Doubt that kind of shapeshifting was ever widespread. I know it is something practiced by the Glenmoril witches, though. In Morrowind, a few of them appear to you in game as ravens.
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Marcaille would teach any member of the Champion's pack anything they wanted to know. Particularly after work on the cure stopped taking up so much of her days. She's naturally not the type to be completely subordinate, but she believes helping the Champion's pack to be worth her time. The only real question would be if Sabine would have wanted to learn.
With as many of them as they had working together to tail the Breton, they were able to follow him in a way that prevented any one person from being in his line of sight too frequently. It required considerable coordination to make sure no one made any missteps, but Fendros seemed to be up to the challenge. While they were following him, they found no signs of anyone else doing the same, so unless there was another group even more adept at staying hidden that them, or they were the only ones to have currently picked up on this lead.
As the Breton's garments suggested, he did not stay in the lower class district for long. Instead, he headed into a market district, and eventually into a tailor's shop that likely doubled as his home. The two teams Fendros had split the group into converged and observed the shop from the outside, carefully. It was past dark and there were not many people on the streets, but if a group of their size was caught taking close interest in a shop after dark, most people would assume the worst.
After a minute or so, the candles they could see glowing through the ground floor windows were extinguished, but not long afterwards, another was lit in a window on the floor above. There was nothing obstructing them from peering through inside, except for the fact that it would be difficult to climb up. Not impossible, by any means, but the horizontal wooden beams on which one could stand protruded from the wall only slightly. The group could help to boost one person up, but they would need to be careful not to lose their balance.
Colors crossed his arms as he looked up at the window from across the street. "I'd like to find a way to look inside, see if this guy is really the one we're looking for. But...we probably also don't want to be seen climbing up some shopkeeper's house. That would look pretty obvious from the outside. Need a way to look in without being noticed."
"I could climb it. Maybe not in this dress, but I remember climbing harder things than that back when I lived in Black Marsh." Kaleeth commented. "But, it would be easy to see me."
Pondering a moment, Kaleeth looked to Sabine curiously. "Sabine, I...don't suppose Marcaille ever taught you to do that thing where she turns herself into a crow? Or some kind of bird?"
Malithus seemed confused. "Into a bird? Like those stories of witches in the wilds that can turn themselves in to ravens? That's not just a myth?"
As the Breton's garments suggested, he did not stay in the lower class district for long. Instead, he headed into a market district, and eventually into a tailor's shop that likely doubled as his home. The two teams Fendros had split the group into converged and observed the shop from the outside, carefully. It was past dark and there were not many people on the streets, but if a group of their size was caught taking close interest in a shop after dark, most people would assume the worst.
After a minute or so, the candles they could see glowing through the ground floor windows were extinguished, but not long afterwards, another was lit in a window on the floor above. There was nothing obstructing them from peering through inside, except for the fact that it would be difficult to climb up. Not impossible, by any means, but the horizontal wooden beams on which one could stand protruded from the wall only slightly. The group could help to boost one person up, but they would need to be careful not to lose their balance.
Colors crossed his arms as he looked up at the window from across the street. "I'd like to find a way to look inside, see if this guy is really the one we're looking for. But...we probably also don't want to be seen climbing up some shopkeeper's house. That would look pretty obvious from the outside. Need a way to look in without being noticed."
"I could climb it. Maybe not in this dress, but I remember climbing harder things than that back when I lived in Black Marsh." Kaleeth commented. "But, it would be easy to see me."
Pondering a moment, Kaleeth looked to Sabine curiously. "Sabine, I...don't suppose Marcaille ever taught you to do that thing where she turns herself into a crow? Or some kind of bird?"
Malithus seemed confused. "Into a bird? Like those stories of witches in the wilds that can turn themselves in to ravens? That's not just a myth?"
Yeah, didn't have any specific conversation in mind at that point. Though, I believe Arthon and Nelise stayed back at camp to watch their belongings.
While the investigation was certainly not starting out as most of the group likely suspected, it was not an entirely unwelcome change of pace. There was considerably less risk in lounging around a tavern having drinks and holding idle conversation than the pack's usual missions. In the hours they spent waiting, Malithus and the members of his pack who were with him shared more about themselves, in appropriately covert terms. They were not the strongest pack in the Evermore clan in terms of fighting ability, but they were among the best suited in the clan for more subtle work. It was the usual case that clan alphas would assign their most talented packs to aid the Champion's pack.
