EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei listened intently to Jerrick and Harriet's explanation of recent events. It was encouraging that the clan was not only aware of the danger, but had been fighting against it. However, despite their apparent successes, the clan was nowhere near out of danger. The size of Clavicus' forces and his overall influence was unknown, so there was no way to know how much power was arrayed against them. The idea that Vile's cult might be inflicting their own with lycanthropy to serve as spies was particularly concerning. Any member of their cult willing to become a lycan would either have to be very ignorant, or very devoted, as a lycan's soul unquestionably belonged to Hircine. No matter how fervently they worshipped Vile, they would be bound to his hunting grounds in death. It could be that Vile promised them a cure, or some other way to steal them from Hircine. Even if it was not possible, Vile was known for tricking his followers. "Hmm, I see. It is good that you have been successful so far, but we still really do not know what we are up against. Vile is a trickster, and direct attacks may not be his only avenue of approach. I trust you are already keeping a close eye on the new bloods, but even so, it may be only a matter of time before this place is discovered. Still, this place is very defensible, and a direct attack would be difficult. I will need to take time to consider the best approach, but my first instinct is to focus on other potential weaknesses, and of course, rooting out any spies. So...yes, I would like to get to know more about this clan, to get familiar with it. I suppose I should start with you. How long have you all had your positions within the clan; how did you earn them, and what are your skills?" Meesei asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei did not exactly distrust Anders and his entourage. At least, they had done nothing to make themselves seem suspicious, but as they were walking into an exceptionally large clan of lycans, she could not be too careful. Clavicus was an underhanded and crafty Daedra, so it would not be impossible for him to plant informants within the clan if he managed to learn of its location. Overall, Meesei was very aware of the actions of those around her. At least with Jerrick's inner circle, she could likely assume that they had been with him for quite a while, though she would need to ask in order to confirm. "It was not Hircine who told us to come here, actually." Meesei began. "We have been working against Vile for some time. Most recently, Hircine directed us to a cult of Molag Bal, a Daedra that is neutral toward both Vile, and our lord. We gained a sort of alliance with the cult, and through them, learned that Vile's followers tried to do the same. Through them, we learned that Vile's followers likely intended to come here, to make your clan a target. Our purpose here is both to warn you, and to aid you against their efforts. Now, what is it that Hircine told you?" Meesei's tone was polite and friendly, and as long as Jerrick was just as civil and cooperative, it would remain that way. Jerrick was the Alpha of his clan, and Meesei had no intention of taking that from him, but if he or anyone else in his clan started to defy her, she would have to show that she had the authority.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Walking through the halls of the ruin seemed to confirm everything their guide said about the place. It was large, in every sense, with tall ceilings and massive rooms. Other than the Dwemer, it seemed that the Ayleids were one of the most adept civilizations in history at building underground. If the ruin had been undisturbed since it was abandoned, Meesei could only imagine what secrets it might have held. She hoped that the pack, or perhaps more appropriately, clan that currently inhabited it had scholars who cared enough to preserve its relics. Given the sheer number of lycans present, that was more likely than not. Once they were led to the clan's Alpha, one of Jerrick's lieutenants was quick to spot the ring on her finger. Fortunately, the greetings from all of them, an Altmer excepted, were either pleasant or surprised. The Alpha himself mentioned that he had been told to expect her, likely by Hircine himself, by Meesei's guess. Prior to that day, they had not even known their exact destination, and while Meesei had not communed with Hircine about the issue, she doubted that he needed to talk with her to know the movements of his own Champion. "My name is Meesei, the Champion of our our lord Hircine." Meesei said, starting with her introduction before continuing on. "This is Lorag, my second. That is Janius and Kaleeth-Rei. And that is Fendros, Ahnasha, and their son Rhazii." She said, gesturing to each of them as she said their names. "Oh, and the strange lizard in Kaleeth's arms is Leaps-On-Elves, a wamasu hatchling. That one is a bit of a long story." Meesei gave a slight grin, but quickly returned to her more serious demeanor. "There is quite a lot I would like to know about this clan you have built here, but it would likely be best to start with our business here. You said you were told to expect me; our lord Hircine, I take it?" Glancing behind her at the entourage that had escorted them, Meesei adopted a similar stance to Jerrick as she turned back to him. "With the sensitive nature of our business here, I believe we should hold this conversation in private. Your inner circle and my pack may be present, of course."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Well, as far as the structure itself, it's purely a fairly large Ayleid city. It has been cleaned up, but it's not like the vampire lair which had been lived in for thousands of years. This one does show the wear of time, especially in higher up places. They do bring in furniture and such from the outside, which would bear Imperial and Nordic influences. In the lower floors, there is a sort of underground river that flows through a few chambers that serves as the city's water source. Beyond that, it's pretty much just an Ayleid ruin.

