Once Orskan had his gems and dagger, he took a step back with an uncomfortable expression. "I...am sure she would, but I am sure we both have much to do. Just...give her my regards." He said as he backed away, then finally left entirely. Despite his kindness in handing over the book, it seemed as if he was not quite comfortable enough with the pack for such a friendly exchange.
With the gems dealt with, there was nothing more bringing the pack to stay, and for all of them, they were more than happy to leave. Meesei was fortunate enough to have brought her map with her during the battle the previous day, so it had been recovered. Once they had planned out their path, the pack moved to the exit and climbed out of the xanmeer for the last time. Although they now had a deal with this cult, Meesei hoped to never see them again. The next few weeks of travel between their current location and Thorn would hopefully be less eventful than the past few days, but it would not be easy, if only for the fact that they would need to work to find anything of value they could. Whether it was a tough creature's hide or some rare alchemical ingredient, most of what they collected would need to be sold in order to pay for passage to the Imperial City.
Kaleeth was just as happy as any of the others about getting away from the cult, but there was one thing which was making her silent. It was something that she had assumed for quite a while was going to happen eventually, but now she knew for sure it was going to happen. As they stepped down from the xanmeer and into the swamp, she slowly gave Janius a nervous look. "So...we are leaving Black Marsh?"
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Meesei smiled to Sabine. "As long as she is in the city when we pass through, we will. We may not be able to stay for too long, but it will give you a chance to catch up." She commented. They had a plan, so there was not much left to do other than to wait for Orskan's response. Fortunately, he had left the room right as Neesa had arrived, so it was only a few minutes before he returned. Ahnasha was trying to quiet down Rhazii, so he walked up to Fendros, notably with a book under his arm.
"Whatever you do, you better not tell Vinaremo about this, or I will never hear the end of it. Just give me back the dagger and gems, then its yours. One of you can read Daedric script, correct? That is what the tome is written it. I should also note that this will not grant you a quick and easy path to eternal life. There is a lot of work and dedication required. Likely, you will require more knowledge than what is contained within this tome, but it will take you through the first steps on the path." He explained. .
"Whatever you do, you better not tell Vinaremo about this, or I will never hear the end of it. Just give me back the dagger and gems, then its yours. One of you can read Daedric script, correct? That is what the tome is written it. I should also note that this will not grant you a quick and easy path to eternal life. There is a lot of work and dedication required. Likely, you will require more knowledge than what is contained within this tome, but it will take you through the first steps on the path." He explained. .
I don't know if I'll be able to post much tonight, as I am terribly exhausted. Perhaps one.
"Hmm, well you are not wrong, I suppose." Orskan began, scratching his chin in thought. "You did not fill the gems, and I will still have to make a request to acquire the souls, but you did make them available to me." As he heard a door open near the back of the throne room, he glanced back quickly, then returned his gaze to Fendros. "I will need to think on this and will give you an answer before you depart. For now, our Lady has arrived."
Once Hal-Neesa took her seat in her throne, the rest of the pack rose from the tables and stood at the base of the throne just as they had before. It would still likely be only Meesei speaking to her, but they did not want to start appearing rude after all they had gone through. The pack was spared any kind of formal greeting or procedure, as Neesa simply began immediately. "I am afraid that my husband will not be joining us for this meeting, as there are still duties he must attend to, but we have spoken and have come to our decision. In completing your task, you proved that you lycans are willing to be obedient servants to us in exchange for what you want, and without the same kind of deception I expect from a follower of Clavicus Vile. It is for that reason that we have decided to accept your deal. Our efforts, and the efforts of all other covens of Molag Bal over which we have influence, will restrict any...harmful action we take from targeting Hircine's followers. In return, we will expect the occasional service of one of Hircine's packs."
"Thank you, Lady Neesa." Meesei said, bowing her head respectfully. "I will inform our Lord of the agreement as soon as I can."
