EliteCommander

Shadows in the Moonlight

"Half of these rifles are loaded with silver rounds, girl. If we wanted you dead, you would be dead, end of story.. I would hope that the fact you are still alive gives enough credibility to my words." The woman answered. "Now, turn around and put your hands behind your back. I'm going to bind you, then we're going to take you somewhere you can get help. Understand that I cannot let you leave this place alone in your current state. We both know how much of a danger you are right now."

Sam could not find words with which to answer the woman due to his fear. She spoke in a commanding tone and had a general air of authority about her. It was enough to make even the beast within Sam to recede in submission. He meekly nodded and turned around with his hands behind him. In response, the woman gave a nod to a man on her left. "Make sure tha tranq is loaded, Jones." She ordered before producing an odd-looking pair of handcuffs from her bag. Slowly, she walked up to Sam and snapped each end around both of his wrists. "These handcuffs are designed specifically for werewolves. If you end up trying to transform, they will break, but in the process, they will inject a certain poison into you. It's not lethal, but it is formulated to be able to knock out a werewolf for a few hours. It's the same thing that is in my friend's tranquilizer gun." She explained as she took out another, identical pair of handcuffs, then approached Stevie to bind her as well.

Shadows in the Moonlight

As the air had cooled, Sam had elected to put on a pair of warm pants, but the combination of the blankets and Stevie's body heat would keep him warm regardless. Once she laid down beside him, he closed up the tent and laid down himself. At this point, he was actually looking forward to the next day's training.

---

Sam was awoken the next morning by movement outside the tent, which sounded alarmingly close. He shook Stevie awake while holding his finger over his lips, urging her to be quiet. "I think I hear something outside." He whispered. He was just starting to get up to open up the tent when their intruders suddenly dispelled any mystery regarding their presence.

"We know you are in there, and we know what you are. We have you surrounded; come out slowly, and with your hands up, and you shall not be harmed. Fail to cooperate and we will be forced to take more drastic measures." A female voice shouted from just outside the tent. Sam slowly unzipped the tent, his eyes widening when he saw the barrels of at least four different rifles aimed at him, and that was just from the ones he could see. Being as frightened as he was, Sam complied, fully opening the tent and slowly stepping out with hands above his head.

"W-what is it you want? We're just camping, if you own the property, we'll leave. No trouble." Sam said frantically. Now that he was in the open, he could see that there were another three individuals behind the tent. Interestingly, these people wore no kind of uniform or other identifying marks. They simply wore regular civilian clothing, but the weapons they were carrying were anything but normal. Several of them looked to be military grade assault rifles.

"Don't lie to me. We know what you are, and why you are here, but we do not want to hurt you. We do, however, know how dangerous you can be, even against your own will, so we are going to restrain you. Cooperate, and I promise we will get you help." The woman offered.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, well...father once helped to make this really big boat, bigger than the normal canoes we sometimes used in dangerous waters." Kaleeth began, pausing a moment to recall all the details she could. "It has been a while, eight years I think, so I was only eleven at the time. The rivers had been flooded for weeks, and we needed to move all of our supplies, so father and some of the other hunters built some really big boats for us. The biggest could hold seven or eight people without even feeling crowded." She explained.

Kaleeth was too distracted in thought to notice the masts as they made their way toward the edge of the district, to the gate leading to the docks, which were outside the walls. She was looking at Janius as they walked through the open gates, but when she turned her head to behold the ocean before her, she stopped in her tracks. She stared out across the docks, wide eyed and with her mouth partially open in awe. At that point, she saw the true size of the ships they were discussing, as well as the ocean itself. The sheer size of many of the ships was something that was simply unbelievable to her. It looked like it would take years to build a single one of them, and they looked heavy enough that she wondered how they could even float. As for the ocean beyond, she was now had a full view of its grandeur. Looking all the way to the left and right, she could not see an end to it. "It...really is an endless lake, and these boats..." She began, but she could find no more words to describe it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For selling all of the things they collected, I think I would rather just summarize that part.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha nodded and handed off Rhazii to Fendros. She took the pack containing the most valuable of the hides first and looked inside at what she would be selling. The toughest of the hides they had was from a creature they killed a week or so ago that looked somewhat like a wamasu, but smaller, and was more of a scavenger than a predator. Regardless, it had thick scales that would make for good armor. Beyond that, the most valuable items were the quality furs, or hides that could be made into aesthetically pleasing leather. Hopefully, Neercana-Rei would remember them fondly enough to give them a good price.

"I...don't know. I would have to be able to get closer. I have seen it happen, though. The hatchlings are so cute, though. They are small and delicate like Rhazii, with only one little tooth in their mouths for breaking out of their eggs. Maybe you will see it happen one day, if you ever want a hatchling of your own. That Hal-Neesa woman did mention she had children with that Dunmer, so I guess it is possible." Kaleeth mentioned, giving one last look to the eggs before looking back in the direction they were originally heading. "Well, I guess we should keep going. What are these boats like? It seems like it is going to be really uncomfortable to sit in a boat for so long."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Partly because of her curiosity, and partly because of a desire to speak with Janius, Kaleeth decided to join him in searching for a ship. Before they parted ways, Kaleeth traded some of what she was carrying with Lorag so that she had items they did not intend to sell, mostly cuts of meat from common animals. She also carried Leaps, as he would be less bothersome with her and Janius than he would be with the rest of the pack.

