EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

La'tahne took her seat at the table, next to Ri'vashi and across from Gallus. She had a slight hint of nervousness in her body language, but was doing what she could to hide it. Regardless of the supposed casual nature of the meeting, she sat with the proper posture and mannerisms of upper Aldmeri society.

"This one knows the names of the Champion, Meesei, and of course her clan leader, but she does not know the name of the handsome Imperial before her." La'tahne answered.

Given that they had already been delayed, Meesei did not waste time getting to business. "His name is Gallus, an alpha from Bruma accompanying my pack. We may need your skills in face sculpting in order to deceive one of the prisoners."

La'tahne gave a quick nod. "Ah, yes, of course. Face sculpting. Well, it was to be La'tahne's profession before she was turned. She was an apprentice to the sculptor for the Thalmor advisers to the Mane himself in Torval. Unfortunately, there is not much of a need for those services in the clan, so La'tanhe has taken on her other hobbies as a way of helping the clan. This one's skills are...not like those of her former master, she is afraid. But...what is it that you need her to do?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The three left the prisons, though Ri'vashi offered to find La'tahne herself to allow Meesei and Gallus to go ahead and make their way to the meeting chamber. It took about fifteen minutes for Ri'vashi to return to the meeting chamber with news that La'tahne was on her way, but it took about half an hour more for her to actually arrive.

As La'tahne stepped into the chamber, the cause of the delay was rather clear. Unlike most everyone else in either clan, she wore a dress that looked like it belonged in a city. It had bright, warm colors like orange and yellow, and was rather form-fitting and provocative like the garb of a dancer. She wore ribbons of cloth draped around her shoulders and tied around her tail, along with various kinds of homemade jewelry, and even a gold and ruby necklace. All of her visible fur was finely groomed, and near perfectly cleaned. Upon the sight of her, Ri'vashi let out a sigh and ran her hand down the side of her face.

"La'tahne...this is not a formal meeting. You did not have to prepare your appearance as if you were going to a noble's court." Ri'vashi said with some degree of frustration.

"Why clan leader, you could not truly expect this one to go to a meeting with the Champion herself without looking her absolute best. You did not say you needed her in a hurry." La'tahne responded defensively.

Ri'vashi gave another sigh. "It was...implied."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As Gallus was speaking, Ri'vashi was obviously in thought. She had her ears lowered, and her arms crossed over her chest with her chin resting on her hand. She had a thought in her mind on a potential option they could take, though was not absolutely certain that it would work. "Do you believe a face sculptor may be of use?" She asked.

Unfamiliar with the concept, Meesei looked to Ri'vashi questioningly. "I am afraid I do not know what a face sculptor is. Would they be able to alter Dar-tzesa's appearance?"

Ri'vashi nodded. "Yes, she would. This one does not believe they exist in the Empire, or at least aren't as common, but they are popular among the elite of the Dominion. Particularly in Alinor, but there are practitioners of the art across the Dominion who serve those who can pay. Ri'vashi does not know exactly how it works, but they can change one's facial appearance to be anything within reason. Our gardener, La'tahne, was an apprentice to a face sculptor in Torval. I know she did not complete her apprenticeship before she was turned, and she does not have quite the range of abilities as a proper face sculptor, but since Dar'tzesa looks so much like you already..."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi nodded to Gallus. "Well, there are three ways to exit the stronghold. The first would, obviously, be the main entrance. Second is the hole leading to the outside at the top of the main chamber. The scaffolding along the walls leads all the way up to it, and it can be used as an exit, but in this case, it would be hard to justify why you are bringing a prisoner all the way up there. The last is an emergency exit that was built into the stronghold before we arrived. It is a tunnel leading about midway up to one of the other hills. There is a rock doorway that blends into the hill, with a mechanism built into the hillside to lower it from the inside. You will need to be careful sliding down the hillside, but it seems like your best option."

Meesei continued on the topic of how to fool the Imperial into believing her death. "I could part with the ring, yes. If necessary. We do still have the forgery that Dar-tzesa was wearing, if there is another way to convince him. However, I do wonder if any of those body parts would be enough to convince him? He does not seem to completely trust you, and he is well-aware that we have access to an impostor of myself. Do you think he may consider that kind of deception? Perhaps there is a way we could make something about Dar-tzesa look more like myself?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The three were silent until they had made their way into the empty cell and slowly closed the door behind them, being sure they had its key first. Regardless, Meesei spoke silently, just to be safe. "So, it seems we need to determine how to kill me. This does complicate matters, but I am sure we will be able to find a solution. We need a way to make sure he is convinced of my 'death.' If it takes any time or effort to persuade him, he may not trust you. As well, we will need to determine a believable way for you to sneak him out of the stronghold. We have to make it look like a challenge. Too easy, and he could start suspecting the truth."