Neesa waved her hand dismissively. "You need not concern yourself with that. I will deal with the Lord of the Hunt personally. There is, however, one more matter, a gift to signify our new...relationship. A gift of information. You were not the first to come to us seeking an agreement. Agents of Clavicus Vile came to us about a month ago seeking your very same request. As is to be expected with Vile's servants, however, they attempted to deceive us. We allowed most of them to leave, but exacted payment for their deception in the form of one of their members. Before killing her, we extracted some most interesting information from her. The next destination of her group may be most interesting to you. In her words, they seek the most influential of Hircine's hounds within the Imperial province. At first, I assumed they were searching for Hircine's champion, but since the bearer of his ring is standing in front of me and certainly not in Cyrodiil, I can only assume she was referring to someone else. Do you happen to know of what she was referring to?"
"I do." Meesei gave a nod, as she understood well what Vile's follower meant, though it was not encouraging.
"Well, then I suppose I will leave it to you to act upon that information. With that, I believe our business together is concluded. For the moment, at least. You may take your leave of our home." Neesa announced before getting up to return to her other duties. It appeared there was going to be no ceremonious farewell, but for that, Meesei certainly was not going to complain. The sooner they could leave this place, the better. Plus, the information Neesa shared with her gave them something rather pressing to contend with. The others in the pack did not likely know what Neesa meant by the most influential pack in Cyrodiil, as Meesei had not mentioned it before. It was not a secret per ce, it simply had never been important to them.
As they returned to the large dining table to gather their supplies, Lorag was the first to speak up. "So, uh, Alpha. You going to share what on Nirn it was you two were talking about? I thought we were the most "influential" pack?"
"We are, but what I think Neesa's prisoner was referring to was a pack specific to Cyrodiil. For most of you, I found you myself, through visions from Hircine, but I do not believe that is the case for most lycan. As you know, lycans, even those who serve our Lord, are not an organized force. We are all largely independent and may never even see another pack, but in each region, there are some who are an exception. They directly serve Hircine with the primary purpose of finding isolated lycans and helping to bring them into a pack of their own. They are often the largest and most influential of Hircine's packs, and I believe I know where the one in Cyrodiil is. It could have changed since the last I heard of them, but I believe they make their home near Bruma." Meesei explained.
"Hmph, so Vile's goin' after Hircine's recruiters, then? Makes sense I guess. I guess we'll need to stop them, but according to her, they have a month's head start on us. How are we going to catch up?" Lorag questioned.
"That is a good question." Meesei began as she finished grabbing the last of her equipment. "We need to get to Bruma as quickly as possible, but any land route would be too slow. The fastest route would likely be to take a ship straight to the Imperial City, then move north from there. We will have to do a lot of gathering, scavenging, and hunting to get the coin necessary for the trip on the way to the port, but I still believe it will be the fastest route. We can head into the marsh and hunt for a time, then head east and get on a ship at Thorn. From there, we can head to the Imperial City."
Once Hal-Neesa took her seat in her throne, the rest of the pack rose from the tables and stood at the base of the throne just as they had before. It would still likely be only Meesei speaking to her, but they did not want to start appearing rude after all they had gone through. The pack was spared any kind of formal greeting or procedure, as Neesa simply began immediately. "I am afraid that my husband will not be joining us for this meeting, as there are still duties he must attend to, but we have spoken and have come to our decision. In completing your task, you proved that you lycans are willing to be obedient servants to us in exchange for what you want, and without the same kind of deception I expect from a follower of Clavicus Vile. It is for that reason that we have decided to accept your deal. Our efforts, and the efforts of all other covens of Molag Bal over which we have influence, will restrict any...harmful action we take from targeting Hircine's followers. In return, we will expect the occasional service of one of Hircine's packs."
"Thank you, Lady Neesa." Meesei said, bowing her head respectfully. "I will inform our Lord of the agreement as soon as I can."
