EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The priestess smiled encouragingly, particularly towards F'sresa. "Yes, Zenithar smiles upon the honest work of righteous men and women. It is good to hear that you all are willing to labor for the welfare of your family. So many who seek charity also forsake Zenithar's wise teachings in regards to labor. As I said before, I personally cannot offer you more than a bed for the night and a meal. I do not have any more authority than that. But if you come with me to speak with Brother Daranus and let him hear your story, he can give something more significant, and perhaps the work you need."

Being that the conversation was entirely in Ta'agra, Meesei could not follow along, and had to wait until a break in the conversation in order to speak. "Is everything going well? Will you be able to help them?" She asked.

"I do hope so." The priestess answered. "We will need to speak to Brother Daranus in order to give them the kind of help they need."

With a brief nod, Meesei turned to the family. "Shall we accompany you?" She asked before prompting the priestess to translate.

Ma'tanza chuckled. "This one thinks a lot of things about the Imperials are strange. Or, well, what she has been told about them is strange. The Dominion says the Empire has lost the power and prestige it once held. A lot of people talk like it isn't even the same Empire as before the Oblivion crisis, and the Thalmor say that Tamriel will be better off once they control everything. A place like this seems plenty prestigious, though Ma'tanza supposes that if it is old, then the current Empire didn't really build it."

Looking away briefly, Ma'tanza examined one of the altars, which was identical to all of the others apart from the inscription identifying it as being dedicated to Dibella. "Oh, Ma'tanza has heard this name before. Dibella. It was one of the pride you rescued...La'khay, Ma'tanza thinks. This one is not sure who Dibella really is, though."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh...my." The priestess remarked, obviously shocked. "That is terrible. Absolutely terrible. I...understand why you are here. I suppose you do not speak Cyrodilic, or have anyone in Leyawiin who can help you? I personally can offer you a bed here for the night and a warm meal, but you are probably needing more than that. Please, tell me what you require. Do you need to find a place within the city, or are you intending to go somewhere else? I will do what I can to make sure your labors help you reach that goal."

Ma'tanza walked with Tzirret when he tugged on her arm, though her gaze was still cast at the ceiling far above. She could hear even her own footsteps resonate through the massive hall. Eventually, her eyes settled one on of the stained glass windows depicting what seemed like a man with the head of a dragon. "It is...big. So tall and open. Ma'tanza has never been in a building like this before. There is so much stone here, but it is all carved so intricately. It must have taken ages to build. Khajiit temples are not built to be this...grand. This one supposes that is why she called it the 'Great' Chapel of Zenithar. The Empire must really have a lot of wealth and power to build something like this. Or...how old is this chapel?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a brief nod to Gallus. "I would assume so, yes. We may have to speak to a few of them before we can find one who can help us, but these priests are meant to be a charitable organization. It is a faith that was founded by former slaves, so I would imagine they would be willing to help this family."

The group entered through the massive double doors into what appeared to be an expansive grand hall. There were stairs to their left and right leading down into a large open area, with rows upon rows of pews lined up facing an altar of the Eight divines on the far side of the chapel. Along the walls on all sides there were smaller altars devoted to the individual gods, directly underneath the tall and intricate stained glass windows that each portrayed a god in their pantheon. Only one of the nine windows did not seem to portray anything, nor did it have an altar beneath it.

Given that it was late in the day, there were only a handful of people in the chapel who were not priests, or otherwise worked in the chapel. Meesei scanned her eyes across the room until she spotted a Khajiit woman in priest's robes off to their left at one of the smaller altars. They could translate for the family if needed, but Meesei hoped to find someone who they could communicate with directly.

The priestess' ears twitched as she heard the footsteps of the group approaching behind her. After finishing her prayer, she turned her head to see that there were in fact quite a few people waiting to speak with her. "Oh, greetings. I do not believe I recognize any of your faces. Welcome to the Great Chapel of Zenithar. Is there anything this humble priestess can do for you all?" She asked with a bit of surprise in her voice.

"Yes, please." Meesei answered. "Do you speak Ta'agra? We have a family here with us that is in need of your help." She explained while gesturing to Pudaga.

The priestess nodded. "Yes, I do. What is wrong that the faithful of Zenithar could help you with?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Goodnight. I think I need to get to bed now. I'll respond tomorrow.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With that matter settled, there was little else to say on the way to the city gates. They circled around west through the forest, then turned to get on the road once they were out of sight of the city gates, so that they could approach in the same way as normal travelers. As such, they were able to get into the city without any real issue or suspicion.

Since it was later in the afternoon, activity in the city was starting to wind down for the day. Most of the shops would only be open for another hour or so at most, and there was a small crowd of people in the streets who were already starting to head home for the day. For those who had never seen it, Leyawiin was not the largest, or otherwise most exceptional city, but it certainly had its own unique feel to it. The architecture had a unique blend of an orderly, Imperial aesthetic with the colorful decorative designs of a Khajiit city. The plants that were decorating the gardens, and the houses themselves were native to the swamps of the area, and made it feel as if the city could also belong in Black Marsh.

