EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, well, here is good enough." Colors answered, motioning to the nearest set of empty cushions to them. "We have a clear enough view of the room. Well, other than the private rooms, but I doubt you want to go peering in those. Just, uh, wait here a moment while I go get my drink."

Colors stepped away for only a minute or so to buy a mug of ale from the bar, but for new guests to the brothel, the employees would not be keen to simply ignore them. By the time Colors returned, one of the prostitutes had made his way over from across the room to greet the new arrivals. He was one of the males, a Breton. In all likelihood, he did not get near as much business as his female co-workers, so he probably approached almost every female patron. He looked down in particular at Sabine, standing in such a way as to call attention to his more attractive features. "Welcome, is there anything I can do for you beautiful ladies?"

Colors returned at about the same time, but he did not say anything directly to the Breton. Instead, he simply took a seat next to Sabine. He could not exactly interrupt the Breton, as that could be seen as strange. Sabine would have to be able to handle herself. Kaleeth, meanwhile, just tried to stay quiet and hope that no one put too much attention on her.

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

~|Nar Shaddaa, Docking Bay 32|~

~|Day 3, 6th Hour|~

---

Fa-Val-Kuul was sitting in the back of the shuttle, right alongside the rest of her soldiers. It was nothing uncommon for her. In this war, she commanded a battalion of Republic soldiers, but they were very much accustomed to her leading from the front. Any battle they fought, she joined personally; she slept in the same quarters, ate at the same tables, and sat around the same campfires during long nights deployed on strange worlds, light years from civilization. For her, the war was not distant in any sense. It could not be any more personal.

This time, Fa was not going into a battle. She had taken on a different, even more important mission. Darth Nyiss: one of the most reprehensible and dangerous of the Empire’s leadership. Simply put, she needed to be stopped, and that was simply not something that would be accomplished in open battle. Thus, she had called upon a team of the most skilled specialists in her battalion. Even so, there was no illusions among them that survival would be guaranteed, or even particularly likely.

Fa was among the last to step off of the shuttle. Her appearance was not much different from usual, because she usually did not look like the standard image of a Jedi. She simply wore an ample number of belts, bags, and pouches to carry all of the equipment she needed. The only difference this time was that her lightsabers were currently hidden within a tall satchel on her waist. But, it would only take a simple pull from the force to draw either or both of them quickly. The port was as decrepit and decayed as the rest of the moon, though that did not stop its ports from being crowded. Regardless, they would have some opportunity to speak privately, so as long as they did not stray from their shuttle.

Fa addressed the team, in particular Vebra, the Zabrak commander of the squad. “You all know the mission. Discretion will be a priority, at least initially. The bar, and the streets around, will be crowded with innocents, so we need not instigate a fight unless it is absolutely necessary. Vebra, Eyes, you will head inside with me to confront her. Have the rest of your men secure the exits. Once inside, if she is present, I will be able to sense her. Failing a peaceful conversation, you will fall back on any non-lethal option at your disposal. Stun grenades are acceptable if necessary, but no sonic charges if there is a Bith in the blast radius. Use lethal force only as a last option, but do not hesitate to do so if your life is sufficiently threatened. This is not the most dangerous mission we have undertaken, and I do not want to see any casualties.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It was later in the evening when the group made their way to the south side of town. They made some attempts at finding out more information about Viper during the day, but met with only limited success. The contacts that Colors had identified were not always easy to find, and not forthcoming with information. The most they managed to learn was that Viper did not actually own the brothel. He was merely a frequent patron. At the very least, it meant that he would not likely have many guards with him, if at all.

Colors led Kaleeth and Sabine into an alleyway: a place that was out of sight, out of mind, and easy for the city guard to turn a blind eye to. The rest of the group was waiting nearby in case they heard any obvious trouble, but they would have significantly less they could do this time around. They could not wait as close to the building as they could to the tailor's shop.

"Okay, so, just keep a good eye out once we're in. Oh, and try not to talk to many people. Not many go to these places to be social, so you'll want to keep to yourself. Unless someone is on skooma, then they might try to talk to you." Colors explained as they approached the door. Stepping up to the decaying wooden door, Colors gave two quick knocks, and a few moments later, a tall Orc with an axe on his hip opened it for them from the inside. For a few seconds, he stood with his arms crossed, looking over the trio, before finally giving them the nod to enter. In all likelihood, he was not looking for anything in particular, but rather just wanted to give them ample opportunity to be intimidated by him.

There was a short, narrow hallway that led to another door, inside which was the main room of the establishment. Strictly speaking, it was not exceptionally crowded, but the way the room was arranged made it feel a bit cramped. Most of the furniture came in the form of cushions and blankets strewn across the floor upon which the majority of people were seated. Across the room was a bar, likely which sold far more than just alcohol. About halfway across the room to the right, there was a wide hallway, on either side of which were the "private" rooms. Though, they were not actually proper rooms at all, but just stalls that were divided off from the rest of the room by curtains.

