EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The prisoner shook his head. "No, none other than him. Well, there could be, but not that this one has ever heard of. This general of theirs is unique in many ways. If you want my advice, do not underestimate him."

"I will keep that in mind." Meesei commented as she thought about the implications of what the prisoner described. If it was true, then it did make more sense how the Senchal clan could have been overrun. A large force with a talented leader was a combination that could overcome even the strongest of defenses. "So, where can we find this fortress, and this general?"

Once more, the prisoner shook his head, but this time in defiance. "No...no, not yet. You have to turn this one first. Turn him, and promise to let him go. Khajitt will not let his soul be taken by Vile after this."

Meesei glanced to Gallus and gave a nod before kneeling down in front of the Khajiit. She reached out to one of his arms and tore his sleeve, then cut a gash across his bicep, causing him to cringe in pain. She held her other hand over the wound and squeezed a few drops of her own blood into it. "My blood is now within you. You are not a lycan yet, but in about three days time, the condition will grow strong enough to overtake you, and you will transform for the first time. Be sure you are not close to civilization when that happens. Now, for your part of the deal."

The prisoner let out a deep, nervous breath as he thought about what was going to happen, but nevertheless, nodded in compliance. "Okay, Khajiit will share what he knows. You found a map when you searched this one's belongings, yes? Well, there is a very subtle mark on it over the location of the fortress. Bring it over here and this one will show you."

Meesei prompted Gallus to go retrieve the map from camp and, once he returned, unrolled it in front of him. "Here is your map, now where is this mark?" She demanded.

"Well, this one cannot show you like this. If you unbind his hands..."

"Do it with your toes." Meesei ordered firmly as she held the map close to his feet. After a moment, he pointed to a spot northeast of Corinthe, in the northern Tenmar forest. Sure enough, there was a small, subtle mark that had been added to the map, which would have been easy to overlook.

"So...you have the map, and you know where to find the fortress. What...does this mean for this one now?" The prisoner asked.

"It means he's useless to us now." A voice sounded out nearby. From the direction of the camp, Jo'rashaad stepped towards them. Evidently, he had moved himself closer to them as they had been interrogating him; although, it was not certain how much he had overheard.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

After Gallus left, Meesei decided to wait until he returned to continue her questions. For this conversation, she would prefer to have at least one other present. There was not a chance that this prisoner would be remaining with their particular group for any significant length of time, but turning him into a lycan was not something that would cost her at all. There was a great potential for him to be harmed from it, but she and her pack could simply send him on his way if they wished.

Once Gallus returned, Meesei continued. "If you hope to be protected from Vile's rage by Hircine, then you have much work ahead of you. But, this is not a deal I am opposed to. But, that is not a gift that I would give for nothing of value in return, and you have not yet shown that you actually know anything. I would like you to tell me about these forces of Vile's. What strength do they have?" Meesei asked.

The prisoner seemed reluctant to answer at first, but since he still had the location of the base, he could get away with sharing this. "Oh, very strong. Given how badly Vile's war has been going for him, this one wonders how he has been able to muster such a force. Their fortress alone has hundreds of ale-bodied soldiers, maybe more. And there are more in the region. Vile must have an entire legion in Elsweyr, and it is not just numbers. His force reminds this one of the legion in more ways than one. They are regimented, disciplined. There tactics and equipment are all very...military. They are not lycan hunter tactics exactly, but they are involved in them. Obviously, not all of them are outfitted with silver; that would be too expensive even for Vile's followers, but there are more than you can handle. This one thinks it's all because of their general. He's a Cathay-raht; strong, intelligent, leads from the front. Don't know much about him, other than his reputation. Don't even know why he's working for Vile, considering he's a werewolf."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The prisoner tried to look away from Meesei, but she quickly grabbed his head and forced him to make eye contact with her. She stared at him wordlessly, but her body language made her intentions abundantly clear. As she brought her bleeding hand closer to him, he finally gave a frightened answer.

