EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With the sight they were witnessing, even the normally-stoic Saras was showing his amazement. "We could fit every lycan in Tamriel in here, and still have plenty of space. In all my centuries, I have not witnessed a place like this. Even the Deadlands do not compare."

It was Janius' growl that brought most of them back into reality. There were distinctive, foul scents in the air which were unmistakable. Just like Raldbthar above, this cavern was home to the Falmer. Their eyes had adjusted to the lighting of the place, so they could see clearly enough to know that there were none in the immediate area, but they were still not safe.

Lorag had been just as impressed as anyone else, but it did not take long for him to start to look frustrated. "Look, as amazin' as this place is, how in Oblivion is some giant cavern full of murderous Elves gonna help us? This place is gigantic, and if we try to set up down here, we're goin' to be sharing the place with the Falmer. There's no way we're going to be clearing out this whole place."

"We would not have been sent here if it did not have some redeeming quality." Meesei answered confidently. "It is certainly large enough that the soul-tearing gas could not possibly fill it like in other caverns. We may as well be outside, in that respect. And I would be willing to bet that there are other exits to this place. There must be somewhere we will be safe, or some way to make it safe. Perhaps...do you see that yellow glow in the distance? It is too far away to see the source clearly, but it is obviously a Dwemer source of light. And quite a large one, if we can see it from here. If you recall in Raldbthar, the Falmer and the automatons did not co-exist. There were no Falmer in the upper ruins, where the automatons were still active, and they had locked away the centurion. Perhaps if there are still automatons down here, we can find a place without Falmer? Regardless, I see a spot across that river, on the other side of those bridges, that is open enough for the warband to form up. Lorag, head back up and tell Hjergir to bring everyone down. The rest of us will head across the river and make sure there are no Falmer to ambush us."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, and if you're taking a more realistic interpretation of scale, the place is massive. It connects to ruins far apart across Winterhold and the Pale.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei’s looked down the stairway contemplatively. “I cannot say. The Falmer we have encountered in this ruin would certainly not have been able to access whatever lies below without one of these spheres, but we do not know what we are stepping into. The Dwemer name refers to it as the ‘Blackest Kingdom Reaches’, but whatever that means, we will not know until we see it for ourselves. Needless to say, we should be cautious. Let us form up and get moving. Ri’vashi, you have the lead.”

Although there was some reluctance in Ri’vashi’s eyes, there was no hesitation in her actions. With her size, armor, and shield, she was the best candidate to protect those behind her, the first of which was Meesei to provide magical protection. Although they had to move in single-file, they still kept up a reasonable sort of formation for when they emerged from the stairway. Kaleeth showed just as much uncertainty towards the stairway as Janius, as they both had the same thoughts on the matter. However, it was quite a distance for her to double back for her equipment, and she did not want to move forward unprotected. So, she decided to attempt to follow in her current form. Her beast alone would not have been able to make it down, but in a rational mindset, she could maneuver herself to squeeze through, albeit just barely. She had to walk sideways to compress herself as much as possible, but while slow and uncomfortable, it allowed her to join the rest of her pack.

It took a while to maneuver down, deeper into the ruin, but when they finally reached their destination, it was clear they were no longer in Raldbthar. Instead, the tight, closed in ruin opened up into an absolutely massive chamber. As they stepped out of a door and onto a metal platform, even Meesei stopped to stare out into the expanse before them in awe. To call it a cavern would be a monumental understatement; it was more like another world hidden underneath Skyrim. Just from what they could see, it was filled with gigantic mushrooms similar to those in Morrowind, but glowing bright blue. The roof of the cavern far above them was dotted with the glowing fungus as well, though it was much too distant for them to see clearly. There were several Dwemer structures within view, including one nearby built in the middle of a surprisingly large, flowing underground river. Everything around them was lit mostly by the fungus, so the entirety of the cavern had a blue tinge to it, except for an area in the far distance. The cavern’s size was such that they could not even see a hint of the other side from where they were standing, but there did appear to be a faint, yellowish glow in the distance. Something closer to Dwemer lights.

“Where…do we even start?” Ahnasha commented.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei looked at the sphere, considering her options. "Mora said that this sphere would give us access to our new home. I may not trust him, but our lord Hircine has not led us astray thusfar."

