EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I played through the Lost Spires, which is a great mod overall, but there was a part in the final sequence that was terribly designed. It was actually legitimately impossible to outrun the threat with a low speed character.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I went back and started playing Oblivion again recently, now that I have good enough modding practices not to break it immediately. I find myself reminded of questionably designed difficulty curves in some mods.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I do not intend to take all of the necessary gold from our clan alone." Meesei clarified. "We do have our connections across Tamriel, after all. Rather than to take a large sum from one clan, I will request smaller sums from many clans. As the Champion, I do have that authority. It is not an authority I have exercised before, but that should speak to its importance in this situation. We have purchased entire plots of land as investments for our own farming and businesses; I believe we can finish the payments for a single building to invest in an antidote to the most effective weapon against our kind."

Meesei understood the hesitation to spend gold if it was not strictly required, but Meesei felt that Ariel would be a lot more willing and able to help if she did not have to make any major sacrifices to do so. "We can decide the specifics of how much gold to dedicate to this once we get together an updated, accurate account of the clans' finances. For now, I just wanted to give my intentions. My pack will need to make this journey personally, though I do not expect to be away for nearly as long as our last mission." Meesei explained.

---

Saras gave a single chuckle. "Leadership? No, my first family, my first real family, was nothing like my current clan. My current skills are the result of a lifetime of challenges. I was born the unwanted son of a prostitute, and I do not know nor care who the father was. I have no ancestors, and my blood relatives are irrelevant. My family was...adoptive. I served them for over a hundred years before the Nerevarine killed them all, and cut me open." He explained, surprisingly nonchalantly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded in agreement with Oswall. "Indeed, she created the gas before there was a war, or sides to take. And I do not believe she knew it would be used by Vile when she created it. She was a member of a witch's coven who sought to cure Sabine of her lycanthropy. The story is a long one, but the most relevant facts are that she helped us destroy her version of the gas years ago, shortly after my pack killed the Orc bearing Hircine's Ring. They did re-create it years later, and of course, have now modified it into the soul-tearing gas. Even so, I believe Ariel may be the most qualified person to produce an antidote. I have no doubt she would do anything for the well-being of her sister, but even so, she may be reluctant to leave the life she has created for herself in Thorn. She is in debt to the city for her shop, so she may not even be able to leave for an extended time without incurring a bounty. With the finances the clans have accrued, however, I believe it would be appropriate to give her sufficient compensation for her time and effort. She may be more willing and able to help us if she does not have to permanently abandon another life." Meesei suggested.

In truth, Meesei disliked the idea of having to call on Ariel's aid once again. She had already helped them before, and she knew that, regardless of compensation, this would be another major disruption in her life. Meesei wanted to just allow her to live in peace, with the occasional letter or visit from Sabine, but the stakes were too high to simply ignore the help Ariel could provide.

---

"No." Saras answered quickly, and with a certain absolution to his voice. "I have never had the luxury of such bonds, and I may be a werewolf, but I am not a member of any pack." He answered. It was quite unusual to find lone werewolf who was not feral; even moreso a lone werewolf that lived among a clan. Organizing into packs and other groups was simply natural for most forms of lycans, especially werewolves. For Saras to refuse to be a part of one meant that he was consciously going against his instincts. Although, being the leader of a clan could alleviate some of those instincts.

"I find that I administer my duties most fairly when I have no such special attachments, no motivation for favoritism. Even before I became a lycan, I was trained to be a part of my family, while also being fully independent." Saras added.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Perelain looked to Vera with a distinct confidence in his expression. "I know beasts. No matter where they come from, they act in the same ways. There is always a danger when taming predators or other large creatures, but I have done it countless times. If I have a place to raise them, and learn about them, I know I can do it without any special danger. If these savage Falmer can raise and maintain their chaurus, then I know we can do it too."

Since none of the other lieutenants had disagreed with Vera, Meesei gave her input. "Then I recommend searching around for volunteers to help you with this. We can assign a few warriors to keep you reasonably safe outside the city, but I would rather that everyone involved with the project be aware of and accept the risk. And of course, if there is a risk, I expect you will be the one taking it."

"Yes ma'am. I have a few people in mind. I will not let the clan down." Perelain answered before taking his seat.

