EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag pointed to the courtyard on the map, next to the main gate. "Well, for one, we're going to want to fan out as soon as we get in. Maybe try to take control of the walls on either side. We do that, and we can put up some ladders to bring in everyone else. If we don't, then we'll only have one way into the fortress, and that's a weakness I know that cat will exploit."

"Agreed." Ri'vashi responded. "And if we spread out into groups, we can assault the keep from different angles. Of the entrances we have observed, one is on the ground level, accessible through the courtyard, while there are two more above that can be reached by bridges from the walls. Trying to fight our way into the keep will inevitably create bottlenecks, so we will want to attack from as many directions at once as we can to maximize the number of our warriors who can be fighting at once. From there...well, we do not know what to expect once we are in the keep."

Meesei's response to Gallus' questions was less certain. "As for resisting the suppression gas...I do not know if I can guarantee that is possible. The person who created the suppression gas, and has the greatest understanding of it, is currently in Black Marsh. She shared that knowledge with Sabine, but I am uncertain if we have the proper ingredients to create a countermeasure. As well, we do not know if that potion will work against this new gas. Vile's forces likely spent the last few years working to recreate the gas after we destroyed their supply in Morrowind. From my understanding of alchemy, there are often multiple formulas that can create the same effects, so this gas may have a different make up. The same countermeasure may not work against it. We can still attempt it, of course, but we cannot count on it working."

---

Irenya gave a somewhat solemn nod. "Yes, the Red Year displaced many Dunmer. Living in the south, my family did not have to worry about fleeing Red Mountain; it was the invasion that displaced us. The Argonians focused most of their efforts on attacking Telvanni lands, since they were the ones who practiced slavery on the largest scale. But, my family had moved from Narsis by that point, so we were on the borders of Telvanni holdings. When the Argonian armies stormed in from the south, some of the former slaves in the area learned of the approaching force. They had been freed a few years earlier, when King Helseth outlawed slavery, but they were still resentful towards us. They took up arms, and with most of the village's soldiers away to fight the Argonians, there were few left to defend us. They captured everyone they could, tortured former slaveowners, and publicly executed others, especially our leaders. My mother and I barely escaped with our lives. My father...did not."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi took another look over the map, hesitating only briefly before she reasoned out her answer. "In this one's opinion...well, she would of course have archers positioned along the walls. That is a given. Against lycans, though, she would also employ crossbowmen. One strategy lycan hunters sometimes use against us is to tie barbed bolts to something sturdy by a length of rope and fire them into their prey. If the bolts are silver, it can hold us down for a time, and force us to maim ourselves trying to pull them out. Of course, with this suppression gas, they may not need such measures. They will surely have it close at hand at the walls. We should be sure to make only limited use of our beast forms. Beyond that, this one would make sure that the initial defenders are skilled, but she would hold her best soldiers in reserve, as a first response. Once they know from where we are attacking, they will be free to focus the best of their soldiers on us. Ri'vashi would give silver to her soldiers based on their aptitude, since it is likely too expensive to outfit the entirety of the stronghold with silver weapons. It is at least something of a boon to our kind that the material which serves as our bane is so rare."

Giving a glance to Miranor, Ri'vashi actually looked to be mildly uncertain. "As for werevultures...Ri'vashi is not sure how much of a focus she would place on defending against them. As Miranor pointed out, they are among the least physically imposing of Tamriel's werebeasts. They do not have our strength or durability, and are ill-suited for frontline combat. They are exceptional scouts, and are excellent at harassing an enemy force's back lines, but to lead an assault with them would be unconventional, to say the least."

