EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

There we go, goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It took a while for Peiter to calm down enough to actually will himself to stand up, and he was still nervous even once he did. At the very least, the platforms and walkways did have ropes strung along the sides to serve as guard railings. For Peiter, it was a small comfort, but it was at least enough to make him willing to move. He made his way over to Sabine, who had already figured out the platform and was getting ready to bring up the first passenger.

"After all that effort...we're definitely doing swords first. Let's just, uh, make sure to hold the session down there. Not up here. You know, it's safer that way." Peiter answered. He was still breathing heavily from the exertion of climbing, and wiped some sweat from his brow. "I had hoped it would be cooler up here. I...have no idea why I thought that. I can't imagine a place other than Oblivion itself being hotter than this."

Kaleeth was quick to start the climb up the ropes, while Ahnasha stayed down with Rhazii to make sure he didn't get any ideas about trying to follow. Lorag, while he would have preferred to climb, knew that it would be best not to try it in the steel armor he was wearing, so he could wait on the lift. Meesei also decided to wait in order to stay with Leaps and make sure he stayed secure on the lift once it was his turn.

Irenya let out a sigh when Gallus stopped her. She knew well what this was about. "Is this really necessary...alpha?" She whispered.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Going to need to make my next post a quick one. I'll be going to bed afterwards.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter was quick to run to the rope once Sabine issued the challenge. He did not like heights, but one thing he hated more was to lose a challenge. And, as long as he refrained from looking down, he could probably forget about how high he was climbing. Sabine did have an advantage from starting first, but he was not far behind her. Tree climbing was not necessarily one of his hobbies, but rope climbing something he had done before in training, albeit reluctantly. Through his combat training, one thing Peiter did have was upper body strength, which was quite important in this sort of climbing. His pace was surprisingly rapid, causing him to quickly gain on her. After his loss in their last foot race, he had the resolve make sure he was the victor here.

With every ounce of effort he could put forth, Peiter forced himself to climb as fast as his arms could carry him until he finally reached the top, and he was fairly certain that he had been the victor. As he pulled himself up onto the platform, however, he ended up taking a glance down at the forest floor below. Immediately, he dropped down onto his back on the platform, looking up to the sky. He breathed heavily, nearly panicking from the height they were at. "I...regret everything. Just...way too high. Why are you calm? How can you be calm up here?"

Meesei smiled as she stood just behind Tzirret, watching the race from below. "She is dedicated, they both are. When they see a goal, or a challenge, they do everything they can to achieve it." She said before shrugging her shoulders. "Or perhaps it was simply a stamina restoration spell."

Kaleeth, who had been carrying Newt, handed over the hatchling to Janius. "I think you should take Newt up on the lift." She suggested before quickly walking up to the base of the rope. "It has been years since I've climbed a tree anywhere close to this. Not since I lived in Black Marsh."

"The ropes can hold multiple people." Ra'maranja began. "But you still might want to go one at a time, to be safe. It's what we usually do."

Ahnasha couldn't help but to smile at Rhazii's excitement, though there was of course no way she could allow him to climb the rope, especially alone. "Don't worry, little cub. We will all be in the trees soon enough; we are just going to take the lift."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Colors scratched his head. "I...can't say, really. It has certainly grown in the past few years. It really felt like a town, or even a city. Hundreds, at least." He answered. He had entirely ignored Janius' comment about teasing Sabine, though with this Argonian, it was difficult to tell if he was teasing, or was actually serious.

---

The walk took a few hours, and by the attitudes of some of Ra'maranja's group, that was longer than usual. The jungle was new terrain for most of them, and even their experience in Black Marsh did not translate over entirely to this new location. Nevertheless, they did finally reach their destination with several hours of daylight remaining; although, even once they had stopped, Meesei's packs were still not certain they had arrived at all. Ra'maranja had halted in a section of the jungle that looked no different from any other. There did not seem to be any buildings or structures, no caves or anything else that might be considered shelter.

"We have arrived. Ra'maranja will send one of his own to speak with the clan leader. It is further on into the Tenmar forest. Considering how long it took us to get here, you may need to stay here for the night." Ra'maranja explained.

Ahnasha looked around, confused. "That's fine and everything, but...where's the supply outpost?"

Ra'maranja grinned, then lifted his hand to point straight up. The leaves of the trees mostly obscured it, but if they looked closely, they could see what were essentially houses built around the trees above them. The structures were close to the top of the tall trees, but there were ramps and bridges, both to connect the trees, and to lead down closer to the ground. Ra'maranja walked over to one of the trees and grabbed a vine-like rope leading up to one of the lower walkways. "Khajiit hopes you can climb."

