EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It was not too long before Colors rejoined the others, thankfully without needing to be collected by either of them. While Colors was indifferent at that point, Kaleeth could not have been happier to have been leaving the brothel. It was not the kind of place she wanted to be spending any of her time, for any reason. Colors was both impressed with the initiative Sabine had taken, and apologetic for not having been there. He claimed not to have heard what Sabine said, though there was no way to know if it was true.

The amount of coin they needed to spend to pay the fare was not trivial. They had been given coin for bribes, but it would take nearly all of what they had to pay for Sabine and Kaleeth to be escorted into what would hopefully be a trap by Vile's hunters. Viper had given few details in their first meeting, but once they returned the next morning to give payment, he knew they were serious, and was much, much more forthcoming. In two days time, they were to meet in a specific inn in the same general district as the brothel. They would meet with two of Viper's men, who he had described to them, and would be led along a specific path out of town. He assured them that the Thalmor would have no presence along their path, and they would be able to meet with a wagon outside the city walls. From there, they would be taken to meet up with a larger escort farther from the city, who would put them on their way to Daggerfall. If it was a trick, it was most likely that they would be ambushed outside the walls.

The group was back in the inn, this time in one of the rooms in the basement. It was cramped but they would be able to make their plans for turning the ambush around on Vile's hunters.

"It might be best for a small group, maybe one or two, to follow them when they're in the city. Once outside the walls, we'll be able to have the space to maneuver and keep our distance, but we'll need to be careful not to give ourselves away before getting there." Malithus recommended. "We know the path, so the rest of us can be in hiding outside the walls until you leave, then shadow you until the ambush."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Viper nodded. "I'll make sure to be here tomorrow morning, just after sunrise. And the morning after that, in case you need some more time. When you do pay me, I'll tell you exactly when and where you need to go to meet my people. I'd start packing if I were you, just don't bring too much. Anything you can carry on your person is fair game, but I'll not bring any extra wagons for you."

The man quickly finished off the last of the skooma in his bottle, then let out a long, satisfied breath. "Now, unless you want to pay your fare by joining me in one of those stalls over there, I don't think we have anything else to talk about. Get me my coin, and I'll get you out of here safe and sound. Thalmor won't so much as touch you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Viper gave a grin, though from a man like him, it was not precisely comforting. "Elves nipping at your heels, then? I can do something about that." He said, taking on a more serious expression when he turned his head to Kaleeth. "And whose the lizard? She don't strike me as one of his faithful."

Kaleeth had been preparing in her mind how to respond to Viper for as many of his questions as she could think of, so it did not take her long to respond. "She is my friend, and has been for many years. They're not really after me, but I don't want to abandon her to the Elves. My...brother figured out that you might be able to help us. He brought us here."

"Oh, and where's this brother now?" He asked.

Kaleeth looked somewhat awkwardly down towards her feet. "He's...with one of the women."

Viper gave an amused huff. "Hmm, my kind of man. But to the point, I'll need a day or so to get things set up, but I can get you on your way in two days. Cost is five hundred gold, per person. Non-negotiable, and payable up front only. If you can get that gold to me by tomorrow morning, I can get you out on your schedule."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Huh, who's this?" Viper muttered as Sabine started to speak. He turned partially to face her from the stool on which he was sitting. "Hmm, straight to the point I see. Daggerfall? Guessing you're not looking just for a wagon. Also guessing you're desperate, else you wouldn't be here."

Turning back to the bar a moment, Viper took a drink from his skooma bottle. "Okay, you've got five minutes of my attention. Make it count. If you've got the coin, I could get you to Akavir if you wanted. If you've got the coin. Now, you runnin' for debts, a personal score, or religion?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth looked at Viper from a distance, through tried to make sure it did not look like she was looking at him. The last thing they wanted was to attract the wrong kind of attention while they were so close. It was hard to tell if Colors had even heard, or chose to hear, Sabine, since he did not respond. So, Kaleeth did not want to rely on him.

"Yes, maybe we should just go talk to him ourselves?" Kaleeth suggested at a whisper. "He doesn't look like he's doing anything important right now, so I think we have a chance. We don't really know what he'll be doing soon enough. The cover is that I'm your close friend trying to get you out of town, and was brought here by my brother, right? We can probably handle him ourselves."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, well if I remember right, he's a dark-haired man with a scar on his cheek. Might be hard to notice from a distance, though. More helpful is probably that he's a friend of the boss, so he's allowed to carry a dagger. Not many others, aside from bouncers, who can do that. Hope that helps." Nargrak explained.

