EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei had a slight grimace on her face at the mention of Senche. "Right, Senche are not common candidates for slaves. We were able to convince the slavers, but the soldiers may still find it suspicious. But...they could be believable rescuers. We could explain that some of those among us are warriors that helped to free us. They could perhaps be warriors of one of another desert tribe who wanted to stop the slavers before they themselves were targeted."

"Ra'jorr could pick a selection of his warriors to fill that role, yes. He will also give the order that we are to kill only as a last resort. As strong of a force as we are, the Aldmeri Dominion can field far, far more soldiers than all of Hircine's followers in Tamriel." Ra'jorr added.

"That is alright, it's why you're learning." Ma'tanza said reassuringly. She pointed to her heart, then traced her claw a few inches above it. "Right about here. It started at the heart, then heads up, branching up into the neck and into the arms. It also curves down along the spine and splitting off into your legs. There are all sorts of branches along the way, but right here above the heart, that's where it is the thickest. If it is punctured there, it needs instant attention. If not, the person can die in seconds. Ma'tanza has never treated anything like that, though. People with those kinds of injuries usually don't make it to a healer, unfortunately. But, there are other important arteries. You probably know about the jugular, and where it is in the throat. But, there are also two arteries going into your arms that can cause you to lose blood almost as quickly if they're cut." She explained, pointing them out on her own body.

Ma'tanza stopped and looked around for a few moments for anything she could use as an example bandage. Unfortunately, their lack of cloth meant that she had little to work with. "This one wishes she could demonstrate technique, but she doesn't have anything to bandage with. Anyway, if you see anyone cut in those places, you'll want to keep pressure on the wounds until they can be magically closed. This one will show you were all of the thickest arteries are, hold still." She instructed. This time, she started tracing her fingers along Tzirret's body to point out his arteries.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Yes, that could be made believable." Ri'nakhad commented. "It could go with the story of us being escapes slaves, just trying to get back home. Orcrest is slightly more distant from our ships than a city like Rimmen, but if we were all captured from near Orcrest, we would naturally want to return home. Although, it would be convenient for us all to have been taken from the same place. Perhaps we could say that some of us were taken from cities and towns near Dune as well. Orcrest is closer, and would be a stop along the way, so our destination would still be sensible."

Meesei nodded. "That is a good point. Hopefully we will not need to confront them at all, but it could be helpful to paint ourselves as victims. If nothing else, it may prevent hostility. The ambush may present an issue, if they still blame us. But, we may be able to explain it with fear. Perhaps the slavers who captured many of us posed as soldiers, or guards? That would naturally make us wary of any soldiers tailing us. It could be a believable excuse, we do need to keep our options open. We cannot turn back, or have them take us anywhere but Orcrest. If they are not sways by our words, we need to decide what to do to keep the clan safe."

"Ma'tanza...doesn't think so, unfortunately." She answered regretfully. "There are really simple things like learning how to properly bandage wounds, but those also don't take all that much practice. And, even then, you do need to know which wounds to prioritize. If someone is badly hurt, you have to be able to treat them in such a way that you keep them alive and stable for as long as possible, so you want to treat the wounds that are going to bleed the most. But, starting out, it isn't really all that complicated. Like, picking which wounds to get to first. You can easily point to Ma'tanza's head, or probably her heart and lungs, but can you, say, point out the largest artery in this one's body?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ra'jorr hummed in thought. "The soldiers will check up on anything out of the ordinary. We, unfortunately, are not normal. The desert tribes can wander undisturbed, but if they have been following us, then they will know that we are not one of them." He explained.

"I doubt they will give up. Or at least, I would not count on them losing interest." Meesei commented. "Still, we do have some options. As I mentioned before, it is still possible we could get away from them. We will not be able to outrun them, but we may be able to outlast them. If they are not supplied for a trek across the desert, then they will not be able to follow us for too long. We could slip far enough away that the sands will cover our tracks before they can get themselves properly supplied. If that does not work, we may be forced to confront them, hopefully without violence. We could once again play the role of escapes slaves. If they found our ship, we could explain our presence by saying that we managed to overpower our captors, then sail here. We could simply say that we are trying to get to safety in Orcrest." She suggested.

Ma'tanza looked to the side briefly, rubbing her chin. "Uh, hmm...Ma'tanza cannot remember too well. It has been a very long time. She was studying magic even before she was turned. It took a while of practice to learn the basics. It is not an easy discipline, as this one said. Healing was the first kind of magic that she started to learn. It's one of the most useful for the average person; mending wounds, resisting disease, giving yourself energy. All of that is useful for someone who has to work, or a cub who wanted to be able to play for longer, in Ma'tanza's case. Anyway, we're probably going to be moving soon, but what do you want to try to learn first? You'll need to learn all about the body and how to care for it, and for more than just Khajiit, probably. Humans and Elves are pretty similar, though Argonians are pretty different."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei's expression became just as severe as Gallus'. They had already packed up their belongings, but Meesei set down her bags upon hearing about this event. Ri'nakhad was equally troubled as his eyes went out over the horizon. "We could have this discussion confidentially for now." He recommended.

