EliteCommander

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek was slightly surprised that Haku'gil was willing to give away the flower, though he supposed it was simply a nice gesture. Even if it was only a weed to his people, Tarentek felt that he would have been justified in charging for it. Something that had no value in one place could be prized in another, and traveling long distances was expensive and difficult. Even though anyone in his homeland could retrieve one of those flowers for free, he was still providing a valuable service by bringing them to a foreign land. Regardless, it was a kind gesture that seemed to show the sense of community the Elissics had.

Tarentek nodded in response to Haku. "Yes, I know some of the troubles to the east. I was wanting to warn you of them, especially if you intended to travel in that direction. There is a group causing strife in that area, and it may not be safe to pass through, even by air. I am sure your wings can minimize the danger, but you could be in danger when stopping for camp."

The Depths of Deception

"No." Rareth said abruptly, opening her eyes and letting out a yawn. She was rapidly growing more and more fatigued, though she was still convinced she could stay awake. She had only been half-listening to the conversation, but something about mentioning the word "magical" made her inject herself back into the conversation.

"No, implants aren't magic at all, they're...scientific. They're the opposite of magic; if they weren't, I could actually use them. Or...I could use the good ones. I've got some smaller implants, but they're not as helpful as yours. You can get...super strong, super fast, cancel out pain, or...use your brain to operate machines really accurately. It sounds great; all I can do is...bend, break, or punch holes in spacetime with my mind. It's boring by comparison." As Rareth's voice trailed off, she let out another yawn and closed her eyes. She wanted to avoid falling asleep, but in her current state, she was not thinking clearly enough to actually do something to help keep her alert. Instead, she was allowing herself to become more relaxed.

Seemingly randomly, Rareth let out a chuckle as a thought came to her mind. "You know, Shuo, you're really drunk. Better be careful not to...pass out." She warned, interrupting herself with another yawn. "I don't know what you Sovereignty people do, but I've had a lot of fun before messing with people who fall asleep at...celebrations like this. My pranks aren't too mean, but...they are...funny. It's not a...good idea to be the first to...fall..." Rareth's voice trailed off to nothing as fatigue overtook her. Within minutes, she was entirely unconscious, still clutching tightly onto Telmeck's tail.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Haku'gil's answer mostly served to create more questions for Tarentek. He wondered what role merchants served within their society, how many there were, and how often they traded outside of the Elissic tribes, but those were questions he could ask Onyx later. For now, he observed the pressed flowers after Haku pulled back one of the slabs. Even when he had nothing to trade, Tarentek enjoyed going to markets just to see wares such as these. The flowers were colorful, and many of them he had not seen before.

"These flowers are quite brilliant, I must say. Some of them are unfamiliar to me; are they from outside the desert? There are not too many flowering plants in this area, and I have a reasonable belief that I have seen most of them. If so, then you have likely traveled to farther places than I have ever had the pleasure of visiting." Tarentek commented, though as a thought crossed his mind, his expression became slightly more concerned. "Do you happen to travel to the east of here?"

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

"You need not worry about offending me. I understand that you do not necessarily know of my people's customs...just as I would like to apologize in advance for any mistakes I may make. I'm afraid that I am quite unfamiliar with your people, as I have only just arrived in this...nest." Tarentek explained briefly. He was quite pleasantly surprised by Haku Gil's overall demeanor. While the previous trader was readily accepting of Tarentek's presence, Haku was openly friendly towards him.

Tarentek gave a bow as well, assuming that it was the appropriate gesture. "The meaning of my name is 'Favored-of-the-Gods,' though whether it is an accurate name, I suppose is not for me to decide. You said you are accustomed to meeting other races, correct? I did not know there were Elissics who traded among other races. Onyx explained to me that her tribe does not tend to interact with outsiders, though I suppose if your people have many tribes, you also must have many customs."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave no immediate visible reaction to Vera's question. She was in the middle of a bite of meat when she asked, so she had a brief moment to think about her response. Meesei could not afford to reveal that she had any contacts within the clan, and while she did not want to lie directly to the clan as a whole, she recognized that it would be necessary to lie to the lieutenants at times during the investigation.

"No, I did not know you had a son." Meesei responded, shaking her head slightly with no noticeable emotional change. "You could try to keep an eye on him if you think something is wrong, but it may be nothing. In the situation we are in, we need to be vigilant and watch for anything out of the ordinary, but also be aware that you might start noticing patterns where there are none. Sometimes, people simply change something about their day for mundane reasons, or none at all. That is something I have to stay aware of in my own investigation."

It was not long before Lorag and Harriet arrived, though unlike Vera, neither of them had any intention of knocking. Lorag entered first, his gaze immediately telling what he wanted. Without needing to say a word, Meesei pointed to the bags in the corner to direct him and Harriet to their meals. "Greetings Lorag, Harriet. Help yourselves to whatever you like, but keep in mind this food needs to last us a few days." She cautioned. "Harriet, I am ready to ask another set of questions for all of the lieutenants, but for now, you can return to the dining chamber with your food. I do not want to attract too much attention by keeping all of the lieutenants away from their packs at the same time. I will send someone for you when I am ready to speak to you." She explained.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Even if he did not understand everything involved, Tarentek was glad to hear that Onyx was happy with what she was doing. It would likely help her to go into the coming crisis with a clear head. It was not long before Onyx stopped him near another merchant's stall, deciding to instruct him in how to greet strangers. With the relative success he had experienced so far, Tarentek decided that it could not hurt to try, so he watched her closely as she approached the merchant. There were some words of her people's dialect that he did not understand, mostly names, but fortunately, their greetings seemed simple enough. At least, there did not seem to be anything different from greetings among his own people.

