EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

To say Wutanxeex was surprised would be an understatement. It was unbelievable that a Breton girl a few years younger than himself could outmatch him enough in strength to completely throw him off of her. To make matters worse, she jammed him in the stomach hard enough that he nearly lost his balance. It took him a few moments to recover, but when he did, he was angry. He was training to be a hunter, and this was a young girl who was drugged with a poison. It would be embarrassing for him to lose to her.

Wulanxeex's second attack was no more cautious than the first. The only thing he changed was that he was not going to telegraph his attack as early, and would hit somewhere less obvious. With the poison blurring her vision, he doubted she would be able to block accurately. He would try to dodge her counter if he could, but at this point, he didn't care if he got hit. He just wanted to hit her as hard as he could.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Wutanxeex is not that skilled. He is a new hunter, still learning. I do not think he is any better than your friend, but with the poison...I don't know." Kaleeth observed. Even if Wutanxeex was no expert, this fight still did not seem right. "Her opponent is not supposed to be just as skilled as her. The poison makes her tire faster, and it makes her head blurry and unfocused. The fight should not be like this. I hope it ends quickly, and she doesn't get hurt."

Sabine's opponent knew his one-handed club did not have the reach of her staff, so he had to close in. He didn't know any other way to do that than to just run at her when he had a chance. Once she started to stagger from the effects of the poison, he saw that chance. He bolted at her with his club raised and poised to hit her head. The fight was meant to be non-lethal, so he was supposed to be careful, but he did not exactly care how much he hurt her. Besides, he was using a practice weapon, so in his mind, a strike from it wouldn't be that bad anyway. If his attack failed for whatever reason, he would try to grapple her to eliminate the advantage her staff provided, and to use the strength advantage he thought he had.

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

After the first group was taken care of, Sharee waited in her cabin and assigned roles to the late-arriving officers over the next hour or so. She would have been angrier about the delay if it weren't for the celebration the night before. Even she wasn't so hypocritical as to yell at someone else for drinking too much at a celebration she started. Eventually, all officer roles were assigned and they could begin familiarizing themselves with their duties. For Sharee herself, she spent most of the day supervising the other officers and seeing how well they performed. There were definite downsides to recruiting mercenaries for the crew in that not all roles had many people that knew how to perform them. Some of the crew members were having to learn entirely new skills to fulfill their duties, which meant they were going to have some growing pains over the next few weeks as everyone settled in to life at sea. Still, they had gotten farther than Sharee expected, so she couldn't complain.

The next few days were much more calm than the first. The crew was slowly getting better, though that didn't stop Sharee from yelling and cursing at anyone who made too big of a mistake. She often drank and joked around with the crew quite often as well, but her demeanor could reverse in an instant. However, she always made sure that her attitude matched the crew's performance. If they were doing well, she would either be in a good mood, or would just go off by herself if she was in a bad mood. Despite their flaws, the crew was effective enough, and the ship was being kept in perfectly good condition. There were only a few details Sharee needed to take care of before they could go farther into Dominion waters. Namely, she needed to have all Imperial markings removed from the ship and change its name. For that, she already had something in mind.

After about three days at sea, the ship finally made port in the city of Mistral on the island of Khenarthi's Roost early in the morning. It was a small city on a small island, but it was just large enough to be interesting. Sharee would need to speak to the docking authority soon to clear them to stay for much longer, so she was approaching the situation with all of the respectability and professionalism as one could expect from her...which of course meant she would passed out drunk and naked on the floor of her cabin, having not even made it to her bed the previous night. While Sharee was an expert assassin, a tactical genius, and a highly-trained fighter, she was far from being without flaws when it came to being a leader.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth looked at Janius nervously and shrugged. "I...do not know. He cannot make you leave, so maybe this is the only way he can think of to hurt you?" She looked down and shook her head. Everything seemed to be going so wrong, which upset her to the point that tears started forming in her eyes. "Why does he have to hate you so much?" She said quietly, more to herself than anyone.

Thorantilth was obviously upset, but there was nothing he could do right now. Wutanxeex was just close enough in skill to what Meesei had described for Sabine that it was not blatantly unacceptable. The only way that he would be able to void the fight and pick a new opponent for her would be if either Zharan or Wutanxeex directly broke one of the rules of the fight. Until that happened, the Master-Hunter had control over who Sabine fought. Reluctantly, he took a waterskin from his satchel filled with the ritual poison and offered it to Sabine. "Here, this is the poison you need to drink. Take your position in the clearing opposite Wutanxeex. Once you drink it, the fight will begin. I...wish you luck. May the Hist guide you."

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

I think that's everyone, isn't it? I'll move us to Khenarthi's Roost in my next one.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It was not long before Kaleeth and Janius found their way to the site of the trial. The healer had cleared Sabine's potions for use by this point, and Thoranthilth had sent Tunxeek with the practice weapons, so all that was left was to wait for the Treeminder himself, and Sabine's opponent. Just as Thorantilth had said, there were a wide variety of practice weapons for Sabine to choose from. The blades and sharpened weapons had been blunted to prevent them from puncturing skin as easily, while the blunt weapons were not as heavy as their "real" counterparts. Overall, they could still be dangerous, but were not nearly as prone to causing severe injury as normal.