The Depths of Deception

Once her internal injuries were dealt with, Rareth shifted herself on the cot, both to get to a more comfortable position, and to see how it felt when moving. Of course, given that she was still under the effect of the anesthetic, she was still numb, so she would have to trust Shiva that she was in good condition once more. After Shiva asked about the scar, Rareth nodded to her. "Yeah, go ahead and fix it up. Scars aren't really my thing. I've been scarred on many occasions, in many ways, but I always get them fixed up. There was a fad about a hundred years ago where they were in style, so I did have some for a few years, but I ended up getting them removed. I think my scales look much better smooth an uninterrupted." Rareth glanced over to Telmeck. She wasn't surprised he came to check on on her, though she had already said her injuries were not serious. She was not the type to lie about her wounds. Regardless, she could forgive him for being worried. "What about you, Telmeck? What do you think about scars?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Though the torches did provide some heat, the path up the mountain was far more frigid than most of the pack was used to, and the veritable blizzard they were walking through was certainly not helping. They wrapped themselves in as many fur coats and blankets as they had, in particular Kaleeth and Ahnasha. Although Ahnasha had an easier time in the cold than the others, she was also carrying Rhazii and wanted to keep him wrapped up as thickly as possible. Normally, he did not like having his vision of the world around him obscured, but it only took him a few attempts of sticking his head out of the furs to discover that it was unpleasant. Fortunately, the lycans escorting them did not seem to be as hostile as their first impressions would suggest. Janius started off the talk, which quickly shifted to Kaleeth. "Oh...that's okay. My name is Kaleeth-Rei. No, I've never been up here before. I'm from Black Marsh; I've always lived there. I hate it up here; it's so, what is the word? Freezing. Why do people live here willingly?" The conversation continued throughout the climb up the mountain path, with each of them eventually giving their introductions. They did not begin talking about more serious matters, as that conversation was best saved for their Alpha, but talking in general did at least help distract them from the cold. Eventually, they moved off of the road and along a moderately steep part of the mountain. Certainly, wherever their destination was, it was not convenient to get to. For it to be worthwhile to make such a climb every time one wanted to return, it must have been an exceptional hideout. Anders led them into a partially obscured cave entrance in the side of the mountain, which immediately started to slope steeply down once they were inside. Because of the smoke from their torches, they had to extinguish them in the confined space, but just as Anders had said, it grew warmer the further down they went. The path would have been pitch black had several of the group not been capable of magelight. They walked for a few minutes through a passage that seemed to be completely abandoned unti they turned a corner and saw a light in a chamber ahead of them. Anders walked into the small chamber first. Though wider than the passages they had been going through it still felt crowded once everyone was inside. They were met by three people, obviously lycans by their scents, gathered at a simple table. There was only one light source in the room, a bright enchanted lantern with a persistent magelight inside. It allowed for light without the worry of smoke choking up the air. By this point, the air only had a slight chill, so most of the pack had shed all but a single coat each. It was obvious that the three lycans were lookouts, as one of them, an Imperial woman, was quick to question Anders about the unfamiliar individuals he had in tow. He was quick to explain who they were, which Meesei confirmed by extending her hand forward to show the ring. "Is that...oh my!" The woman began, looking up from the Ring at Meesei with obvious surprise. "You're...the Champion? I'm sorry, I didn't expect...what brings you here?" "I wish I could say it was a social visit, but our business is important. We need to speak with your Alpha, Jerrick." Meesei answered. The Imperial seemed nervous, but she quickly nodded as she collected herself. "Right, of course. I, uh, I think I know where he is right now. One of the dining rooms, I believe. Uhh, come on, I'll take you to him." She offered after taking a moment to consider it in her mind. She took the lead, guiding both the pack and Anders' group further into the cave, which was now level, instead of sloping down. The air grew gradually warmer, but there were still came across no other lycans in the cave they were in. Meesei wondered how large this cave system would have to be in order to have such a long entrance and multiple dining rooms. That is, until they came to the entrance of the hideout proper. At the end of the cave was a hole in the cave wall, which met immediately with a hole in the unmistakable stone of an Ayleid ruin. Stepping into the first hall, they were met with air that was actually warm, like the southern parts of Cyrodiil, which prompted them to remove their coats entirely. The ancient Ayleid magic which kept the magical torches that lined the walls lit also kept the air at a comfortable temperature, even with the blizzard above. Even though they were still underground, the tall ceilings made it seem as if the world had opened up before them in comparison to the confined cave that served as the entrance, especially once they reached the first chamber. It had an even taller ceiling than the hallway behind them, and looked to be a sort of armory or storage area. Since it was the closest