EliteCommander

The Depths of Deception

Rareth was going through her wine more quickly than the others. Her actions and overall attitude were completely relaxed, something she hoped would rub off everyone else. The wine was of moderate strength, so she knew about how much she could handle. Although, for the somewhat smaller bodies of the Masulu, she assumed it would not take as much to intoxicate them. To Shiva's question, Rareth shrugged her shoulders before taking another drink. "I wouldn't know, I've never been in the military. The Rahn'Masser aren't exactly normal civilians, but we're not military either. We're sort of...separate from almost all Rothian governmental structures. The only entity we truly answer to are the Rahn'Saki themselves. Telmeck can tell you more about the military side of things, but when I am off duty, I can just kind of...go home, or on a vacation. Of course, I can be recalled at any time, but incidents that require my attention are not incredibly common. Around my home, though, there is plenty to do; more than I can list off the top of my head. Threria calls itself the entertainment capital of Rothia, though there are one or two cities that might dispute that claim. Some kinds of entertainment were developed on Rothia, and many more were imported in. One place I rather like, Tyri'Upva, is a sort of theater and casino. They have an entire underground complex where they can put on massive shows, holographic or live, that can literally put you in the middle of the action. And, of course, they have a myriad of games for you to lose your money. That is a popular spot, but there are plenty of lesser-known attractions. There is an amusement park and casino with rides that actually go well-beyond the city. They are some of the fastest and most exciting on the planet. Oh, and there's a restaurant and casino in a building just across from my apartment that I frequent which imports food from all corners of galactic civilization. I actually know the owner of that one; he's an...interesting individual. A bit eccentric, but friendly."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I also feel like pointing out that Alaira is with Lyn in the cart. She ain't leaving unless something forces her too.

@Freeshooter92

Perhaps, but the others do not know that.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once Meesei left the room, Kaleeth answered back to Sabine, finally breaking her silence. "It's alright. You just wanted to find out what the poison was. Everything that is happening is...frightening. I hope we catch the killer. They killed Jerrick without him even being able to fight back. I...I'm glad I don't have to worry about poison. The Treeminder told us we were immune to almost all of them because there were so many of them in Black Marsh. Apparently, some of the most deadly poisons there are come from there." She said, though she was not really certain where she was going with her comment. She was speaking more through nervousness than anything. She was glad that they would finally be able to get some sleep, even if it was not a whole night's rest. Rhazii had already woken once, and would probably wake again before the night was over, but at least for the moment, both he and Leaps were asleep. By this point, Meesei was familiar enough with the layout of the halls around their own room that she was able to navigate her way back to the meeting room easily. Some of the lieutenants, and even a few of her own pack, looked half asleep when she walked in, but most of them snapped awake when they noticed her. "Since we have all had a long, stressful day, I will not waste any time. Before I say anything more, I have an offer to make, to the one among you who killed Jerrick. You have compromised the future of the clan, you have brought suffering to his friends, and unimaginable pain to his family. It is a crime whose punishment can be no less than execution and, if this thought has not crossed your mind, I will remind you that we are all lycans here. As such, your soul is bound for Hircine's Hunting Grounds. Your actions have served our enemy, and you will be bound to the realm of the one you betrayed for all eternity. I say this because I am offering one chance to avoid that fate, a way to pursue some hope of redemption. If the traitor gives his or herself up now, the punishment shall be exile, not death. On my honor, and in the name of Hircine and the title he has granted me, I give my word that you will be allowed to leave with no harm brought to you. From there, you will have your life to make amends to our lord. This is a generous offer which I will not make again. Now, will you accept it?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"This is very important, but we are not in so much of a rush that you have to do this all tonight." Meesei answered. She had hoped to question the lieutenants further that night, but she did not want to do so until she had more information on the poison. However, the hour was late, and her, her pack, and the lieutenants were likely all fatigued. As much as Meesei wanted to solve the murder quickly, a night's rest would help her keep herself from making mistakes. Meesei finally released her grip on Sabine, then stepped back and looked at both her and Kaleeth. "You two can stay here, get some rest, and take care of Rhazii. I am going to go back to the others and tell them they may retire for the night. I am going to have all of the lieutenants, and the rest of our pack, sleep in the same room so we can keep an eye on them all. I will likely join them. Tomorrow, I will come back here and take you to the alchemist. Oh, and Sabine, I want you to make sure to stay with one of us at all times, alright? We are doing everything we can to keep an eye on the lieutenants, but that does not erase the fact that all of us are now targets of this traitor. I want to make sure you are safe." Ahnasha gave a silent nod to Oswall, making sure to say nothing more so that she did not inadvertently cause another problem. After Oswall's outburst, no one in the room was quite keen on talking, but neither she nor anyone else in the pack could exactly go to sleep when they were meant to be watching the lieutenants. Eventually Ahnasha made her way over to Fendros and leaned herself against the wall beside him. The room was too small for anyone to talk privately, so instead, she let out a sigh, then took his hand in hers and leaned herself against him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei maintained her calm attitude while keeping her hands on Sabine's shoulders. She pulled her closer in an attempt to console her. Certainly, Sabine was not accustomed to failure with anything alchemical, but it was not as if she was familiar with every ingredient in Tamriel and beyond, so it was bound to happen eventually. Regardless, she doubted Sabine would give up so easily, and Meesei would do whatever she could to help with her tests. "Tell me what you do know about the poison. If you cannot identify it, then do you believe it is made from something exotic? If Vile is involved, the ingredients could be from Oblivion itself. In any case, if you need something, we will get it for you. We have all week, and perhaps longer for the investigation, so you will probably have time for whatever you need. I may even be able to come up with a way for the scholars themselves to help you, depending on how my investigation goes." Meesei said reassuringly. Ahnasha crossed her arms, trying to maintain something of a firm demeanor. She obviously had his attention, and Fendros seemed to think she was doing well, so she decided to continue. "None of us want to sit around and do 'nothing,' but you know just as well as I that you, or any lieutenant, cannot do the investigating, not yet. You know whether or not you're the traitor, but no one else does. Think about it, do you really want the traitor having free reign to build a case against one of the others? Oswall, you're brash, headstrong, and have been working your way up the ranks for decades. You would be real easy for someone to blame, but Meesei, she doesn't care about that. She will base her suspicions on fact and evidence alone; not something that everyone else will do. There is no telling what the traitor would do if given the chance. What we're doing is just as much for your protection as anything else. None of us want to blame the wrong person."

