EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei's tent was located alongside those of the rest of her pack, on the other side of camp, so she had a few moments to share what she knew about Do'rhajul. "I know only the basics of who he is. Or was, rather. In all the time that has passed since Lorag knew him, I have no doubt he has changed considerably. According to Lorag, Do'rhajul was his commander in the Legion. He is a Cathay-raht, and a careered soldier. He led a battalion stationed at a fort in...the Pale, I believe, during Skyrim's civil war. I did not ask a great deal, but he was evidently a very effective tactician. Lorag thought he died along with the rest of his patrol when they were ambushed by werewolves in the mountains."

After a few minutes walk, the trio reached the tents of Meesei's pack. Turning to the other two, Meesei began to whisper. "We should take care in how we approach him. He has had some time calm down since the meeting, but it may still be a sensitive issue." She explained as she leaned down to the bags pushed up against the side of the tent. Digging into the bottom of one of Lorag's bags, she produced an unlabeled bottle of ale, then handed it to Gallus. "It may help to share a drink with him."

---

"Hmm...well you are one of the healers' assistants. Ma'tanza thinks it might make sense to give you a lot of the busy work. They probably don't want the healers to exhaust themselves doing all that; otherwise, we might make a mistake trying to treat someone. This one doubts they would just give you work for no reason." Ma'tanza reasoned. With a grin, she reached over and placed her hand on top of Tzirret's.

"This one is sure that what you are doing is very helpful. Anyway, this one's morning went well. Ma'tanza doesn't like that she won't be able to see her little brother for so long, but she is glad he is safe. S'nishi is more used to all of this, with her being a warrior." She explained.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei, at the current stage of their journey, was no less busy than usual. Once the warband settled into a pattern, she could perhaps get some respite from her responsibilities, but for now, there was still much organization and planning for her and Ri'vashi to do. Ri'nakhad, regardless of how much he would have liked to lend his leadership talents on the march, had stayed behind in the stronghold. As an old man, he knew he would be a burden if they encountered any trouble along the way. As usual, Ra'jorr was leading the Senchal clan's warriors, and had joined the others in the planning.

Though they still needed a definitive plan of attack on the stronghold itself, that would not likely be possible until they were in range to scout the stronghold once more. For now, Meesei supposed that Gallus was right. "Yes, I do believe there is more he can tell us. He did speak to me before about this General, after our meeting. He answered some basic questions about his description, training, and such, but I did not want to press the issue at that time. He may be at least...marginally more comfortable speaking about it now. Though, it is difficult to say. Lorag is not usually an emotional individual, so seeing him so deeply affected by this is concerning. We can go speak to him now, if you like. I am sharing a tent with him; he should be there now. I believe he is drinking some ale he stole from the kitchens before we left."

---

Ma'tanza was sitting outside her tent when she saw Tzirret approach. She actually appeared surprised when he mentioned how busy he had been on the first day of their march. "Really?" She asked, cocking her head to the side curiously. "Ma'tanza hasn't had to do anything other than walk today. Well, and make sure all her potions were stored in the right place, but she did that before the march started."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I'm here, can't do much. I think I need an @Rtron to continue. I should pick one up at Home Depot.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

We can probably have the timeskip soon. There isn't anything about the traveling itself I think we need to cover, but I suppose there is a scene or two we could do before the fight. I recall you wanted to have a discussion with Lorag about the general.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei laughed lightheartedly, placing her hand on Colors' shoulder. "Colors, I have full confidence that you can handle that yourself. I am afraid that I do not currently intend to turn my praise into an aphrodisiac. Still, you do have my gratitude for all of the help you have given to your clan. Now, try not to anger too many of the Orcrest clan's women."

After giving her farewells to the remainder of Ra'kalesh's pride, Meesei moved on to find Ri'vashi and Ri'nakhad. Kaleeth set down Newt and, after a bit of convincing, persuaded him not to attempt to chase after them when they left. Leaps, luckily, was more keen to stay with the children than to follow Janius and Kaleeth, so they would not need to restrain him. As the minutes passed, more and more of the warband had given their farewells and were ready to depart. Soon, they would be setting out on the long road to the forests east of Corinthe.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

La'khay laughed, putting her arm over Gallus' shoulder. "Don't worry, we can share." She answered, her tone leaving a good deal of uncertainty on whether or not she was joking.

Meesei nodded in agreement as well and smiled approvingly at Colors. "Indeed. I believe even you would admit that you are not the most likely hero among the clan, but even so, you did more to ensure its survival than any other. You took the risk to warn us of Vile's treachery in Senchal, you took us to your pride, and helped find your clan. When it came time to move your clan across Elsweyr, you provided to us the ships we needed to get everyone here safely. Without your help, it is entirely possible that we would not have found your clan. Or, if we had, we could have lost many more people in reaching this place. It is fair to say that both us, and your clan, owe you a great deal."