Meanwhile, Lorag had partially opened the door to the right to peer inside. Fortunately, there were no traps or automatons on the other side to ambush him. "Hmm, looks like it's a dead end over here. I see some kind of weird glowing disk thing, but it doesn't look like there's anywhere to go in here."

Meesei nodded. If the right path led nowhere, then that left only the lift and the device. The shaft for the lift opened up above it, so it seemed like the lift might lead back up closer to the surface. Although, it was possible that it could head down as well. Regardless, she had made her decision. "Just stand back. We do not know what this device does."

The moment that Meesei slotted the sphere into the pedestal, the metal rings on the device began to spin around one another, and the floor beneath Meesei began to shift. She stepped back reflexively, but she quickly realized that it was not a danger. Rather, the floor descended to form stairs leading down deeper into the ruin. They were somewhat narrow, so the warband would have to move down in single-file.

"Hmm...it would probably be best for us to scout ahead, rather than to try to have everyone file down at once." Meesei commented.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

At first, the centurion appeared to be suffering enough damage that it wouldn't even reach the front line. However, the pack's concern increased with every step it took. It wouldn't die. The huge weapons that protruded from each of its arms looked like they could cut swathes through their formation. By the time it closed in, no one exactly expected for the blast of steam.

Sabine covered her head in her hands and closed her eyes, trying to charge her own ward. When she opened her eyes and realised that Meesei was single-handedly deflecting blocking the scalding cloud, she leapt into action. Sabine layered her ward with Meesei's in an attempt to assist her.

The warband behind began to back off a pace. They were disciplined enough to keep their formation, but they didn't know how to handle this huge creation. Fendros took the opportunity to line up a shot. He had noticed that some armour plates had flipped open to reveal the steam valves that were blasting them. It was hard to see them, but he believed he could fire an arrow into them. He held his arrow drawn back, waiting for the blast to stop, and then released.

The much-needed assistance from Sabine helped Meesei to maintain her ward against the centurion’s attack, and once they realized they were safe, the warband responded in turn. Fendros’ arrow was followed by another volley, though it was his arrow that found the greatest effect. It was difficult to tell through the steam what exactly it hit, but the steam flow stopped immediately and it gave off another, high-pitched sound. Spellfire followed once more, bathing the machine in a mix of lightning and fire, which was finally enough to bring it to its end. A loud explosion sounded out through the chamber as one of the major pipes within the machine burst, blowing open its torso and sending scrap metal flying out in all directions. A few found their way into the warband, the most damage they caused was bruising.

As the now-destroyed centurion was collapsing to the ground in front of them, the remaining Falmer in the room tried to flee across the drawbridge. However, without any cover or room to maneuver, arrows and spells cut them down quickly and efficiently. Unless there were more farther in, it seemed as if they had killed the last of the creatures.

Despite the surprise of facing a Dwemer centurion, Meesei did not wish to delay. She did not want to assume that they had slain the last of the Falmer, and given that the warband was now going to have to cross a narrow drawbridge, she wanted to allow as little time as possible for a counterattack. Meesei’s pack, along with Hjergir and a few of his warriors, took the lead across the bridge. There was a Dwemer chest near where the centurion had been waiting, but there were more important matters than their curiosity for the moment.

In the next room, there were two, easily-dispatched Dwemer spiders, another lift to their left, and a door to their right. There were a set of shelves running most of the way around the room, on which were various chests, ruined books, old potions, broken Dwemer spiders and other pieces of Dwemer metal, a complete Dwemer helmet, and even a solid gold ingot. However, what caught Meesei’s interest the most was the strange device at the center of the room. It was on a square slab elevated from the floor, with a pedestal that contained a familiar-looking slot. Reaching into one of her pouches, Meesei produced the attunement sphere given to them by the Hermeus Mora cultists. By appearances, it looked to be the exact same size as the slot.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

By the time the centurion started advancing, enough of the warband had filed into the chamber to give well over a dozen archers and mages clear view to fire upon the machine. It was struck repeatedly, all across its body with both magic and spells. Everyone aimed for weak points, though most arrows deflecting harmlessly off of its armor plates. Due to its sheer size, the ability of a single arrow to stagger the automaton was negligible, but with the entire volley combined, it was certainly slowed down. As well, some of the arrows did manage to find their way to its weaker points. It's knees were well-protected by armor, but the equivalent of its elbows were quite exposed, in addition to the point at which its torso could rotate over its lower body. It was durable enough that the arrows striking there did not destroy the joints, but their range of motion was damaged. As for the spellfire, it took a more immediate toll on the machine's components. Lightning, flames, and explosive fireballs assaulted the centurion from all angles in front of it. The automaton started to give off a high-pitched whistle from the steam expanding beyond its pipes within it, while damage to the gears within its legs caused its pace to slow to a crawl as it finally made it across the bridge in front of it. Even the metal it was made from was beginning to become misshapen from the intense heat being focused upon it.