Neesa waved her hand dismissively. "You need not concern yourself with that. I will deal with the Lord of the Hunt personally. There is, however, one more matter, a gift to signify our new...relationship. A gift of information. You were not the first to come to us seeking an agreement. Agents of Clavicus Vile came to us about a month ago seeking your very same request. As is to be expected with Vile's servants, however, they attempted to deceive us. We allowed most of them to leave, but exacted payment for their deception in the form of one of their members. Before killing her, we extracted some most interesting information from her. The next destination of her group may be most interesting to you. In her words, they seek the most influential of Hircine's hounds within the Imperial province. At first, I assumed they were searching for Hircine's champion, but since the bearer of his ring is standing in front of me and certainly not in Cyrodiil, I can only assume she was referring to someone else. Do you happen to know of what she was referring to?"
"I do." Meesei gave a nod, as she understood well what Vile's follower meant, though it was not encouraging.
"Well, then I suppose I will leave it to you to act upon that information. With that, I believe our business together is concluded. For the moment, at least. You may take your leave of our home." Neesa announced before getting up to return to her other duties. It appeared there was going to be no ceremonious farewell, but for that, Meesei certainly was not going to complain. The sooner they could leave this place, the better. Plus, the information Neesa shared with her gave them something rather pressing to contend with. The others in the pack did not likely know what Neesa meant by the most influential pack in Cyrodiil, as Meesei had not mentioned it before. It was not a secret per ce, it simply had never been important to them.
As they returned to the large dining table to gather their supplies, Lorag was the first to speak up. "So, uh, Alpha. You going to share what on Nirn it was you two were talking about? I thought we were the most "influential" pack?"
"We are, but what I think Neesa's prisoner was referring to was a pack specific to Cyrodiil. For most of you, I found you myself, through visions from Hircine, but I do not believe that is the case for most lycan. As you know, lycans, even those who serve our Lord, are not an organized force. We are all largely independent and may never even see another pack, but in each region, there are some who are an exception. They directly serve Hircine with the primary purpose of finding isolated lycans and helping to bring them into a pack of their own. They are often the largest and most influential of Hircine's packs, and I believe I know where the one in Cyrodiil is. It could have changed since the last I heard of them, but I believe they make their home near Bruma." Meesei explained.
"Hmph, so Vile's goin' after Hircine's recruiters, then? Makes sense I guess. I guess we'll need to stop them, but according to her, they have a month's head start on us. How are we going to catch up?" Lorag questioned.
"That is a good question." Meesei began as she finished grabbing the last of her equipment. "We need to get to Bruma as quickly as possible, but any land route would be too slow. The fastest route would likely be to take a ship straight to the Imperial City, then move north from there. We will have to do a lot of gathering, scavenging, and hunting to get the coin necessary for the trip on the way to the port, but I still believe it will be the fastest route. We can head into the marsh and hunt for a time, then head east and get on a ship at Thorn. From there, we can head to the Imperial City."
Nice. Any more you have to take?
Ssarak Dyreackthanose
Ssarak let go of Lyn's hand so she could go to Alaira. If there was one thing that he could trust, it was that she would keep her safe. "She will be fine, it will just take a few hours for the rune to heal it.." He commented. Although nothing about his expression changed, he was almost angry at how dismissive Alaira seemed to be about her actions before. She had very nearly gotten everyone in the wagon, including Lyn, killed, but that did not seem to register in her mind. It was clear that they were going to have to open her eyes to that fact soon, but now was not the time for that conversation. Instead, he simply remained silent and waited for his chicken to finish cooking. He had already paid the innkeeper, so once it was ready, he took Lyn's portion and placed it down in front of her. The scent of the meat was all the more tantalizing now that it was actually theirs to consume, so he had a feeling Lyn would not care that it was not the soup once she started eating. "Here you go Lyn. If you want any more, be sure to let Alaira here know that you are still hungry. She might not be able to read your thoughts as I can, but I am sure she will understand." He said, giving a nod to Alaira before returning to the table with Meirin.
