EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I think highly of her 'cause she deserves it." Lorag commented just before they reached the meeting room. From a quick look around, it was obvious the body had already been moved. The mood was gloom among most of the others, though Lorag was still just as alert. It would be stupid for the traitor to try anything at the moment, but then again, it was stupid for them to murder Jerrick. The other lieutenants were quick to confirm Jerrick's death to Harriet, not that it made her any less stubborn. Once Janius offered to take them to the body, Lorag gave him a serious glare. "Stick with your charge, Janius. Just tell us where it is, these two know their way around. Me and Fendros'll go with 'em." Najirra's advice was sound, and Meesei would certainly heed it if the situation arose. She did have an idea for how to keep Jerrick's death secret, but his daughters arrived before she could respond, and along with them, the recipients of Jerrick's letters. Meesei waited quietly until Najirra sent his daughters away, then stood up and stepped forward in front of them. "Greetings, my name is Meesei, Hircine's Champion. I...wish we were meeting here under better circumstances. I need to be clear that everything we say here needs to be kept secret from anyone outside this room. Nothing about this, or the letters you received, needs to be repeated to anyone else. Now, before we begin, I would like to know what you already know about the situation? I do not know the contents of the letters Jerrick sent you." Meesei asked.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Hey Ryonara, do you want to collab our next post, or just make them separately? It would probably be a short collab.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, all this isn't really my territory. I'm not some 'investigator,' I'm a warrior. I'll just do what the Alpha says. Trust me, she can handle it. She's smart, very smart. Trained from birth, or hatching, or whatever to be a leader and shaman and all that. If it's you, I'd be very afraid." He commented, though his tone was not necessarily accusatory, but more matter-of-fact. "She'll find who did it, and she'll have 'em killed. Well, unless they confess or somethin'. She's more into mercy than me." Meesei nodded in understanding. She was not entirely unfamiliar with the concepts of politics and public opinion, but it was not something she had been forced to deal with for some time. Certainly, the situation was delicate, and she needed to act with care and precision. Jerrick's warning was clear on what could happen, so she was going to need to take precautions. "I understand. I do hope my investigation yields enough evidence to make the traitor clear. Jerrick warned that if the clan is in chaos next week, during the full moons, it could be torn apart, so I intend to avoid that altogether. If word does not get out that Jerrick has been killed, then there will be no chaos, and the moons will pass with no issue. No matter how strong of evidence I find, I do not intend for this trial to be held until after the full moons. It should not be difficult to create a plausible explanation for Jerrick's absence. I do not wish to lie to the people, but it is better than the alternative. We may be able to simply start the rumor that he is away on some mission without me having to say anything on the subject, so it will not be attributed to me. In any event, as for the trial itself, if I am not appropriate to act as judge, then who would you believe the clan will find impartial?" She asked shortly before she heard footsteps approaching from down the hall.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei finished off the last of her notes for her initial questioning, then tucked them away in her bag. She had a few lines of questioning she could pursue later, and hopefully, one that could lead to the killer, or at least eliminate suspects. "Thank you. I will likely need to ask more of you later, but for now, that is all I need. I will send Lorag with you to the meeting room. You can ask the others where Jerrick's body has been moved to." Meesei stepped back out of the room and nodded to Lorag. Given how many times she had voiced the same order, she did not need to say it again for Lorag to understand what he was meant to do. He waited for Harriet to step out into the room as well, then walked with her towards the meeting room. Despite what had happened between them, Lorag was as alert as a guard escorting a prisoner, though he at least managed not to show it. Before Meesei could join the lieutenants in the meeting room, she needed to return to their room to see what Sabine had discovered, but first, she waited for Lorag and Harriet to leave, then approached Najirra. "This situation is terrible in every way. It is not what I hoped to find when we set out to come here, but it is the situation we are in. Jerrick entrusted me with protecting his clan from tearing itself apart, and I will do everything I can to fulfill that responsibility, but I am still new to this place, and these people. Do you have any advice you can give me, Najirra?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha wanted to give Vera as much time as she needed, but she was already shivering from the cold mountain air flowing in from above. She had herself wrapped in a fur blanket that she had thought to grab from one of the rooms on the way over to serve as a covering for Jerrick's body, but even so, they needed to get going. Once enough time had passed that it seemed like Vera was not going to move on her own, Ahnasha unwrapped the blanket from around herself and held it under her arm as she approached Vera and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Vera...we should get back to the meeting room. I know...I know there isn't much I can say. Jerrick, he gave his life for the clan, for everyone in it, and for you. He would want us to do everything we can to preserve it." "I wish you were right in your guess, but Jerrick did not survive, despite our preparation. After we are done here, you may go to see the body for yourself. Now, I just have a few more questions for you. For the first, I would like to know what route you took to the meeting room. Did you pass through the main chamber, or go a different way? For the second, I need to know if you remember seeing Jerrick's waterskin. We know that was the vector through which he was poisoned, so we need to find out when he was separated from it. Can you recall a point where you saw him without it?" Meesei asked.

