EliteCommander

The Depths of Deception

Probably nothing interesting will happen until later in the night, when Rareth requested the others to meet her in her room. We can go head and skip to then. It will give CQB a way to wake Shuo up.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As the lieutenants gathered in Vera's room, Meesei made sure she was the last to enter, and therefore closest to the door. She had to make sure that the news of Jerrick's death did not yet spread to the clan as a whole. Meesei noted that Vera was quick to ask where Jerrick was, but then again, he was her husband, and the only leader not present. Regardless, Meesei took a deep breath and began her explanation. "Earlier today, just as I was finishing the tale of how I became Champion, Jerrick pulled me away, ostensibly to speak to me about dealing with Vile's followers. However, his true intention was to warn me of a revelation Hircine had given to him." As she spoke, Meesei watched the facial expressions of each lieutenant, looking for anything that might hint at guilt, or surprise. "Hircine told him that his life would be taken tonight, by one of his own lieutenants. We staged an ambush in the meeting room down the hall, but only Vera entered the room, and he did not eat nor drink anything she brought. He perished to a poison in his water, the only thing he had consumed all day. One of you is the poisoner, a traitor who intends to grab control of the clan for themselves. What this traitor does not realize, whether through ignorance or pride, is that, without intervention, this clan will be torn apart by their arrogance. Hircine has foreseen it. My purpose now is to ensure the clan survives, to choose its new leader, and to bring the traitor to justice." Meesei's voice was now harsh, almost accusatory, and her eyes were scanning over them like a hawk, searching for any hint of treachery.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag quickly dressed himself in his loincloth and a few of his furs, but with how much of a rush Meesei seemed to be in, he did not even bother to grab the rest before marching over to the door, ready to get moving. His demeanor had become just as serious as Meesei's in only a few seconds, even if he still had no idea what was going on. He trusted Meesei absolutely, so if she was in a hurry, he was in a hurry. "What are we waiting for, take us to 'em." He said to Harriet, almost impatiently. As they started off towards the bedroom, Meesei elected to give Harriet some form of an answer. "Like I said, I'll explain it once we are all together. We are not under attack, but the threat is just as dire. We will need to act quickly in order to minimize the damage." Luckily, it was not too far to reach the hall containing the lieutenants' bedrooms, as well as the meeting room in which Jerrick's body still lay. Once they had arrived in the hall, Meesei was quick to give her orders to the others, including Harriet. Wake them, hurry. We can use Jerrick and Vera's room. she said, though her volume was likely enough to wake them by itself. Quickly, she peered into Vera's room and saw that she was present, which meant Ahnasha was likely nearby as well.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Unlike Janius and Fendros, Meesei maintained a completely serious demeanor. In fact, she gave no reaction at all to the scene before them. Her mind was completely focused on the task at hand, and even if it had not been, Lorag's business was his own. She approached the pair of Orcs and handed Lorag's hammer to him. She spoke without anger, but in a nonetheless serious tone. "Get up you two, this is important. We need to get to the other lieutenants as quickly as possible. I will explain in full once we are all together, but the fate of this clan is at stake." She explained briefly, taking particular note of every facet of Harriet's reaction. Lorag was about to return with his own banter before most of his pack suddenly showed up. His attitude, however, shifted quickly from annoyance about being barged in on, to legitimate worry from his Alpha's utterly serious demeanor. Even from Meesei, he would have expected at least some levity under normal circumstances. And if she had brought his hammer, whatever they were doing could not be pleasant. "Of course, Alpha."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei let out a sigh. It was not the answer she was hoping for, as it meant they were no closer to finding the traitor than they were before. They would have to confront the lieutenants and fill them all in on the situation. It would not be pleasant, but it was better than letting them find out on their own. Meesei would need to take charge of the situation, as she had ideas for how to take some advantage of the fact that the clan as a whole did not yet know of Jerrick's death, as it would make the investigation easier. It was going to be a veritable inquisition to discern the identity of the traitor, and they did not have an unlimited time to act. "Very well. Kaleeth, stay here. I am not expecting danger, but I would like to be safe. Everyone else, let us go find Lorag. With luck, his scent will not be too