Ssarak wished he could take a seat, but he still didn't trust the chairs to hold him. Regardless, it did not bother him to eat while standing, and the size of his mouth allowed him to eat his meal rather quickly. It likely would not be enough to make him feel satisfied after such an exhausting day, but he needed to budget carefully for this journey. They had lost some time due to the attack at the bridge, and the addition of Lyn was going to increase their food expense if taking her back to the college was not an option. "How are you feeling? Are you ready to use the rune now?" Ssarak asked.
Ssarak let go of Lyn's hand so she could go to Alaira. If there was one thing that he could trust, it was that she would keep her safe. "She will be fine, it will just take a few hours for the rune to heal it.." He commented. Although nothing about his expression changed, he was almost angry at how dismissive Alaira seemed to be about her actions before. She had very nearly gotten everyone in the wagon, including Lyn, killed, but that did not seem to register in her mind. It was clear that they were going to have to open her eyes to that fact soon, but now was not the time for that conversation. Instead, he simply remained silent and waited for his chicken to finish cooking. He had already paid the innkeeper, so once it was ready, he took Lyn's portion and placed it down in front of her. The scent of the meat was all the more tantalizing now that it was actually theirs to consume, so he had a feeling Lyn would not care that it was not the soup once she started eating. "Here you go Lyn. If you want any more, be sure to let Alaira here know that you are still hungry. She might not be able to read your thoughts as I can, but I am sure she will understand." He said, giving a nod to Alaira before returning to the table with Meirin.
Ssarak wished he could take a seat, but he still didn't trust the chairs to hold him. Regardless, it did not bother him to eat while standing, and the size of his mouth allowed him to eat his meal rather quickly. It likely would not be enough to make him feel satisfied after such an exhausting day, but he needed to budget carefully for this journey. They had lost some time due to the attack at the bridge, and the addition of Lyn was going to increase their food expense if taking her back to the college was not an option. "How are you feeling? Are you ready to use the rune now?" Ssarak asked.
Ssarak Dyreackthanose
Ssarak listened and picked up on Lyn's thoughts. It made sense that she would eat meat, given who her mother was, but he had wanted to be sure. He was aware that Naga ate meat pretty much exclusively, but he did not know if it was just a strong preference, as with Esyire, or a nutritional requirement. There were some beings who could eat only meat and would become sick, and could even die, if they ate some types of plants. It was easy to tell that she wanted to try the soup, but since he did not know if that was the case with Lyn, he decided to air on the side of caution.
"If you normally eat meat, then we should stick with that for now. Some meat-eating creatures become sick if they eat anything but meat. I do not know if that is true for you, but let's be safe. When we return you to your mother, I can help you ask her for different kinds of foods. Does that sound good?" Ssarak asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question, as he had already made the decision on what to order. When the innkeeper came around to him, he ordered enough chicken for both himself and Lyn. He was tempted to order another item for himself, but he elected not to so that he did not make Lyn feel jealous by tempting her with something else she might want.
Once the order was placed, Ssarak looked down to Lyn once more. "It should not be too long before our chicken is ready. Come, let's go over to Alaira while we wait." He said. Ssarak knew that Alaira had spent more time than most around Lyn since her birth, so Lyn was no doubt quite familiar with her, and therefore comfortable around her. Given Alaira's personality, he found it strange that she seemed to care so much about Lyn, but he had no doubt that her compassion was genuine. No matter how reckless she was, Ssarak had no doubt that Alaira would not willingly put Lyn into harm's way. As Ssarak walked up to Alaira with Lyn, he gave her a serious expression, but he had no intention to have the inevitable argument with her just yet. There was no reason to have Lyn around for that. "Alaira." He said simply to grab her attention. "I would like to have a...conversation with you soon, but for now, I need to help Meirin deal with her injuries. Once we finish our meals, could you watch after Lyn? I do not want to leave her alone in this place."
Ssarak listened and picked up on Lyn's thoughts. It made sense that she would eat meat, given who her mother was, but he had wanted to be sure. He was aware that Naga ate meat pretty much exclusively, but he did not know if it was just a strong preference, as with Esyire, or a nutritional requirement. There were some beings who could eat only meat and would become sick, and could even die, if they ate some types of plants. It was easy to tell that she wanted to try the soup, but since he did not know if that was the case with Lyn, he decided to air on the side of caution.