Color's information, fortunately, did not seem to be incorrect. At least, they were able to easily confirm that part of it was correct. Occasionally, someone from the tavern would walk through the door next to the bar, with no reaction from the bartender. Generally between ten and twenty minutes later, they would emerge. Some would stay in the tavern and rejoin their own acquaintances, while others would just leave straight away. But, in every case, they would have the distinct scent of moon sugar or skooma emanating faintly from them. It could be a challenge even for a lycan's sharp senses to discern the smell depending on how well-sealed the substance was, but between the six of them, at least a few of them would always catch the scent.
It was growing rather late in the evening. It was past nightfall, though there were still patrons entering and leaving the tavern in perhaps even greater numbers than before. As had happened several times that day, a Breton man who had been in the room for about half an hour slipped into room they were watching. His clothing made him appear somewhat better-off than the majority of the patrons, but that was not entirely unique in the district. A few of those that had visited the black market dealer looked like they had some coin to spare. However, after this one returned to the main room, everyone at the pack's table looked back and forth at one another, but none of them gave the nod to indicate that they had picked up a scent. This was their first potential success, and it would be up to Fendros to decide how to respond. The Breton left the inn almost immediately, so he would have to decide quickly.
Color's information, fortunately, did not seem to be incorrect. At least, they were able to easily confirm that part of it was correct. Occasionally, someone from the tavern would walk through the door next to the bar, with no reaction from the bartender. Generally between ten and twenty minutes later, they would emerge. Some would stay in the tavern and rejoin their own acquaintances, while others would just leave straight away. But, in every case, they would have the distinct scent of moon sugar or skooma emanating faintly from them. It could be a challenge even for a lycan's sharp senses to discern the smell depending on how well-sealed the substance was, but between the six of them, at least a few of them would always catch the scent.
It was growing rather late in the evening. It was past nightfall, though there were still patrons entering and leaving the tavern in perhaps even greater numbers than before. As had happened several times that day, a Breton man who had been in the room for about half an hour slipped into room they were watching. His clothing made him appear somewhat better-off than the majority of the patrons, but that was not entirely unique in the district. A few of those that had visited the black market dealer looked like they had some coin to spare. However, after this one returned to the main room, everyone at the pack's table looked back and forth at one another, but none of them gave the nod to indicate that they had picked up a scent. This was their first potential success, and it would be up to Fendros to decide how to respond. The Breton left the inn almost immediately, so he would have to decide quickly.
Malithus was briefly surprised when Fendros directed his attention to him. "Oh, we'll follow your lead, sir. I've no better plan. Sounds like we might need to be careful about whoever we follow, in case they're not who we're looking for. We should probably make sure that whoever seems the least...out of place are the ones that follow them."
Colors shrugged. "I guess it's possible that someone might buy neither. But, probably not that likely. Like I said, most people who go to her are there for the sugar, and the next biggest group is looking for trinkets. On the bright side, no one you follow is going to be the type to report you to the guard."
"What does moon sugar actually smell like, again? Or skooma? It's been a long time since I've been in Elsweyr, and I haven't run into it anywhere else really." Kaleeth asked.
Without hesitation, Colors reached back into his pack and, after a few moments, produced a small pastry and offered it to Kaleeth. "Here, this has moon sugar in it. Pass it around to everyone so we know what we're looking for. Skooma smells kind of like that, just a lot harsher."
Kaleeth raised her brow towards Colors. "And you just have this with you?"
"I'm...prepared." Colors remarked.
---
Evermore was not the largest city the pack had been to by far, but it was a respectable city. It was a walled city, with a fairly impressive gatehouse through which they entered into the city proper. It showed its Imperial influence in its architecture, though it was not entirely like a Cyrodilic city. Breton styles were by far the most apparent, compared to those of the Orcs and Redguards that also inhabited the city. The buildings were a mix of stone and wooden structures with tall, sharply angled roofs. It was crowded at the current time of day, but Malithus had been to the city more than enough times to be able to guide them to the inn that Colors described. Naturally, the black market dealer did not establish her business in the most affluent part of town, so they had to make their wait into a lower class area. Again, it was not the worst slum the pack had visited, but there was a certain sense of danger for being foreigners in that district.
