EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I have learned that it takes quite a lot of modding to get Kaleeth into Skyrim. Still can't get a mod to work to give Argonians blue eyes.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha nodded. "Right." She commented, taking in a deep breath to try and get over her reluctance to speak. "Basically, I want to extend my life as you have. As Fendros said, I have already been learning about what I will need to do, but I know I am not yet skilled enough to do it. I just need something to help me along that path."

Marcaille's eyes scanned over Ahnasha, while her overall demeanor was skeptical. She gave a small huff and crossed her arms. "Hmm, I've been asked that question many times before, but people usually don't like my answer. Life extension is not some simple trick, no matter how you do it. Extending one's life is fundamentally tied to the concept of death. To extend your life, you will have to become a necromancer, and a strong one."

"Well...I am actually already a necromancer. As I said, I have already been studying this, and by that I mean I have actually been practicing the relevant skills, not just researching what I will need to do. I received a tome a few years ago that has helped me get this far, but it was not complete. If you have any notes you could part with or copy, I would be grateful." Ahnasha explained.

Marcaille gave her shoulders a quick shrug. "Oh, well that's the hard part out of the way, then. Necromancy always leaves a bad taste in people's mouths. I'm hardly going to deny a request like this from one of the Champion's pack. But, I'm not just going to give you a book and let you figure it out on your own. No, I think I'd rather give you some lessons myself."

While certainly not disappointed, Ahnasha could not help but to be confused by Marcaille's offer. "I...thank you, of course, but...we will be leaving in a few days. I know these things take quite a long time to learn, so I don't think there will be time."

Marcaille began to chuckle. "I know, but that's not going to be a problem since I'm coming with you to Bruma. The Champion already approached me earlier. Apparently, my alchemical knowledge impressed her, and she wants me working on finding an antidote for that gas. It's going to be a big change leaving here, but after hearing what that gas does, I'm not about to sit around and do nothing about it. I suppose, when there's time, I can give you some lessons as well."

---

La'khay closed her eyes and started shaking her head. "This was all just one big mistake, wasn't it? So much death and loss; it's horrible. Come here." She said, looking directly at Peiter. With the attention drawn to his arm, Peiter was once again visibly uncomfortable, but not so much so that he would completely ignore La'khay. He reluctantly stepped forward, only to be nearly taken off of his feet when La'khay stood up and hugged him.

"La'khay wishes you could have just stayed here with us. People your age shouldn't be heading into battle. You still have your whole lives ahead of you; we shouldn't let them be ruined by some...faceless soldier's sword. La'khay would rather just leave this war altogether." She said, almost angrily.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"What? No, I'm very busy. I have a lot of-" Marcaille began, but she stopped herself as soon as she actually turned her head to look at her visitors. "Oh, I thought you were some of the apprentices. So bothersome, that lot. Ahnasha and...Fendas, right? From the Champion's pack?"

Ahnasha answered with a bit of uncertainty, as Marcaille's response had not inspired her with confidence that questioning her now was a good idea. "Yes, though his name is Fendros, actually. Anyway, um, are you sure this is a good time to talk? We can come back tomorrow."

Marcaille waved her hand dismissively. "No, no, don't worry about that. Those apprentices just like to bother me with all sorts of trivial nonsense. I doubt you two would be here if it wasn't about something at least marginally important."

"Of course, thank you. What I wanted to ask you about was...well, your age, actually. There is something very important to me that I think you might be able to help me with." Ahnasha explained, though she could not help herself from describing her desire in such vague terms, despite the fact that Marcaille was the one person she needed to speak to in detail.

Marcaille nodded. "Okay, what would that be?"

---

With some hesitation, Peiter knocked on La'khay's door once they reached her room. Standing outside the door, he could hear some muffled noises from within, but it was difficult to make out exactly what they were. A few seconds later, La'khay's weakened, somewhat strained voice sounded out from within. "Come in." She said simply.