---

Irenya listened closely, ignoring the brevity of Ahnasha's answer. Although, she almost seemed surprised when Fendros asked about her own past, as if she had not expected the conversation to turn towards herself. "Oh, well, my story is nothing unique. I learned at first from my parents, as do many mages. My mother was a member of the Narsis Mages' Guild. My father was a clerk in House Hlaalu's headquarters in the city, though they both practiced magic. I joined the guild as well, as soon as I was old enough. Sadly, I was not able to be a part of the guild for nearly as long as I would have liked. I was fairly young when the Oblivion Crisis began, only around fifty or so. Narsis, and much of Morrowind, was overrun by Daedra. I hardly even recall how many times we had to flee, and relocate. But, it gave me direction for my magical studies. As refugees, healers were in great demand, and I had the skills to fill that role. My mother, and some of the other healers from time to time, mentored me. Through the Oblivion Crisis, and the Red Year a few years after, my healing was honed through necessity."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi moved the map to the side and started to look through some of the other papers. By the quick, almost frantic nature of her search, she was looking for something specific, but she had no luck in finding it. "Without knowing what kind of mechanism they are using to open and close the gates, it is hard to say if we can damage it effectively. Some mechanisms are more resistant to sabotage than others. It is possible, but we cannot plan on it being an easy possibility."

"As for concealing our approach, there are some possibilities in that regard." Meesei added. "Creating a mist of that scale is not a well-known magical technique, but it is possible. Still, instead of obscuring the entire area, it may be more practical to simply obscure our infiltrators. Invisibility, or a strong chameleon effect, could mask their approach. They would likely be revealed once they open the gate, but their soldiers would not have near as much time to mount a defense. Of course, this assumes they are not detected. They could still be heard, and life detection magic could discover them prematurely."

"That is true, but..." Miranor began, leaning her hands onto the table. "In my experience, such defenses are rarely directed directly upwards."

---

Irenya, though there was some awkwardness in her expression, remained casual. "Well, I did not have anything in particular in mind, but...we have been traveling together for some time and I do not feel like I know either of you very well. I know you are both Cyrodilic, and I know of some of your skills, but not a great deal more. Where did you first start learning those skills?" Irenya asked both of them, though she was looking directly at Ahnasha.

With slightly widened eyes, Ahnasha was surprised to see Irenya's attention directed at her. She knew that Irenya had some kind of motivation to speak to Fendros, with him being Dunmer, but she did not know why she would want to give her any kind of remotely positive attention. "I'm self-taught." Ahnasha answered simply, and abruptly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"You are correct that it is a potential weak point, as the main gate would allow us the quickest way in." Meesei answered. "But, there are, obviously, some difficulties. From our scouts observations, the crank for the gate is not located directly above it, which means it must be in the wall on one side of it. But, that does not mean it is inaccessible to us. It would not be far from that gatehouse, in any case. If we could get someone to that crank, and if they could defend it, then it would not take long for our forces to start storming through the gate."

Miranor had her eyes on the same spot which Gallus was pointing to, but was quite visibly concerned. "Getting that gate open would be the fastest way for us to get inside, but only a werevulture could get over those walls, and as far as lycans are concerned, we are not the most...hardy. We do not have as much strength, our bones are easier to break. We can overpower a Khajiit or Human, certainly, but we are not well-suited for frontline fighting. I do believe we could get in quickly enough to reach the crank and open the gate, but if they saw us coming, which they certainly would, then their response would be quick. I do not think we could hold against a counter-attack."

---

Irenya nodded. "Sensible. I have heard of your skills. I am assuming that packs, and prides, will be positioned together as much as possible, since they can work together more efficiently. I will be with my pack, more than likely. Though, I am sure we should be prepared to work together with all of our brothers and sisters."

To her credit, Ahnasha was making a solid effort to remain civil with Irenya, though she did not answer beyond nodding along with the Dunmer. Regardless, Irenya did not show any signs that she was intent on leaving soon. "At any rate, I...was merely wondering if you felt like talking. On a journey like this, it is good to take some time to relax. Mental health is almost as important as physical health, after all."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"We do have as much of a description of Do'rhajul as we can get, yes. But mostly, we simply need to develop our plan before reaching the stronghold. Once we are within range of the stronghold, we will need to act quickly, or risk losing the element of surprise. We will scout it once more when we are in range to make final adjustments to the plan, of course, but we should have this discussion well in advance." Meesei answered. Along with her in the tent were Ri'vashi, Ra'jorr, Lorag, and the leader of the scouting party, Miranor. Between them all were piles of documents stacked onto a small wooden table. On top of the pile was the map of the stronghold that the scouts had drawn from their observations.

