards!"

By this point, the crowd had made space for the altercation before them. While Janius was normally the more level-headed member of the pack, seeing Julan hit across the face had brought him to a red-faced rage.

[EliteCommander]

One of the advantages, or disadvantages, depending upon the perspective, of a highly militarized city in wartime was the increased presence of guards. There was a tall Redguard in a city watch armor who had witnessed the entire ordeal. The guards were all heavily armed an armored, so the thief's original plan had relied not upon avoiding being spotted, but simply upon slipping away before the much slower, less agile guards could hope to catch or identify him. However, being delayed, even for only a few seconds, would allow the guard plenty of time to react, and Janius was ensuring that he was going nowhere. Not to mention, the screams of pain from Janius' effortless twisting of his joints made the scene quite obvious to everyone around them.

The guard who had witnessed the attempted robbery quickly grabbed the attention of another nearby guard and hurried over to the scene of the altercation. He had his hand on the hilt of his sword, though it was still in its scabbard. He shouted, not necessarily threateningly, but loudly and firmly enough to clearly be heard over the crowd. "Release him, Imperial. The Sentinel guard will handle this from here." One of the guards commanded.

The other Redguard had something of a suspicious look in his eye, particularly as he looked down at Julan. The young Argonian was not showing as much of a pained reaction as a normal child of his age would to such a heavy strike, due to the fact that his regular transformations gave him a higher than average pain tolerance. "The boy is...much stronger than he looks, isn't he?" The Redguard commented as his partner was moving to arrest the thief.

[Muttonhawk]

With an angered grunt, Janius threw the thief's wrists and stood up, picking up his purse on the way up. His face immediately turned sympathetic as he went to Julan.

"Are you okay?" Janius asked, putting his hands on Julan's shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

Meanwhile, lucidity prevailed with the rest of the pack. Fendros crossed his arms as the situation died down. He had heard the guard's comment. "It's just a thief Janius, calm down. Julan, are you feeling okay?"

The question was as such inquiring about the pain as it was about Julan's beast spirit. His control had improved immensely since he had started training it, but young lycans were still vulnerable to what their other sides perceived as threats.

[EliteCommander]

Julan rubbed the side of his head and groaned. "I'm not bleeding or anything, I think. It's not worse than...other things." He answered. In truth, his head felt like it was spinning, but he still felt the need to look strong in front of his family, so he did not let on to how sore his face felt. Kaleeth, naturally, was just as concerned about Julan as Janius, and just as angry at the thief. It was only through years of patience and tempering of her anger that she did not start kicking the thief while he was down. However, she was growing more concerned about the curiosity and confusion of one of the guards. Everything had happened quickly, so few people had time to pay attention, but Julan had inadvertently demonstrated a feat of strength far beyond anything natural to an Argonian of his age.

The thief himself was even more confused, as he had only now begun to process what had happened. He was bewildered that he could have been stopped in his tracks by someone so young. He had given up on resisting by this point; his partner had slipped away as soon as the guards were called, so there would be no one to help him. He allowed the guard to stand him up onto his knees and start tying his hands behind his back, glaring at Julan the entire time. "There's something...not right about that lizard." The thief stated accusingly.

[Muttonhawk]

"Let me see," Janius gently said. He turned Julan's head to confirm for himself. While it was no doubt painful, the strike had not broken Julan's lip or left an easily detectable mark on his scales. Janius let out a relieved breath from his nose and let Julan go. "It might just turn into a bruise." He pat Julan on the shoulder. "Just making sure, son."

With the thief commenting on Julan as well, the eyes in the pack hurried Janius along. He half-turned to the man and looked at him with a frown. He opened his mouth to speak.

"We should get going, Janius," Fendros interrupted.

Janius glanced to Fendros and released his breath. After a pause, he addressed the guards. "I assume you saw what happened. Do you need anything else from us, guardsmen?" Janius had a hint of impatience in his voice. The suspicious looks and murmurs regarding Julan were now all too obvious with the thief stating it so blatantly.

[EliteCommander]

The guard gave Julan a few moments more of a stare before focusing his attention back on Janius. "Just give me your account of what happened, step by step, then you all can go on your way."

Since they were the closest to the thief, Janius and Kaleeth gave their recollection of what happened, including the Breton woman approaching Janius. Kaleeth was not sure if she was involved or not, and she was not terribly confident that she would be caught, even if she was. But, Kaleeth was far more concerned with just moving on and getting the attention away from the pack.