"Okay, okay, maybe this one can tell you something." He said quickly, after which Meesei backed off to give him more space. "But...he still does not know about what Vile wants. Khajiit was not lying about that. He is no commander, only a soldier. This one just follows his orders, and receives his payments. Deals with Vile can be lucrative and...punishing if broken. This one can tell you the strength of his forces and, oh, and where you can find them as well. Khajiit has been to the largest of our bases in the area, he can show you where to find it, but...his soul will be taken by Vile on death if he breaks his deal with him."

The prisoner's eyes darted back and forth between Gallus and Meesei nervously. He was afraid of them, obviously, but was also just as frightened of what would happen if he submitted. Eventually, however, his gaze focused on the drops of blood in Meesei's palm, and an idea came to his mind. "Maybe...yes, yes. Khajiit knows what can be done. Your blood; you can turn him into one of those things. A werebeast. It will bond him to your master, then he can work for Hircine. And maybe, when Khajiit does die, your master won't be as angry with him, yes? Promise to let this one go, and turn him into one of you, and he will tell you everything he knows."

For a moment, Meesei was silent as she considered the prisoner's offer. She preferred to avoid turning if she could, but this was a chance to get information from the prisoner willingly, with no further effort or trouble. And, if the prisoner was bound to Hircine, he would have an incentive to be honest. Although, it would mean letting go one of the pride's torturers. It was not an easy choice, and she glanced to Gallus to judge his reaction while she thought.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'm working on one last term project. I may or may not have a post up by the time you get online.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

La'khay shook her head solemnly. "La'khay does not know if there is anything we can do. The girls in Senchal, they rarely wanted to talk about it. Even with the work they were doing, it was painful for them to remember. This one does not think that help can be forced upon her; she has to be willing to accept it. Her parents tried helping her, but they don't know any more about that than this one. Perhaps all we can do is to be here to support her. To care for her. Her freedom will probably help."

Meesei took a few steps forward towards the prisoner, so as to appear even larger in his field of view. Her expression was not necessarily aggressive, but certainly not gentle. When she spoke, her voice could best be described as demanding. "I will not mince words with you, prisoner. What I want from you is everything you know about Vile's plans in this area. I want to know how strong they are, where they are, and what they want. Make no mistake, I will have that information before we are done. What your cooperation will negotiate for you is what happens to you in the aftermath." She said before giving a nod to Gallus.

Once the gag was removed, the prisoner started to laugh. "You beasts really are stupid. If Khajiit knew Vile's plans, which he doesn't, then you think he'd tell you? Vile can do far worse to this one than you ever could."

Meesei gave no immediate response to the Khajiit, and instead knelt down in front of him. She held out her hand a few inches in front of his face, then started to press her claw into her own palm until she drew a drop of blood. "So whatever deal you have made with Vile has bound you to him, you think? Well, that may be true, but I would like for you to think about this. A few drops of my blood, and you will be bound to the lord of the Hunt. You will have the spirit of the wolf tied irreversibly to your soul: a bond that I can assure you is stronger than any deal you could make with Vile. You would be bound for eternity to my master, the Daedra upon which you have waged war. I would like you to think on that for a moment. I would like you to think about all of the suffering you have experienced in your life. I would like you to think about all of the suffering you have caused, about all of the suffering that has ever been felt by any mortal on Nirn. Every death, every dismemberment, every single moment of torture throughout all of history. I would like for you to think about all of that, then consider, for a moment, that the sum total of all mortal suffering in history is but a fleeting moment next to the vast expanse of the eternity you will spend under the boot of my master. Now, do you have something to say to me?"