Tarentek stepped forward beside Onyx, mimicking her posture. "Greetings, I am Tarentek, of Amman." He said politely, though he wasn't absolutely sure if he was meant to say anything afterwards. He assumed it was appropriate to exchange simple banter as Onyx had, but in any case, he would wait for Haku'gil to respond.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek mimicked Onyx's gesture, then moved with her. From her conversation with Jai'san, Tarentek gathered that her personality traits were not quite as uncommon among her race as she initially said, though perhaps she was rare among her particular tribe. Tarentek did not know the significance of this ritual she spoke of, but it seemed like something highly personal to her. It was possible that it was some sort of coming-of-age ritual where she selected her path in life. The Karisskan had no such customs, but many of the races who traded with Amman did, so Tarentek was familiar with the concept.

"I will be honest, I did not expect him to speak to me. Perhaps if I can speak to more of your people, I might have some chance of at least changing a few minds." Tarentek commented before his attention slowly shifted to the pouch in which she had placed her statue. "So this statue you purchased, it is for a ritual, you said? Will this ritual give you the answers you need about your future?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

The trader's reaction to seeing Tarentek was initially no different than any other Elissic he had run into, but he was surprised to see that he was actually willing to speak to him after they were introduced. Opal had seemed unwilling to do any more than tolerate his presence, but as Onyx said, those from outside the village were potentially more accepting. He nodded to Jai'san before responding. "Yes, I am indeed Karisskan. From what I have been told, it is exceptionally rare for one of my kind, or any other kind for that matter, to be allowed into this place. However, there were...extenuating circumstances that granted me an exception." He explained.

Tarentek was not precisely sure how much he should share about his reason for being here at this time. He understood that Raldel might want to avoid a panic, so revealing the full gravity of the situation might not be wise. However, giving a basic warning about danger to the east could save lives without risking panic if anyone intended to travel in that direction. "There is trouble in the east. If you have any plans to travel in that direction, I would cancel them if at all possible." He added.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

"I see." Tarentek answered. Mostly, he had been observing the vendors and their products. Since her people restricted their settlements to only Elissics, they did not have quite the variety of trade goods that he was used to seeing in markets, but it was an interesting experience nonetheless. In particular, he found himself interested in their more artistic works. As he would expect, their style of art was much different than what he was accustomed to seeing. Unless two groups had extended contact, it was rare that they would have similar artistic styles. Just like the multicolored wings of their creators, the sculptures and paintings were filled with color, which made some stands into impressive displays. Some of Tarentek's people felt that art was not useful, but he personally believed that beautiful works that their own, practical reward. If Tarentek actually had anything of value that he did not need, he might have even traded for one.

After a few moments Tarentek shifted his gaze to Onyx once more. "I am not expecting trust, but...do you think it will ever be possible for me to gain it? Would anyone you know here even be willing to speak to me? Also, what do you think they know about me? Your father must have told them something, but I do not know what."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag had been watching Harriet closely for the entire day, not that he actually noticed anything interesting. She did seem annoyed and angry, but then again, so was he, for several reasons. Mostly, he just wanted a good meal, a craving that only grew as time passed. Eventually, they ended up waiting in the dining room for their food, at which point Darahil made an appearance. The brief shouting match between the two didn't actually attract all that much attention, likely because Harriet was involved. If it wasn't normal for her to be yelling at someone, then Lorag had probably misjudged her. Regardless, he tried to pay attention to exactly what they were yelling about. It sounded just like mundane accounting, but it was something he could report to Meesei.

It wasn't long after Darahil went away that Lorag saw Ahnasha step into the dining chamber, which meant the food had finally arrived. He and Harriet were the first pair Ahnasha saw, so as she started to walk towards them, Lorag looked down at Harriet, who was facing away from the entrance. "When do we eat? I'd say right around...now." He commented just as Ahnasha reached them.

"Lorag, Harriet, there you are. Meesei sent me over here to-" Ahnasha began, though Lorag quickly interrupted.

"It's here isn't it? Don't have to wait anymore?" He asked almost with enthusiasm, something Ahnasha was not used to seeing in Lorag unless the situation involved alcohol. There had been times where hunting was difficult and he had to go longer without food, but she supposed the fact that he knew the food was coming made the wait harder to deal with.

Ahnasha let out a sigh. "Yes Lorag, it's here. Just head back up to our room."

"Great, now let's go." Lorag said, trying to rush Harriet to get up and follow him, though with how impatient she had been, it would probably be more like a race up to the room.

"Yes, good to see you too, Lorag." Ahnasha mumbled with a slight chuckle. "Also, Harriet, just to let you know, Meesei might be coming to speak with you before the day is over. I think there is something she wanted to talk about."

With how long it had been since she had eaten, Meesei was already halfway through her meal by the time Vera and Kaleeth arrived. She looked up from her spot where she was seated on the floor and saw Vera peering in through the metal door. "Yes, please, come in." She answered as she motioned for her to enter.

Once Vera and Kaleeth entered, Meesei pointed to the collection of bags in the corner that contained the food Ahnasha had purchased. "The food is in those bags. Please, help yourselves. There are a few types of meat, fruits and vegetables, and I believe a few loaves of bread. I apologize if you normally prefer your meat cooked, I was just too impatient to wait for my meal."

Meesei paused, then used a spell of detect life as she looked around through the walls to ensure no one was close enough to listen in. "I believe my investigation today has been fruitful. I am ready with another series of questions for you all, and I have hopes that we may be able to resolve this soon. Let us all finish our meals first, though. I am sure you have been just as hungry as I have."