EliteCommander

Blood Act I: Auxilary Tale - Ssarak's Story (Private Party)

Lucius Cypher said
Well, it was mostly going to be Annabeth saying "Okay, let's go to Underhaven." And than I fill up the rest of the paragraph with her internal thoughts and such, however not only did I feel that was a cheap way to add fluff, but didn't have much anyways. Barely five hundred characters. At least this way I could add a bit from Annabeth and Colette too. you don't mind if Colette sits in on the conversation, right?

Alright, I assume Coco will come along?

Blood Act I: Auxilary Tale - Ssarak's Story (Private Party)

We may wish to finish the current conversation first, though.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Though they had said nothing while they were watching the pair, Meesei could tell that the others shared her apprehension on the situation. It wasn't as much as something felt wrong as it was that nothing felt right. From the convenience of having two cultists outside, unguarded, to the ominous atmosphere itself, she felt like something could go wrong at any moment. Nevertheless, they could still hear the cultists' conversation very clearly from their position.

The Altmer vampire did not seem as enthusiastic as the Argonian. "I disagree; I feel this is a waste of time. I doubt we will gain anything more than if we just handle it in the...usual fashion. But, the masters' orders are our command. Even I am not arrogant enough to believe I could yet oppose them."

The Argonian moved away from the tree he was leaning on and looked around for a moment. "Speaking of which, the intruders, they should be present by now, correct?"

Upon those words, Meesei's first reaction was to signal everyone to retreat, but the Altmer's reaction gave them little time to act. He held out his hand, conjuring up a small orb of dark, pulsing energy. It sent out pitch black tendrils of energy that seemed to meld seamlessly into the fog around them. "Indeed." He grinned, then diffused the orb and looked directly at Meesei and the others. There was no clear line of sight between them, but that did not seem to matter. "You may reveal yourselves now. I assure you, there is no use in hiding...or running, for that matter. You see, you are quite surrounded."

Before the Altmer even finished speaking, at least a dozen forms stepped out of the fog around them. About half were reanimated skeletons and corpses, while the others were robed individuals, mostly Argonian, with one or two of other races. Like the Altmer, some were pale enough to suggest that they could be vampires. How they had gone undetected, Meesei did not know, but they seemed to appear from nowhere, perhaps using invisibility. Beyond that, their scents, even those of the reanimated corpses, were completely nonexistent. With how completely they had hidden themselves, Meesei wondered if they were perhaps just convincing illusions. Unfortunately, the dark power permeating the area seemed to be deadening her magical perceptions, and she was not about to test that theory without knowing for sure. As it stood, they were surrounded on all sides, outnumbered, and with no cover. They did not have the advantage, and the cultists obviously already knew they were there, so for the moment, Meesei reluctantly stood from her hiding spot and signaled for the others to do the same.

As the pack revealed themselves, the Altmer gave a satisfied chuckle. "Surprised? I would not be. Did you really believe you could hide from us in our own home, after being here for days, no less?" He paused, then slowly took in a deep breath. "The power in the air, do you feel it? Because it can feel you as well. Our masters' magic is powerful, and as ancient as the ruins themselves. There has not been a step you have taken since you entered our domain that our master has not felt. Now, as for the matter at hand, the reason you are not dead is because our master finds it curious that a pack of lycans would be so blatantly searching for us in times as...tumultuous as these. You shall follow us, and speak to our master, or die where you stand."

The Depths of Deception

The rest of the team was prompt to arrive and take their seats in the Hummingbird. Rareth had previously spoken with Ashley about the flight plan, so she went ahead to the cockpit to perform the pre-flight checks while Rareth addressed the rest of the team. There was no denying that the mission would be dangerous, but given the types of people who she was working with, they had all likely been a part of more dangerous operations before. Rareth certainly had. The greatest challenge here would be to minimize civilian casualties, as it was a hostage situation.

"Alright, looks like everyone is here. We should be taking off shortly. I'm sure you have all reviewed the plan, but just to be sure, but the objective is to identify the exact locations of the hostages onboard the station, then transmit that information to the small fleet that is waiting outside the planet's orbit. The station is decently large, and there were a fair number of civilians onboard, so there is no way we can extract them quietly. We just have to give our allies the information necessary to strike fast before these terrorists can conduct any executions. The Hummingbird has been outfitted with an IFF tag that should signal the station's defenses to ignore us, and to not report our approach. As well, the video feeds recovered by the Assembly's hackers early show a small hanger near the bottom of the station that the rebels do not appear to be using. We should be able to use it to get in undetected. If not, we do have one backup plan. The company that made this station has given us a program that can cause the station to block all communications within its hull. If we are detected, we can use that to prevent them from reporting our position, but it should be used only as a last resort. The rebels have been forced to struggle to gain control of the station's technology ever since they occupied it, so a comms blackout may not immediately suggest an infiltration, but it will put them on alert. Plus it would only be a matter of time before they figure out how to disable the jammer, so we will be on a timer from the moment we activate it. Now, since scouring every room of the station would be impractical, our best bet is to find the room that the rebels are using as a data center and find whatever records they are keeping on their prisoners. There are a few likely locations we can check." Rareth explained. For this mission, they would likely have the advantage of being able to use some of the station's technology against the rebels, but even so, they could not necessarily rely on them, just in case the rebels turned out to be more capable than they guessed.

The Depths of Deception

I believe I will go ahead and make a post assuming everyone arrived. I need to do some work first, though.