For a few moments after Meesei spoke, all the prisoner seemed to be able to do was stare and blink. Meanwhile, closer to camp, Jo'rashaad was watching Meesei and Gallus from afar. He was not close enough to hear the words they were saying, but he was not about to take his attention off of the prisoner.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ah, just finished my post. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ra'kalesh continued with his meal as he listened to Tzirret. To him, the boy had a strange mix of nervousness and curiosity, but he was more than glad to speak to him, even with the state his body was in. It had been months since he had been able to have a conversation that wasn't of some dire nature. "Well, we look like...lions. It is not too much different from your werewolf transformations. You can see a hint of the creature we are based upon, but we are much larger and more powerful. Of course, we do not have quite the size or strength of a werewolf, but we have greater agility. Colors always says that it makes no sense, given how much larger and more fearsome a lion is than a wolf, but Ra'kalesh thinks he understands Hircine's intent. When acting as a pride, we can strike like lightning. Otherwise, I suppose the only difference with werelions is that there is a bit more of a difference between men and women. Male werelions tend to possess a large mane, while females do not. This is no different from the Khajiit themselves, but it is true no matter the race which becomes the werelion. Colors hates the fur."

Colors' head perked up when he heard his name. He did not mind talking about his pride, especially not that he knew they were all alive. They had endured terrible things, but at least they still had the chance to live. "Ciinriel is Jo'rashaad and S'ajira's daughter. Adopted, of course, but they are as close of a family as any can be. Ciinriel was turned when she was a young child, about ten years ago. At her age, ten years makes a lot of a difference, even for a Bosmer. She couldn't take care of herself then, but as I heard, those two didn't hesitate to take care of her. She is what brought them together. I can't imagine what it was like for them to see their daughter tortured like that; I can understand why Jo'rashaad was willing to beat that scum to death.

"That's not all it's about." A voice sounded out nearby. One of Colors' pride, La'khay, joined in the conversation. "Their girl was abused in ways much worse than any of us. That prisoner you have tied up to that tree over there, he took a 'liking' to Ciinriel. He liked Bosmer, thought they were pretty, and, well, you can guess where this one is going with that. It was sickening. Poor girl, La'khay hopes she can pull through. This one has seen other girls who went through the same thing at the place she worked in Senchal, so she knows what it can do to their minds."

For a moment, Colors was speechless, instead glaring over at the prisoner and snarling. "I hope we kill him slowly."

Meesei was fatigued, but the prospect of being able to finally interrogate a prisoner of the enemy was something she did not want to delay. And Gallus, it seemed, was of the same mind. Meesei was still under the effects of a healing potion, so she could walk around with no issue, as long as she did not attempt to do anything too strenuous. She spoke quietly to Gallus as she observed their bound prisoner. "Yes. The fact that he surrendered instead of taking his own life means he is not a zealot, so while he is likely not high-ranking, he may be more-easily persuaded to divulge information. We can ask him about the enemy's plans, it is entirely likely he may not even know anything beyond his direct orders. The most valuable information I reason we can get out of him is the strength of the enemy forces, and perhaps some locations. Now come, we should deal with him as soon as possible."

Stepping in front of the bound prisoner, Meesei stood with a strong posture. Although it would heal entirely in time, the scar on her stomach was still visible. At this stage, it looked like an old wound, which could perhaps even be somewhat intimidating. She spoke up with a firm, authoritative voice. "Remove his blindfold; I want him to see me."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, done with my work for the night. And it's actually before midnight this time.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It may be a while before I can respond. I have one final effort to make on this project.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once everyone made it to camp, Lorag awoke Meesei to inform her of their success, and the prisoner they had captured. He would need to be dealt with soon, but first, they had to allow Ra'katesh's pride to settle in. Meesei immediately gave them access to their stock of spare clothing, food, water, and medical supplies, which all of them were glad to take advantage of. They were able to have their first good meal in months, along with potions to help them mitigate the constant soreness they all felt. Irenya, during the walk to camp, had manage to heal Ciinriel's most recent wounds to the best of her abilities, so she would not longer be in pain once feeling returned to her body. Although, she was still entirely silent as she ate her meal.

Ra'katesh was not sure on how to answer Tzirret's question. He tried to think back, but while in the cell, time all seemed to roll together. Rarely had he even known when it was day or night. After a few seconds, he still could not produce any definite answer, and instead gave a shrug. "Ra'katesh is unsure. It feels like it has been an eternity. Months, perhaps? None of us have seen outside of that room since we first arrived until today. All we heard of the outside is what they told us, and we did not trust anything they said. This one recalls they said the Champion had been killed, so most of what they said were likely lies."