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

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine did not have any ideas before Meesei gave hers. She was silent and reluctant until then, but immediately reacted with interest. "Right," she agreed. "Meesei, what sensations can you put through the rings?"

---

A flurry of planning and logistics filled the remainder of the day. Somehow, Darahil still remained awake, but spent his time directing other mages to follow his enchantment instructions and gather with Meesei to facilitate the portal. A couple of the scholars sent Meesei's way were even packmates of Darahil that she knew by acquaintance. He had spared no expense.

By the end of the day, Sabine had the most to remember. She was taught in the use of the control rod, the muffling enchantment, and the signal rings, she had practiced the signals agreed between her and Ahnasha to the point of memorising them, and she had run through the plan with everyone to exhaustion.

With a tense frown, Sabine led the new group of ten Dwemer spheres up to Ri'vashi's warriors after ensuring they all were in working order. In one of her hands was the yellow metal staff Darahil had showed them in the morning. In her other hand was a common soul gem charged with the energy she would need to catalyse and activate the muffling enchantment.

Waiting for her with Ri'vashi and her warriors were Ahnasha and Fendros. Fendros was stone-faced but waved Sabine down all the same. "You ready?" he asked.

Sabine swallowed. "Yes."

"Good," Fendros said. "The sooner we get this done, the better."

[EliteCommander]

Once both Ahnasha and Sabine had arrived, Meesei started the process of creating the portal to High Rock. Everyone was gathered in a clearing outside of the Silent City, and she would be taking them to a location a safe distance from Do'rhajul's camp. The warriors Ri'vashi had selected were a fairly overwhelming force. They were some of the best she had, and they were all well-equipped with armor and weapons made from Dwemer steel, or better. She had a full complement of mages and archers, along with groups of unenchanted Dwemer spiders and spheres for support to ensure they would have the greatest advantage possible if it came to an outright fight. Ultimately, though, their mission would succeed or fail based on the actions of Sabine and Ahnasha.

Meesei worked with some of the other mages to create their portal, but even so, it was taking longer than her usual, smaller portals. As she worked, she turned her head to address Sabine and Ahnasha. "Scouts have made sure our staging area is clear. They cannot get too close to the enemy, but it does not seem like they have moved from their camp. Some of the scouts have reported that they were able to catch glimpses of the camp from long range, and they believe that the Nord's tent may be on the west side of the camp. But, they cannot be sure, so you have to be ready to figure it out as you go. Now, I know this is important, and I know you want to make this chance count, but..."

Meesei released a long breath, and had to pause to concentrate for a moment to start the next stage of her spell. "...do not hesitate to retreat if you do not believe you can succeed. Even with all of our preparation, failure here is a better option than you two being caught. Promise that you will not attempt to be heroes, okay?"

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine did not hesitate to nod. She was tense enough. "I promise."

She concentrated on directing the spheres under her command through the portal. The memories of the ambush, she realised, were rearing their head. Every second was making her more nervous. She had to focus.

Fendros looked left and right one last time. He and Ahnasha had said their goodbyes and reassurances to Rhazii before they left to muster with the others, but he did not want to take the chance of Rhazii trying anything rash. Fendros wondered how much help it was to keep the mission details from him with all the activity.

"I'm glad those Dwemer things are going in ahead of us in the portal," Janius said as he neared the group. He and Kaleeth were armoured and ready to go with the warriors. "We really ought to keep one with us as a decoy out on missions."

"You're right," Fendros said. He frowned. "At least that is one thing to be comforted by."

Janius clapped Fendros on the shoulder. "Hey, this is on our terms now. Watch, this'll go fine."

"I know."

[EliteCommander]

The group had no issue getting through the portal safely to their staging area. They were not being tracked yet, at least. Ri'vashi was present, and personally leading her warriors. She immediately mustered them into formations to defend the area if necessary, with their automatons spaced evenly to meet the front of any incoming attack. She started to inspect her warriors to make sure they were as ready as possible, but it was mostly to keep herself busy until it was time for her to act. Assuming that time came at all. If their plan worked correctly, there would not be a fight.

Sabine and Ahnasha both had already been given maps that the scouts had drawn up of the area, including the rough placements of the enemy camp's tents. Although, it came with the warning that any information they had about the camp was not guaranteed to be reliable, since the scouts could not come too close. Ahnasha and Sabine had already planned on exactly what bushes and trees to use in order to hide the automatons, and what approach to take for Ahnasha's infiltration. However, they also had to be prepared to drop that plan completely if needed and think on their feet.