Ahnasha furrowed her brow. "We can, but what about Leaps?" She asked, motioning to the wamasu.

Ra'maranja chuckled. "Not to worry. There is a platform up in the walkways attached to pulleys. A lift. We use it to hoist the supplies up to the houses; it should hold the creature's weight. It can hold people too, if you don't want to climb with your children."

Peiter craned his neck back to look up at the houses high above them before nudging Sabine beside. "Those are, um, high, aren't they? At least...no one will be able to surprise us...I guess. Well, since we're going to be here for a while, maybe we could go ahead and do that training?" He suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That's quite alright. I think I'll get us to our destination in the next one.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Colors pulled back his hand, away from Sabine. "No, really, it's fine. I don't want to trouble you."

Just ahead of them, a Khajiit woman from Ra'maranja's group turned her head back towards them. "Don't worry, this one took care of that lout's little cut. And he was such a cub about it, too." She snickered, raising up her hand and charging a small amount of restoration magic through it for a moment.

Colors rubbed the back of his neck and gave a somewhat forced laugh. "Ah, but can you truly blame me, my lady? I do not care that I am both lycan and Argonian, the streets of Senchal are positively foul with waste. With how my luck has been going the past few months, a toxin only deadly to my kind would find its way into my wound. Of course, I am most grateful for your assistance." He said to the Khajiit before looking to Sabine and giving a bow. "And for the offer of assistance from such a kind and beautiful mage."

Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

I'm just waiting for some posts from the others. At our next destination, it will be easy to pick you up.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, it is...nice. Quite nice. They are the family I never had. It has wealth, power, agreeable friends, and beautiful, um, 'companions.' I would do anything to protect them. It is the best clan in Tamriel, if I do say so myself. Our leader has kept us strong for decades." Colors explained. Meesei gave him a curious look upon his last statement, though did not say anything aloud for the moment.

Shortly afterwards, the group reached the point where they had to branch off of the road and straight into the forest itself. Ra'maranja led the way, using his shortblade to hack through thicker areas of brush. He quickly outpaced Meesei's packs at first, but he slowed down once he realized that he was leading a group which was not as experienced in navigating the jungle.

Peiter looked to be absolutely miserable in the heat, and having go through all of the effort to trudge their way through the brush was certainly not helping. Chorrol, where he was born, was temperate at best, and Bruma, even in the summer months, was almost always cold. As such, he was among the least prepared in the group for the heat. Nevertheless, he tried to distract himself by joining in on the conversation. "You said you went to the market? Me and a few of the others did as well. We didn't see you, or we would have helped. Sabine has been learning restoration, do you think you would want to look at him?" He asked, turning his head to Sabine for confirmation.

Colors shook his head. "Oh, no, that won't be necessary. The cut wasn't that bad, and it would just slow us down."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once the group had exited the gates of Senchal, the transition from the sprawling city to the wilds was quick, and rather abrupt. The road cut through the middle of the forest, though it was only of the absolute minimum width to be a serviceable pathway for carriages, as the forest seemed like it would constantly be growing to overtake it. Frequent maintenance was likely required for the road to be usable. Even with the trees that had been felled to make the path, the tall trees of the Tenmar forest still formed a canopy far above them. Honestly, it was more accurate to call it a jungle than a forest. The songs of the birds, insects, frogs, and other creatures around them were constant, and notably loud.

Although the forest was an impressive sight to behold, the climate was less than pleasant for most of them. The cool ocean breeze had kept the packs comfortable in the city, but the farther they drew from the coast, the more abundantly clear it became that they were, indeed, in a tropical region. While the trees did provide shade from the sun, it was hardly of any help in the tropical jungle. Black Marsh had been hotter and more humid, but not by all that large of a margin. Most of the pack started sweating enough that their city clothes were certainly going to need a wash. A Khajiit's fur was designed to keep heat out in the desert, but the humidity alone was certainly enough to get to Ahnasha. Meesei, Kaleeth, and Newt, however, all felt perfectly comfortable.

Colors was briefly surprised when Janius approached him. Looking down, he lightly rubbed the cloth bandage. "Oh, that. We...were in the market, and I accidentally slipped on a puddle of what I hope was water. Don't know what I actually cut my hand on. I...can be clumsy at times."