difficult to follow, though I cannot imagine why he left to begin with." Meesei ordered. She was already prepared, so the only thing she grabbed was Lorag's hammer, which he had left behind. --- The room was only dimly lit, and entirely empty, save for the two Orcs and the clothing strewn about across the floor. Lorag was laying beside Harriet on the stone floor, though it did not bother him in the slightest. Overall, he felt quite good, but he couldn't shake the thought that he was more tired than he should be. It seemed to get worse the more he thought about it. Some of the others had told him he was too young to be feeling the effects of aging, but he had a hard time believing it. He tried not to show his worries and instead gave a slight chuckle. "So, how you feelin' now?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I would like to know both, but we can begin taking action once we know if there is a poison." Meesei commented to Sabine before looking to Fendros. "For now, just arm yourself and be ready. If we find the traitor, I am hoping to detain them. If the water is free of poison, we will all go to confront Vera. If not...well, this will be more complicated. We will need to determine where Jerrick got his water, and who might have been able to poison it. Vera would still be a suspect, but at that point, she could be innocent. We only know that it is one of the lieutenants. Kaleeth, if there is a poison, I want you to stay here with Sabine. The rest of us will go find Lorag, then confront the lieutenants. As much as I would like to identify the traitor before they know about it, that may not be possible if he was poisoned through the water." Just as Sabine indicated, it was under half an hour later that Sabine finished her tests. Meesei was watching anxiously, waiting for the results. "Was your test successful?" She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It was a slow task for Ahnasha to search through Vera's belongings, as she had to keep her movements very gradual. Unfortunately, there was not much that obviously stood out. Much of what carried a fresh scent was either clothing, or paperwork. In fact, the only thing she saw that could be a poison was a bottle of perfume. If that was not it, and she was the poisoner, then she must have already rid herself of the evidence. In any event, she decided it would be best to get her hands on that perfume, a task made complicated by her need to remain silent. She moved herself low to the ground, to the point that she was essentially laying down, and brought herself as far out of Vera's line of sight as possible. Slowly, she moved her hand over the bottle, then grasped it, which momentarily disturbed her invisibility. Part of her became visible only for a brief moment before she stabilized the spell, but with Vera being asleep and no noise being produced, the likelihood of detection was still minimal. With the perfume in hand, Ahnasha slowly started backing away to the edge of the room near the exit. From there, she would keep watch over Vera for as long as the welkynd stone would sustain her. "Ahnasha is following Vera, who I suspect to be the poisoner. However, until this water is tested, I cannot be sure. Now has anyone seen Lorag? I would like for us all to be together in this." Meesei asked, watching Sabine anxiously while at the same time trying not to pressure her. Kaleeth had woken when Meesei had first started speaking. Sabine had informed them of Meesei's plan, so she understood what was going on, but she had not expected that Meesei and Ahnasha would fail. She started to prepare immediately, which to her meant grabbing her weapons. This time, she knew exactly where her mace was. "I...don't know where Lorag is. I don't think he was here when we all got back, was he?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha crept into Vera's room at a pace slow enough that she was scarcely moving. Her scent was still masked, and her movements were cautious enough to be inaudible. She was not going to find any evidence by remaining stationary, however, so she had to look around the room. The welkynd stone was making it easier to maintain her invisibility, so she had some time to look around. She wanted to find what items had the freshest scent of Vera's to see what she had touched most recently. With her scent being everywhere, however, she had to get close to each item in order to check. Meesei lowered her head solemnly. "Jerrick is dead. He was poisoned by the traitor." She said in a more quiet tone as she pulled the waterskin from her bag. "This is the only thing he has consumed all day. Sabine, I need you to test it for poison. Make sure not to use it all in your test, just in case. If it is clean, then I know who the poisoner was. Everyone else, just...be ready. I want to identify and confront the traitor before Jerrick's body is found." Meesei handed off the waterskin to Sabine, then looked around the room once more. "Where is Lorag?" She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei did not say anything through Jerrick's final words, instead allowing him the chance to say everything he could. Only once he finally passed did she