EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a nod of agreement. "Yes, I would. Your sister is trustworthy, of course, but we always need to keep in mind that your letters could be intercepted. It is unlikely they would be read by anyone of consequence, but it is a precaution to take nonetheless. I will likely take me some time to find and negotiate a price with a caravan driver, so you should have ample time to rewrite and send your letter."

"Outgoing, certainly. And at least Rhazii likes her." Ahnasha commented, pulling Rhazii closer to herself and looking down to him with a grin. "If she's going to be helping look after him, then that is certainly a good thing."

It took a few hours to reach the gates of Bruma, as they were not moving in any sort of rush. It was not winter, so the cold was not as intense as it could be, but Meesei still had to give attention to Leaps to make sure he was kept sufficiently warm. His body was adapted for the heat of the marsh, and would not warm itself alone, and he could not be wrapped as warmly in furs as Meesei or Kaleeth. Magical fire was enough to make it tolerable, though Meesei doubted he was comfortable.

At the gates, Meesei stopped and addressed the group as a whole. "I will negotiate with one of the caravans to take us to the Imperial City. If there is anything that anyone needs to do in the city, now is the time. Although, I hope to be here for less than an hour or two, so hurry if you can. Janius, be sure to watch after Leaps while I am away and keep him warm. We can all meet back here when you are ready."

With that, Meesei headed into the city, starting with the tavern, where many locals and travelers congregated. There was no one single location where Meesei would be guaranteed to find a caravan driver, so she would have to ask around. Kaleeth remained outside and stood by Leaps. While he was still technically small enough to be brought into a city, they had found in the past that the Bruma guards were uncomfortable around him.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"You know, that seems...dangerous." Pieter commented with something of a perplexed look on his face. "Tasting random plants, I mean. You might eventually come across a strong poison; I know there are some out there. You ended up in Black Marsh before you came to Bruma, right? I hear that the entire swamp is filled with poisons, heat, humidity, and murderous beasts. I...think I'll be perfectly fine not going there."

"I find it to be a beautiful place, though I may be biased." Meesei chimed in. She only heard the very end of their conversation, but felt it appropriate to speak up for just a moment. Sabine and her friend seemed as if they would talk for a while, and Meesei had one thing to ask before they reached the city. "Sabine, I have a brief question for you. When we reach Bruma, would you like to write and send a letter to Ariel? This will be the last chance before the Imperial City to write to her. For safety, you may wish to avoid writing our exact destination, but she should likely know that her letters may not be able to reach us for a while."

Ahnasha could not say she knew much about Falkreath, expect that it was one of Skyrim's holds. Since Uthri did not mention a specific town or city, though, Ahnasha guessed that she may have been raised outside of them. She was at least aware that Skyrim did have more than just mountains and snow, but did not know where Falkreath fit into the province's climate. Regardless, she certainly seemed to fit the image of a strong Nord, and she was being friendly enough. Currently, it was mostly Irenya with which she was worried about leaving Rhazii.

Ahnasha answered as soon as Fendros finished. "And I'm from Leyawiin, to the south. As Fendros said, though, we've been all over Cyrodiil, Morrowind, and Black Marsh. Rhazii, I suppose he was born in Black Marsh, not that it really matters. He has mostly been raised in the clan so far."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter shook his head. "No, not really. The longest trip I've ever been on was moving to Bruma from Chorrol, where I was born. And I didn't even make it the full way on that journey; that's when I was turned. I've never been outside of Cyrodiil before, so this will all pretty much be new to me. It's kind of frightening and exciting, really. You're from...Morrowind, right? And you've traveled all over with your pack, so you definitely know more than me. What do you expect from the trip? Does it get boring along the road, or on a ship?" He asked. Being that he was no longer trying to keep quiet, Irenya heard some of what he said, but was largely uninterested until he mentioned that Sabine was from Morrowind. She did not say anything, or include herself in the conversation in any real way, but she certainly took interest.

Uthri's voice had a certain quality that could certainly capture one's attention immediately. Ahnasha's head turned to her quickly, and her grip almost reflexively tightened on Rhazii. She was not being threatening, however, and mostly just being friendly. They were all going to be spending quite a lot of time together, so that was certainly not a bad plan. "Rhazii is three years old. I know he looks a lot older, but that's just because he's a Cathay. They end up being much larger than your average human or elf." Ahnasha explained, glancing over to Leaps nearby for a moment. "I'm actually pretty glad we have that wamasu. There will be a point where Rhazii is too big to carry around, but still too small to keep up on a long trek. Hopefully, Leaps can be his horse."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, sure." Peiter answered as he picked up a pack of supplies and threw it onto his back. They were already starting to move, so he had to orient the bag along with his halberd as they were walking along towards the exit. "There's Gallus, but you already know him. The Khajiit is Tzirret. He was formerly the young, nervous, and naive apprentice to Gallus, but now after a few years of training, he is a young, nervous, and naive full member of the pack. The Nord is Uthri Wild-Heart. Fitting name. She was raised on a farm way out in the wilds of Falkreath, to the north, but she's more of a woodsman, or...woodswoman? Anyway, she's used to being in the wilds. The Dunmer is Irenya Helvi; she's our healer, and mage in general. Honestly, she doesn't really like answering to someone as young as Gallus, I don't think. She was born a little while before the Red Year in Morrowind, so she's two hundred at least. Thing is, she's, uh, not that good at leading." He explained to Sabine at a whisper.

