EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Colors continued to look away from Gallus as he walked over to the railing to look out over the ocean. "Yeah, they were slavers. Terrible people, about the worst out there. But Orub, some of the others, I called them friends once. You know why Orub first got into this business? A userer took his daughter and broke her legs because he couldn't pay his debt. Of course, he never got out of the business once his debts were paid, and someone did eventually kill his family, but still. He trusted me, and I just used that trust to kill him."

Once Tzirret lifted Ma'tanza up, she started waving at S'nishi and shouted her name. The Senche-raht was looking the opposite direction at first, but after Tzirret had been holding her up for about ten seconds, she happened to glance over in their direction. It did not take her long to pick out Ma'tanza waving over the crowd. The moment they locked eyes, Ma'tanza shouted over at her. "Sister, is M'ibasa over there?"

S'nishi neither nodded nor shook her head, but instead looked to the side and raised up one ear, which was her sign for saying she could not hear her clearly. Undeterred, Ma'tanza shouted the same question again as loudly as she could, perhaps enough to cause Tzirret some pain. But, this time, S'nishi seemed to understand. She nodded twice, then lifted up her paw and pointed it downwards. "This one...thinks that means he is down in her ship!" She said excitedly.

Peiter hugged Sabine in return, and began to rub her back gently. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Dry, hot, sandy, no food or water anywhere. But, apparently, we have more than enough supplies to get us through it. I've never been to a desert, so I don't know what to expect. I think our path is being planned by one of the clan who lived in the desert, though, so at least our leaders have some experience. I'm sure we'll be fine." He reasoned before giving her a rather long kiss.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Colors had just finished speaking to the ship's new helmsman when Gallus approached him. Though, he did not take to Gallus' compliment with near as much pride or gratitude as he might have expected. Instead, he turned his head and looked away uncomfortably. "Hmm? Oh, yeah...right." He said, taking in a quick, deep breath before continuing. "But yes, the clan. They're doing fine, remembering everything well enough. I feel like I'm correcting them constantly, but still. I wouldn't take them on a job with me or anything, but they should get us to our destination just fine."

Ma'tanza was not sure what sure what Tzirret was doing at first until he explained it. Getting higher up would let anyone on the other ship see her more easily, even if they still couldn't hear her. S'nishi could see over crowds with ease, so if she happened to look over to the other ship, she might notice them. Looking down to Tzirret, she gave him a nod. "Oh, you want Ma'tanza to climb on your shoulders or something? That makes sense. Maybe S'nishi will see her?" She reasoned as she attempted to climb up onto his back.

On the other ship, Peiter had returned to his human form as well, after sating his hunger on one of the corpses. Sabine and a few others had finished freeing the remainder of the clan in the hold, all of which had headed upstairs. Of course, that meant that the upper decks were now uncomfortably crowded. As uncomfortable as some of the clan might be about it, they would have to re-purpose the hold into a usable living space for the rest of the journey. Otherwise, the ship would still be too crowded to be bearable.

Walking up to Sabine, Peiter put a hand on her shoulder and let out a sigh. "Well, at least that's done. If everything goes well, getting to Orcrest should be easy from here. Though, this might be our worst sea voyage yet. No matter how you look at it, the ship is going to be crowded, and I'm not really sure where the rest of our friends are. Do you think any of the others are actually on this ship?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei returned a solemn nod to Gallus. "Yes, it is a sight which can leave a person scarred, one that they will never forget. If only everyone in Tamriel could be witness to it. Then, perhaps, it would not be so easy to ignore. Gone are the days of the mass enslavement of the Khajiit and Argonian people, true, but the fact that the practice can find refuge anywhere is infuriating."

As the Khajiit family was being led out of the hold, Meesei took in a deep breath, silent for a few moments in her thoughts. Though, whatever they might have been, she did not say them aloud. "Well, we still have much to do. We need to gather up all the cloth, leather, and hides we have to make enough tents for everyone. We will need them for protection against sandstorms. Anything left over we can use for bedrolls, and clothing if we're able. But first, find Colors and make sure he is having no issues coordinating everyone. Hopefully, the instruction he has been giving to the clan about how to operate the ships has been successful."