release him and halt her magic. She lowered her head solemnly, letting out a depressed sigh. She had failed to protect him. Had she known he had been poisoned, Sabine might have been able to work up a cure in the hours they had. Even Argonian blood could be made into a cure, if properly refined to not be rejected by the body. Unfortunately, Meesei had no way of knowing. All she could do now was to work to keep the clan together. Despite what Jerrick said, Vera was still a suspect. Just because he did not detect a poison did not mean one was not present. Some could be completely tasteless and invisible. It was possible Jerrick simply did not want to believe his own wife would betray him. Regardless, she grabbed the waterskin and made sure it was secure in her bag. Since she had not seen such a poison before, she decided to bring it to Sabine to have it tested in a more controlled manner. If the water within was the only thing Jerrick had consumed that day, then it could help determine Vera's guilt. If it was clean, then she was almost certainly the poisoner. If not, they would need to determine who could have poisoned the water. In any case, she needed to act quickly to make the most of the time they had. "Ahnasha, go track down Vera, just to be safe. Do not confront her, just follow, and remain hidden. Watch everything she does and look for evidence to prove or absolve her of guilt. I will have this water tested for poison. Take the welkynd stone. It still has some energy, if you need to remain invisible for long. Now hurry." Meesei ordered, to which Ahnasha quickly complied. Before leaving the room, Meesei gave one last look to Jerrick's body. She would ensure he received a proper funeral. Since it was nighttime, the halls of the city were far less crowded and it was simpler for Ahnasha to follow Vera's relatively fresh scent. She maintained invisibility by splitting the cost between her own magicka, and what remained in the welkynd stone. Her feet were near completely silent on the stone floor, and her entire form was scarcely a shimmer in the air. As she drew closer to Vera, she kept all of her senses attuned to anything that might be important. Meesei headed back to their room, where most of the pack had retired for the night. She did notice that Lorag was not present, but she could deal with that later. For the moment, she shook Sabine awake, though the volume of her voice indicated that she intended to wake everyone. "Wake up; I need you, all of you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei had sampled each of the items Vera brought, and as minutes passed, her body gave absolutely no reaction, nothing that would indicate a poison was present. Vera had not attacked while she was present, and she had not poisoned the food, so Meesei though that she might be innocent...for a time. After a few hours, Jerrick suddenly and rapidly deteriorated in condition. Meesei was certain that no one else had entered the room, so she could not begin to imagine what was happening. However, she did not hesitate in her response. The moment she saw what was happening, Meesei leaped down, using telekinesis to soften her fall. Placing a hand on Jerrick, she began inundating him with restoration energy aimed at inhibiting the poison. Slowly, she guided him down to a stable position on his back to prevent him from suddenly collapsing. At the same time, she reached into her bag and pulled out the welkynd stone. She placed a hand on the stone and started to drain its considerable reserve of magical energy into herself. From this, Meesei was able to produce a healing spell more impressive than any she had cast in her life. Both of them started to glow with a light, amber aura, while tendrils of restoration energy filled the air around them. Even so, Meesei did not know if she could save him. Whatever was killing him had progressed to what was presumably its lethal stage, and she did not know how to counteract it. Whether or not she could save him entirely, she might at least be able to keep him alive a bit longer. "I...don't understand. None of the food was poisoned, and you didn't eat it anyway. Tell me, if you can, has anything else happened to you today? Vera barely touched you, just a..." Meesei's words slowed and her eyes widened with a potential realization. "...kiss. Jerrick, did Vera have anything on her lips?" By this point, Ahnasha had jumped down as well, and was currently frozen in place, wondering what she could do. She had no healing talents, so for the moment, she just waited for direction from Meesei. "Huh, no." Lorag said, quickly dismissing the idea that he was mated with Meesei. He was now awake enough and collected enough to understand what was going on. "Just...look. I'm not lookin' for some...relationship or something like the rest of my pack. If you're wantin' some kind of mate to 'settle down' with, you can forget it." Lorag said sternly, before suddenly shifting his entire attitude and putting on a grin. He reached out, grabbed a loose part of her clothing, and yanked her in closer to him. "But if you just want to prove you can handle me, I'll take you somewhere private right now and prove you can't."