Ri'vashi nodded. "This one can make sure the guards along the way know of the plan. Did you have an idea for how specifically to get him out of the stronghold, Gallus?"

---

Ma'tanza curled her lips and looked up towards the exit of the room. "Yes, this one should probably have a lesson or two with her mentor too. She was too busy to train with Ma'tanza yesterday, so she will probably be wanting to make up for it today."

Bheja stood up and stretched briefly. "Well, I guess we can all meet up later then. We can get together by the tree in the main chamber, then see where we can go from there."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hiritus shook his head lightly as he started to chuckle. "Boy, there's a lot I could be complaining about right now. Bruises, broken bones, sore wrists, this itch on my nose I can't scratch. Moving quickly is nowhere even close to being in that list. Just do what you have to, and make sure you grab that ring off her corpse. Though, make sure you bring some other good proof as well; I know that ring could be faked."

The Imperial lowered his head similarly to he had been when Gallus entered. He did not seem interested in continuing the conversation, likely to reduce the risk of someone overhearing.

---

Ma'tanza nodded lightly to Tzirret, though the worry in her expression did not ease until she distracted herself by answering Tzirret's question. She started to speak, but hesitated for a moment as she thought. "Well...Ma'tanza doesn't know, really. We could always try to swim, but there might not be room. There are a lot of people in this stronghold, and only one place for everyone to bathe. Well, only one place deeper than your ankles."

"Yeah, but there has to be something more than that, though." Bheja commented. "I mean, we swam all the time back in the forest. There has to be something here we couldn't do back at the outpost. Maybe we can find some of the people that actually live here and figure out what they do to pass the time?" He suggested.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hiritus did not budge in his request, and maintained a stern, serious expression. "I'm sure you can figure it out. You can get close to her, kill her, then get us both out of here before anyone notices. If she trusts you enough to perform these interrogations, then she trusts you enough to get the both of you alone. If you can't do that, then you won't be as useful to my masters as I'm assuming. Bring proof to me that she's dead; real proof, like her head, and I'll bring you to a group that can get you the power and influence you deserve. If you can't or won't do that, then I'm dead anyway, so it doesn't matter to me."

The Imperial attempted to straighten his posture, though that proved to be difficult while hanging from chains. "Go ahead, take as much time as you need. I won't be going anywhere."

===

Ma'tanza looked off to the size with some uncertainty. "This one wishes you could stay out of the fight at all." She commented, though after a few moments, she took in a deep breath and tried to move past it. "Well...there's no point in thinking about it now. Let's just try to relax; we still don't know exactly what is going to happen. They are waiting on some scouts to get back, right Tzirret? Maybe the attack won't even happen?"

By her attitude, it was clear that the thought Ma'tanza had been putting towards the battle to come had made her nervous. Tzirret's previous description of the fighting in Bruma had settled in her mind, and made her frightful for the lives of her friends and family.

Star Wars: Coruscant Underworld [Always accepting!]

@Sep, I believe it would be fine if you had one of the staff look through the contacts and call Tir. She would probably only be able to get there for the tail end of the encounter, but it would let me get involved.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It's about time for me to head to bed. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hiritus narrowed his eyes as he looked Gallus over from head to toe. His reaction was obviously suspicious, though perhaps not completely dismissive. "And I'm just supposed to trust you? I tell you what I could offer you: power. Or at least the chance at it. I could offer you a place in an army that will rule Tamriel. I can see you're a pragmatist; you know your doom. But, I'm not going to offer anything to some mutt just because he says he's had a change of heart. No, I need something from you first. Proof. My mission here is over; that's not going to work anymore. But, if I leave here empty handed, I'll just be trading one death for another. That lizard whore you serve, I want her head. She trusts you, so if you want a way to save yourself, then I want you to kill her. Slit her throat in her sleep, find a poison that'll work on her, I don't care. Just kill her and bring me proof, then I'll put you into contact with some people who will be very grateful for that service."

---

S'nishi nodded in agreement with Tzirret and nudged Bheja's shoulder with her sizable paw, which was enough to put him slightly off-balance. Bheja rolled his eyes and looked up to her with a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, you've already made your case, love. I'll just be in the back cheering you along."

Ma'tanza already had a look of worry in her eyes from the topic they were discussing, and while she gave a slight chuckle at Bheja, she looked over nervously at Tzirret. She put her arm around him as well, then leaned into him. "Tzirret, you're, um, not going to actually go into the fight, are you?"