Ma'tanza's heart was pounding in fear as she thought of M'ibasa, so she ended up practically running up the stairs with Tzirret. They met up with Bheja and Qa'habi on the crew deck above them, then all ended up making their way to the top deck together. With everyone out of the hold and wanting to get fresh air, the top deck on both ships was getting to be very crowded. Undoubtedly, most of them would be made to head back down once they started getting the ships moving again, but they had some time for now.

Unfortunately, due to the crowd, it was difficult for Ma'tanza to even get to a point where she could see the other ship, much less pick out M'ibasa's face from the crowd. One thing that was unmistakable, however, was that she could see S'nishi towering over all of the others on the other ship. "It looks like S'nishi is over there. Well...at least M'ibasa will have her...if he's there. How are we going to get the attention of either of them from way over here? The ships might be close enough, but it might be too loud for them to hear."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei did not outwardly show too much of her surprise, nor the mix of emotions she felt upon seeing the rather shocking sight. She gave a brief reaction to the smell, but it did not linger long on her face. The discovery of these slaves certainly had the possibility of forcing alterations to their plans, but Meesei gave no hint of hesitation in her response. Her opinion towards slavery, and empathy for its victims, made the choice an easy one for her. "I want them to be given food and water. They should all be given a chance to clean up, and a set of clothing for each of them. Then, bring them to our healers so they can help restore their condition. I will need time to think on how this will affect our plans, but assure them that I will not harm them. I also want to know from where they were captured, and if there are any more aboard either ship."

Ma'tanza and the others were mostly finished with freeing the remainder of their clan-mates from the hold, but at that point, she could clearly see that M'ibasa was not among them. That, of course, started to make her visibly frightened. The only other place he could be, if he was still with the clan, was on the other ship. When she spotted Tzirret, she stopped releasing shackles early and walked up to him, one arm crossed over her stomach and holding nervously onto her other arm. "This one can't find M'ibasa anywhere. If he's not here, then he has to be on the other ship, right? Do you think he'd be on the top deck? Do you think we could see him from this ship?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Despite the fact that they had captured the ships, there was still much for Meesei to do. She had scarcely been able to confirm the captain's death before team leaders started arriving in the cabin. Overall, the reports were positive. The slavers had been taken off-guard in their ambush, which had been over in minutes. They were currently conducting a detailed sweep of both ships, and the structural damage to the ships was acceptable, and entirely internal. Neither hull had suffered any real damage.

It was not long before Gallus brought up the navigator, but mere moments later, one of the Bosmer warriors ran into the room behind him. Evidently, there was some kind of problem or other situation, which Meesei would likely need to deal with before getting into the more detailed planning. With all of the issues she needed to tend to, she decided just to give the others the tasks she could think of at the moment which needed to be completed while she dealt with this situation. "Okay, first and foremost, I would like a comprehensive report on any injuries sustained by the clan. If necessary, I want the healers gathered and a temporary infirmary established to tend to the wounded. Next, search the slavers' bodies and collect together all valuables and clothing. We are very low on cloth and will need as much as we can find. As for the bodies themselves, I want their meat prepared to be preserved with whatever salt we have, then stored."

Stepping away from the table and towards Gallus, Meesei gave the navigator a threatening glare. "As for you, we will speak in greater detail later. But for now, I want these ships heading north towards Leyawiin as soon as possible. And rest assured, we do in fact know our cardinal directions, so we will know if you attempt to lead us astray. Gallus, ensure his compliance." She ordered before finally addressing the Bosmer. "Now please, bring me to this situation with the cargo."

In the hold, Ma'tanza remained to help free those who did not wish to transform, and to see if M'ibasa was anywhere in the hold with them, while Bheja and Qa'habi joined Tzirret to head upstairs. Further back in the hold, Ahnasha, still in her wolf form, scooped up both Rhazii and Newt into her arms. She passed by Fendros and quickly addressed him. "I'm going to head up top. Rhazii, and probably Newt, need to use the latrine, and both of them want to be out of this place."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha looked down at her shackled, looking closely at the lock. She had felt that Fendros might have been able to get his fingers underneath them, then pry it apart. But, if he did not feel comfortable doing so, then she was not going to ask him to. Instead she nodded and looked around briefly. "Alright, I'll transform then. Give me a bit of space."

After waiting a moment for Fendros to move the children away, Ahnasha shifted to her werewolf form. The intense pressure on her wrist was even more painful than usual during the transformation, but once the latch snapped open, she was finally able to step away from the crowd around her. "I'm going to stay here with them until we're sure there are no slavers left."