The group did not need to ask directions to find the temple, as its central tower was easily visible over most of the buildings. As soon as it came into the group's full view, its grandeur provided an immediate demonstration of the dedication to the Imperial faith of those who designed it. The temple, or chapel as the Imperials called it, was massive, with tall angular arches and intricate stained-glass windows. Ma'tanza could not help but to stop and look up at its tower in awe. While the Khajiit certainly built temples to their gods, they were not to this scale.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I may be delayed. I'm going to be doing some things for a bit.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret did not get a chance to reply before Meesei requested their assistance, but Ma'tanza certainly made no protest. She was still far too nervous to attempt to delay anything the Champion wanted. So, she stayed silent, and intentionally stood so that Tzirret would be between her and Meesei.

Meesei glanced in the direction of the city as she spoke. "I just want to be sure we are all clear on the story we will tell to the priests, or any others who are curious. We want to make sure that we do not give differing accounts of what happened. I do not want to stray too far from the truth, so you can mention the fact that you were taken as slaves, and anything before that point. Just, instead of the ship being boarded and captured, you should say that a storm caused the ship carrying you to crash onto one of the southern sea's many islands. Then, the slavers were picked up by the other ship sailing with them, but abandoned you for a lack of space. You can describe your time aboard this island however you wish, but be sure to say that our ships spotted your signal fire and rescued you. From there, we decided to bring you to safety in Leyawiin."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret's explanation, as uncomfortable as it was for him, did serve to calm Ma'tanza. Her expression moved from being offended, to sympathetic. She reached out and put a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Oh, yes, Ma'tanza knows that would make him angry. Even if she doesn't know his reasons, she does know they are personal for him. He really does not like people asking about it. Ma'tanza is sorry; she should have told you not to speak with him about it when she first mentioned it. It is her fault you upset him." She said sincerely.

Ma'tanza was smiling at Tzirret through her apology, but after a few moments, another thought came to her mind. She gave him a curious look before continuing. "Although...Ma'tanza is curious why you would feel the need to hide that from her."

The conversation was interrupted by the boat landing on shore. Once they hid away the boat, they would continue the rest of the distance to the city on foot. While the family was climbing out of the boat, Meesei finally decided to ask the two Khajiit for help. She had a feeling that it would be a favor to Tzirret. "Sorry to interrupt, but I require your assistance. I need to ask the family a few questions before we arrive."

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

~|Day 3, 20:25-20:42 GST|~

~|Mos Eisley, Tatooine|~

Fa stepped out of the shop quickly, so as not to get caught behind Melloch while he tried to squeeze through the door. Since it was close to where she and Vebra had first arrived on the planet, she actually knew off of the top of her head where she should be going. She did not particularly care which of the Jedi joined her for her part of the search, so as soon as everyone settled into their groups, she set off back in the direction from where they had come.

It was a fair walk through Mos Eisley’s sandy streets to get back to the docks. Compared to other places on Tatooine, it was a large city, but it was a veritable ghost town next to some of the other worlds Fa had visited. Nevertheless, there was enough of a crowd that Fa felt she could adequately blend in. Her cloak hid most of her more unique, and potentially intimidating features. Although, Mos Eisley was a diverse place, with no shortage of dangerous characters no different from herself. She doubted that she had too much to worry about in that regard, but it was in her best interest to avoid frightening away her quarry.

Arriving at the docks, Fa found that it was reasonably crowded, by Tatooine standards. A cursory glance across the area revealed several Twi’leks, varying from dock workers, to passengers either boarding or unloading from their ships. She did not immediately spot her target with her eyes, but the scent was definitely present. Although, the trail she found first was an older one, so she did not yet know if her target was still there. She would need to look around, but discretely. Most of those around Fa paid her no mind, but that could change if she loitered too long. She would need to move with crowds, find ways to appear busy, and keep attention away from herself in general.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ma'tanza cocked her head to the side with Tzirret's reaction. Contrary to what he might have been expecting, she seemed to be confused more than anything. "No, Qa'habi hasn't said anything about you to Ma'tanza. She hasn't spoken to him since we were all together last night."

It took a few moments for Ma'tanza to connect Tzirret's sudden question to what she was talking about, and what she was about to say. She quickly began wondering if Tzirret had been talking to Qa'habi about her. "Ma'tanza was about to say that there were boys who would talk to her friends about Ma'tanza's attractiveness, and make stupid jokes about her body. Were you...making jokes about this one with him?"

Ma'tanza had lost her joking tone, and instead appeared to be rather surprised. Her expression showed that she was genuinely hurt at the thought that Tzirret would make jokes about her behind her back.