Thankfully, the rest of the walk to their destination was uneventful. The altercation had likely caused every pickpocket in the district to lay low until the guards were less on-edge. They made their way into the tavern where they were to meet Saras' agent, which was the same tavern that the Redguard they were tracking was known to frequent. Unfortunately, the pack was unable to see anyone wielding the Rueful Axe among the tavern's patrons, though even the most optimistic among them did not expect to find the axe so easily.

The tavern did not appear to be too seedy of a location, though it was somewhat secluded. It was a small business, located in the basement of another shop, with only a single room open to patrons. The pack found seats for themselves between two of the corner tables and were finally able to take a moment to catch their breath before someone would come around to take their orders for drinks.

"That was more...eventful than I would have preferred, but at least we are here now. Our contact should be here within an hour or two." Meesei said quietly. "Is there anything to be concerned about with that thief? Was anything damaged in your bag, Janius?"

[Muttonhawk]

Janius had his fist clasped in his hand on the table in front of him. His brow lifted when he looked to Meesei. "No, I only had some coins and a pen knife in it. I don't think there should be any concern now that he has been caught." He looked to his hands. "I apologise for the reaction. It was...more than was needed. This hot weather gets under my skin."

Fendros leaned forward, taking a breath to word himself carefully. "Not that anyone necessarily did anything wrong, but what the thief said to Julan...It was insensitive, yes, but I think he also noticed something unusual. He wasn't just slurring hate."

"Even if he suspected something, what would the guards do? Arrest us for Julan's strength?" Janius responded with a small smile. "Anyone with trained footwork can leverage themselves to out-pull people bigger than them. It's not a reasonable suspicion to act upon."

Sabine chimed in as well. "We will not have to worry if we can find the axe quickly."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei nodded in agreement. "I doubt we will need to worry about the guards. In all likelihood, they will simply write off the event as an oddity. There are plenty of innocuous explanations for unusual strength. We should just focus on our business in the city."

After a minute or two, a barmaid came by their table to take their orders for drinks. Not wanting to draw any more unusual attention to themselves, many of the pack at least ordered something to justify their presence in a tavern.

Ahnasha gave a long sigh as the stress from their encounter was finally dying down. She hoped the rest of their stay in Sentinel would not be so confrontational; she had heard the city was an interesting destination to visit, so if they did have to stay for any length of time, it at least would not likely be dull. "It will be such a relief when we finally have a solid location for the axe. Though, I don't know if we should expect to find it quickly. We may end up needing to stay in the city for a while. If nothing else, that will let you and your brother learn more about the Redguards." Ahnasha commented, looking to Rhazii. "You two are probably some of the most wordly children on Tamriel, with as many places as we travel. I wonder if there are any local warrior guilds that would allow you to spar with some of their apprentices? The Redguards do have a warrior culture, so it would not surprise me."

[Muttonhawk]

Rhazii's ears stood up. "They would allow that?" He grinned at Ahnasha. "That would be more fun than hanging around in an inn room all day, what do you think, Julan? Maybe we'll get to swing a scimitar around if we're lucky." Rhazii nudged at Julan's side.

"One of us could certainly help you find a fighters guild or something of the sort," Fendros said with a chuckle. "If nothing else, I am sure there would be some warships moored at the docks that could be worth seeing. Would that be something you two want to do?"

"Yeah!" Rhazii said immediately. For generally being the more reserved one between him and Kaj-Julan, there was an appeal to the war machines of great nations that got him excited.

[EliteCommander]

Meesei grinned towards Rhazii. "I am hoping we will not need to be in the city that long, but if we are, you can enjoy the city as you like. As long as it does not interfere with the search, of course. I know these kinds of searches can be filled with downtime."

It did not take too long for the barmaid returned with their drinks, which helped the pack to pass the time until another figure finally entered the tavern. It was a Redguard whose eyes quickly focused on the corner of the room, to the pack. He was dressed in the same kinds of robes which were common to desert travelers, and which the pack was mostly wearing. He did not make any comment before walking casually, but purposefully towards the group and immediately sitting down in the empty chair that Meesei had left next to her.

"Champion." The Redguard said quite softly to acknowledge that he was their contact.

Meesei returned a quick nod, then leaned forward onto the table to get closer. "Is this still an appropriate meeting location?" She asked.

"Yes, it should be quite fine. I have not had any issues in the city thusfar. But...have any of you run into any trouble?" The Redguard asked.

[Muttonhawk]

The pause answered the Redguard's question. None of them could think of why the incident on their way to the tavern would be connected to their contact.