Fortunately, the group was not wearing expensive clothing, so they did not seem all that out of place when they made their way into the inn. It was actually a fairly large and old building, perhaps from a time when the district was a bit more prosperous. There were tables both in the main room with the bar, and more upstairs on a balcony area that overlooked half of the main room. The inn's rooms, meanwhile, were in the basement. Colors took care of renting rooms for them, after which they offloaded the majority of their bags into the rooms. There was no guarantee they would even be staying for the night, but even so, they had to rent enough rooms so as not to be suspicious. Three was enough that they could share rooms between seven people and not be too uncomfortable. Heading back upstairs, they left Shurgrag downstairs to guard their belongings from any would-be thieves, just in case.
They had to pull a chair from another table, but they were able to find a table in the main room to accommodate the six of them. Though, they would most likely end up spreading more across the room soon enough. Once they were all seated, Colors gave a subtle motion towards a door just to the right of the bar. "Over there is where I heard she operates from. Anyone going in there is probably buying from here. Keep your nose sharp." He whispered.
Colors shrugged. "I guess it's possible that someone might buy neither. But, probably not that likely. Like I said, most people who go to her are there for the sugar, and the next biggest group is looking for trinkets. On the bright side, no one you follow is going to be the type to report you to the guard."
"What does moon sugar actually smell like, again? Or skooma? It's been a long time since I've been in Elsweyr, and I haven't run into it anywhere else really." Kaleeth asked.
Without hesitation, Colors reached back into his pack and, after a few moments, produced a small pastry and offered it to Kaleeth. "Here, this has moon sugar in it. Pass it around to everyone so we know what we're looking for. Skooma smells kind of like that, just a lot harsher."
Kaleeth raised her brow towards Colors. "And you just have this with you?"
"I'm...prepared." Colors remarked.
---
Evermore was not the largest city the pack had been to by far, but it was a respectable city. It was a walled city, with a fairly impressive gatehouse through which they entered into the city proper. It showed its Imperial influence in its architecture, though it was not entirely like a Cyrodilic city. Breton styles were by far the most apparent, compared to those of the Orcs and Redguards that also inhabited the city. The buildings were a mix of stone and wooden structures with tall, sharply angled roofs. It was crowded at the current time of day, but Malithus had been to the city more than enough times to be able to guide them to the inn that Colors described. Naturally, the black market dealer did not establish her business in the most affluent part of town, so they had to make their wait into a lower class area. Again, it was not the worst slum the pack had visited, but there was a certain sense of danger for being foreigners in that district.
Fortunately, the group was not wearing expensive clothing, so they did not seem all that out of place when they made their way into the inn. It was actually a fairly large and old building, perhaps from a time when the district was a bit more prosperous. There were tables both in the main room with the bar, and more upstairs on a balcony area that overlooked half of the main room. The inn's rooms, meanwhile, were in the basement. Colors took care of renting rooms for them, after which they offloaded the majority of their bags into the rooms. There was no guarantee they would even be staying for the night, but even so, they had to rent enough rooms so as not to be suspicious. Three was enough that they could share rooms between seven people and not be too uncomfortable. Heading back upstairs, they left Shurgrag downstairs to guard their belongings from any would-be thieves, just in case.
They had to pull a chair from another table, but they were able to find a table in the main room to accommodate the six of them. Though, they would most likely end up spreading more across the room soon enough. Once they were all seated, Colors gave a subtle motion towards a door just to the right of the bar. "Over there is where I heard she operates from. Anyone going in there is probably buying from here. Keep your nose sharp." He whispered.
"Uh, well..." Colors began, but he had no immediate answer for Fendros. He concentrated, his teeth clenched together as he rubbed his head, but there were no brilliant answers coming to him. "That's a hard one. I mean, it's not like Justicars and bounty hunters are usually lycans, but we also can't go around telling people that. These people are rightly paranoid, though. They can be killed if the wrong person learns about them. Kind of like lycans, really, and you know how hard we can be to find. And they don't have a unique scent."
"They do have those unique amulets though, right?" Kaleeth interjected. "The first person you told us about, the black market dealer, you said she sells amulets. And those small shrines. If we find someone who has one of those, then that would be a pretty good way to identify them."