The centurion's gears were grinding loudly and it was bellowing steam, but it was holding on to a spark of "life." Stopping in front of their lines, it emitted a stream of superheated steam straight towards them. Fortunately, Meesei had just enough reaction time to realize what was happening and project a sizable ward in front of them. However, she did not have the opportunity to charge it completely, so it was not at full strength, and she was struggling to maintain it against the sustained attack.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Just before Fendros could walk away fully, Ahnasha gave one last soft, but stern comment. "You don't get to make mistakes like that, just say 'I'm sorry', then pretend it's all alright. Those mistakes can get people killed. After this is all over, we're going to have some new training."

Since, physically speaking, her pack seemed to be in good enough condition, Meesei was getting ready to form up and continue their advance into the ruin. Her answer to Fendros was quick and to the point. "We encountered a large number of Falmer and their tamed insects. It was more than we expected, but we held long enough for reinforcements. Ideally, we should move quickly before the Falmer have time to regroup, if they even have the capacity for such strategy. We are going to continue just as before and lead from the front. As soon as the entirety of the warband is down the lift, we advance. Now, let us get into our positions.

Meesei's pack headed to the upper part of the chamber and rejoined with Ri'vashi's group, which was followed shortly by Hjergir. Their lines had shifted somewhat, as they now had some of their number in lycan form. When used properly, werebeasts could be of benefit to an organized formation, but they also required special consideration in terms of protection, particularly against enemies that used poison. Other than Kaleeth, most of the lycans did not have any special protections against poisons, apart from the fact that their greater size required greater doses. As such, mages and shield bearers still took the lead to protect against ranged threats. Transformed lycans tended to stay in the second line back so they could quickly move forward, deal damage, then retreat back behind the shields.

It took some time for the rest of the warband to make their way to the upper part of the chamber, even after they were all down the lift, but as soon as they were in formation, their advance through the ruin was all but unstoppable. The Falmer, while certainly deadly to small groups, were barely more effective against an organized force than the automatons had been. Stray arrows and spells from their shamans caused a few wounds, but for the most part, the Falmer had no way of breaking their lines or outmaneuvering them, particularly in the relatively tight corridors of the Dwarven ruin. Meesei, Ri'vashi, and Hjergir all agreed to move cautiously, but they were certainly moving steadily.

Eventually, the warband found their way into another open chamber, to which the Falmer had been retreating the entire way. The warband had cut down most of those they had fought thusfar, so just over a dozen remained in the last chamber. A large portion of the chamber was a body of water, with a sort of Dwemer drawbridge raised up on the far side. Curiously, there were a series of gears built into the walls and columns spread around the chamber, from which Falmer were removing bones that had been wedged inside to stop them from turning properly. On the near side of the water, there was a button on a pedestal, which a Falmer shaman pressed as soon as the warband stepped through the gate.

The button activated the mechanism that lowered the drawbridge over the water, which revealed one of the most fearsome of Dwemer machines: a centurion. It was two to three times the height of an average person, and much more massive, moreso than any lycan. Steam bellowed from the automaton as it sparked to life, and it did not take long at all for it to take in its surroundings. Meanwhile, the Falmer fled to the far corners of the room to hide, perhaps hoping that the machine would place its focus on their lycan attackers before turning its attention on them. The centurion was certainly the most dangerous foe they had faced so far, but Meesei did not show any signs of being nervous. The centurion would have to cross the entire chamber to reach them, and the warband had a small army's worth of archers and mages that could all focus their efforts onto such a large target at once.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

After eating their breakfast, Ssarak and Meirin headed fairly quickly to Lucilia’s office to receive their briefing on the mission. As expected, it followed from what they had learned on their previous mission, and they would have quite a few responsibilities this time. Attending both a gala and a coronation; potentially preventing an assassination, and solving some other undescribed problem. Then, after all of that, they would need to prepare for a small war against demons. Certainly, it was all drastically different from the guard duty they had last time. This type of political mission was, at the very least, well-suited for a skilled psychomancer, so he would still be in his element for these tasks.