room to the entrance, it was likely where members of the pack prepared themselves to leave their hideout for whatever business they might have outside. The higher parts of the ceiling showed definite wear, but the walls closer to the floor looked like they had been cleaned up in comparison to most Ayleid ruins. In just this room alone, there were about a dozen people before they stepped inside. They were all outfitting themselves with equipment that made them seem like hunters, though a dozen individuals was quite a large hunting party, and they did not seem nearly as interested in the strangers to their home as Meesei would have expected. "This place...it is impressive. Do you have to deal with many adventurers looking to plunder it, or scholars trying to study it?" Meesei asked curiously. The Imperial woman shook her head. "Oh, no, we're well hidden up here. The actual entrance to this place was covered up no telling how long ago. Probably in a landslide or something. It's not on any maps I've ever seen; we found it by chance. I wasn't actually with the scouting party that found it, but from what I understand, they were looking around caves in the mountain when they found the cave we were just in. It wouldn't have been that great of a hideout, but one of them just happened to notice a small hole in the cave's wall that revealed a small piece of the ruin's wall. Well, we knocked down that wall, send some people in to scout and disarm all the traps, then we moved the whole pack here. Some of the scholars have been studying the place. They figured out what the Ayleids called it, but I, uh, forgot the name. I just know it's made a great home." As they walked out of the armory and into the next hallway, Meesei's eyes wandered around, admiring the relatively well-preserved stonework. "I can imagine. These ruins were cities for the ancient Ayleids. It should easily be able to serve even a large pack's needs. Speaking of that, how many members does your pack have, anyway? Yours is a pack that handles new bloods, correct? I would guess quite a few." The woman gave a slight huff. "Oh, I can't even begin to guess, not anymore. Used to, our pack could reach up to a little over a hundred werewolves, and the occasional other variants of lycans, but now...well, we've blown that record out of the water. I don't know what's causing it, but we've been getting just so many new bloods for the past...year or two, I think. It started out as a slower growth, but now, we're getting new members faster than we can find territory for them. A lot of our members are trained and ready, but we can't send them out fast enough. A lot of people of all ages here. This ruin is massive, so we have room, but it's starting to feel like a city down here. We've had to branch out from more than just hunting to keep everyone fed. Still, we've tackled all those challenges, and so far, it's been working." Meesei nodded in response to show her interest, but she did not actually voice her thoughts. The news of the pack's expansion was certainly curious. She wondered what could cause such a drastic increase in the number of new lycans. It could be that Hircine was spreading his gift farther in order to prepare for war, but at the moment, Meesei had no evidence for that. Perhaps later, she would be able to find someone in the pack who might have more knowledge on the situation, but for now, she was just concerned with talking to Jerrick.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei too was greatly excited to hear about Ariel's engagement; perhaps not quite to the extent as Sabine, but it was still good to hear how well her life was going. She waited until after Sabine was finished translating the letter to share in her excitement. "Yes, is it not wonderful? Certainly, she deserves that kind of happiness. I do wonder what the wedding is going to be like? They come from different places with different customs, so I wonder if it is going to be an Argonian wedding, something from Morrowind, or perhaps a bit of both? Argonian weddings have sections that must be spoken in Jel, but she can certainly speak the language by now, so that would not be an issue. Ah, I definitely hope we are able to hear back from her again. Perhaps in your next letter, we can all say something to her? Hopefully we will have the coin to send it by the time it is written." Meesei would have continued the conversation, but as they stepped into the inn, she noticed the rest of the pack at a table with an unidentified man. There was only one reason she could think of for that, which meant the others were successful. 'It looks like we found the person we are looking for." She said quietly to Sabine as she closed the door to the outside behind her. As much as she wanted to continue with the conversation about Ariel, it was time to get to business. The pair approached the table, prompting Lorag to gesture to her and give an introduction. "Ah, there she is. This is Meesei, our 'leader'. And this is a 'friend' of Jerrick. We're in his territory." Lorag explained. Nodding respectfully, Meesei took a seat across from the man. "I see, well it is good to meet you. I do not know what my friend Lorag has already told you, but we have come here to help you with a threat you may or may not be aware of." She began. As she spoke, she brought her elbows up onto the table and clasped her hands together, one over another, in a way that called attention to her ring. In addition to its magical properties, the Ring of Hircine was an undeniable symbol which almost any true follower of Hircine would recognize. It signified her position as Champion to their patron, with all of the respect that brought, all of the authority it demanded. "I would like for you to take us to Jerrick as soon as possible."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