With the praise he was receiving, Colors almost looked to be genuinely embarrassed. He looked around wide-eyed, with his mouth slightly agape. "I, uh, oh...usually when I'm the center of attention, it's not so...positive. I, uh...I don't know what to say." He began. After a few seconds of speechlessness, his eyes nervously wandered beyond the group until they settled on something behind them, which caused an idea to flash into his mind. "Say, um, Champion...do you think you could say that again, next to her?" He asked as he pointed to a Redguard woman talking to one of the soldiers nearby. Meesei ran her hand down her forehead and collectively let out a sigh with a few of the others.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak’s blow landed full-force against the knight’s shield. It protected his head and other vital areas from the impact, though the shield did not stop the force from throwing him back, or apparently, hurting his arm. The fight would not end immediately, as Ssarak had wanted, but it might at least go in their favor. Ssarak could see that the knight showed some signs of being weakened. The way he stood, the dents in his armor, it was all evidence that Meirin had been wearing him down, and now, he was outnumbered. Ssarak too was fatigued from the exertion of fighting the ridge hounds in the catacombs, but a mere glance at Meirin gave him all the motivation he needed to keep pressing on.

As the knight was standing to his feet, Ssarak landed a moderate distance away from him, placing the knight between himself and Meirin. With a few more mental commands, Ssarak’s blade continued shifting its form. The blade lost its edge entirely and was circularizing into the form of a shaft, while the hilt was growing to form the head of a mace.

Through the knight’s rant, Ssarak growled at him. These “foul creations of Aarem”, to Ssarak’s knowledge, could only reasonably refer to one thing: vampires. Unless he was terrible at identifying vampires, that did not explain why he was fighting Meirin, but it did at least explain his zeal. ”Vampires? You seek to slaughter the victims of Aarem? Whether righteous or misguided, your intent is of no matter. All I see of you is that you are attacking the innocent, and I will personally see that you receive justice for your crime. You hold no advantage over me, so leave now…” Ssarak began, drawing his shield from his back and pointing his now fully-formed mace at the knight. ”You shall not have another chance.”

While he was attempting to hold the knight’s attention, Ssarak was allowing Meirin to get into position. He was better equipped to fight the armored knight head-on, so when and if the fight resumed, he would charge straight in. Meirin, being much more agile than himself, would hopefully be able to capitalize on any opportunities he could create to either land the fatal blow herself, or disable the knight long enough to allow Ssarak to do the same. In either case, he and Meirin had trained together for fights such as these on many occasions, and now, they would have a chance to see if they could apply that training in a real fight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Newt did not have much of a response to his father, other than to look down and rub his hands together nervously. He was afraid, and it was not likely that words alone would ease that fear. Kaleeth only hoped that time with Jo'rashaad and S'ajira would help to at least keep him comfortable while he waited for them to return. She approached him after Janius and took him in her arms to hold him one last time before they departed.

La'khay chuckled, and waved a hand at Gallus. "Well, he was the one to ask for it...after La'khay suggested it...and his mate agreed with her. Anyway, he did agree to it at some point along the way. Both of your boys are strong, passionate men, and this one is glad to have them helping to protect us. You just keep them safe, along with yourself too. It would be a shame if something were to happen to your handsome face." She said, reaching out and placing her hand gently on his jaw. "Maybe once you get back, La'khay can give you a shave as well...a very close and thorough one."

Once there was a break in the conversation between the group, Colors decided to speak up, albeit somewhat awkwardly. "So, um, I'm not usually an...emotional person, and I'm not really good at these kinds of things, but I really do want to thank you all. You saved me, you helped save my pride, the rest of my clan, and now you're going to try to save us even more completely. You've done so much for me, that I sometimes have a hard time believing you all can even exist. Really, you're the best of us."

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Annabeth Annabeth did Annabeth did Annabeth did see Alaira anywhere.

@Lucius Cypher

@Lucius Cypher, I feel I should point out this sentence in your post.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Now that she was standing on sand, S'ajira could articulate a more specific response to Fendros by writing out her response at his feet. S'ajira promises, we will give he and Newt every bit of care that we gave to our own daughter. As long as they are with us, they are family.

Ahnasha was having just as much, if not a harder time coming to terms with the fact that she would be separating from her son. She had, of course, been thinking about it near constantly since the moment they decided on it, but until this point, it had been something she would have to worry about later. Now, however, she had no choice but to face that reality. She had to hold back her own tears as she knelt down and drew in Rhazii for a hug, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "We'll be back before you know it, son. Just...show Newt how to be brave for us, okay?"

Newt, meanwhile, was being more quiet than Rhazii. He was not crying outwardly, but his whole demeanor showed no shortage of sadness. Almost as if he was mirroring Janius, he at first tried not to think about being left with the clan. "I feel...hot." He answered, looking up towards the sun. But, it was not long before he lowered his head and continued. "...and scared."

Ra'kalesh, Do'ajee, La'khay, and Colors were not far behind in joining the group. La'khay's fur was uncharacteristically unkempt and ragged, suggesting she had rushed to join them. Colors stood uncomfortably in the dry heat, but even he appeared more uniform than La'khay.

"Ra'kalesh wishes he could have the company of his finest mage and Pahmar warrior on this march, but he can assure you that your children will be in safe hands." Ra'kalesh commented reassuringly.

Do'ajee gave a huff that might have been considered at least partially a chuckle. "Yes, there will be nothing that will bring them harm, as long as they can protect the children from these two." She said, motioning to Colors and La'khay.

Colors raised up his hands. "Oh, don't fear. I'm keen on keeping all my teeth when you get back, so I'll keep my distance from them."

Given all they had been through together, Meesei too wanted to give her farewells to the members of Ra'kalesh's pride who would be staying behind. She did not interrupt the conversation, but did smile in amusement, looking at Colors as she approached.