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

Sharee would of course want the best gear they could get for the crew, but the situation wouldn't allow for him to make said gear. She isn't really expecting him to make anything. They have to make due with what they have, so he could use them in the way you suggested, or save them for when they are in a better position, or a bit of both. After their first job, when they have a bit of capital to spare, the ship's situation could start to change. They could afford some actual upgrades, like a forge for Malakaus (not quite as good as one you would find on shore, but workable), Noelle's garden, better armor, better weapons (though they wouldn't have enough for all of the above). The ship will get better over time, just not all at once.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The pack knew the location of their destination this time, but even so, they aired on the side of caution and kept up a slow pace, moving carefully and quietly through the ominously dark swamp. It took a few hours for them to grow close to the xanmeer. As they traveled, Meesei could not help but to feel that the darkness around her was growing stronger. She wondered in the back of her mind if these feelings she was experiencing were not just brought on by caution or fear, but something more...substantial. It had been quite a long time since she had been near one, but she could liken the feeling to being around an Ayleid ruin. The powerful and ancient magics they used were woven into the stones themselves, which left a lasting impression that any mage could feel. For the Ayleids, the magic they used was often tainted with darkness, but in this place, the darkness was more akin to a flood. Even though it should have been around noon, between the thick canopy of trees and sea of fog, it felt like the sun had never fully risen. By the time they were within sight of the ruin, Meesei did not question that there was something fundamentally different about this place; she just wondered if the cultists had selected it because of the corruption, or if they had created it themselves.

As they came upon the xanmeer, the pack could see it more clearly than the previous night, as the light level was at least a small measure brighter than before. There were a few ruined structures in the area, but the primary structure was the xanmeer itself: a large, stepped pyramid with four stairways leading to the top from all sides. It was difficult to see at the distance they were observing from, but most of the structure was engraved with carvings from the first Argonian civilization. Most were pictograms, or symbols with meanings Meesei could only guess at. Time had taken its toll on the xanmeer, as a few of the steps were partially crumbling and only two of the stairways seemed climbable, but it appeared structurally sound. From what Meesei could remember, most xanmeer actually had entrances to underground tunnels at the very top of the pyramid, but Meesei certainly did not intend to enter through the front door of their lair without being invited.

Where as the xanmeer had seemed completely dead the previous night, this time, there was some activity in the form of two individuals standing at the base of one of the intact stairways. Meesei stopped the pack a fair distance away to observe from afar, but, quite conveniently, the two individuals started walking away from the pyramid mere moments after the pack ceased moving. They were not heading directly for the pack, but they were moving in their general direction. The closer they drew, the more detail Meesei became able to see. One was an Argonian male in a hooded black robe, while the other was an Altmer man, also in a hooded robe. His skin did not have the golden hue as was common among Altmer, but rather it was unusually pale. Given the context of who these cultists served, he was likely a vampire. Meesei and the others remained perfectly quiet out of their line of sight, but she could not help but to feel that something was wrong.

"So, what is the progress on the Master's orders?" The Altmer asked, their conversation becoming more clear as the pair moved closer to the pack.

"It should not be long now. I have to say, this is starting to form into a rather interesting situation. Imagine the possibilities if the master is correct; it will be a fantastic opportunity." The Argonian responded. The two walked a short distance farther, not seeming to care that they were wading through ankle-high water. They finally stopped when the Argonian leaned up against a particularly large tree not too far from the pack's hiding place and continued his conversation with the Altmer. Though still nervous about the situation, Meesei reasoned they could learn more about the cult by listening in to what the pair had to say.

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

Going based on the processes actual blacksmiths used, they would have a team of people that would do different jobs. The basic forging actually took a lot less time than the grinding process, which took a week or two. Without that, though, the blade is useless. A master blacksmith could make better blades, but not really all that faster, like how a chef can't just make food cook faster. To speed it up, you need modern tools. In the long run, beyond just the first job, it would be more beneficial to take his time and make them quality, since there is no real way to have them in time for the first score.

Though, if you start talking about Japanese forging for Katanas, you're looking at 7+ months.

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

I'm not keen on using all of Skyrim's measurements. How much malachite and moonstone was in that chest? Also, keep in mind that in reality, it takes weeks to make a single sword. If he had a team helping him, it wouldn't really speed up the time required to make the blades, but he could make more at once. He won't really be able to make anything in the few days he'll have, but he could get the process started.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As the rest of the pack finished their breakfast and gathered their equipment, Ahnasha grabbed the pack containing her supplies, then walked over to Sabine, carrying Rhazii in her arms. "Okay Sabine, it looks like we are about to go. Now, are you sure you remember everything we taught you? It took a lot of effort, but we managed to get enough milk to last at least a few days. We should be back much sooner than that, but you have it, just in case. Also, remember how I taught you to hold him if he starts crying. He likes to be rocked slowly, close to your heart. I'm hoping your heartbeat will sooth him as well as mine. Oh, and be sure to keep him clean. His fur tends to get dirty, especially around..." Ahnasha interrupted herself briefly when she saw that most of the others were getting ready to go. Her protective instincts were certainly showing at this point. It was difficult for her to part from her child, but the logical part of her mind knew that it made the most sense for Sabine to be the one to care for him. She just wished that rational part of her mind could overpower the emotional part. "I...am sure you will be fine. After all, you'll have Leaps to help you keep watch. Stay safe." Ahnasha said, finally handing Rhazii over to Sabine.

Seeing that everyone had gathered their belongings, Meesei stepped to the edge of camp and addressed the pack. "Is everyone ready? We shouldn't be gone for more than a day, but be prepared for more just in case."