EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Uthri climbed the hill, Meesei stopped where she was and attempted to look at the hill as a whole, hoping to be able to pick out a pattern among the rocks. Meanwhile, Ahnasha stopped as well, though she was taking a more detail-oriented approach in her examinations. Uthri would soon be in the best position to see the entrance, so most of the group was simply waiting on her to be in position.

"A Blades fortress? I would wonder how they could ever have found the place to begin with." Ahnasha commented. "The stories I heard about them growing up made them seem almost mythical. Granted, the Empire likes to idolize the Penitus Oculatus more highly, but historians seem to like the Blades. Dragonslayers, spies, people who could be everywhere yet nowhere. They had one temple that wasn't really a secret to the north of Bruma, I think, but they had to have more, with how widely they operated back in the Septim Empire. Though, even if this place wasn't a Blades fortress, I still wonder how they found it. It's so far out of the way of anything, and the entrance isn't exactly obvious. We know it's here, and we still are having trouble finding it."

Meesei, in her search for patterns, had a thought related to the clan's members themselves. If this was the main entrance, then they would be passing through it rather frequently. They would not leave tracks on the rocks, but their feet would likely track sand up onto them. In the places that would be shielded from the wind, she looked closer, and indeed, found some spots with more sand than she would have expected. Following those spots with her eyes, they seemed to end at a spot about halfway up the hill. Looking up at Uthri, she pointed at a boulder near to that point. "Uthri, look there. Do you see the entrance near that rock?" She shouted.

---

Instead of getting up, Peiter laid down beside Sabine and put his arm around her waist, pulling himself close to her. "Honestly, I don't see much of a reason to leave this tent right now. Laying here with you is much better, overall. But, if I do happen to get up, I won't say that I know where to find you. Still, you don't need to worry so much about this. The clan won't expect you to do the impossible. It's not like you can materialize ingredients out of thin air. They would have to be mad to be angry with you. Why do you think that they will be angry at you, anyway? Has anyone said anything to you about it?"

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose - Catacombs

---

After the flurry of arrows, and the attack from behind from the shapeshifter, Ssarak had much to contend with. Until they could push through the hounds and join with the rest of the students, his priority was to protect the Naga behind him. They were still holding against the ridge hounds in front of them, though after the scream from elsewhere in the catacombs, which Ssarak could only guess came from the real Tyrael, more of the beasts were turning to focus on them. At the very least, the hounds were currently trapped between Ssarak and the Naga, and the students ahead of them.

Now that he no longer had to guard against arrows, Ssarak could return to thinning out the ridge hounds in front of them. Baulder was being stopped in his tracks by the beasts, so he was not the most present threat. At the same time, he did what he could to filter out the frenzy of thoughts around him for those that seemed important. Verbally and mentally, he heard the shapeshifter shouting about some female that Grey had evidently killed, but he would need to give more focus to its mind to gain any more detail. At the moment, he also had the worried minds of the Naga to contend with. He heard Lyamis’ thoughts on Baulder, and more worryingly a maliced Naga among them. As a unit, their line could deny the hounds the ability to flank, but that line could fall apart if its own members were turning on it.

Glancing back quickly, Ssarak was the young woman who had been felled by the arrow. Soon, she would be a danger to everyone around her. Although, as unfortunate as her death was, Ssarak had already taken advantage of a maliced Naga’s barbaric instincts before. He knew how he could handle her. The doppelganger he had left to help Tyrael had dissipated long ago, so he created another that quickly ran to the fallen Naga. When she rose again, the first thing she would see would be his illusion, which would do anything it could to capture her attention. Given that a malice Naga lacked the ability to reason, Ssarak did not need to make the details of his doppelganger exceptionally convincing, just enough to make it seem like a legitimate target to the enraged reptilian. From there, his doppelganger would lead the maliced Naga back to the shapeshifter, where her body could hopefully do some good before they had to destroy it.

As a warning, Ssarak sent a telepathic message to Grey and the Naga around him, including Lyamis. ”I can contend with the maliced woman. Grey, I am going to guide her back to you. A Naga in malice is essentially an enraged corpse who will try to kill every living thing around it. My illusion will try to guide it to the shapeshifter; let them fight, and take advantage however you can.”

Ssarak continued to multitask between fighting the hounds in front of him, and scanning the minds around them. The arrows had caused disarray in their ranks, and they needed to form together more tightly to bolster their defense. Among the worry and discord, Ssarak felt the presence of intense pain, and intense anger. Another glance back and he was able to see the one from whom these thoughts were originating. With his eyes on the ridge hounds ahead of him, he used his shield to defend while he reached into a pouch at his side with his sword hand and pulled out a rune from within. The college had given them an allowance of supplies for their mission, among them being a healing rune.