Since there were no other major projects that would require the attention of the scholars, it seemed like they would be devoting their resources to the animonculory. However, there were still other matters to discuss for this meeting, chief among which was the issue that had been at the back of their minds for months. "For the next issue...Marcaille, do you have any news to report on the soul-tearing gas?" Meesei asked.

Letting out a sigh, Marcaille placed her notes on the table so Vera and her lieutenants could pass them between one another. "We have learned about the gas, but not nearly enough. My notes describe exactly what will cause it to transition from liquid to a gas, exactly how fast it spreads and how long it takes to dissipate. I have estimates on how long it takes to kill and the minimum fatal dose, but we're not any closer to finding an antidote. Determining the ingredients used to make any potion or poison is very difficult by itself, and this one is particularly stubborn. But, I'm almost positive that some, or maybe even all, of its ingredients come from Oblivion itself. The way it reacts to different conditions is very...otherworldly. The only ingredient I can say it contains with any level of confidence is probably spiddal stick. It's one of the few ingredients that can cause that liquid-to-gas effect that the soul-tearing poison has. Glow dust and ectoplasm can also do it, but it's harder to get those on a large scale. Unfortunately, knowing that hasn't helped. Anything that we could normally do to stop it from turning to a gas doesn't seem to work. It also doesn't help that we're running very low on samples. We're being as conservative as we can, but sometimes, we have no choice but to use some of it for our experiments."

Meesei was disappointed, but understanding in the lack of results. There was a great responsibility being placed on their alchemists, and the task they needed to complete was difficult. "We can instruct the other clan, and particularly Hircine's non-lycan followers, to capture samples of the gas whenever possible, as long as we can establish a secure supply line to have the samples shipped to us. However, I believe there is something more we can do. Finding a solution to this gas is among our highest priorities, and we need to take every available option we have. This gas was likely derived from the suppression gas, so I believe we need to enlist the aid of the suppression gas' original creator."

---

Letting out a sigh, Saras somewhat reluctantly agreed, finding no excuse he could use to refuse. He did not actually mind drinking with others in his free time, but Janius' outgoing enthusiasm for it reminded him of what he viewed as some of the drunken Nord louts in his own clan. Regardless, he complied and grabbed a mug for Janius. "At the very least, there is nothing threatening us at the moment. The Silent City is acceptable, by the standards of underground lairs."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a few moments, there was silence as everyone looked around for any objections, but there were none to be had. While each lieutenant no doubt had their own opinions, none of them were closely-held enough to argue against the decision. After a few seconds, Meesei spoke up once more. "Unless another option presents itself, I believe we stand to gain the most from studying the animonculory. Of course, I do not believe we should dedicate any forces to clearing the other ruins until we know for certain that we can control the automatons. If we can, then we will simply be able to use them to hold any territory we capture in Blackreach or the adjacent ruins. As for turning them into soldiers...what are your thoughts, Brenann? Assuming we can control them, would it be possible?"

"Oh..." Brenann began, again startled by hearing his name. "Well, that was the purpose the Dwemer used them for, but...even they could not fight battles solely with their machines. They used them as supplementary forces to their armies. The automatons are not intelligent like we are, and cannot carry out complex strategies on their own. They can be likened to war beasts; they require handlers to give them instructions. I am no military strategies, but I think they would certainly help. It is just...you may need to be careful where and when you use them. The animonculory was operating in a sort of low power state before, but even if we gave it full steam power, time has taken its toll on the machinery. And it is...complicated machinery. There is no one left alive on Nirn who understands it. I doubt I could understand it entirely even if I studied it for an Elven lifetime. We can make some repairs, but our best efforts will probably only get it to produce at only about...forty percent capacity? Maybe forty-five? With enough time, we could still produce quite a few automatons, and we could greatly improve that if we find another animonculory. It is just that we might not be able to replace them exceptionally quickly."

"I see." Meesei responded. "Still, even with those limitations, I expect we could make great use of them. Not to mention the knowledge we may gain in the process. If no other project offers more, I will join personally. Speaking of, I believe we have another proposal." She said, turning her gaze to the far end of the room towards the Bosmer who had asked to join the meeting. Only those who worked closely with the scouts would likely even recognize his face. "Forgive me, but I do not know your name. You are one of our scouts, correct?"