It took longer than expected for Thoranthilth to return, but when he did, it certainly did not deflate tensions. When he came into view, he was walking just behind Zharanthixil and a younger Argonian boy with a distraught and concerned expression on his face. "Zharan, please listen to me. I do not agree with your choice of opponent for this fight. Wutanxeex is too well-trained for this. The trial of body is not like your hunter trials, the participant does not train for years to pass it. It is not meant to be this difficult. Now please, I beg you reconsider. If you could find an opponent more appropriate for-"

"Enough! Zharanthixil shouted at the Treeminder. "Choosing her opponent is my right, is it not?"

"Yes it is, but-"

Zharanthixil quickly interrupted before Thorantilth could continue. "Good, now let's get this over with." The Master-Hunter turned his head towards Sabine, looking at her with a disdainful expression. "You, Breton. Pick your weapons and ready yourself." He ordered as the opponent he selected took his place in the clearing. The boy looked to be a year or two older than Sabine. As he only wore a simple loincloth and had no tattoos, there was nothing to indicate his status in the village, but he was an initiate hunter. He had a blunted bone dagger on the leather strap that acted as his belt, and a practice club in his hand. He was not very well trained by any means, but Zharanthixil had selected the toughest opponent he thought he could get away with. Not only that, but Wutanxeex had taken to believing much of what the Master-Hunter said about outsiders. He did not have the same deep-rooted hate, but he was not fond of outsiders and was looking forward to fighting with Sabine.

Although they had spoken in Jel, Meesei had been sure to translate for Sabine. Like Thorantilth, she was none too happy about the situation, but she was a bit more hopeful than the Treeminder. Zharanthixil had likely selected an older boy to fight Sabine for the perceived strength advantage he would have, which was why it would come as a surprise when Sabine could easily outmatch him physically. There was, however, still the matter of his fighting skill to contend with. Sabine could not just rely on raw power to beat him, but she had other advantages she could use. Meesei looked down at Sabine beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Remember, just play to your strengths. You have more advantages than you think."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth held on tightly to Janius when he hugged her, and once they pulled away, she kept her arms on his shoulders. "I...don't really know what to say. I mean, I can't think of anything. You saw how we was, how strong he believes. He has always had those skulls. He said he keeps them to remind himself of his failures, and to remind him of why he has to be strong for the village. I think it just reminds him of pain."

Letting out a sigh, Kaleeth looked around, then leaned in and gave Janius a kiss. As easy as it would be to just stay away from Janius to avoid upsetting her father, she did not want that. While she did not want to anger him, she also did not want to accept his hate. In her mind, parting from Janius over this would be just the same as accepting her father's biases as valid. "Maybe we should just try to avoid talking to father and enjoy our time together. We do not have too much time left, and...I would rather enjoy that time with you instead of worrying about how to not upset father. We should not let him ruin it for us. Your friend is having trial right now, right? We could go support her."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hey, that RP I mentioned is up, or at least the OOC is. Here is a link if you're interested: http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/51219/posts/ooc

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Although she desperately wanted to say something to her father, Kaleeth was simply too afraid to think of anything helpful. Anytime she tried, she just kept thinking about how it might cause him to get even angrier at her. She didn't want to destroy her relationship with her father, but neither did she want to abandon Janius. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice when Janius started to leave. She looked at her father nervously, but as soon as she met his disappointed gaze, she quickly turned her head and left just behind Janius.

As soon as she was outside, Kaleeth hung her head in shame. She had been given the opportunity to say something to her father, but she had been too nervous to do anything and just let Janius take the majority of his rage. She felt guilty and was afraid she had angered Janius in her inaction. "I...I am sorry, I just...I couldn't think. I looked at him and I couldn't stop shaking and I...I'm sorry." She said, taking her eyes off the ground long enough for her to look at Janius with a pleading expression.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"What do I know? I know that we invited them into our home. We gave them food, shelter, we shared stories and gave them advice. We showed them all the hospitality we could, and they used it to spy on us, figure out when our defenses would be weak, then used that to slit our throats. I tried staying away from you. I tried just waiting it out and letting you leave, but you proved that you can not be trusted. Now, with what you've done, I know I was right about you." Zharanthixil answered before snatching the skulls from Janius' hands and replacing them on the shrines.

The Master-Hunter turned his head back and bared his teeth at Janius. "And I know I want you out of my home...NOW!" He shouted. "Leave, before I make you leave." Zharanthixil's demeanor was considerably more threatening than before, and he did not seem to intent on listening to anything Janius had to say.

Kaleeth wanted to speak up, to say...something to defend Janius, but she had never heard her father shouting like this before. Her mind was filled with fear, causing her to freeze up. Her father was not yelling directly at her, so it was possible she might be able to say something to help, but she couldn't even stop herself from shaking, let alone form a cohesive thought. Her mind completely drew a blank on what she could say or do to help the situation.