EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

After Ariel began to browse, Speaks-With-Thread continued to watch her customers to make sure there was nothing they needed assistance with. It was not long before Lorag approached the Argonian shopkeeper with the set of clothes he picked out draped over his arm.

"Ah, have you found something you like, sir?" She asked.

"Yeah. I haven't tried it on, but I can already tell it's too small for me, though. I can't find anything my size. You said you can alter it or something?" Lorag asked.

Speaks carefully took the set of clothes and held it up in front of her, looking back and forth between it and the Orc. "Yes, of course. I'll just need to take some measurements of you, then I can begin working on it. I don't have any other alterations I need to work on at present, but at first glance, I think this one might take a while. It should be done by tomorrow morning, in any case."

"Alright. I got my armor, so it doesn't bother me." Lorag answered, pausing for a moment before deciding to ask his next question. "There's something I'm wondering about, though. I saw some clothes over there that looked like they were way too big for anything except a few kinds of Khajiit, but they didn't look like they were made for them. What wears those things?"

"Nagas." Speaks-With-Thread answered directly. "They are a kind of Argonian, usually standing between seven and eight feet tall. I suppose they are not as well known to the rest of Tamriel as the Khajiit sub-races, since they mostly stay in the inner marshes. It isn't too common to see them in Thorn, but I do see them from time to time, so I always make sure to keep one or two sets of clothing in their size."

"Huh, didn't know that." Lorag commented. Now, he wanted to go out and find one of these Nagas just to see what they looked like.

Ahnasha shrugged her shoulders and took the dress. She supposed it made sense to at least see if it was the right size first. While Janius was finding something for Fendros, Ahnasha entered the changing room immediately after Meesei exited it. She quickly changed, then stepped back out into the main room to get a look at herself in the mirror. As she had mentioned before, she did not care what it looked like. It was simple, with only a few feathers for decoration, so she wouldn't stand out, and it was close enough to her size to be comfortable. She did like how there was nothing to get in the way of her stomach, but since it was made for an Argonian, the tail hole was much larger than the actual thickness of her tail, so it left her behind quite exposed. Nevertheless, she walked back over to Fendros, looking down at her dress. "I think this one will do just fine, other than the tail hole. Hopefully, that doesn't take too long to fix."

Once Sabine had the dress, Meesei could tell she was confused. Sabine had even less experience in cities and shops than herself, so her apprehension was understandable. "If you like it, then just put it on and make sure it fits, then we will pay for it. Since we are in a city, it is appropriate to use that room over there to change." She explained.

Shadows in the Moonlight

"Well, I would try to avoid getting stressed about it. There is no telling what can set off our transformations. It could be anger, or it could be any extreme of emotion. I don't feel much of an urge to turn now, so I'm guessing the urge isn't as strong right after turning. We will need to be careful as time passes, though." Sam responded.

Eventually, the pair reached Sam's car, much to his relief. Everything looked just like he remembered leaving it. Looking into its windows, he checked to make sure nothing had been disturbed or stolen, though at this point, as long as he could get the car running, he would be happy. It was fortunate for them that Sam had not thought it necessary to lock the car or take his keys for what was supposed to be a short walk through the forest. Perhaps it had not been the smartest strategy to keep the car safe, but it was serving them well now.

"Oh, what a relief. Maybe the universe isn't conspiring against us after all. I have never been so glad to see this ugly old car in my life. Get in, and we can see about getting home." Sam got into the drivers seat and waited a moment for Stevie to get in the passenger side. Now, they had to make it all the way into their apartment without being spotted, which hopefully would be easier than he feared. "Alright, okay, let's think. It's dark, so that will help us a bit. At least most people around our apartment won't be out at this hour. I think maybe you should lay down in your seat on the way back to stay out of sight, just to be safe."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak also found himself annoyed with the swordsman's comment, but they did not have to deal with his arrogance for long before he lost consciousness. Ssarak shook his head. "We have too many wounded with life threatening injuries, and not enough healers as it stands. My wounds will not kill me, let them focus on those who need it. Like this...individual." Ssarak approached the swordsman and picked him up by his feet while Meirin grabbed his arms, expediting the process of taking him to the back of the dining hall where the other wounded were being treated. Despite their current success in the overall battle, the situation on their side of the dining hall was desperate in a different way. They had almost no proper medical supplies, with no shortage of wounded. Their vitamancers were being taxed to their limits, so something needed to change if they were going to save all of the casualties..