As they walked through the city towards the docks, Kaleeth could hardly believe the size of everything. Many of the buildings were larger than any she had seen before, and there were many more than she would have ever expected to see in one place. Although the majority demographic of the city was Argonian, Thorn was one of the Black Marsh cities with a higher percentage of non-Argonian residents. She had never seen so many humans or elves in one place, and just like with Ariel, it was bizarre to hear so many of them speaking fluently in Jel.

The way to the docks led through the center of the city, which meant they passed right by the city tree. Kaleeth paused completely to stare at it in awe from outside the fence which protected it. It was the largest she had seen in her life, moreso than the one in Stormhold, or any of the locations which her village stayed through the seasons. "This is...amazing. I have never seen the Hist grow so large. It must be a very old tree, and the city must take care of it very well. And look at the hatching pools; I have never seen so many eggs in one place. Have you ever seen an Argonian hatch?" She asked.

Meesei made note of each of the stores that Ariel recommended. All of the hides and furs they intended to sell were in great condition, as the pack was quite adept at killing their prey without excess damage to the hide. With Ariel's recommendations, they had the potential to make a decent amount of gold. As Ariel was about to leave, she asked about their plans for dinner later that day, albeit with a noticeable amount of anxiety in her tone, so Meesei gave a reassuring nod and a smile. "I do believe we will eat the food we already have once we make camp, but you are more than welcomed to join us. We have been staying in the swamp for weeks, so while I might find that pleasurable, for the sake of everyone else, I believe we will find a spot by the shore to stay for the night."

The Depths of Deception

Rareth dropped behind cover long enough to reload her pistol as Shuo was moving up. Her team still controlled one side of the corridor, but the rebels still controlled the other, and there was a large group of them from which the majority of their fire was coming from. Shuo called them out, but even along the side they controlled, it would be difficult to move up. As well, if they let off on keeping the rebels suppressed, they might be able to move around to flank.

After peeking out to fire a few more rounds downrange, Rareth formed an idea of how exactly they could eliminate the most clustered targets. By this point, they had moved up close enough to the rebels that they were within range of grenade throws, but far enough that the accuracy of a toss was not guaranteed. Nevertheless, Rareth quickly grabbed a grenade from her belt and quickly set it to the highest radius setting. It would not be as concentrated of a blast, but for most infantry, that did not really matter.

"Grenades, now!" Rareth shouted, delaying her own toss just long enough to be sure that all of their grenades would be in the air at the same time. With a bit of telekinesis, she could make sure that most of their grenades found their marks.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It's about time for me to go to bed. On the bright side, I have a week long break starting now. Unfortunately, I still have assignments to finish.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Very well." Meesei said, nodding affirmatively as she stood up and began collecting her belongings. Not only would selling some of what they collected grant them much-needed gold, but it would also take some of the weight they had been carrying around for the past few weeks. "Much of what we have comes from creatures we killed, such as hides, bones, and other useful parts, so merchants who purchase those items would be a good first stop. We also have more fresh meat than we need, which could earn us some gold from the right merchants. I will also let you look through the ingredients we have so you can set aside the ones you would like to purchase yourself."

As the others started to stand as well, Meesei turned her attention to Janius. "While we are selling our belongings, could you go to the docks and begin the search for potential ships, Janius?" Meesei requested. "Do you happen to have any knowledge of passenger vessels? You were the only one among us to ever live in a city with a port, apart from Ahnasha, but she will be needed to help bargain the best prices for our goods."

Rhazii almost seemed disappointed when Ahnasha brought him back up into her arms, but as usual, her heartbeat was comforting to him in its own way. She wondered if it would be more helpful or harmful for her to carry Rhazii with her while negotiating with shopkeepers. For some, he might help create sympathy, or simply put them in a good mood, but others might be annoyed by him, or take him as a sign that they might be desperate for gold. In any case, she would do her best to get the best prices possible for their goods. As the child of a merchant, negotiating prices was often a role she found herself serving in the pack.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei smiled gratefully. "Thank you. Any advice you can provide for selling what we have will be immensely helpful. Just tell me whenever you have the time to show me. As for the ingredients we collected, I know we have quite a few that Sabine was able to identify some alchemical effects from, but without her tools, she wasn't able to explore all of the options. One ingredient which we collected a particularly high quantity of was this, admittedly disgusting, mucus from an eel-like creature in the inner marshes. Sabine determined that it could be refined into an exceptional insect repellent, fortunately without its...characteristic odor."

Meesei looked around the inn, particularly to Rukeewei's brother behind the counter. Lodging was still an issue they needed to deal with, but unlike other groups, it wasn't actually very important to the pack. "As for where we stay, we may just end up having to set up camp somewhere outside the walls. Staying in an inn is not vital to us, and it isn't as if we have not been camping in the swamps for the past few weeks. Although...if you like, Sabine, and if Ariel agrees, you might consider staying with your sister. I would guess there is enough space somewhere in your shop for her bedroll, and it would let you two spend more time together, since we will only be in Thorn for a relatively short time. What do you think?"

With all the people and movement around them, Rhazii's eyes wandered all around the room. He had only been in a city once before, and was only a few days old at the time, so even the moderate level of activity in the inn was completely new to him. Khajiit cubs, due to being born smaller, grew faster in their first few months than the children of other races, but even so, he was not at the point where he could crawl. Still, once Ahnasha noticed his curiosity, she set him down on the table in front of her with her arms on either side of him to support him. His wide eyes looked around, taking in all of the details of his environment. At the same time, he got a hold of his own tail and started chewing on the end of it.