Even more hesitantly, Peiter slowly opened the door. With La'khay's reputation, he was worried on what they might accidentally be walking in on, but in several ways, the reality was worse than that fear. At least it would have been easy to respond to walking in on something private. La'tahne was sitting in a chair directly in front of La'khay, leaned forward with her hands clasped around La'khay's. Both of them had a sullen expression, with the fur underneath La'khay's eyes darkened by her tears. "Oh, Sabine, Peiter. It is so good to see you two safe, but...Peiter, what happened to you?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha could not help but to feel nervous as she and Fendros went in search for Marcaille. She had taken the time to speak to the Breton on a few occasions during the journey, but she had never hinted at what she wanted from her. Marcaille herself seemed to be a perfectly kind person, but the subject of necromancy was not something Ahnasha liked to discuss with anyone, and with good reason. There were few in the world who did not look down upon necromancers, so admitting that she practiced such magic could easily cause trouble for her.

Regardless of Ahnasha's worries, she shook her head when Fendros suggested that he leave. "No, I know you already don't like what I do. I know you have a hard time trusting me with this magic, so I want you to see that I have nothing to hide from you. You can listen yourself to her talk about everything I'll have to do."

The pair stepped into the laboratory, which seemed to be a personal laboratory for Marcaille, instead of the alchemists in general. The Breton was on the other side of the room at a table, and appeared to be cataloging ingredients. Ahnasha paused, looked at Fendros, and took in a deep breath as she went over in her mind how exactly she intended to ask her question of Marcaille.

---

Peiter's head perked up when Sabine broke the silence between them, though he appeared to be confused at first. "La'khay? What do you want to visit her for?" He asked, but thinking back to their time before the march answered his own question for him. "Oh, right. The painting. I guess we can go see her. Do you remember the way to her room?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, goodnight.

I think we can skip to later that night for the conversation with Marcaille. Ahnasha and Fendros would probably want to spend time with Rhazi before that. After that, we can move to their departure, and the end of the arc.

I guess the timeskip will be a sort of arc in itself, since we'll have quite a few things to do. I'm guessing one of the things you have in mind involves Fendros and Ahnasha. Newt will have his naming day, and some other things I don't want to reveal quite yet. The first thing I have in mind would come pretty soon after the skip, and I don't think there would be time for anything before it, as it is rather important. Vile's forces know of the Bruma clan's location, so that has to be dealt with.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Jo'rashaad laughed as he glanced down towards the children. "At times, but what child doesn't cause trouble? We were glad to help. You were putting your lives at risk for our benefit, so it was the least we could do. Jo'rashaad just...wishes it would not have been so costly. It looks like so many did not return..."

S'ajira nudged Jo'rashaad's side, then pointed her head to one side briefly. "Yes, of course." He said, nodding in understanding. "We definitely want to catch up, but we would like to speak to our pride leader first. Will you have time later to talk? How long is your pack going to stay with us?"

Ahnasha was scratching the back of Leaps' neck to keep him occupied while they spoke. "A few days, at least." She answered. "I think there is still some business we need to settle while we're here. Plus, it will be nice to have at least a few days rest before getting back into the desert."

"Jo'rashaad understands, definitely. He is not looking forward to the day we have to make that journey again. Hopefully we can all have time to talk soon." He responded.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth was reluctant to let go of Newt, but when he started to wriggle in her arms, she kissed the top of his head and released her grip. Being a particularly ticklish child, Newt's mouth was wide open from his laughter, so it took him a few seconds to actually be able to answer. "I was good, I promise. Rhazii is gonna...lie about it. I only got in trouble once for giving Leaps a piece of sweetcake. But I don't think I should've got in trouble. He didn't even eat it!"

It was not seconds later that Fendros was tackled by Leaps, prompting laughs from Newt, Ahnasha, and kaleeth, and something similar to a chuckle from S'ajira. Ahnasha rubbed the wamasu's back while he was enthusiastically trying to take in every last bit of Fendros' scent. "Hmm, isn't Leaps just such a good boy? I can't wait to hear about all you three have been doing while we were gone."

Kaleeth took the time to stand up next to Janius, then hug both him and Newt once more. "We should probably all find somewhere more quiet, away from the crowd." She suggested, though she did not intend to go anywhere without first speaking to Jo'rashaad and S'ajira. While she would like to catch up with them, she was sure they would be wanting to find and speak with Ra'kalesh.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Everyone in the group weaved through the crowd as quickly as they could, with Kaleeth being perhaps a bit too assertive in how she shoved past a few people. When she had her mind set on a goal, she could be quite a bit more forceful than one might expect. Newt was running alongside Rhazii towards their parents, and S'ajira was moving directly beside them to make sure no one in the crowd failed to notice them and accidentally step on them. Jo'rashaad was walking more calmly behind them, smiling at the excitement radiating from both of the children.