Ssarak reached his hand back towards Lyamis to offer him the rune while sending him another telepathic message. ”Another of your warriors is wounded; get this healing rune to her.” He said, followed by a brief instruction on how to use it. ”We need everyone to form around the matriarch, and the wounded, quickly.” He added.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

@Fallenreaper, you mentioned at the start of the catacomb mission that the students were given a healing item like a rune, right?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ra'kalesh nodded in agreement to Gallus. "Yes, underground fortresses are not something that this one's people are really known for. Actually, he is not sure if he has ever heard of any ancient Khajiit strongholds like that in Anequina. The Khajiit here have always been nomadic, using the desert itself as their nearly impassable fortress."

"Indeed, that is one reason they are uncertain." Meesei responded. "I cannot admit to being an expert on Khajiit history, but I did ask the representative from Orcrest about it before. Unfortunately, the ruins are not in terribly good condition, so it has been difficult for them to make out many details, especially since scholarly pursuits have not been their priority. Another idea is that it could have been built by another group, just with influence from Khajiit styles. Most of the carvings are very worn, but some of them have what could potentially be Akaviri symbols. It is possible that it was an old Blades stronghold, which just has influences from the ones that built it."

Meesei took a moment to look up at the tallest of the hills, which was just over half again as tall as the Leyawiin Chapel. Near its peak, the jagged rock formation had near vertical slopes that would be difficult to climb, so using it to get a better view of the area would not be possible. Although, some of the other hills nearby looked scalable. Hopefully, they would be able to find the entrance before needing to go through such efforts. When Fendros spoke up, she looked to him and shook her head. "No one who is currently here, no. The only representative I have met personally from Orcrest is still back in Bruma. But, they should know my description by this point, and the Ring is the mark of my station. Combined with the fact that we can easily prove ourselves to be lycans, and we should not have many issues."

Once they finally made it around to the north side of the rock formations, Meesei began scanning one hill in particular. "The main chamber of the ruin is under the largest of these hills, but the entrance itself is supposed to be at the base of the hill just to the west of it. We may need to search behind the boulders and other rocks to find it."

---

"And you don't have to, Sabine." Peiter responded, attempting to sound reassuring in his tone. "Some people might be uncomfortable for longer than they would want, yes, but you've done everything you were supposed to. Actually, you've done more than that. The burns are painful, but they're not threatening. All of the effort you've put into this for the past few weeks has been purely out of the kindness of your heart. There was nothing saying you had to go out of your way to make everyone more comfortable. Most people probably didn't even know you could do anything for them until you spread the word. Not to mention, the clan has its own alchemists who could also be doing this for them."

Leaning down, Peiter gave Sabine a kiss on the cheek, then spoke more quietly in her ear. "Besides, we have to be getting close to the clan. Why else would we be stopping now? You have done everything needed of you. Now, you can relax."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once everyone was ready, Meesei did not waste time in leading them off towards the large, rocky hill. They had all gathered what clothing or armor they could for this outing, though Ahnasha and Jo'rashaad were still without, apart from their pouches. Regardless, reaching the hills was not a long journey. Being that they were within sight of the hills, they were able to reach the base of them in under half an hour. The rock formations were too small to truly be considered mountains, though they had a similar jagged shape. At the same time, they were tall for hills. At the tallest, they were above the height of the chapel back in Leyawiin.

"From what I recall, the entrance is on the norther side of the hills, and can be difficult to spot. Look fore something like a crevice in the rocks, large enough for a Senche-raht, but hidden behind boulders. This clan makes its home in restored ruins, much like our home back near Bruma. Though, these ruins are obviously not Ayleid. It is an old fortress, built by Khajiit based on its styles. That is the best guess they have, at any rate." Meesei explained.

Peiter sat down beside Sabine and continued rubbing her shoulder and arm. He looked at her sympathetically, though her eyes were not actually looking in his direction. "That's not your fault, Sabine. You can only make so much with the ingredients you have. If you rationed it too much, people still would have ended up being burned for longer than they would have liked. Besides, we're close to Orcrest now, so we have to be getting close to the clan. I don't think anyone other than Meesei knows exactly where it is, but we've made camp much earlier in the day than usual. Maybe that means we're getting close, so they won't have to worry about getting burned anymore?" He suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once Meesei had her belongings, she went through the camp collecting those she intended to bring with her. From her own pack, she decided to bring Fendros and Ahnasha. Normally, she would bring Lorag along on such tasks, but being that she was with the clan, she decided it was best to always leave someone behind to represent her in her absence. Being that he was her second, he was the best choice. Fendros and Ahnasha were having breakfast when she approached, and were fortunately nearby to Janius and Kaleeth, so they were able to leave Rhazii in their care right away. Afterwards, Meesei sought out Ri'nakhad and asked for a lieutenant to accompany her. For meeting the Orcrest clan, Ri'nakhad himself would be the ideal representative, but Meesei had to plan for the possibility of danger. As such, he recommended Ra'kalesh, who readily accepted along with Jo'rashaad. All three headed back to Meesei's tent together to join with the others.