After unlocking the door, Meesei walked inside with electricity pulsing through her hands. Orub had made no effort to hide, instead standing behind the table in the center of the room, glaring at Meesei as she entered. His scimitar was laying on the table in front of him, but he seemed to make no effort to grab it. "What are you monsters?" He barked.

"We are lycans, and we require your ships." Meesei answered, stopping a safe distance away.

Orub grunted. "Hmph, yeah I can see that. Well, you can have it. Ain't like I can stop ya. Yeah, I give up; you can tell Colors I was wrong about 'em. He ain't a complete coward after all."

Meesei's expression did not relax in the slightest. In fact, her glare only intensified. "Were you anything else, I might accept that, but I shall not accept the surrender of a slaver!" She shouted, followed shortly by a loud, intense crack of lighting from her hands, straight into the Orc. And, in the event he survived, she continued electrocuting his body for a few moments. It was rare for her to execute a surrendered opponent, but she held a particular amount of animosity towards slavers.

Overall, the capture of the ships was rapid and complete. If there were any survivors among the crew, they would be found shortly. Otherwise, the clan could now finally relax, and fully release those still bound in the hold.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright. It's double worshipers on smite today anyway. Talk to you later.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha was closer to the back of the hold, so she did not notice him until he was about halfway through the room. Although, once she did see him, she held up her hands above the others around her. “Fendros!” She shouted to grab his attention.

There were a few others between her and the edge of the group, but since several of the Khajiit around them had transformed to free themselves, they had some ability to make room for him. She did not even need to ask to know why he had run down to the hold with them, so she moved to the side slightly so he could clearly see Rhazii and Newt. “We’re all fine down here. Is everything going alright upstairs?” She asked, holding her shackles out to him so that he could free her.

On the top deck, the slavers were being cleared almost before they knew what was happening. Between Janius, Kaleeth, and the Senche Lorag released, they were overwhelmed by opponents who could each individually overpower them with ease. Meesei faced no resistance as she simply walked to the stern of the ship to the captain’s quarters. He had locked the door, and while she easily could have kicked in the door, she decided to use an alteration spell to unlock it instead. Once this was over, they would still be using the ship, so she wanted to minimize damage.

On both ships, several of the slavers attempted to climb up the rigging in their futile attempts at escape. Uthri climbed up after them on Meesei’s ship, and on the other, the Bosmer lieutenant Miranor took it upon herself to take care of them. She started making her transformation, but as her scent had indicated before, she was neither werewolf, nor werelion. When her body started to shift, it was feathers that began to cover her. After a few seconds, the form she took was that of a werevulture. She spread out her massive wingspan and took to the sky, circling around to one of the climbing sailors, grabbing on to him with her fierce talons, and pulling him down into the water below.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It is time for me to get to bed. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha continued to look down at Rhazii, wishing she could get out of her bindings without transforming. She tried to keep a calm visage to allay his fears, though she knew he would not be satisfied without some explanation. "Nothing bad is going to happen to us, son. We planned this to happen. This ship belongs to people who are using it to hurt others, so we're taking it from them."

Just as Ahnasha finished speaking, the hatch leading up to the deck above them was opened, allowing those closest to the stairway to join in the fight as well. There were many in the hold, including Ahnasha who did not intend to fight, though hardly a fraction of their total number were likely to be needed.

Above decks, Lorag transformed the moment Meesei's fireball lit up the sky. Since most of the crew up top were distracted by the explosion, he started smashing the side of his fist against the lock. Nearby, a Dunmer drew a saber and, in a panic, swung for his nearest opponent, who happened to be Lorag. However, Lorag was more than attentive enough to see the strike coming. With proper timing of his own strike, Lorag was able to hit the flat of the Dunmer's blade mid-swing, forcing the weapon from his hand. With his other hand, Lorag grabbed a hold of the Dunmer, piercing his claws into his collar, then slammed his skull against the lock on the cage. It provided the last bit of impact needed to break the lock, and free the Senche within the cage.

Meesei, meanwhile, remained in her Argonian form. She took a few seconds to electrocute the Redguard who had shouted at her. Seeing as the slaver had no actual magical defenses, it was a rather one-sided "fight." She was confident that the others on the deck would make short work of the panicking slavers around them, so intent was to head straight for the captain's quarters.