"If you normally eat meat, then we should stick with that for now. Some meat-eating creatures become sick if they eat anything but meat. I do not know if that is true for you, but let's be safe. When we return you to your mother, I can help you ask her for different kinds of foods. Does that sound good?" Ssarak asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question, as he had already made the decision on what to order. When the innkeeper came around to him, he ordered enough chicken for both himself and Lyn. He was tempted to order another item for himself, but he elected not to so that he did not make Lyn feel jealous by tempting her with something else she might want.
Once the order was placed, Ssarak looked down to Lyn once more. "It should not be too long before our chicken is ready. Come, let's go over to Alaira while we wait." He said. Ssarak knew that Alaira had spent more time than most around Lyn since her birth, so Lyn was no doubt quite familiar with her, and therefore comfortable around her. Given Alaira's personality, he found it strange that she seemed to care so much about Lyn, but he had no doubt that her compassion was genuine. No matter how reckless she was, Ssarak had no doubt that Alaira would not willingly put Lyn into harm's way. As Ssarak walked up to Alaira with Lyn, he gave her a serious expression, but he had no intention to have the inevitable argument with her just yet. There was no reason to have Lyn around for that. "Alaira." He said simply to grab her attention. "I would like to have a...conversation with you soon, but for now, I need to help Meirin deal with her injuries. Once we finish our meals, could you watch after Lyn? I do not want to leave her alone in this place."
"Agreed. We'll double back to the elevator and take it up to the center level of the station. It can take us to one of the station's four main cargo passageways, which leads straight into the central storage chamber for raw materials. We do not need to head all the way to the chamber, but we will have to go most of the way to this door here, which leads to the data center that normally controls the mining operation. According to the rebel we interrogated, it will also hold the information we need." Rareth explained, pointing out each location on the map before closing it and starting off towards the elevator.
As she walked, Rareth continued explaining the plan. "Since we're going loud, Shuo can take point. If there is no resistance, it will only take us a few minutes to reach the data center, but I wouldn't count on that." Rareth commented as she stepped into the elevator. It was cramped inside, but luckily, everyone could fit at the same time. "Just be ready for anything once this door opens."
Fortunately, the elevator was fast and allowed them to reach the freight passageway rather quickly. The door opened into a massive passageway which ran perpendicular to the way they were facing. There were no hostiles immediately in front of them, but Rareth could hear voices to the right complaining about their broken radios. The hallway itself was large enough to fit heavy machinery, as its primary purpose was to facilitate the transportation of the raw materials the company mined to storage in the center of the station. When the rebels attacked, it had obviously stopped all mining operations, so the floating pallets carrying containers of the materials were now deactivated on the floor of the passageway and could be used for cover.
As the team moved out into the passageway, they spotted a group of three armed rebels to the right, which was the direction they needed to go, who also spotted them at the same time. Since Rareth's team already had their weapons at the ready, however, the rebel group stood no chance of returning fire before being cut down by a veritable firing squad. Unfortunately, that group of three were not the only rebels in the passageway, and just over a dozen hostiles were alerted by the gunfire. Even without their radios, the rebels were surprisingly quick to react, as it only took a few seconds for the officers present to start shouting orders. Unlike their last encounter, the team did not have a chance to surround and eliminate their foes all at once, so it was going to be a bit more even of a fight. As Rareth's team got to cover, several of the rebels laid down suppressing fire. Rareth heard one of the enemy's officer's shout something about moving up to flank, but it wasn't certain if they were coming from the left or right.
Since the passageway was essentially divided into two sides by the line of containers in the center, Rareth reasoned that it would be advantageous to focus on one side so they would not be getting hit from both. "Push up on the left." Rareth said, hopefully quietly enough that the enemy could not hear.