As everyone had been given ample opportunity to give their goodbyes, the two packs set out quickly. They passed through the gate leading to the cavern exit, then two more before finally making it to the surface. Since the attack a few years prior, the clan's security had become much more robust, with several layers of protection. Meesei had even overseen the scattering of enchantments in an area around the entrance to help detect intruders, although admittedly, they had mostly just caught members of the clan who had forgotten to announce that they were leaving the ruin.

Luckily, once they were out of the ruin, the snow was relatively light, and the temperature, while still cold, was comparatively mild for the region. It was late summer, and while the snow rarely melted this high into the mountains, it would not take too long of traveling to the south to reach warmer weather. Meesei would need to stay close to Leaps to ensure he stayed adequately warm, but first, there was a question she wished to ask of Sabine. They were going to be stopping briefly in Bruma to find a caravan to take them to the Imperial City, and there was something Meesei thought Sabine would want to do while they were there. However, as she did not want to interrupt her conversation, Meesei decided to wait until Sabine and Peiter has finished talking. It was going to take a few hours to reach the city, regardless.

Ahnasha was trying to avoid making too specific of judgments just yet on Gallus' pack, for good or ill. They had not yet had time to learn what they were like, but she still could not help but to wonder. As one might expect, she was walking alongside Fendros while carrying Rhazii. While both Rhazii and Newt would walk by this point, neither were capable of such a long trek. Rhazii in particular was much heavier than he used to be, so Ahnasha and Fendros would have to trade off on carrying him.

"So, what do you think about...everyone?" Ahnasha whispered to Fendroa, leaning in close as she spoke nearly inaudibly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry for the delay. I've got a huge assignment to do by tomorrow afternoon. I'll have to hold off on posting until then.

The good news is that this is the last big assignment for the semester. The bad news is that I'll be studying for exams after that. The conciliatory news is that I only have one exam!

@Muttonhawk

It's such a rollercoaster of emotion.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak took hold of the pumpkin carefully, so as not to extinguish the candle within. "Hmm, I believe I understand now. The face would be clearly visible from a distance at night. Mine is..." He began, his voice trailing off as he looked over to his own pumpkin. His own attempt at carving had not gone nearly as well. Initially, he had wanted to carve the form of a dragon, but he had erred in his strength and had been far rougher than he should have. As such, his carving did not really look like anything at all. Nevertheless, he shook his head as he smiled. "You know, I believe I was far too ambitious in my design. I suppose you can consider it an...abstract art piece."

Returning to the topic of Meirin's monastery, Ssarak believed he understood well how Meirin had been forced to live. Although, it seemed like they had been forced to for very different reasons. "Anyway, you say your lifestyle was minimalist out of tradition? I am unsure how to feel about that; I suppose it depends on how their resources are saved. If they insisted on surviving on little so they could keep a large stockpile of reserves, I believe I could understand it. Your life, it seems, was quite similar to mine, so I can certainly understand why you would prefer the college's lifestyle. Indeed, I find myself quite enjoying the luxuries the college provides. Abundant food, water, shelter which completely protects against the elements; it all seems extravagant. It has actually been somewhat difficult to adapt to. I still find myself being needlessly conservative with resources. My furniture is sparse, my baths short, and I still feel uncomfortable wearing anything that is not leather. Cloth is quite new to me, and somewhat itchy. In my village, I often wore just simple loincloths; sometimes more, if we had the leather. Although, I still do find it to be a superior material. It is much more durable than cloth, and can even be made into armor, if properly hardened."