"We should rejoin the fight as best as we can, and aid in pushing out the demons. If we can open the way to the infirmary, we may be able to do more for the injured." Ssarak suggested. He was beaten, bloody, and in real danger of cracking his ribs, but he had not exhausted his mageblood to the point that he could not help coordinate an offense. The others seemed similarly fatigued, but at the moment, their forces had the momentum to push out the demons.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Technically, yes, but that is something you want to be very careful with." Speaks-With-Thread answered, her expression showing she was serious. "There is nothing actually wrong with what you described doing, but if someone finds a non-native of Black Marsh with a sample of Hist sap, they usually do not assume innocent intentions. It isn't illegal to possess or anything, they would just be suspicious. Another thing to consider, though, is that you should not attempt to tap any sap directly from a Hist tree; to do so would be harmful to the tree. Instead, you should find a tree with a pool of sap already at its base. Unfortunately, to protect our eggs, no one but the treeminders are allowed in the fence surrounding the city tree. Your best bet would be to search outside the city for a tree with sap at its base. As for test subjects...I think we might actually be able to work something out. If I could get a discount on the final product, and maybe a free bottle or two, I think that would be a fair trade. The thing is, I am not the most...appropriate person for that job. Fashion is my business, so my appearance is important to the success of that business. If something happened to go wrong, it could be harmful to me. My husband...I don't see him agreeing to that. He is far too cautious. His brother Rukeewei, though, he has always been more accepting of risk. I love my husband, but if it weren't for his brother, they never would have got the inn off the ground. Anyway, for two free bottles and a discount, I can convince Rukeewei to help you out. Sound good?"

Meesei found herself annoyed at the size of the room when she entered. She felt it would be much more efficient to have a room that could accommodate multiple people.Still, she didn't care about the contact with Janius as he squeezed out, and she was able to change into her new dress in a few minutes. As fortune would have it, the dress fit with no alterations required. After stepping back into the main room, she did not bother looking into the mirror, as she did not truly care what she looked like. The only thing that concerned her was that it was acceptably comfortable for city clothing. She was about to approach Speaks-With-Thread to pay for it when she noticed Sabine eying one of the dresses, so she approached her from behind and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you like this one?"

Ahnasha nodded to Fendros, walking up to one of the mannequins. "Yeah, I think something simple like this one would work. I don't care what it looks like, just that it is functional." The dress she pointed out was similar to Meesei's, except that it was red in color and there was nothing to cover her stomach. As a result, she wouldn't have to worry about it becoming uncomfortable in a few months. "The only problem is that there are none in this style fitted for Khajiit.. I'm guessing she doesn't get too many Khajiit in here. I suppose that would be a simple enough alteration to make, though."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

There we go, I posted.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak had been doing his best to provide useful information to the guards' frontline via telepathic communication. Mental communication was not all too taxing when he did not have to break through mental wards, so as long as he did not attempt many more illusions, he guessed he would have the stamina to last through the fight. He just hoped this fight would be the last one. This battle felt like organized warfare...something he was familiar with. His eyes scanned the enemy lines, trying to determine their next move. As they were demons, they fought differently than any army he had faced, but there were still enough similarities for his experience to be useful. He could tell when it seemed like they were about to push a particular spot.

Whenever he noticed a threat, Ssarak did what he could to reinforce the area by notifying guards of the attack, directing archers to the location, and moving in himself to reinforce the front. Overall, the demons pressed hard, but they were holding. Ssarak used the defensive posture of the guards, and the height difference between them, to his advantage. While the guards used their shields to block, he could swing over their heads to wound or kill their attackers while they were vulnerable. This continued until a few demons broke a small hole in their lines, which Ssarak immediately tried to fill himself. He pushed back a few of the smaller ones with a few swings of his axe and his overall size and strength, but one of the larger ones gave him more trouble. Instead of dodging or defending when Ssarak took a swing, the seemingly suicidal demon simply let Ssarak's axe through so it could land a strong hit on Ssarak's chest with its warhammer, which he was only slightly able to deflect by angling his body.

After the impact of the hammer, Ssarak was nearly thrown off of his feet. The guards finished off the demon and filled in the gap, but the blow had left its mark. There was a decent sized dent in his chestpiece, and, after he was able to breathe again, he felt a slight, but noticeable pain with every breath. One of his ribs was at least fractured. Fortunately, the battle seemed to be shifting. The teachers had taken notice of some of the tougher demons, demoralizing some of their minions. The guards were not only holding, but beginning to push back. Ssarak had been hurt worse before, and could still fight if he needed to, but it would not be appropriate for him to lead the charge. If he was correct about his injury, it would not develop into a serious one as long as he moved carefully and, most importantly, did not get hit again.