None of the clan's tents were large enough to accommodate a meeting, and even if they were, most of them had been packed away by this point. As such, they found a rocky area near the edge of camp that they could speak in relative privacy. Ri'nakhad made a point of finding Ra'jorr to bring him into the discussion as well. Being that he was both a native of the desert, and the commander of the clan's warriors, his input would be valuable.

Meesei was the one to begin the discussion. "I feel that we require as much information as possible before we can make a decision. Ideally, we want to avoid resorting to violence to solve this. Even if we can defeat them, it would bring the wrong kind of attention to us. Avoiding them entirely would be the best option. Is there a way we could force them to lose our tracks, or perhaps simply outlast them? Would these outriders have the supplies to follow us across the desert all the way to Orcrest."

Ra'jorr's body language was neither completely confident nor hopeless in Meesei's suggestions. "It is possible, but not guaranteed. These riders and the force they are scouting for likely would not normally have the supplies to pursue so far from their posting. However, that could change depending upon how close they are to their nearest supply outpost. As for losing our trail, it is also possible, but for a group of this size, the only way we could guarantee that would be to take advantage of a sandstorm. Since we cannot control the weather, that option is dependent upon chance."

Meesei nodded in understanding. "I see. then we need to learn more about them." She commented, turning her attention to one of the scouts. "How certain are you that they were soldiers of Anequina's military?"

At first, Ma'tanza's reaction was wordless. She leaned in and gave him a longer hug before eventually speaking up. "Tzirret, you're expecting too much from too little. You haven't had enough practice to start casting spells yet. You have learned how to manipulate magicka, that Ma'tanza can feel. So, that is certainly something. Just keep putting in the time for practice and you'll be fine. Maybe in the meantime, you can learn something else to help? There is more ways to help the injured than just magic. You can learn how to properly bandage people, how to set broken bones, staunch bleeding, and generally care for someone who is hurt. You could even learn how to mix a basic healing potion, and how to know how much of a potion to give." She suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I need to get to bed now, but I'll respond in the morning.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth took in a deep breath, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Well, on your guard, then." She said, readying her weapon. Ridding herself of the fears that were, in her mind, very realistic would not be an easy task, but at the very least, training was something she could do with a definite, tangible benefit. As long as she was not wasting time with her thoughts doing nothing, she could be content.

As night fell on the camp, the temperature dropped and most people headed to their tents. At the very least, most of the clan had access to bedrolls, so they could get a reasonably comfortable night's rest. Unfortunately, they could not keep fires going trough the night, since they had to conserve the firewood they brought with them from the forest. However, the night air, while cold, did remain well above freezing, so the clan was not in danger of anything other than some discomfort. There were some high winds in the night, and Ra'jorr did warn that a sandstorm was possible, but nothing had come of it by morning.

The clan awoke early in the morning and set about quickly packing up the camp once everyone had a chance for breakfast. There was much that needed to be packed away, but the clan was surprisingly disciplined in most aspects of travel. It was a skill that most of the clan had been forced to learn in the aftermath of the attack that had driven them from Senchal, which now allowed them to be ready to move almost as fast as a small warband.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I may just skip to the point where we are picking up camp and heading out again, since I don't know what the scene you have in mind is.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Shall I go ahead and do the skip?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth of course brought her guard up high to defend against Fendros' attack, which was successful. She expected him to back off and was already starting the motion to strike back against his arm when he made a move that surprised her. Instead of backing off, or even just trying something else with his weapon, he stepped in to grab her. Understandably, it was the last tactic that Kaleeth was expecting. She could outmatch him easily for strength, so a grapple was pretty much guaranteed to go in her favor. In fact, she was able to jerk her hand back hard enough to nearly pull him off balance, but his grab had served its purpose. He was able to move her sword arm enough to give him an opportunity for a clean strike.

Once Fendros' weapon hit against Kaleeth's neck, she backed off and lightly rubbed the area. "That was...clever. I need to remember not to be so confident, even in the things I am good at." She remarked. Instead of taking up a guard position once more, she stood leaning on her sword, with its tip resting in the sand to allow herself to rest. "Anyway, I just have a hard time not thinking about it. I mean, if me and Janius were to run off on our own from Newt, we wouldn't be in this war anymore. We would probably be safer, but...none of you would be. I wouldn't feel right leaving you all behind while you're in the middle of a war. I couldn't live with myself if I knew any of you were hurt because I wasn't there to help you. You don't have to worry about me running away or anything, so...I guess there isn't much of a point in worrying about it. I'm not going to be able to do anything to get rid of the danger, so I guess I'll just have to keep doing what I can to make myself better to help protect them."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright. Another week and we'll be getting close, but still a few days away. I can skip to then.