Ahnasha was walking around the collected group of enchanted automatons as if to inspect them, though she would not recognize a defect if she saw one. Meanwhile, Meesei went straight to Sabine once everyone was through the portal. Her expression could scarcely hide her worry, as her usual capacity for forced stoicism did not seem to be as strong today. Before saying a word, Meesei hugged Sabine tightly, then pulled back while keeping her hands on her shoulders. "I know you can do this, Sabine. The contents of that book will tear apart Do'rhajul's team, of that I am certain. No one with a modicum of good inside of them could believe that they were serving the right master after reading it. Just stay focused, and stay safe."

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine returned the hug just as tightly. She nodded to each of Meesei's points. While Meesei's own worry rubbed off on her, the words did centre her. With more determination, Sabine looked intensely back at Meesei and spoke. "I will."

Meanwhile, once Fendros was certain that they were safe on the other end of the portal, he came up behind Ahnasha and put a hand on her shoulder and turned her gently to face him. He had his helmet off, clutched under the crook of his other arm. He smiled. "Show me you can pull this off and I'll have a damned hard time trying to one-up you," he said with some levity, before pulling her into a short kiss. When they pulled away, he ran a thumb over Ahnasha's cheek. "I love you, Ahna. Do what you do best."

Sabine soon strode up in front of the automatons with the staff in one hand and her bonded ring on her finger raised where she could see it. "Let's test the signals," she said. With that, Sabine repeated the various signals they had worked out, announcing them before the pattern of vibrations came through on Ahnasha's ring. Ahnasha would get signals from Sabine to warn her of hazards, to tell her to retreat immediately, to assure that she was safe, to acknowledge a message received, and intermittently while she counted the time left on the enchantment. Ahnasha had similar signals for Sabine if she needed help, when she had planted the book, and other such messages.

"Four minutes and seventeen seconds," Sabine reminded. She gave Ahnasha a look. "Tell me when you are ready and I will keep count."

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha quickly turned serious when Sabine started with their final checks on their equipment. The rings seemed to be working well. Each sensation came through clearly and distinctly, and they had practiced enough that Ahnasha remembered each of their meanings. In particular, the warning for immediate danger was a fairly painful burning sensation, as if the ring had suddenly turned to silver. They had selected it on Ahnasha's own recommendation, as she wanted something that would immediately and unquestionably grab her attention. For that warning, she wanted to chance no delay.

Once they had inspected all they could inspect, the pair had no more reason to delay. They had teleported to a spot that was as close as was safe for their warriors to muster. They could roll their automatons somewhat closer through the forest before activating the enchantments, but not terribly far.

"Okay, Sabine...I'm ready. Let's get this over with. You're going to have the lead getting the machines into position. I'll get myself in position for my part, but there's not much I can do to help with the machines." Ahnasha replied. The area all around Do'rhajul's camp was forested, so there was at least plenty of visual cover which they could use to obscure the automatons. It was late, being around midnight, though unfortunately, the moons were closer to being full than not. Their enemy would still have some visibility.

[Muttonhawk]

"I know," Sabine said. She pointed her staff nearby and the spheres rolled up in formation. "The first step first. I will be back in a moment."

Sabine charged a strange spell in both hands. Closing her eyes, she stroked her hands over the air around her until a crescendo of green light flashed. Her body, clothes, and even the control rod instantaneously winked into a fluttering black shape that flew up into the air. Raven Sabine ascended to a height above their heads and glided towards the camp.

She planned to skirt some of the trees around the camp, flying over as quickly as she could before returning. Scouting for any longer than the average bird was too great a risk. Especially in the moonlight.

[EliteCommander]

Although she was limited in the time she could spend above it, Sabine would get a better look at the camp than any of the scouts. The maps that the scouts had drawn up about the surrounding forest were largely accurate, though the camp itself had evidently been shifted around somewhat. Another tent had been put up in one spot, and another two had been taken down. As well, the camp was, unfortunately, not entirely asleep. They still had a campfire going, and a few of them were still walking around, Do'rhajul himself among them. Aside from him, Sabine would clearly be able to see one of the Orcs on watch, and if she looked closely, she may be able to discern that he still showed signs of the injury Janius gave him. Being that most of the group were non-lycans, it did take them longer to recover from such wounds.