Shaking his head again, Ssarak gave a chuckle. "Hmm, now I am going on a tangent. I believe you may be...rubbing off on me. Regardless, I should have no issue adapting to your monastery when we visit, except for perhaps the food. I find eating fruits and vegetables to be...laborious. I cannot usually tear them like meat, and my teeth are simply horrible for chewing. Perhaps I will simply stick with soup? I am just hoping you do not find it necessary to change yourself too much upon your return. I understand you will likely want to...tone down some of your new habits for them, but I rather like the person you are now. I like that you are comfortable talking, and comfortable expressing yourself. I believe that the person you are is someone worth expressing."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As the pack was waiting for Gallus and the rest of his pack, a few conversations popped up between members of the pack and a few of those that had come to see them off. Some were related to the task they were be undertaking, while others were simply final goodbyes. Since the attack years ago, Ahnasha and Caldris had become rather close, particularly competitive friends, so Caldris had come to speak to her. They regularly worked closely together, so Ahnasha was finding it difficult to accept that she would not be able to speak to her again for quite some time. Of course, there was no way she would say that aloud. Lorag had a small group of some of the older, more experienced warriors in the clan come to see him off. Evidently, all of them had separately come up with the idea to give him a bottle of mead before he went on his way, so, much to his satisfaction, Lorag had a small pack full of them for the road. With his thick furs and an assortment of bags and packs on top of his freshly-shined steel armor, Lorag appeared rather bulky, but he was used to dealing with the weight. Kaleeth actually had one of the diplomats from another clan come speak to her. He was a light scaled Argonian man from the Black Marsh clan, and a werecrocodile as well. Naturally, as they were the only two of their kind in the clan, Kaleeth had sought him out shortly after she learned he had arrived. On a few occasions, he had helped her learn to deal with the more specific problems of being a werecrocodile. Meanwhile, Meesei did what she could to assure the representative of the Senchal clan that they would do everything in their power to ensure his clan would be safe. He had actually wanted to join them, but as he was more of a diplomat and tradesman than a fighter, Meesei had to convince him that his skills would be of the most benefit to his clan if he remained. From Bruma, he could negotiate with other clans for additional aid, if it became necessary.

Eventually, Gallus and the rest of his pack made it to the main chamber. In addition to himself and Tzirret, there was a Nord woman who, like Gallus, seemed to be generally experienced in survival. She carried a variety of knives, hatchets, and other tools in her pack, and was armed with a crossbow, a one-handed nordic sword, and a light, iron-banded buckler. There was a Dunmer woman with a light build who, while not heavily armed, was skilled in magic, and, interestingly, the last member of the pack was someone Meesei recognized. He was a Breton named Peiter, one of Sabine's friends. He carried a halberd on his back, wish a shortsword as his secondary. Meesei had not known that he was a member of Gallus' pack.

Meesei was the first to approach Gallus. "Greetings, Gallus. Is your pack prepared to depart?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Well, of Sabine's list of friends, Peiter wasn't at the pool. I suppose that would let me establish who he is. He wouldn't be old enough to be one of the more experienced ones, though he would be more skilled than Tzirret probably. Perhaps a spearman. The skillsets of the others can be as you suggest.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

We should probably decide who is in Gallus' pack, or at least the demographics. There is Gallus himself, and I remember he had a Khajiit he was mentoring. Did you want to have a friend of Sabine's in the pack as well?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Agreed." Meesei responded. "If for whatever reason it became necessary, we can detour to one of the other clans to receive additional funds for the return trip, but the Senchal clan may need aid quickly. I expect we will leave in a day or two, depending on how long it takes to gather the necessary supplies. Oswall, I will speak to your son tomorrow morning to ask if his pack will join us. I do not wish to bring anyone along who is not doing so voluntarily, so I do not want to order anyone to join. At any rate, unless there is more to discuss about the matter, I suppose we should continue with the rest of the meeting..."

---

As planned, Meesei's pack, and a few of the lieutenants, took the next day to prepare for the pack's departure. Sabine was approached by Darahil about their alchemical needs, Lorag spent most of the day trying to find his replacement for training, and Meesei spoke to several individuals regarding their upcoming plans, including Gallus and both of the representatives from Elsweyr. Ahnasha, in addition to determining who would take over in assisting Caldris for archery training, did what she could to clean out her hidden room in the lower levels. She could not simply take everything out quietly, particularly the larger pieces of furniture, but she could at least hide away some of the more incriminating items, and made sure there was nothing to link it back to her. Hopefully, the secret passage would not be discovered while they were away, as she did hope to be able to use it again once they returned.

After a full day of preparation, Meesei's pack awoke early in the morning, before most of the clan had risen for the day. She had been told that their supplies were ready, so they were about to head to the main chamber to collect those supplies and meet up with Gallus' pack and anyone else who intended to see them off, and to have a quick breakfast before leaving. They were all dressed in their thick furs, and even Leaps had furs tied around his body. For him, Meesei had to enchant a specially made blanket with frost resistance to make it at least somewhat effective at keeping him warm. Even so, Meesei had to use magical means to warm him periodically whenever they left the ruin. Fortunately, the farther south they went, the more comfortable the climate would become for him. Newt also gave Kaleeth and Janius some trouble, as he whined whenever he had to put on his thick furs, which he rather hated wearing. Regardless, the pack readied themselves as quickly as they could, then headed off to the main chamber.