Colors shook his head lightly, unconvinced. "Yeah, but they're hardly going to carry them openly. If there was an easy way to track those trinkets, the Thalmor would never have any problem finding them. There's nothing about them that we could just sniff out from a crowd, but..." Suddenly, Colors perked up his head as another idea come to mind. "But we can sniff out other things. Obviously an enchanted amulet doesn't have a particular smell, but that black market dealer I mentioned, she sells mostly moon sugar and skooma. Those have very particular scents, but they're not something a Talos worshiper would likely be interested in. So, if someone goes to her and buys something, but doesn't smell like moon sugar, then they probably bought a trinket from her. We can just rent some rooms at the inn and stay there, maybe have some drinks in the tavern and act like we belong, all the while keeping watch on who visits the dealer. When someone visits and leaves without a smell, we have someone follow them. They'll probably be scared by that, but we can probably find a way to calm them once we can talk to them."
"They do have those unique amulets though, right?" Kaleeth interjected. "The first person you told us about, the black market dealer, you said she sells amulets. And those small shrines. If we find someone who has one of those, then that would be a pretty good way to identify them."
Colors shook his head lightly, unconvinced. "Yeah, but they're hardly going to carry them openly. If there was an easy way to track those trinkets, the Thalmor would never have any problem finding them. There's nothing about them that we could just sniff out from a crowd, but..." Suddenly, Colors perked up his head as another idea come to mind. "But we can sniff out other things. Obviously an enchanted amulet doesn't have a particular smell, but that black market dealer I mentioned, she sells mostly moon sugar and skooma. Those have very particular scents, but they're not something a Talos worshiper would likely be interested in. So, if someone goes to her and buys something, but doesn't smell like moon sugar, then they probably bought a trinket from her. We can just rent some rooms at the inn and stay there, maybe have some drinks in the tavern and act like we belong, all the while keeping watch on who visits the dealer. When someone visits and leaves without a smell, we have someone follow them. They'll probably be scared by that, but we can probably find a way to calm them once we can talk to them."
Colors hummed noncommittally. "Well...it's really just best not to trust anyone for this sort of thing. Just to be safe. The ones that really do help Talos worshipers will probably be honest, as long as they think we'll help them too. Safest bet would probably be to try to figure out which ones actually worship Talos themselves."
After a moment, Color snapped his fingers as he had a realization. "But you know, maybe we can really use the fact that they aren't trustworthy. At least some of the people on my list are probably liars that sell out the Talos worshipers they're supposed to be helping. So, what we could do is pose as Talos worshipers, have them help us, and see if they sell us out. Then, one of Vile's Talos hunting teams will come right to us. We just, uh, turn their ambush around on them. Hake the hunters into the hunted; they won't be expecting it." He suggested.
Kaleeth crossed her arms. She was currently wearing a dress similar to Sabine's. Her armor was packed away back at their camp, which was being guarded by Nelise and Arthon. In order to be more appropriately armed for the city, she had a shorter sword she had borrowed from the clan's armory tucked away in one of her bags, as well as a dagger in a satchel on her belt. "What if they just end up turning us over to the Justicars instead? We don't want to fight them."
Colors shrugged. "Eh, we could have someone tail them. See who they sell us out to."
After a moment, Color snapped his fingers as he had a realization. "But you know, maybe we can really use the fact that they aren't trustworthy. At least some of the people on my list are probably liars that sell out the Talos worshipers they're supposed to be helping. So, what we could do is pose as Talos worshipers, have them help us, and see if they sell us out. Then, one of Vile's Talos hunting teams will come right to us. We just, uh, turn their ambush around on them. Hake the hunters into the hunted; they won't be expecting it." He suggested.
Kaleeth crossed her arms. She was currently wearing a dress similar to Sabine's. Her armor was packed away back at their camp, which was being guarded by Nelise and Arthon. In order to be more appropriately armed for the city, she had a shorter sword she had borrowed from the clan's armory tucked away in one of her bags, as well as a dagger in a satchel on her belt. "What if they just end up turning us over to the Justicars instead? We don't want to fight them."
Colors shrugged. "Eh, we could have someone tail them. See who they sell us out to."
"Hey, if you made something like that for me, I'd consider it very helpful." Colors laughed. "But yeah, I get it. Like I said, you do what you want to do. Live life as much or little as you want.
---
Colors ended up going around to everyone during their journey, passing the time with whatever conversation he found interesting. Though, they were all rather tired by the time they decided to make camp, so there was so argument from anyone when they decided to retire for the night.