Ssarak’s more immediate concerns turned to his preparations for the mission. His own wardrobe was distinctly lacking in any real variety, much less anything that would be appropriate for either a gala or coronation, so he had to make use of Lucilia’s voucher. He needed to tailor his appearance to what would most impress the Baron and his court, which ended up being a stranger outfit than he had imagined. Evidently, among Djarkel’s ruling class, there was resistance to any sort of fashion that seemed too “safe.” They respected an appearance that was bold, visually interesting, and even outlandish. The average suits and dresses would not be enough to impress Djarkel nobility, so he and the other diplomats would need to be creative in their attire. After receiving advice from both Lucilia and Meirin, Ssarak settled on something completely divergent from his normal style. It had a bright violet shirt with a tight silver waistband, open at the chest and back, along with a pair of tight-fitting silk pants. It also had a belt, though its only real functionality was to hide his dagger.

In addition to new clothes, Ssarak also purchased a simple tabard bearing the symbol of the College to wear over his armor at other points during the mission. He did not want to give off the appearance of being a simple mercenary, so wearing something bearing the insignia of the College would make him seem more ‘official.” Though he was a warrior, he was also meant to be a diplomat in this case, and in diplomacy, appearances were half the battle. Otherwise, Ssarak stocked up on as many of the usual basic supplies as he could carry. He wasted no space, as he would prefer to have a surplus of supplies than a shortage in the event of an emergency.

It was shortly before nightfall that Ssarak made his way to the carriages, fully armed and armored. He had his new clothing packed tightly away in the center of his bags for their protection due to their value. He was not wearing his tabard either, since he would not need it until they were in Djarkel. This time, he and the other students would be the primary cargo instead of trade goods, so there was plenty of room for them in the carriages.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha did not yell. Indeed, her voice became softer, but much more stern. She crossed her arms, glaring at Fendros as if she were disappointed in him. "Fendros, a mage like Meesei or Sabine can pull a lever with telekinesis. Or I could summon a scamp and get it to pull it. None of us had to be on that elevator. You could have stayed and helped us, but you left so quickly I didn't even have time to try and stop you."

Kaleeth was fully aware and in control of her beast by this point, so she was in the right mind to know that she needed to keep Janius calm. Regardless of whether or not Meesei and Sabine were finished with their healing, she helped Janius up to his feet, then guided him over to the Falmer corpses outside the fountain. There was no escaping the smell of blood, but he could satisfy his hunger.

More groups were coming down the lift, and they were nearing the point where the entire warband would be ready to move once more. Ri'vashi had secured the upper part of the chamber uncontested and was guarding the one exit she had found. The narrow bridges above them would be rather perilous for a large group to attempt to cross while under attack, but as long as there were no secret entrances to the chamber, they would be able to get everyone across unopposed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As Sabine went about dealing with the acid burn, Meesei took the time to examine the rest of Kaleeth's body. Kaleeth, in her lycan form, was an easy target to hit, but was also exceptionally durable. In addition to thick scales, she had enough muscle on her body that normally serious wounds became flesh wounds. It did not diminish the pain those wounds would cause, but she had evidently found a way to cope with pain.

When Ri'vashi passed by Meesei, she took a moment to catch her attention. Since the lift could only hold so many warriors at once, it would take some time to regroup with all of their number, and Meesei did not like the fact that they were currently trapped with the low ground. It was doubtful that the Falmer could overwhelm their current numbers in any case, but Meesei still wanted to protect her warriors. "Ri'vashi, take a group or two up to the upper ring of this chamber and make sure it is clear, then find and guard the exits. Hjergir can get the rest of the warriors in formation down here once they arrive." Meesei requested, to which Ri'vashi quickly agreed.

For a few moments, Ahnasha debated on whether or not she wanted to answer Fendros at all. However, they would not be going anywhere until everyone from above could get down the lift, and Fendros probably was not going to give up in that time. "Why did you go up with the lift? Why didn't you stay here to help us? We could have died down here!"