Everyone had gathered what they would need to travel by the time they gathered at Meesei's tent, though they would not be going far. "I am guessing everyone knows what it is we are doing? Our destination lies within those tall, rocky hills in the distance. There is a secret entrance that I should be able to find, though from what I understand, they should be able to see us coming."

Sabine's silence gave Peiter pause, further growing his uncertainty. The last thing he wanted to do was to upset her, but without an actual answer, he was not sure what he should do. If there was anything he could do to help, he wanted to at least attempt it. He steeled himself to be shouted at, then climbed into the tent. He carefully looked her over to make sure she was not sunburned, then started to rub her shoulder lightly. "You know I don't like to see you like this. If there's something wrong, I'm sure there is someone who can help you, even if I can't. I do want to help you, though. It couldn't hurt to tell me, could it?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry for the delay. I spent about six hours today working on a few algorithms, and just getting visual studio to work at all. The latter took a lot longer.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once again, Meesei was dressed in the robe, though this time she was also grabbing a few pouches with water and other supplies. She was not expecting to be away from camp for more than a few hours, but she preferred to be prepared than to not. She had stopped the clan away from the Orcrest, rather than to approach with everyone at once. Fellow lycans or no, the Orcrest clan would feel understandably threatened by such a large group suddenly appearing right outside their stronghold. She intended to bring only herself, a few of her and Gallus' pack members, and at least one of the clan's lieutenants.

As Gallus approached, Meesei nodded to him. "Yes, I do not wish to alarm the clan by approaching with our entire force at once. A small group would be much better to make contact. I am going to bring a few of my pack members, as well as yourself, whichever of your pack you wish to accompany us, and one of the lieutenants. I have no reason to believe that the Orcrest clan has been attacked or otherwise compromised by the enemy, but just in case, I do want to have enough warriors with us that we could escape an ambush. However, not so many as to alarm the clan. Gather your supplies, and whoever you want to bring with you, and meet me at my tent. I will do the same." She explained.

Meanwhile, Peiter had taken notice of Sabine's behavior over the past few days. He was around her more than anyone, so he noticed her change in mood even before Meesei, as she was often busy with her duties. Now that they were in camp, he decided that it was time to speak to, and hopefully comfort her about whatever it was that was bothering her. Slowly, and somewhat nervously, he opened up the entrance of the tent just enough to poke his head inside. "Hello...love. Could I, um...come in? I've been noticing you've been acting unusual lately. Is there something wrong?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

My Saturday has turned out to be annoyingly busy, so my next response may be delayed. If you'd like to do the next timeskip, though, we're can probably do it right now. We could skip to the point where we're about to send a group to make contact with the Orcrest clan. The location would be in the desert, in view of a few rocky hills in the distance, much like many others they likely would have passed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei gave a light chuckle to Gallus. She had not yet shared the description of the Orcrest clan's exact location, at least not beyond Ri'nakhad, so his confusion was understandable. "I did not say they are easy to find, I said they will be easy for me to find. I know the details of their location and how to find it, but without that, there would be very little chance of actually locating them. They are a fair distance to the southwest of Orcrest, off of any trade routes and away from any mapped oases. And, if someone did happen to be in the area, it is my understanding that they could easily walk past it without noticing. You can rest assured that the Orcrest clan is not one that can be easily attacked."

Walking back over to the fire, Meesei grabbed a cut of meat from one of the bags nearby and decided to forego the hassle of cooking. For the past week, everyone had been eating their meals cooked in order to appear less suspicious to the soldiers, but Meesei was now free to do as she wished. Although, with the dried and salted meats the clan was carrying, cooking was honestly an improvement to the flavor. She simply did not want to waste any more time than necessary. "We will need to stay alert for the next day or two. It is always possible that the soldiers might still decide to track us, despite the danger it would place them in. Though, I highly doubt that will be an issue. Few people, even soldiers, are willing to march into certain death if given another option."