Ri'vashi leaned over the table and began to point out features on the map. "The stronghold is not exceptionally large, about the size of a village in land area, but it is well defended. It has tall stone walls, and apart from our werevultures, we will not be able to scale them without ladders, even in our lycan forms. There seems to be only one entrance: the main gate. It consists of two massive wooden doors reinforced by iron, but even so, our stronger lycans could perhaps break through it. However, there also appears to be a grate above the gate itself, with large pots that could be filled with boiling oil. Inside the walls, there are rows of small, wooden buildings. They could be meant as quarters, or for storage, though we do not know for certain. About half of the area inside the walls is taken up by large stone keep, which is most likely the command center of Vile's forces in all of Elsweyr. It is about twice the height of the walls, and may have some of its interior underground. It can be accessed by another set of reinforced wooden doors, as well as two bridges to the walls on opposite sides of the keep. At the time our scouts were observing the area, they seemed to be starting an expansion project to increase the stronghold's size, but unfortunately, it does not seem to present a weakness. They are building on new structures outside the walls, and are extending the walls around them, but they are leaving the old wall standing, likely until the expansion is complete. As you can see, the stronghold is located in the depths of the Tenmar forest, but the enemy has cleared out all of the trees in a fair area around the stronghold's outer walls. Since we cannot afford the time required for a siege, we will need to find some way to get our forces in quickly."

---

After the initial nervousness of her greeting, Irenya's demeanor started to slowly become more normal. "I have simply been asking around the camp and checking on everyone I can, making sure that no one is close to suffering from heat stroke, or the like. The members of the Orcrest clan have exceptional constitution in the heat, but some of our clan, and the Senchal clan, have been having some problems since we first set foot in the desert. She will not admit it directly, but I know Uthri is not well-adapted to the heat."

Ahnasha, while not openly hostile to Irenya at this point, was still suspicious of her. With how she acted when they first met, she felt that this sudden, casual demeanor of hers was nothing like the Dunmer she had spent all those weeks avoiding. Still, she did not speak up, and allowed Irenya to continue. "I have also been...debating with myself on my role in this attack. We will need healers to stay back at our camp outside the stronghold to treat the wounded that can be carried back, but some of us will also need to join in the attack as well. Otherwise, there would be no one to stabilize the badly injured, heal smaller wounds that would be otherwise debilitating. Given my experience in combat, I believe I would be best suited for the latter option."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I will inform him." Meesei answered. "For now, you can get some rest. We do still have a long journey ahead of us, so we will have time to complete our planning. I expect we will have many more meetings over the next few weeks to finalize our plan of attack. Now, rest well." Meesei answered before separating from Gallus and Ri'vashi to speak to Ra'jorr.

---

As expected, there were many more meetings during the next week about most aspects of the march. Some were simply about small changes to their planned route to Corinthe, while others were more detailed discussions about how the command structure of Ra'jorr's forces would interact with those of Ri'vashi. Lorag took some time to write out the most comprehensive description he could think of regarding Do'rhajul. It was only after he was confident that he had given all of the information he could, about a week after they left, that they could make more detailed plans.

This time the warband set up camp, they were actually able to get some kind of respite from the days of wandering the desert. They were still over a week from reaching the Tenmar forest, but they had happened to reach one of the Oases along their path just as the sun was beginning to set. As such, they were able to make camp somewhere other than an endless sea of sand. There were a variety of grasses, flowers, bushes, and even a large pond right next to their camp.

Meesei found Gallus while he was still setting up his tent. "There you are. When you are able, I would like you to join us in the main tent. I have gathered the others for a meeting; it is time to decide on a concrete plan of attack for the stronghold itself. At least, as much of one as we can make with the information we have."

