I don't think you have.
Also, I'm at a club meeting right now and won't be home for another two or three hours.
Also, I'm at a club meeting right now and won't be home for another two or three hours.
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When the group began to disarm, it at least prevented the lycan warriors from growing more hostile. Soon enough, the footsteps behind them revealed themselves to be another group moving behind to flank them. While they were disarming, an Ohmes Khajiit beside their leader glanced to him briefly. "Sir, they're lycans." He observed. Although, the leader remained just as skeptical.
"They smell like lycans. You know the enemy can fake that." He responded just before Gallus started to speak up again. "This one needs you all to...wait, Meesei?" He started to interrupt, but stopped himself as soon as he heard what Gallus was saying. He recognized the name, and as soon as Meesei lowered her hood, his eyes widened in surprise. However, how he, and the other warriors around him, reacted afterwards was not quite usual. A few of them looked to each other, much more in confusion than awe. The leader was speechless, but kept his spear raised, and now firmly pointed at Meesei.
Assuming his reaction to be one of fear related to the recent aggression of Vile's forces, Meesei spoke calmly. "You need not fear us, soldier. I am Hircine's Champion." She said, holding out her hand to show her ring. "I need to speak to the clan's leader as soon as possible."
Again, the soldier's reaction was far from what Meesei expected. Usually, anyone in the service of Hircine would defer to her orders once she identified herself, but he held his weapon firm, and just seemed more confused. "What...what is the meaning of this? The Champion? That's...impossible! This one just passed by you in the dining hall a few minutes ago. How could you be here, with these people? And...no, no you don't look like her." He exclaimed.
Whatever was going on, it was certainly going to complicate matters.
"They smell like lycans. You know the enemy can fake that." He responded just before Gallus started to speak up again. "This one needs you all to...wait, Meesei?" He started to interrupt, but stopped himself as soon as he heard what Gallus was saying. He recognized the name, and as soon as Meesei lowered her hood, his eyes widened in surprise. However, how he, and the other warriors around him, reacted afterwards was not quite usual. A few of them looked to each other, much more in confusion than awe. The leader was speechless, but kept his spear raised, and now firmly pointed at Meesei.
Assuming his reaction to be one of fear related to the recent aggression of Vile's forces, Meesei spoke calmly. "You need not fear us, soldier. I am Hircine's Champion." She said, holding out her hand to show her ring. "I need to speak to the clan's leader as soon as possible."
Again, the soldier's reaction was far from what Meesei expected. Usually, anyone in the service of Hircine would defer to her orders once she identified herself, but he held his weapon firm, and just seemed more confused. "What...what is the meaning of this? The Champion? That's...impossible! This one just passed by you in the dining hall a few minutes ago. How could you be here, with these people? And...no, no you don't look like her." He exclaimed.
Whatever was going on, it was certainly going to complicate matters.
I had to abbreviate my past a bit, as I need to get to bed. Goodnight.
"Perhaps, or this cave could go deeper than ours at home." Meesei suggested. "Though, you may yet be right. The cave should split somewhere ahead. We need to keep to the left path." She explained. While she knew enough to get to the clan's stronghold, she did not know the details of their defenses. However, the fact that the cave split would allow for them to flank intruders, as Uthri suggested. If the clan was as capable of spotting intruders as Meesei had been told, they likely already knew they were there.
Just as Meesei had said, the path forked ahead, so they continued down the left path. Strangely, however, instead of sloping down as it had been, the cave started to slope back upwards. They again started to pick up a breeze, but this time, it was coming from ahead of them. The breeze came to be a relief, as it gave them the first evidence of the actual members of the clan, since the scent of lycans was now unmistakable in the air.
It was not long after catching the scent that the group was finally confronted. Soon after rounding a corner, they were met with a line of Khajiit with spears facing them, and, just as Uthri had predicted, footsteps approaching behind them. The Suthay-raht at the head of the group, like his companions, was armored fully in a suit made of a golden-colored moonstone alloy, similar to the Dominion soldiers that had accompanied them during their journey. Although, their scents were certainly those of lycans. "Stop, and put down your weapons!" He shouted.