Meanwhile, Ahnasha waited just on the threshold of their enemy's detection enchantments. Not only would she need to sneak into the camp out of sight, but she was going to have to hide her presence from the enchantments as well. Her approach used her knowledge of necromancy to fool the life detection enchantments, which would take some effort to maintain. It was all the more reason that she wanted to get the journal planted sooner rather than later.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine returned almost silently. She landed amongst the leaves at Ahnasha's feet and, after a moment of concentration, exploded in a green light that obscured her transformation from a raven back to a Breton. She straightened and shivered. A pause later and she made eye contact with Ahnasha. "One of the Orc twins is keeping watch he is still injured. Others are awake as well, including Do'rhajul. I could not see how many. Probably not all of them." Sabine gestured to show the maps again and pointed out the areas of interest. "These two tents are no longer standing. There is another tent here. Everything else is as shown."

Without prompt, Sabine took a step back and retrieved a potion skin from her shoulderbag. Holding the control rod in the crook of one arm, she unstoppered the potion and drank it down quickly. "I will count us down," she said afterwards. "Then we can move."

Before counting, Sabine cast a spell that waved around herself in a purple and blue aura. When it settled a second later, she was camouflaged and presumably undetectable by the wards. "After three. One...two...three...go." Another spell, deep cyan this time, flowed like a wave over the automatons from where Sabine was. Each fell eerily silent as they trundled through the undergrowth. The mission had truly begun.

Sabine went her own way to lead the automatons nearer to the camp. She kept her ears and eyes sharp and her footsteps light. As she approached the enemy camp, she looked out for any movement as well as concealment for her spheres. All the while, she kept a count in her head. She readied to send two small vibrations through to Ahnasha's ring with every minute that passed.

[EliteCommander]

It seemed odd watching the automatons leave with Sabine. They had come to life with grinding gears and bursts of steam, but not a sound to accompany them. At the moment, Ahnasha's task was fairly straightforward. She just needed to get as close to the camp as she could, quietly, so that she would be ready to move in once Sabine was in position. She cast her spell upon herself to conceal her from the detection enchantments, then moved forward towards the camp.

Ahnasha was moving in from the south, and at the moment, was just using trees and foliage to obscure herself. Another challenge of her task would be not only to stay out of sight, but to complete the task before she exhausted her magicka. Once she was close enough, it would essentially be required for her to use invisibility to get into the right tent, but that could be draining. And if she accidentally allowed her magicka to drain too much, then she could lose her protection against the detection enchantments.

Getting closer and closer, Ahnasha could see into the camp more clearly, though since she was not approaching from elevation, it was only one side of the camp that she could actually observe. Do'rhajul was taller than most of the tents, so it was easy to keep track of his position, but she could not see the Orc Sabine had mentioned from her angle. Ahnasha's bare feet made virtually no sound against the grass, and she could deftly avoid snapping any twigs or rustling any leaves. Her breathing was slow and deliberate, and she was able to plan her path to keep as much between her and the camp as possible for concealment on approach. Eventually, she reached the closest point at which she was comfortable waiting without invisibility and hid herself behind the trunk of a large tree. Sabine would have to get each automaton in position individually, which was going to take time. If they were discovered, Ahnasha was going to do everything she possibly could to make sure that both of them escaped. The kind of torment they would likely experience if they were captured was terrifying to consider.

[Muttonhawk]

Somehow, focussing on counting the seconds was more helpful to Sabine than distracting. She had to keep her mind on two things at once, leaving little room for nerves to escalate. She continued her approach until she found her own wide tree trunk to hide behind. One by one, she directed the spheres into individually concealed positions. They settled behind bushes, trees, large rocks, whatever obscured sight from the camp, even if they were still far enough away that the concealment would not be required. The slope up to the camp made hiding easier. Once in respective position, each sphere stilled its vibrations and waited like lost treasures.

Sabine sent two quick vibrations through Ahnasha's ring. She was ready. Now all that was left was to keep watch. She could climb the tree in front of her to get a vantage point, camouflaged as she was, to alert Ahnasha to trouble.

[EliteCommander]

From where Ahnasha was hiding, Sabine should have been able to see her at the moment. It was important that Sabine know where she was from the beginning, as she would have to remain particularly perceptive in order to keep track of Ahnasha through her infiltration. She was going to be invisible as she went into camp, so the enemy and Sabine alike would not be able to see her directly. To know where Ahnasha was, Sabine would have to pay attention to how she affected her surroundings as she moved, which would at least be possible since Sabine knew roughly where to look. If, at any point, Sabine lost track of Ahnasha, it would be much harder for her to give precise directions as she infiltrated the camp. Several of the signals they had devised involved a direction from Ahnasha's perspective.

As soon as Ahnasha received Sabine's signal, she paused a moment, did her best to keep her mind clear and focused, and cast the invisibility spell upon herself. Her steps towards the camp were light and deliberate, her presence almost imperceptible to one who did not know exactly where to look. Even Sabine would have to use some educated guesses to approximately guess her location.