To see Sabine's joy at opening the letter from Ariel gave Meesei a warm grin. This was the first time she had actually been able to receive a letter from Ariel, and Sabine was almost as happy as when she saw her in person back in Thorn. From the way her smile grew as she read through the letter, Meesei could only guess that the news it contained was quite good. Overall, Sabine at least seemed confident in speaking with others. She did not have any visible anxiety when speaking with the clerk, though there were a few instances of her doing something that might be considered awkward, such as standing at the desk to read the letter. Meesei could correct her on on such missteps later; for the moment, Sabine was quite anxious for Meesei to read the letter as well. Meesei took the letter once Sabine offered it, being careful not to rip it any further. She had no problem deciphering Daedric runes, however; Dunmeris itself was not a language she knew. After staring at the page a few moments with a slightly confused expression, she looked back at Sabine and offered the parchment back to her. "I...would like to, but I do not actually know Dunmeris. I can read the runes, but I do not know the words they make. It is only the Daedric language itself that I know. You will have to read it to me. Come on, you can tell me about it on the way back to the inn." She suggested, before taking her hand and leading her out of the couriers' office. Meesei created a ball of fire in her other hand once again and held it close to Sabine to share the warmth, being careful to keep it far enough away from the parchment.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei returned Sabine's smile and shook her head. "No, not by my observation. You will find that pretty much every guard, merchant, and worker you come across will be just an honest man or woman trying to make a living. Most people just want to get along, and even those who are rude to you may just be under stress. I mentioned corruption only because it is not an impossibility. Even if it is rare to find the corrupt and criminal, it is something you need to watch for. If you think someone is acting strangely, you should not trust them." Following the directions the guard had given, Meesei and Sabine made their way to the building he had pointed out. Stepping inside the modestly-sized building, they extinguished the flames in their hands, but fortunately, they were met wih a wave of comparatively warm air. Compared to houses in southern parts of Cyrodiil, it was still chilly, but compared to the outside, it was like stepping out into the sun on a warm summer day, thanks to the fireplace on the wall just to their right. Most of the furniture, such as the chairs and tables near the hearth that served as a sort of fireplace, as well as the desk at which the clerk was sitting, looked more Imperial, while other decorations, like the fur rugs and mounted heads of elk and other game, made the office seem distinctly Nordic. The Nord man behind the desk had notice them enter, but he seemed quite busy with the paperwork he was doing, so he waited for Meesei and Sabine to approeach them. Meesei leaned over and whispered to Sabine. "How about you ask for your letter? They are paid for by the sender, so you just need to give your name, your full name, and ask if there is anything for you." --- "Me? Oh, well, I..." Kaleeth began nervously when the bearded Nordic man mentioned her. Fortunately, Lorag interrupted with a response very quickly. After all, he was in charge whenever Meesei was gone. "It's complicated. Her kind are normally loners, but it wasn't so normal how she became like us. For our business here, it's important, I can say that much. Our, uh, leader's dealin' with somethin' else in town. She'll be here soon to give you all the details. I can say that we're on the tail of some people that might be lookin' to strike at Jarrick's...people. More than that, we probably shouldn't talk about out in the open." Lorag explained.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It was a relief to finally be in the city, though it was just as cold and snowy inside as it was outside. To truly get out of the cold, they would need to get into an inn or another building. Luckily, a quick look around revealed the unmistakable sign of an inn directly next to the front gate. It was quite a convenient location for such a business. Likely, it was the most popular inn in the city, and therefore, more likely to have an agent of the pack they were searching for. Once Meesei thanked the caravan driver and they took their leave of him, the pack gathered closely in front of the inn. Even if the majority of locals were Nords, there were few who willingly stood outside in such a snowstorm for long, so the streets were not terribly crowded. Mostly, it was the unfortunate guards who had a duty to patrol the streets that could be seen outside, all of which had torches in hand for warmth. "I know we have been traveling a while, but we need to keep our business in the city brief." Meesei began, being sure to speak quietly enough that no one around them could hear. "We are out of gold, almost completely. I doubt we could afford a meal for one of us, much less rooms at the inn. I would rather not camp out in the snow, so we need to find an agent of the pack we are searching for. For ones of that size which stay in one location, they usually have someone in the nearest city for various reasons. We just need to catch their scent. I am going to take Sabine to the couriers' office, the rest of you can head into the inn if you wish. If you find an agent, just tell them I will be there shortly." Meesei explained. Turning back to Sabine, she reached down and gently grabbed her her hand, while also conjuring a small flame in her other hand for warmth. "Alright, I'll let you take the lead. Oh, and go ahead and try this as well." She suggested, gesturing the flame toward Sabine.