The Depths of Deception

Rareth gave a slight chuckle. "Maybe you aren't." She commented, thinking about the wide variety of missions she had received in the past. "Direct military operations are actually rare for me. Infiltration, sabotage, and investigation are my specialty. Of course, as you can see, I can fight, but my specialty really does put me in a different role. If we do stick together after this, our missions will probably be ones that require all our skills at the same time. So, complicated missions, essentially." After finishing off her glass, Rareth quickly stood up and walked back over to the counter where she left the wine to refill her glass. This time, she brought the bottle back with her and set it on the table between them, along with another unopened bottle, since the original was closer to empty. She sat down on the couch beside Telmeck and leaned back, propping her feet up on the table and abandoning any sense of formality that might have existed. "So, Sovereignty military. You fight, you train, fight some more, but what do you actually do on the average day when you're not doing any of that? I take it sneaking in drinks isn't common leisure activity. Or maybe it is, and you're more exciting than I thought. Whatever it is, I don't want to sit around here just talking about missions."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

When Meesei saw Sabine's reaction to her presence, she was fairly certain something was wrong. Sabine was quite obviously distraught over difficulties with her tests. Even without words to confim it, Meesei guessed that she had not been able to determine the information she sought. Once Sabine started to sob, Meesei approached wordlessly and gave her a hug, something to try and calm her anxiety. After a few seconds, she pulled away, keeping both hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "It is alright, Sabine. You said before that the poison is slow-acting, right? All I need is to know how long it would take to kill. Nothing else matters." Lorag returned a glare to Oswall. He expected the lieutenants wouldn't be complacent forever, though it did not make him any less annoyed by the outburst. "She'll take however long it takes." He retorted in his usual, undiplomatic manner. "Your alpha has just been murdered, Oswall." Ahnasha added, her tone carrying a bit more tact. Lorag had many skills, but speaking to others was not one of them, so she decided to at least try to calm him down. Of course, with Oswall, she doubted he would respect calm or reassuring words, so she might need to be more forceful. "This is an...extreme situation, for everyone. One of the worst things that could happen has happened, and the fate of the clan itself is in danger. We haven't had much sleep either, but we'll bear through it because it is what is required of us. We are going to do everything possible to preserve the clan, and right now, that means waiting on Meesei to gather what she needs for the investigation. You want justice for Jerrick's death, do you not?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded to Najirra. "My pack mates are capable, but I will warn them to be cautious and to stay in the company of others as often as possible. At the very least, with all of them sleeping in the same room, they should not be taken off guard." Since she had no more orders to give for the moment, Meesei again nodded to Caldris' question. "Yes, I have no more orders to give for now. As for keeping the situation quiet, my best advice would be not to call too much attention to Jerrick's absence. Spread the rumor, and as Najirra said, spread it soon, but do not make his absence seem too important, or peculiar. Hopefully, the clan will not think it strange for him to be away on important business. It is for the safety of the clan that we need to keep it secret, but if suspicion does arise and people start asking about Jerrick, I cannot lie. I have to keep the clan's trust, and people will look much more harshly upon a direct lie than simply not mentioning it. If that happens, I will take the next best course of action. I will give an announcement to the clan telling of Jerrick's murder, but I will not disclose the suspects. Jerrick warned that the division in loyalties between lieutenants would create chaos; however, if the clan believes that the lieutenants are all working together to help find some other assassin, then there