In the camp, Sabine would be able to see that the Orc currently had his eye on the east side of camp, rather than the south with Ahnasha. The Breton Zealot had also emerged from one of the tents and had stopped Do'rhajul, apparently for a conversation. Otherwise, there was not any activity of note. Thusfar, their enemy did not seem to suspect anything was wrong.

[Muttonhawk]

From her vantage point up on a tree bough, Sabine kept her breathing shallow. The seconds counted by. She missed one or two and tried to skip some seconds to adjust. Such mistakes were inevitable. Keeping watch was more important.

With Arinette awake, the risk grew. Sabine did not so much as blink in watching her. She did not appear alarmed. Still, she sent the signal for a cardinal direction for Ahnasha. One feeling that felt as though the ring was turning in her finger for a moment. One of those signals was for 'north.' She would spot Arinette if she had not already.

Sabine wondered if Ahnasha could take Arinette's staff. That would solve many of their problems. She was not the one sneaking through the camp, however.

For lack of any other meaningful activity, Sabine held her breath and strained to try and hear what Arinette and Do'Rhajul were saying.

[EliteCommander]

Ahnasha avoided bushes, trees, and anything else that might make noise as she approached. She felt Sabine's signal and turned her head to the north to see its cause. After some searching, she spotted Do'rhajul and Arinette in the middle of their conversation. In response, Ahnasha slowly inched her way farther south and west, placing a tent between her and the pair. From there, she kept herself low to the ground and took step after deliberate step until she was just next to one of the tents on the west side of the camp. The approach was easy, but from here, it would start to get difficult. She was going to have to locate Yerig's tent in order to plant the book with the right person, and they did not know for sure which one it was. She would have to be able to peer into them one at a time without breaking her invisibility. Meanwhile, the Orc stood up and stretched out his arms, then started to look closer to the north side of the camp.

Do'rhajul and Arinette were speaking in hushed tones, but after glancing at the Orc, Arinette motioned for Do'rhajul to follow her. She started walking out of camp...right in the direction of Sabine. It was possible that the zealot just wanted to speak in private to Do'rhajul and had chosen that direction by chance. Or, she could have somehow detected Sabine. If Sabine called in the reinforcements now, Ahnasha would certainly not be able to plant the book, so it was up to Sabine to choose on whether to stay hidden, or abort the mission.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine hoped that the two most powerful enemies in the camp were not moving towards her. She had to fall back on hoping that they were not coming towards her because of her. It was difficult enough to read their motives in the dim light but multiple issues came into her mind. Even if they were wandering towards her by happen stance, she might accidentally make a sound or Do'rhajul might smell her.

Her breathing slowed to silence. The only sound to give Sabine away, if their hearing was supernaturally sharp, would be the hammering of her heart in her chest. She reassured her grip on the control rod, ready to awaken the spheres at a moment's notice.

But they had not noticed her yet, she believed.

Ahnasha was checking the tents already. If they were lucky, she would find the right one early.

The realisation that her escape would prove difficult while Do'rhajul and Arinette were right beneath her came only too late. As slowly and quietly as she could, Sabine fished in her pockets for a strong-smelling herb that could mask her scent, even if it would be an unusual scent in such a locale.

[EliteCommander]

Do'rhajul and Arinette took step after step closer to Sabine, but just as it seemed they were going to come right up to her, they stopped short of her tree. Arinette leaned in close, scowling at the towering Cathay-raht. Even while being physically eclipsed by the Khajiit, she still seemed to carry an air of authority. However, she spoke to him in hushed tones so that her words were not completely distinct to Sabine. It was obvious that she was upset about something, but Sabine would have to move ever so slightly closer to make out the words.

Ahnasha was crouched down low, standing rather uncomfortably on her toes to keep as little of herself in contact with the ground as possible. She moved around the first tent as close as she could without touching it. Anything she made contact with had a chance of giving her away, or even breaking her invisibility. When she finally came around the front of the tent, she found that the front flap was closed. It was not tied together or otherwise secured to anything, but even simply pulling it aside was out of the question. To figure out who the tent belonged to, she had to get down on her hands and knees and peer in through the smallest of gaps. In the process, she was unaware of her surroundings, and so did not notice that the Orc was starting to look at the west side of the camp.

[Muttonhawk]

With Do'rhajul and Arinette so close, Sabine was on the brink of panic. She was hardly able to keep track of the passing seconds. Frozen as she was, she desperately put together how much time she thought they had left. It was about time to send the signal to Ahnasha that she had one minute left on the enchantment. They would not be able to relocate the dwemer spheres without making noise from then on.