"Yes ma'am...Champion." He answered, stepping closer to the lieutenants. "My name is Peralain. I am originally from Valenwood, but I fled all the way to Skyrim to escape the Thalmor. I was a member of the Riften clan, until recently. I was part of the first warband into Blackreach, and after living here the last few months...I have had an idea for a project. It is nothing that would take away any resources from anything else, or...any other project at least. I wouldn't need any scholars, I just need permission. You see, my family were beast tamers; it was our trade for centuries. There are very few creatures in Tamriel that cannot be trained. When we cleared this place, I saw that the Falmer had...also tamed a creature. The Chaurus. And, well, I believe I could tame them too."

Peralain's suggestion naturally caused quite a few varied and immediate reactions. One of the lieutenants, Tola, audibly scoffed. "You want to tame those giant insect monstrosities?"

Peralain held out his hands in front of him. "I know, they are quite frankly terrifying. But they're already tame; the Falmer have already done all the hard work for us. Subservience is already conditioned into each generation. We just have to take some of the eggs and train up the larvae to see us as their masters. As disgusting as they are, the Falmer build pretty much everything out of their chitin, and they are strong allies in a fight. And, we already know they can easily live down here in Blackreach."

---

Saras was both surprised and somewhat uncomfortable at being stopped by Janius. He was generally a reserved and serious individual, and while he was not unemotional by any means, he tended to conduct himself professionally at all times. His clan was well-aware of his personality, but he supposed that Janius was not a part of his clan. And seeing as he was a member of the Champion's pack, he was not someone that he was going to ignore. Besides which, he had just finished the duties he had been tending to.

"Um...I suppose I do have some time." Saras answered in a neutral tone. "Aside from ale, is there something specific you want to talk about?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The aminunculory were in vanilla, I think, but they were basically just sections of the ruins that, in lore, produced automatons. It is never said explicitly, but I reason that for ruins to still have automatons after a few thousand years, they would need to be able to make more on their own.

Now, the Aetherium was part of Dawnguard. It is a strange, glowing material that can only be forged in the Aetherium forge. It can make a few unique Dwemer items, but the exact nature of its power is never explained in game.

Oh, and I suppose we should do something with Saras. I just can't think of a way to bring up his past in a way that makes sense. He wouldn't hide it if asked (at least if asked by someone important).

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Yes, of course." Brenann answered quickly, nodding to Darahil. "We can activate or deactivate the animonculory at will. We don't know if any of the other ruins connected to Blackreach have active animonculory, as we have only been able to study Raldbthar. I know the entrance to Alftand is to the northeast of the Silent City, and I have translated references to the city of Mzinchaleft as well. If those ruins are secured, we may be able to tell you more."

"This one believes her scouts have found the entrances of the ruins you speak of as they mapped Blackreach, but this one has not sent any force into the ruins themselves. The one to the northeast, Alftand, is likely home to more Falmer, according to the reports. However, if it would be useful to us, this one could organize a warband to clear the ruins, but that would also mean having to guard new pathways between the Silent City and these ruins. The more locations we secure in this cavern, the more spread thin our warriors become." Ri'vashi explained.

Given the progress made so far, Meesei was cautiously optimistic about what their scholars might achieve. "If it becomes necessary, I can call for more warriors to join us from other clans, but there may be another option. Our scouts have noticed that the Falmer tend to avoid the automatons by habit, or perhaps superstition. If the ruins are still producing the machines, it makes sense. If we could learn to command the automatons ourselves, assign them to patrol the paths between the entrances and the Silent City, then that would relieve us of most of our problems with manpower. Automatons do not require food, or sleep, and do not become bored. I am sure there is something needed to power them, but with how long they have remained active, we can likely keep them working for much longer at once than a person. Unless any other projects are more appealing, I recommend putting the Aetherium project on hold and focusing our resources on learning how to control the automatons."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, I typed that when my internet was out and forgot to fix it when I posted it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Once everyone who was interested had seen the Aetherium shard, she took it once more and held it up in front of her. “I believe I should clarify that Aetherium, as the Dwarves used it, may not necessarily have been indestructible. We have not found a way to break this crest, or Aetherium in its raw form, but it may not be as durable once forged. None of the Dwemer sources seem to refer to it as being indestructible. It does, however, hold a great deal of power. Unfortunately, we do not know what that power might be. The sources we have are not specific, though if it originates from Aetherius, as the name suggests, then it may hold power outside the bounds of normal magic. But, with the number of unknowns, I would not recommend making this a priority. We do not know if this Aetherium forge is even still intact, and if it is damaged, we are unlikely to be able to repair it. It is certainly an avenue of research I would like to pursue in the future, but for now, I believe some of the others have more tangible discoveries. Brenann, you have something for us?”