will be nothing to divide them. Since most of the lieutenants are still loyal, they would likely cooperate with such a plan, so the traitor would have to as well if they do not want to reveal themselves. If it becomes too difficult to gather information in secret, I may need to take that option anyway." Once Meesei was finished with her explanation, she thanked Jerrick's trusted for their assistance, then left to return to her own pack's quarters. Between confronting the lieutenants, questioning them, and speaking to Najirra and the others, much more time had passed than Sabine said she would need to identify the poison. She walked through the halls as quickly as she could, though attempted not to rush so fast as to seem suspicious to anyone that happened to see or hear her. It did not take long for her to reach their room, where Sabine and Kaleeth were waiting. From the expression on her face, it was easy to see that she was anxious to know what Sabine had learned.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It did not seem as if the three had seen anything of importance regarding the lieutenants, or at least nothing new. However, they could still be quite helpful in the investigation if Meesei needed someone not affiliated with her for any task. As for Najirra's question, she did actually have a solid answer. "For the moment, each of the lieutenants are being watched by one of my pack, and I intend to keep it that way. It would be far too suspicious if all of the lieutenants suddenly retreated from the public eye, so they need to go about their duties as normal. However, with my pack assigned to them, we can be assured that the traitor is being watched at all times. If the traitor wanted to reveal what happened, my pack will make it much more difficult. For the safety of my packmates, I will also advise to them that the lieutenants share a room, so someone can keep watch at all times in the night. It is fortunate that I have already publicly declared that I am here to help strengthen the clan against Vile's followers, as I can reasonably justify these actions with that. I do not wish to panic the clan, so I will not say I have found evidence of infiltration, but I can say that I am assigning my packmates as bodyguards as a precaution until I have investigated further. If I can get the lieutenants to cooperate, I may also have them teach my pack about the specific aspects of the clan that they oversee to give my assignment of them to the lieutenants more of an apparent purpose. Hopefully, these measures will prevent the traitor from causing any further damage." Meesei explained. After pausing a moment, Meesei had another thought which prompted her to shift her attention back to Caleb, Caldris, and Grolak. "Also, if anyone happens to ask you about Jerrick, subtly suggest that you believe he has gone to Bruma, or another surrounding village, on important business for the clan. Intentionally express uncertainty as to his exact destination. Say that you heard it from someone else, or perhaps overheard it. If word gets around that he is on a mission, it will offer an explanation for where he is without me, or one of the lieutenants, having to say anything."

The Depths of Deception

Somehow, it seemed appropriate to Rareth that an example of fine Masulu cuisine would be terribly bitter. Their society was strict, rough, and militaristic, so it was fitting that they would like something that would require them to go through pain to get to the pleasure. It was things like that which the Sovereignty seemed to take pride in, even if she did not understand it. Rareth gave a chuckle at Telmeck's comment. "In our line of work? doubtful." She commented, pausing to take another drink of her wine. "Anyway, I'm afraid I have no idea what's going to happen next. At least not after we get back to Pax. My knowledge of our plans ended at this mission. However, since this mission was a sort of test for our fledgeling joint organization, I suppose the Assembly officials are going to look at how we did, and decide how much they want to dedicate to this experiment. We did well, so they might end up being liberal with funding. No matter what happens, we'll probably face some restructuring. Our team might stick together, but there is still a chance that we will be separated. If not, though, we'll be sent on a mission as soon as they have one. Hopefully we get some time off first."