They had covered the majority of the distance on their first day of travel, so the group was nearing the city of Evermore by noon. Colors had explained the places they needed to go and the people they needed to speak to. All of them were shady characters, but some were potentially more dangerous than others. The simplest, and likely first stop for them was to speak to a sort of black market dealer. Most of his trade came from skooma and other smuggled goods, but she would also sell banned items like personal shrines or pendants dedicated to Talos. If she could identify Talos worshippers, she might identify those hunting them. She sold out of the back room of an inn owned by one of her friends, so she was the least likely to cause them trouble.
As the city was just starting to come into sight, Kaleeth decided to speak up on the curious looks she had been giving to Colors for the last few minutes. "So Colors...if you've only been with this clan for the last few weeks, then how is it you already have all these contacts in Evermore?'
Colors looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, they aren't technically my contacts. I mean, I don't actually know them. Personally, that is. I just know...of them, you know? Don't worry though, it'll all be fine. They're all professionals, and they'll treat us like professionals."
---
Saras did not have an issue signing the documents, though he did add one provision to the end of the agreement. All parties involved were to send a representative to give a final signature before a certain date later in the years in order for the agreement to be finalized. The intent was that each party would be able to bring the document to their superiors to ensure that it was acceptable before it was enforceable. Saras, throughout the meeting, had been able to successfully control how much information was revealed to the agents, which was not a great deal. At least, he had not revealed much in the way of truthful or valuable information. The Empire and Dominion both were not aware of the size of their clans or the depth of their organization. The meeting had revealed much more to Saras than it had to them, and the agreement itself was favorable to the clans, in terms of the clan's goals. If the Empire or Dominion were actually willing to cooperate, then they could have an easier time acting against enemy agents.
---
Colors ended up going around to everyone during their journey, passing the time with whatever conversation he found interesting. Though, they were all rather tired by the time they decided to make camp, so there was so argument from anyone when they decided to retire for the night.
They had covered the majority of the distance on their first day of travel, so the group was nearing the city of Evermore by noon. Colors had explained the places they needed to go and the people they needed to speak to. All of them were shady characters, but some were potentially more dangerous than others. The simplest, and likely first stop for them was to speak to a sort of black market dealer. Most of his trade came from skooma and other smuggled goods, but she would also sell banned items like personal shrines or pendants dedicated to Talos. If she could identify Talos worshippers, she might identify those hunting them. She sold out of the back room of an inn owned by one of her friends, so she was the least likely to cause them trouble.
As the city was just starting to come into sight, Kaleeth decided to speak up on the curious looks she had been giving to Colors for the last few minutes. "So Colors...if you've only been with this clan for the last few weeks, then how is it you already have all these contacts in Evermore?'
Colors looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, they aren't technically my contacts. I mean, I don't actually know them. Personally, that is. I just know...of them, you know? Don't worry though, it'll all be fine. They're all professionals, and they'll treat us like professionals."
---
Saras did not have an issue signing the documents, though he did add one provision to the end of the agreement. All parties involved were to send a representative to give a final signature before a certain date later in the years in order for the agreement to be finalized. The intent was that each party would be able to bring the document to their superiors to ensure that it was acceptable before it was enforceable. Saras, throughout the meeting, had been able to successfully control how much information was revealed to the agents, which was not a great deal. At least, he had not revealed much in the way of truthful or valuable information. The Empire and Dominion both were not aware of the size of their clans or the depth of their organization. The meeting had revealed much more to Saras than it had to them, and the agreement itself was favorable to the clans, in terms of the clan's goals. If the Empire or Dominion were actually willing to cooperate, then they could have an easier time acting against enemy agents.
Nah, I didn't want to detail out the entire process either. Saras was just looking to talk with the Justicar to see what information he could gain from her.
I doubt there's much more to do with the scene. Saras would probably insist on a clause that would require them all to send a representative to give a final signature before a certain date to finalize the agreement, so that they would have a chance to run it by their respective superiors. We might do a very short scene with that later, since it would probably be Meesei doing the signing.
I doubt there's much more to do with the scene. Saras would probably insist on a clause that would require them all to send a representative to give a final signature before a certain date to finalize the agreement, so that they would have a chance to run it by their respective superiors. We might do a very short scene with that later, since it would probably be Meesei doing the signing.
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