Standing alongside the table, the short Breton man practically jumped when he heard his name. He was one of the scholars of the Dwemer that had accepted Meeseir’s request to join the Blackreach clan. He wore a loose brown robe, despite the fact that the still-active Dwemer machinery made the air in the Silent City somewhat warm. Interestingly, he was not actually a lycan, but rather, his sister was a lycan in one of the Hamerfell clans, which happened to also use a smaller Dwemer ruin as its clanhome. Given that he had lived peacefully among the clan for the past ten years, he was deemed to be trustworthy. He swallowed nervously, and held up a parchment of notes in front of himself. “Oh, yes, of course…Champion. Um…let’s see…”

Looking through his notes, Brenann took a deep breath before beginning to read directly from them. It was quite obvious that he was uncomfortable being the center of attention. “As you all know, um, probably. Probably know…we have been working on restoring function to the Silent City’s ancient machinery. Dwemer machines are incredibly complex, and even the…brightest of today’s scholars cannot understand their more complex creations. But, we do have enough understanding to at least maintain…some of the machines. One of these is the pumping station. Now that the rubble has been cleared, we were able to repair some of the more important pipes and get steam power flowing through the system once more. As of yesterday, the Silent City once more has water flowing through it, and at least half of the fountains are functional again. We hope to find the blockages to the rest of the fountains and have them repaired in the next few weeks. We have also been studying the lifts, and finally found the mechanisms to lower or raise them without needing to pull the lever on the lift itself. So, we won’t need to assign anyone to lift duty anymore. We also believe we have enough of an understanding of their mechanisms to repair them if they happen to break, but with how long they have survived so far, we believe that is unlikely. But, our must exciting discovery so far has been…” He began, turning briefly towards the crate beside him before nudging one of the much taller Nords that had helped carry it in. “Ulfar…open the thing.” He whispered.

The Nord pried off the side of the crate, then rolled out a seemingly inactive, but undamaged Dwemer sphere from within. “We have discovered that Raldbthar’s animunculory is still active, and has been building new automatons as the old ones are destroyed. We believe it was set to maintain a certain number of the machines at all times. It is why we still ran into them occasionally in Raldbthar, even after we cleared the ruin. We have shut down steam power to it, so it is no longer producing automatons, but we have also been studying it non-stop. It is…complex beyond anything I, or any of the other Dwemer scholars, have ever seen. We have been selectively powering parts of it for our experiments, and we managed to produce this.” He explained, motioning to the automaton beside him. After a brief pause, he delivered a light kick to the side of the sphere, which prompted it to suddenly come to “life” and deploy itself into its more humanoid form. Although, unlike other machines of its kind the clan had encountered in the past, it did nothing more than roll back and forth in place.

Even Meesei was visibly impressed with the machine. She clasped her hands together and leaned forward onto the table. “So you have managed to take control of the animunculory and produce a full automaton of your own; I will say that is certainly more than I expected. Does it follow your commands?”

“Um…no.” Brenann answered in an almost embarrassed voice. “It…doesn’t really listen to us at all. Or do much of anything other than pack and unpack itself into a sphere. But, it also isn’t hostile, which shows we can successfully modify their behavior. I think the problem with this one is that it doesn’t have a…mind, so to speak. No one understands exactly how automatons function, but there is something within them that controls their decision making. Some scholars believe that the soul gems found inside each of them are what serve as their center of thought, and I am inclined to agree. The soul gem in this automaton is empty, and it does not do anything beyond basic reactions to simple stimuli. What we do not yet know is how to ensure that an automaton we produce with a filled soul gem would actually be allied to us. That will require much more research.”