Glancing away from the frontline for a moment, he saw some of his friends in various states of exhaustion and injury, but all obviously alive. He felt a bit of relief come over him, but with the battle still raging, it was not over yet. Still, he took a moment to approach the body of the Black Knight. Ssarak had caught glimpses of the demon, but was too focused on holding the front line to join the others in killing it. The Knight had looked to be strong, but with Meirin standing over its corpse and half of a spear protruding from its face, it was obviously not strong enough.

"Impressive." Ssarak said to the group as he looked to Meirin. "Are you hurt?" He asked, not truly caring about his own condition.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

In my post, can I assume the teachers have taken on the elite demons and the battle has taken a turn for the better, or has that not happened yet?

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

For Ssarak, short term he is going to keep with the private lessons while trying to deal with the situation with Dirssi. I'm guessing after the timeskip will be the time to deal with that. Long term...I'll get back to you on that.

I should probably post now, if I can stay connected to the site. It has been going down a lot for me.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'm starting to get concerned about the site. I'll send you a link to a titanpad we can use to talk if it goes down for an extended time.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei browsed through the store, both looking for a set of clothing for herself, and just to see what kinds of styles the locals seemed to like. It seemed like the more expensive clothing was decorated with feathers and intricate embroidery. Meesei had to admit that she could see how it would look nice, but even so, her focus was mostly on the simpler, cheaper sets. She noticed that Sabine was following her around the store, which made sense considering she had never been to a tailor before. Of course, Meesei had not either, but she was not nervous like Sabine. Meesei wondered if she would find something she liked enough to select for herself, or if she would end up picking out something for her.

Eventually, Meesei found a simple dress (without hood or shoulderpads) that would work well enough. She still preferred her usual manner of dress, but it would be comfortable enough. Like the pack, Argonians did not tend to place too much emphasis on modesty, at least not ones from villages like Meesei's, but since she was not entirely familiar with the customs of the city Argonians, she aired on the side of caution and used the changing room. It did not actually occur to her that it might seem strange that she did not wait for Janius to be finished first, but...she was still learning.

Ahnasha joined with Fendros in admiring the jewelry. It was just as she remembered seeing in Leyawiin, which meant the pieces were quite beautiful. She did notice that the ones with labeled prices were noticeably cheaper than what she remembered from Leyawiin, but even so, they cost more gold than they needed to spend. She placed a hand on Fendros' back and smiled. "Like I said, Saxhleel jewelry is well-known for a reason, but don't get any ideas. As nice as they are, we really don't need to spend that kind of gold. How about you help me pick out some clothes instead?"

Lorag looked around the store, not really satisfied with anything he saw. Since he could get away with wearing armor most of the time, he probably wouldn't wear what he bought too often, but he would need it nonetheless. Most of the clothes seemed to have too many senseless decorations for his liking. "All these feathers and weird patterns...what am I, some dainty Altmer noble?" He thought to himself. He managed to find a simple set of pants and...whatever he was supposed to call the upper half of the set, that was plain enough to be passable, but it looked to be just a bit too small for him. The tailor would need to make some alterations. Strangely, there were larger sizes, but the next size up was way larger than the set he chose. The tail-hole was too large for it to be for a Cathay-raht, so he was actually pretty curious to see what kind of giant those clothes were meant for.

Speaks-With-Thread gave an affirmative nod to Ariel. She picked up on the slight nervousness in her voice, so she kept her tone friendly and hopefully calming. "Of course, I am happy to help. Perfumes haven't been as popular in the past with Argonians, but if you can pull off one thing, I could see it working. I'm not sure if it is the same for Humans, but the sweet scent of Hist sap is very favorable to us. Whenever I go out to look at the city tree, the scent from the hatching pools is simply astounding. As I'm sure you know, however, Hist sap is sacred, and to use it in any sort of concoction is forbidden. If you could find a way to replicate that scent without actually using the sap, I know that a lot of people would pay for it. As for makeup, our tastes are more...bold than those of other races. We like bright and colorful cosmetics that go well with our scales. Some like to increase the intensity of their own natural colors, while others like to paint on patterns that accent our natural coloration. Since Argonian scales are so varied in color, you would need all sorts of different colors to reach the widest market. That would be easy enough, but the real trick is to create makeup that is completely waterproof, but is still easily removed. Usually, only expensive cosmetics can do both."