As she walked, Rareth continued explaining the plan. "Since we're going loud, Shuo can take point. If there is no resistance, it will only take us a few minutes to reach the data center, but I wouldn't count on that." Rareth commented as she stepped into the elevator. It was cramped inside, but luckily, everyone could fit at the same time. "Just be ready for anything once this door opens."
Fortunately, the elevator was fast and allowed them to reach the freight passageway rather quickly. The door opened into a massive passageway which ran perpendicular to the way they were facing. There were no hostiles immediately in front of them, but Rareth could hear voices to the right complaining about their broken radios. The hallway itself was large enough to fit heavy machinery, as its primary purpose was to facilitate the transportation of the raw materials the company mined to storage in the center of the station. When the rebels attacked, it had obviously stopped all mining operations, so the floating pallets carrying containers of the materials were now deactivated on the floor of the passageway and could be used for cover.
As the team moved out into the passageway, they spotted a group of three armed rebels to the right, which was the direction they needed to go, who also spotted them at the same time. Since Rareth's team already had their weapons at the ready, however, the rebel group stood no chance of returning fire before being cut down by a veritable firing squad. Unfortunately, that group of three were not the only rebels in the passageway, and just over a dozen hostiles were alerted by the gunfire. Even without their radios, the rebels were surprisingly quick to react, as it only took a few seconds for the officers present to start shouting orders. Unlike their last encounter, the team did not have a chance to surround and eliminate their foes all at once, so it was going to be a bit more even of a fight. As Rareth's team got to cover, several of the rebels laid down suppressing fire. Rareth heard one of the enemy's officer's shout something about moving up to flank, but it wasn't certain if they were coming from the left or right.
Since the passageway was essentially divided into two sides by the line of containers in the center, Rareth reasoned that it would be advantageous to focus on one side so they would not be getting hit from both. "Push up on the left." Rareth said, hopefully quietly enough that the enemy could not hear.
The pack was hoping to be able to depart after their meeting, and since they had no real place to store their belongings anyway, they carried everything with them to the throne room. Since all of them had been either confined within a single room in the infirmary, or out of the xanmeer for most of the day, they had not seen how active the cult had been throughout the day working on repairs. Or, more accurately, how active their thralls had been. Based on the number of undead they passed in the halls, it seemed like the cult was using the reanimated corpses of the mercenaries for almost all of the labor needed for repairs. Though unsettling to the pack, from the cult's point of view, it was a sensible course of action.
Once they arrived in the throne room, they found it mostly devoid of people, save for the skeletons and a few member of the cult, including Orskan, who notified them that Neesa would arrive to meet with them in about half an hour. The pack set down their supplies and took their seats at the long dining tables at the sides of the rooms while they waited. For Ahnasha, seeing Orskan brought to mind the deal they had made for his tome. They had already filled one of the gems, and it would only take a few more to fulfill their side of the bargain. Since they were not likely to be sticking around after they were free to leave, however, they had only a short time to fill them, or return them empty. Ahnasha nudged Fendros and motioned to his bag. "Hey, you were able to recover those gems, right? Maybe we should head over to wherever they keep their prisoners and see if we can take a few souls for ourselves." She suggested completely seriously. At this point, she had completely dehumanized the mercenaries in her mind.
Once they arrived in the throne room, they found it mostly devoid of people, save for the skeletons and a few member of the cult, including Orskan, who notified them that Neesa would arrive to meet with them in about half an hour. The pack set down their supplies and took their seats at the long dining tables at the sides of the rooms while they waited. For Ahnasha, seeing Orskan brought to mind the deal they had made for his tome. They had already filled one of the gems, and it would only take a few more to fulfill their side of the bargain. Since they were not likely to be sticking around after they were free to leave, however, they had only a short time to fill them, or return them empty. Ahnasha nudged Fendros and motioned to his bag. "Hey, you were able to recover those gems, right? Maybe we should head over to wherever they keep their prisoners and see if we can take a few souls for ourselves." She suggested completely seriously. At this point, she had completely dehumanized the mercenaries in her mind.
It has been hectic the past few days, but I should be able to post tomorrow.
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