---
With a relieved smile, Peiter kissed the top of Sabine's head. "I'll hold you for however long, and whatever way you want. Just try to relax, and don't think so much about everyone else." He suggested before closing his eyes himself.
Just as Meesei had said, the path forked ahead, so they continued down the left path. Strangely, however, instead of sloping down as it had been, the cave started to slope back upwards. They again started to pick up a breeze, but this time, it was coming from ahead of them. The breeze came to be a relief, as it gave them the first evidence of the actual members of the clan, since the scent of lycans was now unmistakable in the air.
It was not long after catching the scent that the group was finally confronted. Soon after rounding a corner, they were met with a line of Khajiit with spears facing them, and, just as Uthri had predicted, footsteps approaching behind them. The Suthay-raht at the head of the group, like his companions, was armored fully in a suit made of a golden-colored moonstone alloy, similar to the Dominion soldiers that had accompanied them during their journey. Although, their scents were certainly those of lycans. "Stop, and put down your weapons!" He shouted.
---
With a relieved smile, Peiter kissed the top of Sabine's head. "I'll hold you for however long, and whatever way you want. Just try to relax, and don't think so much about everyone else." He suggested before closing his eyes himself.
Meesei began walking up the hill, following the path of sand she had spotted. Conveniently, the sand seemed to follow the lowest effort path up to the boulder. It was only once she was close that she was able to see clearly that the rock placed in shadow what appeared to be a cave or crevice leading further into the hill. "Yes, this seems to be it. Come, we should head inside." She yelled to the others.
After allowing a minute or two for Uthri to climb down, and everyone else to walk up to her on the hill, Meesei cast a spell of magelight on herself. Their night eye would have given them acceptable vision inside, but she did not want to risk surprising the clan's lookouts. "Let us move slowly, and keep our hands away from our weapons. With how long the Senchal clan has been out of contact, this clan may be even more alert than usual." Meesei warned before leading the way inside.
The cave was fairly tall, but otherwise not much different from the entrance to the ruin back home, apart from being much warmer. Although, since they were out of the sun, the air was becoming cooler the deeper they went. There was nothing to distinguish the cave from any natural formation, but just like outside, Meesei noticed an unusual amount of sand on the floor of the cave beneath them. At least, there was nothing else that seemed unusual until they started getting deeper into the cave. After a minute or so, the air started becoming unmistakably humid, which was something none of them had felt for weeks.
---
Peiter tightened his grip around Sabine as he answered. "I won't say I never worry about what others think, but not with things like that. I do what I can for people, but if something just isn't possible for me, then I can't make myself feel bad over it. If I help someone, I can feel good knowing that I did something for them, but I don't try to make myself think that I always need to. If someone is going to get mad at me for not doing the impossible, then they're the one who is being unreasonable. My conscious would be clean."
After allowing a minute or two for Uthri to climb down, and everyone else to walk up to her on the hill, Meesei cast a spell of magelight on herself. Their night eye would have given them acceptable vision inside, but she did not want to risk surprising the clan's lookouts. "Let us move slowly, and keep our hands away from our weapons. With how long the Senchal clan has been out of contact, this clan may be even more alert than usual." Meesei warned before leading the way inside.
The cave was fairly tall, but otherwise not much different from the entrance to the ruin back home, apart from being much warmer. Although, since they were out of the sun, the air was becoming cooler the deeper they went. There was nothing to distinguish the cave from any natural formation, but just like outside, Meesei noticed an unusual amount of sand on the floor of the cave beneath them. At least, there was nothing else that seemed unusual until they started getting deeper into the cave. After a minute or so, the air started becoming unmistakably humid, which was something none of them had felt for weeks.
---
Peiter tightened his grip around Sabine as he answered. "I won't say I never worry about what others think, but not with things like that. I do what I can for people, but if something just isn't possible for me, then I can't make myself feel bad over it. If I help someone, I can feel good knowing that I did something for them, but I don't try to make myself think that I always need to. If someone is going to get mad at me for not doing the impossible, then they're the one who is being unreasonable. My conscious would be clean."
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?"
"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?"
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.
---
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.
@Fallenreaper, you mentioned at the start of the catacomb mission that the students were given a healing item like a rune, right?
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."
"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."
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.
"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.
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