Kaleeth was quick to speak up after the Orc started describing Viper. "Wait, he carries a dagger? I see a human with one on his hip right now; I just can't tell from here if he's Breton or Imperial."

"Let me see." Nargrak said, getting up onto her knees and crawling over to the curtain. Kaleeth moved out of the way to allow her to peer out, though it only took a moment for her to turn back with an answer. "Yeah, that's him. Looks like he's about to start on the skooma. Fortunate timing for you two, I guess. Won't have to wait here jabbering with me. Just, uh, take my advice. If you're going to talk to him, get straight down to business. He's not the type that likes to be interrupted for anything else."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Nargrak chuckled. "Ah, so that's the one you're after. Some thief boss, as far as I know. I think he leads a local guild of thieves or something. Does smuggling, heists, trades information, that sort of thing. Again, I have to wonder why you two would want to meet with him. He's just trouble. Either you have no idea what you're getting into, or...you're more complicated of people than you're letting on."

The Orc rubbed her chin briefly. "You met the man before? Will he be expecting you? You even know what he looks like or when he'll be here? He doesn't usually come at any set time." She asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Yeah, greetings and all that. Name's Nargrak. "I can't really stay in here forever on the coin you gave me, but you can probably get over an hour out of it, on the high end. Hopefully that's enough for you to find whoever it is you're lookin' for."

Nargrak leaned back, holding herself up with her hands. She looked at Sabine curiously. "Let's see, who could you be meeting here...Lucilia, or maybe one of the Wolgram brothers? Viper, Ara'wha, the Jackdaw, perhaps Cirnorlain? Ah, you probably don't want to mention it. None of those people are very public with their dealings. Biggest question is why someone as seemingly innocent as you two are wanting to meet with anyone that would want to come here? It is 'cause of that other Argonian you came in with, the one that hired Anaya? He in that other room chatting her up too?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The Orc narrowed her eyes at Sabine and crossed her arms. "Wait, make me sleep? Like, with a spell? Well that's surprisingly...rude for a nervous girl like you."

The Orc's gaze was judgmental for a few seconds before she let out a sigh and gave a shrug. "Well, you already paid me, so as long as you don't ask for that back, we can just sit and chat for a while. Can't say I've ever had a casual chat with my breasts hanging out and skooma in the air, but there's a first for everything, I guess."

Kaleeth trusted Sabine's judgment, so she went ahead and positioned herself next to the curtain so she could look out on the main room. "We don't want to cause any trouble for anyone; we just need to talk to someone and don't want to do the...things that people come here for."

The Orc grunted. "'Least I was right about you two not belonging here. You're not the first to come in here lookin' for someone, but they usually get thrown out after a while. Bouncers don't like it when people loiter around buying nothing, and the boss doesn't like his business becoming a casual meeting spot. People've told him to tell some of his clients to do their business elsewhere, but he don't want to 'offend' them. Some of the people that come looking for them are too proud to give us working girls any coin, but between us, just about any of us would be willing to sit around and talk for coin. I mean, you could pay me to do a lot of things."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The Orc stood with her hand on her hip for a few seconds, looking over Sabine and Kaleeth. She looked tough as they approached, but as soon as Sabine spoke, she started to smile. "I can help as many people as you bring to me. And for just you, I'll tell you what, I'll do it for the regular price."

After exchanging the gold, the Orc walked with Sabine and Kaleeth into one of the stalls. The curtains were all violet covered, and made from heavy, thick fabric. Though, it did little to dampen the sounds from the neighboring stalls. Inside the stall itself was fairly small and simple, being that the only object in the room was a single, large, circular cushion in the middle of the floor with a very...particular smell.

As the Orc closed up the curtain behind them, her expression took a rather surprising turn: sympathy. "Okay, so you two girls are beyond nervous. Saw it the moment you stepped in the door. Your first time here?" She said as she sat down cross-legged on the cushion. "You get dragged here by someone, or this just the first time you've done this? Come on, don't be afraid to talk. No need to rush." Overall, she was being surprisingly friendly for someone whose job was supposedly just seduction. Granted, Sabine had made her emotions rather easy to read.