Janius leaned into the conversation. "Uh, we had an encounter with a cutpurse in the markets and caught him before he got away," he said uncertainly. "Has there been trouble we should be worried about? Does anyone else know why we're here?"

Rhazii sipped at his mug, glancing between Janius and the Redguard. He had recently been allowed to drink wines and ales like his family, but he still preferred the sweeter beverages, such as cider.

[EliteCommander]

The Redguard raised his brow. "A cutpurse? Hmm...doubtful that it is related." He commented.

The agent took a few moments to look around the tavern at each of the patrons before speaking particularly quietly. "I do have information on our...quarry. But, I also have a warning for you. Something troubling that we have been following up on these last few weeks. General Do'rhajul is here, in Hammerfell. He is been spotted in several places, places that you have visited. There is little doubt that he is tracking all of you, specifically. He is traveling with a rather diverse group of individuals, slightly larger than your group. I was told by Saras before I started on this mission that you learned of the fact that the General had formed a team to hunt you all specifically, yes? If so, they is likely those very specialists. We have tried to learn as much about his companions as we can, though we know much less about them as we do the General himself. Regardless, as difficult as you all are to track, he is following your trail, slowly but surely. I would recommend keeping as low of a profile as possible."

[Muttonhawk]

The comparative lack of trouble that the pack had experienced during their investigation made the contact's words ominous. If they had been followed, Do'Rhajul could likely find out what they were trying to find. If he knew what they were trying to find, he could beat the pack to it. If he did that, he could use the axe as bait. Such thoughts were the clearer ones, though there were other implications as well.

"I thought Vile's cult was shifting away from the war with Hircine." Fendros thought out loud. "Why would the general be following us still?"

Janius answered. "If nothing else, this would be personal for him." Janius looked to Lorag. "I don't know how sentimental the man is, but I would not think charitably upon a group of people who orchestrated the destruction of his fortress and defeating the people around him that he knew. Killing them in a bloody battle." He shrugged. "Or it could simply be that he knows we're working against Vile's plans still, and seeks to stop us."

Sabine spoke, staring at the table in front of her. "I wonder if he knows what Vile wants like we do."

With a sigh from his nose, Fendros took a lengthy blink and resumed. "What can you tell us about these specialists? What are they capable of?" Fendros glanced to Rhazii and Julan and tightened his lips before returning his look to the Redguard. "And, apologies, what is your name? Where and when were these specialists, or the general himself, last spotted?"

[EliteCommander]

"You may call me Azayn." The Redguard answered. "From all we know about the General, he was recruited based on his own, personal vendetta against our kind, and not because of any particular reverence to Vile. Even as Vile's goals change, his may remain the same."

Ahnasha huffed. "Seems strange that he would hate us so much, considering he is a werewolf."

"Doubt he's too happy about that." Lorag interjected. "He was a proud Imperial soldier, wholly dedicated to his men. And he was completely devoted to the cause. Then, all the sudden, he gets turned into a lycan and ends up havin' his entire life snatched away. He had a lot more to lose back then than I did, and, well, he did. If he's got it in his head that it was Hircine's fault, then I get the anger. Not to mention, he's a dedicated man. When he joins a cause, he's in it for the long haul. To a point, I guess. The man I knew wouldn't be trying to destroy Tamriel, so I'm pretty sure he don't know about that."

"Regardless of his motivations, you still may have to deal with him." Azayn commented. "He has a few companions that we are reasonably certain that we have identified. A few of Vile's long-time servants, some individuals with local notoriety in different places in Tamriel. No doubt, they are the best he could acquire."

Azayn put his cloth bag onto the table and pulled out what looked to be a small journal. "I do have some notes on a few of them. One is a reclusive Nord who used to live deep in the mountains of the Reach. He was a hermit, or perhaps a monk who gained a reputation in Markarth for helping lost travelers and protecting them from Foresworn attacks. We do not know much about his early history, nor does what we do know about him make him seem like a Vile cultist, so his motivation is unknown. Two of them are a pair of Orc brothers. Twins who became known as arena champions among some of the Orc strongholds in the Wrothgarians. At least for their version of an arenas. They may not be cultists exactly, but they may have made deals with Vile to put them in his service. Another is a Breton who was formerly a Daughter of Wroth, one of the witch covens in High Rock. She did not have any local notoriety, but she is one of Vile's zealots, through and through, and may indeed be one of their highest leaders in Tamriel. Her name is Arinette, and she was one of the first of the enemy that we identified after Saras assumed his current role. There are others beyond that, but we do not know anything of value about them. All we can say is that, if the General selected them, they must be dangerous."