The lookout's movement caught Sabine's eyes. Ahnasha felt her ring turn twice. Look east.

Only a few moments of discussion passed between Do'rhajul and Arinette before Sabine was confident she was still undetected. She slowly and silently took another breath. She had to strain to hear what they were saying. Even then, she couldn't make the words out.

They were almost underneath her. She could shuffle forward on her branch. With little else in her mind to heed it, she took the chance. Holding the branch beneath her between her curled legs and leaning forward on one hand, she crawled herself forward at a ponderous pace. She held her breath most of the time. She had to make sure not to loosen any flakes of bark or disturb any leaves.

[EliteCommander]

Arinette was mid-sentence with Do'rhajul when Sabine finally managed to bring her ears close enough to make out their words. "...and it's going to cause problems. You know that as well as I. You are capable, Do'rhajul, I shall not deny it, but I am beginning to question your judgment. For all your years of service, for all your efforts, you have yet been unable to fulfill your end of your bargain with our lord. Now, you are ignoring my advice at every turn. It was a mistake to bring him with us. I know you have history, but he is too short-sighted to do what must be done for the good of everyone."

If Sabine could catch a view of Do'rhajul's face between the leaves, it would be easy to see that he was seething. "And I grow tired of you questioning me. I would not have even considered you for this team before you got that staff. You have no concept of what it means to be a warrior. To earn ones power through blood and toil. He does."

Ahnasha received Sabine's warning in time to turn and see the Orc approaching. She froze in place, holding her breath to keep herself as silent as possible. Her eyes were firmly on his, though his eyes wandered somewhat aimlessly through the forest. Luckily, he did not seem to be the most vigilant watchman at the moment, but that did not mean she was not still in danger. He wandered closer to her, enough that he might see the glimmer of her form through her invisibility if she moved too much. Or, he might simply see her displace the grass. At any rate, she had not yet been detected, but she was also being delayed by him.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine's attention was so split that the time they had left was not worth keeping exact track of any longer. If Ahnasha had not planted the book by now, they would be leaving in a loud fashion. That much was certain.

More fortunate news was the topic of Arinette and Do'rhajul's conversation. If they were talking about Yerig, and Sabine strongly suspected as much, the cracks in the team's cohesion were present as ever. She remained still to listen on, though she kept glancing up to the lookout.

They were stuck. Sabine could not see where Ahnasha was from this distance, but if she was anywhere near where the Orc lookout had wandered, she would be making no progress. Sabine thought about making a distraction. She quickly dismissed the idea. She could hardly do anything without being discovered.

A thought came to her. One of the automatons could distract the lookout. It would be risky, but setting a sphere to noisily trundle away from the camp might at least divert his attention. Sabine hesitated as she tried to envision what could go wrong. She waited to see what the lookout did next in the meantime.

[EliteCommander]

It took some time for the Orc to finally look away from Ahnasha. He had leaned in briefly into another one of the tents to grab a piece of fruit for himself before returning to the campfire. He had burned through some of Ahnasha's time, but at the very least, he had perhaps eliminated one of the tents that Ahnasha would need to check. It was unlikely that he would have ducked into Yerig's tent for a late-night snack.

When the Orc was finally facing away, Ahnasha slowly started to move forward once more. Her toes barely even contacted the ground on each step and her breaths were light. Again, she knelt down in front of the tent to peer inside. It was not easy to make out the details, but much to her own relief, she was confident that she saw the Nord laying in a bedroll, fast asleep. It seemed that their scouts' guesses had been accurate on the location of Yerig's tent. Now, there was just one last hurdle to overcome. She had to get the book into the tent without breaking her own invisibility.

Underneath Sabine's tree, Arinette's anger appeared to match Do'rhajul's. "Power does not care how much you 'deserve' it. Something you should keep in mind. Your usefulness is not limitless, Khajiit, nor is your authority. You are no longer my General; this is my mission now. I have allowed you your command because I have always respected your capabilities, but this man, he is a liability. I'll not have our mission undone by him, and if he interferes with our purpose, I will put him down myself."

Do'rhajul gave no hesitation in his reaction. With as close as they were, it was trivial for him to grab Arinette by the throat and slam her into the trunk of the very tree Sabine was hiding in. Baring his teeth, he spoke loudly enough that Sabine would hear him plainly. "Touch a hair on his head and I will rip out your throat myself. That stick does not make you a god; you had best keep that in mind."