The prostitutes themselves were a majority female, though there were two men in one corner. They were mostly Humans or Orcish, though there were some elves and a single Khajiit. They were easy to identify, as they all wore the same, small loincloth. It was not particularly noteworthy attire for one who lived in a lycan clan, but everything from the way they acted, to the way they moved, to the way they simply looked at patrons showed that they were primarily focused on seduction. There were some patrons who seemed clean and fairly normal, but as Kaleeth has suspected, many had the look of skooma addicts, between their gaunt figures and ragged, torn clothing.

"All...too familiar." Kaleeth commented, turning her head towards Sabine. "So, um, do you know what a Colovian accent sounds like?" She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Colors suppressed his grin, but his tone was nonetheless unmistakably pleased. "If that is your will, then I shall spend my time with their lovely and hard-working women. Why, it is possible that I may be required to keep the establishment fooled for hours on end while we wait, but rest assured, I am willing to do anything for the success of our mission. I shall be up to the challenge. Although, I would like to request permission to order a single drink when we first arrive. Just a simple mug of ale while we scout out the establishment, nothing that would intoxicate an Argonian. I believe your cover story will work for us just fine. It's as good as one I would come up with."

Kaleeth could not help but to roll her eyes at Colors' remarks, but nevertheless, she remained focused on their actual mission. "So I will be acting as his sister? We don't really look much alike, but I doubt a Human like Viper would be able to tell all the subtle differences anyways. I've been in a place like Colors describes before; Janius showed me one years ago to try to...dissuade me from something. It is not a pleasant place, but most of the people there seem more, well, pitiful than dangerous. I don't think you'll have to worry too much about us getting hurt. Our comfort will probably be more at risk." Kaleeth explained, attempting to be somewhat reassuring. "Should we go ahead and do this right now? There is still plenty of time left in the day."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Colors saw the eyes of the others turn to him, and he did his best to maintain a fully serious expression. "Hmm, well, for this particular endeavor, I suppose we need someone who is willing to engage in the vices that an establishment like that provides. If one of the pair is buying from them, then their security will be less inclined to confront us. Now I understand, naturally, that this is a part of life that you all are inexperienced with. Skooma, moon sugar, the pleasant company of women. One of us will have to, well, subject ourselves to purchasing their services, and if it is for the good of the mission, them I am, uh, willing to make that sacrifice." Colors said with a grin.

"Now, um, I'm sure my joining you will be more valuable than anything I could learn through dubious contacts. Though if I am to partake in those services, I will need something of an allowance of gold." Colors added.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth rubbed the back of her neck, obviously conflicted. "I would be willing to go in. I don't really need armor or weapons if a fight breaks out, and Sabine could give me one of those shield spells if a fight happens to give me time to transform. But, my accent might give me away. I know I am very obviously a Black Marsh native."

"It is worth pointing out that both people that go to see him don't need to pose as Talos worshipers." Colors interjected. "One of you could pose as a close friend, or even a servant. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time that a Talos worshiper has had a friend throw in to help them. With Kaleeth, Argonians have their reputation for being loyal to friends, and not exactly being friends of the Thalmor."

"I could go instead, if you think that'd work." Shurgrag added. "I'm a mage, and there's some Orcs out there that follow that Talos nonsense."

Colors shrugged. "It could work. Her accent is local anyways. Though, what do you all intend to do if the proprietors of the business get annoyed at a few non-paying customers loitering while you're waiting for Viper?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Time for me to get to bed again. Goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As usual, Colors was one of the first to give his opinion. "To be honest, I think the only one of those that would work would be posing as Talos worshipers ourselves. If he isn't part of the cult, then selling out Talos worshipers is probably only a small part of his business. There aren't nearly as many of them here in Evermore as there are in a place like Skyrim, after all. None of those other options would have us even being on the same topic."

Malithus nodded in agreement to Colors before giving his own input. "We do not all need to meet him. It would probably be best if he did not know how many of us there are, actually. Perhaps one or two of us who can pass for Talos worshipers can go in? We don't have any Nords among us, but there are Talos worshipers from many parts of Tamriel."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It would be important to investigate Viper in some manner, either by spying on him or talking to him. Colors wouldn't uncover anything completely game-changing, so he can just be investigating while the others do other things.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Colors was uncertain, but he gave a nod to Fendros regardless. "I can try to see what I can find, just...don't expect too much, okay? If Viper is just some criminal with a side deal with Vile's people, then even those that know him might not be aware of it. No guarantee that he's a part of their cult. I can talk to a few people in that time, see what I can figure out. You might want to go ahead and see if you can make contact with Viper, though. Otherwise, that day and a half might just be wasted. The shopkeeper said that he knew someone who just waited around in the place until they saw him. He's a Colovian Imperial, so I guess he stands out.

"If we do find him, how would we introduce ourselves?" Kaleeth asked. "If we say the wrong thing, it might cause us not to be able to use him at all."