On the other side of camp, Ahnasha and Fendros had just finished putting up their tent. Ahnasha had been going through phases of discomfort and worry from being separated from Rhazii, but for the moment, she appeared calm enough that Irenya finally felt comfortable in approaching them. She rather poorly attempted to hide her nervousness as she walked up to the pair. "Good evening...you two. Has everything been going well on the journey so far? Any problems you have encountered?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi looked around to see if anyone was paying particularly close attention to them before answering. "Ri'vashi sincerely hopes that Lorag is correct, and this General simply shares that name by coincidence. If not, it will be difficult to overcome him. Having the element of surprise may not even be enough, depending on how far ahead Do'rhajul has planned."

"If that is the case, we will just need to be as unconventional as him." Meesei commented. "Lorag will be fine. He understands duty better than most, and he will let nothing get in the way of us accomplishing this mission."

Though worried about what they could potentially be facing, Ri'vashi would face the issue just the same as she would any other. "Once Lorag is able to write what he knows, we should meet again with Ra'jorr to discuss it. We can look for patterns, and try to find some approach that Do'rhajul's enemies have never tried against him."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

After Lorag finally finished off his second ale, he tossed it aside as well. He was not quite angry any more, though his expression as he looked at Gallus did seem to be at least mildly annoyed. "Unless you want to spend the rest of the night here, I had better just write out what you need. Won't be needing it all 'till we get to the stronghold, anyway."

With a nod, Meesei started to stand up. "Very well. I have some other matters to attend to for now, so I will leave you to yourself for now. With luck, the enemy we face will not be the same commander you knew."

As Meesei left the tent to convene with Ri'vashi, Lorag looked down at the empty bottles in the corner and let out a sigh. "He isn't." He muttered under his breath.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag let out a huff. "We've got weeks of walking to do before we even get close to this fortress; I think I've got plenty of time to write down a few stories. But fine, I guess I can tell you somethin'. After I finished my training in Cyrodiil, I was sent pretty much immediately to Skyrim, and I was assigned to his battalion. My very first posting was a fort in the Reach, protecting the roads to secure silver shipments. That far west, we had to deal more with Forsworn than Stormcloaks. Of course, I didn't get an assignment for at least a few weeks after I got there. When my group of Auxiliaries arrived, he took a few weeks to...break us in, I guess."

At this point, Lorag did not seem to have any interest in sharing his ale, as this bottle was getting close to empty as well. "We went through the usual that new recruits could expect. Surprise barracks inspections, inevitable group punishments for failures, constant drills that were completely pointless except to create discipline. It was like being in training all over again. The thing I didn't expect was that, after about a week, he held something of a contest between all the Auxiliaries; a pretty comprehensive one. Hand-to-hand, swordsmanship, spears, archery, magic, any aspect of fighting. Aside from the, uh, private betting pool the Auxiliaries made, the rewards were just some extra rations and lenient assignments for mundane duties, but I think the point of holding it was so he could learn about what we could do. When it came time to give us actual, important assignments, he used that to assign our roles. If this General is the same commander I knew, don't expect there to be many holes in the defense. The people defending the walls will be doing the jobs he thinks they're best at."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I don't know!" Lorag shouted angrily. He sneered at Gallus briefly before shaking his head and looking away. His anger was short lived, and was replaced my a degree of emotion only slightly above apathy. "Look, I can't tell you his motivations, 'cause like I said, it doesn't make sense. If he just wanted a cure, then he'd know that others in their little cult are gettin' the same thing for a lot less, by the sound of it. I can tell you about who he was as a soldier, but if it is him, then I can't tell you nothin' about him now."

Meesei interjected, trying to sound as encouraging as possible. "Tell us that, then. About his career as a soldier. His motivations are not really our concern; only how to stop him. How he performed in the war would give us the best idea of how he will perform now."

Lorag grumbled briefly before taking the time to down half of his remaining ale. "Fine, I'll give you all the war stories I've got. Might as well write them down or somethin', so you can...study 'em, for all the good it'll do."

---

Ma'tanza laughed once more. "Tzirret, you try too hard." She said, motioning for him to lay down beside her. As soon as he did, she curled up next to him and rested her head on his upper chest. The air would start to cool soon, so Ma'tanza would likely want to head into her tent and stay under her blankets soon, but she seemed quite content for the moment.

"Ma'tanza...hopes we will be able to relax like this often." She commented.