The Depths of Deception

I'll wait a bit to see if Leon is going to respond.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave no reaction to Darahil's question until she finished jotting down the last of her notes for Darahil's interview. Once finished, she looked up at him with a neutral expression. "He filled his waterskin from the city's water source, and it would be exceptionally difficult to poison a flowing body of water that large. And, if it had been, others would have been affected as well. It would had to have been poisoned at a time when he wasn't carrying it on his belt, and when his attention was somewhere else. Once I have finished my questioning, and once I know more about the poison, I may be able to eliminate one or more suspects. Until then, thank you for your cooperation. Now, come, I will send one of my pack with you to the meeting room." Just like before, after Meesei stepped back out with, she turned to one of the remaining members of her pack. "Fendros, please take Darahil to the meeting room." She requested, though this time, she waited for Fendros to start to walk past her, then stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Watch to see if he tampers with anything in the room." She said quickly before letting go of him and turning her attention to Harriet, motioning for her to head into the room for the final interview. Since Fendros was going to be watching Darahil, that meant Lorag would be watching Harriet. Initially, Meesei thought it would not be a good idea to have him be responsible for him, given that they had been caught mating. However, the more Meesei thought on it, the more she felt that could be turned to their advantage. It was possible that Harriet could be made to trust Lorag to gain more cooperation from her. Alternatively, if she was the traitor, she might start to think that she could manipulate Lorag. However, she would not be aware of the depth of Lorag's loyalty to Meesei. Once Meesei and Harriet took their seats in the private room, Meesei made a new section in her notes, then started off the questioning. "Okay, let us start at the beginning. In as much detail as you can, tell me everything you have done today, and when. I need to know every time in which you saw Jerrick, and as well, I would like to know everything you can remember that your fellow lieutenants have done."

The Aesteria Chronicles

Much to Ignis’ relief, he saw that Adonai was moving to flee just like Helen. That was good, as it meant he didn’t have to worry about anyone he actually cared about dying. He could just focus on fighting this thug and his ice spirit; perhaps he could even have some fun with it? Just as Seru was about to attack, Ignis floated down behind her and took on his translucent, half-complete form. “Ah, now you’re a woman I like. You’re rather…” Ignis began with a smirk on his draconic face and a confident tone. He reached his arms forward, mostly for show, as he amplified the energy of the flames Seru was creating. Her blade glowed not red, but blue with an intense heat that made the already formidable spirit that much more powerful. “…hot.” When Seru moved to protect the children from the ice shards, Ignis followed and continued to amplify her flames to make the task that much easier. For all of the confidence of this thug, Walkins, it was not long before he fell, seemingly dead. The ice spirit dissipated as well, either because it was weakened in the fight, or because it didn’t care enough to stick around with its master gone. In either event, Ignis was not keen on trying to find it again. For a few moments, it looked like they had made short work of the troublemakers. Ignis gave a chuckle and was attempting to come up with a decent quip when both the front and rear entrances of the pub swung open within moments of one another. Ignis glanced from the front door to the back…then back and forth a few more times for good measure. He was beyond confused at the duplicates of the man he thought they just killed. However, he did not remain idle for long, as when the ice spirit rematerialized, it did so way too close to Helen, sparking his immediate reaction. In the blink of an eye, Ignis’ form erupted into flame. He drew in as much of the heat radiating from Seru as he could, then used it to amplify his own attack. “Helen!” He shouted, wanting the spirit to pay attention to him as he lunged towards it from the side. The front half of his body had a recognizable draconic form, but behind that was of a column of swirling flames. It was true that he had a weakness to ice spirits, but usually, those spirits also shared a weakness to fire. He hoped to overwhelm it in flame, but at the very least, the flaming burst of air would hopefully throw off the ice spirit’s attack.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded lightly as she took a few moments to finish taking a few more notes. "I see. As long as you show me this rune, I do not find that unreasonable. You did, after all, leave when requested. Once we are done here, I will send you with one of my pack to the meeting room, just like with the others. I will meet there after learning more about the poison. Just do not attempt to manipulate the rune in any way while you are waiting, and there should not be a problem." As for Darahil's brief walk through the main chamber, Meesei made note that the others had not mentioned seeing him, but was not sure of what conclusions she could draw from it. After all, if any of the others were the traitor, then they would have no motive to not report seeing him pass through. It was likely that the others legitimately did not recall seeing him, which, in itself, was not incriminating, but it did leave the possibility that he was making an effort not to be seen. It was a topic she could question the others on later. For the moment, she continued with her interrogation. "I just have one more question for you. We know that Jerrick was poisoned through his waterskin, so determining when he could have been poisoned could narrow down the list of suspects. Can you recall any point during the day in which he was separated from his waterskin? For instance, do you recall if he had it on him when he spoke to you on the mezzanine, or during the meeting beforehand?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Darahil's story did not raise any immediate suspicion with Meesei, though she did have a few more questions for clarification. Just as Oswall said, he seemed to have been away for the majority of the morning. As for the meeting, he, just like the others, confirmed that he spoke with Jerrick on the mezzanine; although, the topic did seem slightly strange to Meesei. Jerrick had received word from Hircine himself that the Champion's pack was coming, so it did seem odd that he would have any doubts on whether they could be trusted. It was possible that Jerrick was simply trying to gauge how Darahil felt about them, but Meesei supposed she would find a way to ask him about the specifics of their conversation later. For now, she focused on clarifying a few points. "I see, so you had limited contact with Jerrick today? You said you saw him in the main chamber during his lesson along with Oswall. What did you see when you were in the room? Can you recall what Jerrick or Oswall were doing, or where Jerrick's belongings were? Also, later at night, I seem to remember you knocking on the door to the meeting room before Jerrick sent you away. What was your purpose there?" Meesei asked.