The moment Kaleeth saw Newt, she dropped down to one knee so that she could hug her son, who jumped up into her arms. "Mama!" He shouted gleefully once he was in her embrace, though her torso muffled his voice. Janius would likely be wanting to hold him as well, but Kaleeth was a bit too caught up in the moment to remember that detail. She was hugging him tightly, and was not intent on letting him go.

Ahnasha was right behind Fendros, so Rhazii reached him first. Compared to Kaleeth, she knelt down more calmly and slowly to get down to Rhazii's level. "It's so good to see you again. Have you been having fun here, little one?"

Behind the children, both Jo'rashaad and S'ajira breathed a shared sigh of relief. They had heard the clan leader's announcement on the memorial and the losses they had sustained before seeing any of the Champion's pack. Until this moment, they did not know if all of the children's parents had survived.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ri'vashi shook her head, then turned herself onto her back once more. "No, Ri'vashi thinks she will be fine. We enter the desert tomorrow, so if you could, make sure every spare container you see is filled with water tomorrow. There is a stream just south of camp. You may want to wash up as well; last chance for about a week until we reach the first oasis."

---

The journey through the desert was just as long and dull as it had been every other time they had made it. It was a few weeks for them to reach the Orcrest clan once more, during which time the mood around the warband only marginally. The grieving over the lost eventually subsided, but their worries on the future remained. Alchemists passed their time by reviewing the recovered notes on the enemy's new weapon; however, it was clear that the production of any kind of antidote would take quite some time to come to fruition, if it ever did at all. They had, unfortunately, not recovered a full list of the gas' ingredients, and they had only a precious few samples which they could test. As such, Meesei decided to order that the samples be locked away in secure crates until they could be taken back to the Bruma clan for study. Just as Meesei had alluded to when she spoke to Ri'vashi, she intended to gather the best alchemists they could to examine it.

What was far less ambiguous from the recovered documents was what they had insinuated about Vile's plans in Tamriel. Gallus' and Meesei's packs had touched on the documents containing the relevant information when they first found them, but had not had time to examine them in detail. In the journey through the desert, however, Meesei had plenty of time to study them, and what she discovered was almost beyond troubling. The prisoners that they had found within the fortress were not simply isolated test subjects. They were a part of a far larger operation that the enemy had been conducting for years. They had been taking captives, usually travelers or isolated farmers, turning them into lycans, then releasing them into areas where they knew the lycan clans could find them. The massive expansion of the lycan population over the last few years had been a direct result of the very enemy they had been fighting. Alone, that information would have been far more confusing than helpful, but combined with what they learned about the gas, Meesei was able to make a reasonable guess as to the purpose of such contradictory actions. The new gas was designed to rip away a lycan's soul, then send it directly to Clavicus Vile's realm without the need for any rituals or soul gems. It was something that any conventional magical or alchemical knowledge would say was impossible, but Meesei had seen the results herself. Some of the alchemists theorized that one or more of the ingredients for the gas could come from Vile's realm itself to help establish a link. Vile's followers had been building up their enemy's numbers for years so that they could quickly harvest thousands upon thousands of lycan souls for their master within the span of a few years. Since lycans were difficult to hold captive, especially in high numbers, Meesei reasoned that it was the quickest option Vile had to gain such a large number of lycan souls.

When the few weeks of traveling drew to a close, and the warband finally returned to the Orcrest clan's stronghold, their reception was a mix of happiness and grief. Given the severe losses they had taken, there were few in the clan who had not lost at least one person close to them. It was a fear that many had held in the clan during their long wait, and one they were devastated to see become reality. Ri'vashi announced that a memorial would be held in three days time, then excused herself to confer privately with Dro'cahi in order to discuss her intended departure from the clan.

The main chamber, and most of the halls and rooms surrounding it, were crowded with people looking for friends and loved ones, and Ahnasha, Fendros, Janius, and Kaleeth were all among them. S'ajira and Jo'rashaad would certainly be among the crowd with their sons; it was just a matter of finding them.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, though we can probably have that conversation in the scene at the clan.