EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Being that he now had a responsibility to answer Fendros' questions, Jespric too had to try to ignore his daughter's whimpers. "When I first contacted them? It was...a year back, at least. I was desperate, looking for any sort of work I could find in a tavern. The barkeeper was sort of my friend, so he tolerated it as long as I was not too disruptive. I eventually started a conversation with an Imperial. A different one from the one back in the fight; I haven't actually seen him again since then. But he was the one that put me into contact with the woman who killed herself. The bartender had vouched for me that I had been a warrior, so we made the deal. "

Jespric gave no more resistance to the questioning. He explained every important detail he could recall from his work with Vile. He explained that their primary goal was to hunt Talos worshipers, and from his experience, there was no other motive to their ambushes. They would usually captured the worshipers, but only so they could interrogate them to find more. He described some of the ambushed they carried out, who they targeted, and gave away some of the people he knew they worked with, in addition to Viper. However, the entire time, he maintained that he did not actually know the reason for why they were hunting Talos worshipers. He said that someone like the Imperial woman would have known, but the grunts like himself did not need to. It was a detail that Ahnasha quite wanted to know, but even she did not think further torture would be helpful. It seemed most likely that he genuinely did not know.

"Okay, so I can accept that you might not have been told the reasons for doing what you were doing. But, I'm sure you can help us figure it out. Did you notice anything about your employer that might have given a clue? Did she work with the Thalmor?" Ahnasha asked.

Jespric shook his head. "Oh, Divines no. We were not friends to the Thalmor. We might have been working for the same goal, but they have always been hostile to us. I don't think the Thalmor care at all for Vile, and I don't think they care that he wants to kill Talos worshipers too. I swear I don't know any more, but...listen, one of the other people you captured, he was a courier. He arrived just before you did, and he held off on delivering his letter until after dealing with what we thought were more Talos worshipers. It was meant for our leader, I think. The Imperial. He, um, he's a sneaky sort. He managed to get the letter out of his pocket and drop it through a gap in the wagon on our way over here. It should still be on the ground on the path we took here, unless the wind picked it up. I think he did it right when we came into view of the lake, so not too far back. Maybe that letter will help you? So, um, will we be able to go after this?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fortunately for Fendros, Jespric's bravery and bravado turned out to be far more empty than he would have liked them to believe. The sight of his daughter's pain melted away his resolve before their eyes. He had to shout over his daughter's screams to even be able to answer Fendros. "O-okay. I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything. Just stop; stop hurting her. By the divines, stop hurting her. I'll answer any question you want, just...get her away from my family."

Once Jespric agreed to capitulate, Ahnasha yanked the knife out of the table, and out of the girl's hand in a quick motion. It was painful, but less so than if she had done it slowly. The girl, still screaming at the top of her lungs, ran immediately to her mother, clutching her hand close to herself. Elinenne was speechless at the events that had unfolded so quickly before her. She held her arms tightly around her daughter, unconcerned by her own pain.

"I'll go get a healer for them." Ahnasha announced, looking directly at the man. "Remember, this could have been so much easier, and so much more painless. Do not give us any more trouble." She warned. Ahnasha stepped into the other room for just a few moments to collect Sabine before returning. No doubt, the screaming had already given away what was happening within the room to some extent. Ahnasha did not leave entirely, but she did remain distant, observing from the doorway.

Jespric could hardly collect his thoughts overall, so he started off with a question. "So...what exactly do you want to know? What questions should I answer? I know some about my employers, but I don't know everything."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Jespric eyed the gems cautiously. "What in Oblivion are those rocks? They don't look like soul gems." He asked.

Elinenne was holding her hand up over her reddened face, with tears still in her eyes. "They are soul gems, Jespric. Black soul gems. They can take human souls."

Despite all the threats and appeals to reason, Jespric had essentially gone into denial. He was panicked, and perhaps not thinking clearly. It did not help that the Imperial, or another of Vile's faithful, had likely conditioned him to expect the kinds of threats and deals that he was being offered. It would take a lot of effort to overcome his pre-conceived ideas about his employer's enemies. "I've heard enough of this. I know what kind of liars and manipulators you are. The deal was that I pay the debt, and not betray him. That was it. They didn't say I couldn't fail, they didn't say any of that. I've maintained my end of the deal, so he'll keep his. I haven't said a word to betray him, and I won't say a word. None of us will. If you kill us, we'll all be together in Aetherius."

Ahnasha leaned forward onto the table, barring her teeth at the man. "Do you think I'm bluffing, is that it? Do you think that if you raise your voice and show how tough you are that I'll just have to leave you alone? You, all of you, are completely at my mercy."

"I think, I think..." Jespric began, raising up his head to lock eyes with Ahnasha. "I think you're a damn stupid cat and a coward that gets satisfaction out of hurting the weak. I think your flea-bitten hide isn't worth the mud on my boots, and I think my employer is going to end up making a rug out of it."

Ahnasha gripped the hilt of her dagger tightly enough that it looked like she was going to break the steel in half. She became angrier and angrier throughout Jespric's little speech until it reached the point that her expression shifted to actually being calm, almost blank. Until this point, even Fendros likely thought that the harshest of Ahnasha's threats were simply a bluff; an act to coerce the man into talking. But, there was something a bit darker than that in Ahnasha. There was a willingness to commit cruelty that, up until this point, had only ever been directed at their enemies. In this case, it might have been brought out only by anger, but it was still there.

"You are going to tell us everything you know. Right. NOW!" Just as she shouted, Ahnasha stabbed her dagger straight down, not into Elinenne, but straight through the middle Aneitta's right palm, piercing straight through it and pinning the hand to the table. Immediately, she gave a horrifying scream that could be heard easily outside the cabin. As an instinctual response, Elinenne, who was not bound by ropes, tried to lunge at Ahnasha, only to be backhanded to the ground and left with a broken nose.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As frightened as he was, Jespric was also remaining stubborn in equal measure. "They said you would make deals. They didn't say you would be monsters, but they said they had enemies. You're lying to me, just trying to press me for information. Even if you weren't it wouldn't matter. My deal goes beyond life. My...if I don't pay of my debt, or if I die after betraying him, he gets my soul. My family's souls. Whatever suffering you have in store for me isn't worth it.'

By this point, Eleninne was almost in shock. "Our...souls? Jespric, are you mad!? Why would you do such a thing?"

The man lowered his head. "It wouldn't have been hard to pay off the debt, if this hadn't have happened."

Ahnasha tapped her foot on the floor impatiently through the end of Jespric's explanation. "You probably think your 'resolve' is brave, but I can guarantee you it is very, very misplaced. If you're worried about your souls, then you should be worried about me. My first thought when I heard about these two ladies was to take their souls. Just ask the Dunmer here. A necromancer like myself has great use for them." With her free hand, Ahnasha grabbed Eleninne's long hair and pulled back her head, exposing her neck. She held the dagger forward, though did not yet press it to the woman's neck. All the while, their daughter was whimpering beside her.

"It would be very easy to kill her. Don't make me-" Ahnasha began shouted back, sneering at Ahnasha.

"You...lie! You expect me to believe some cat just happens to be a necromancer? I think you..." He started, but Ahnasha was quick to shout back even louder.

"Shut up!" Ahnasha shouted again, but this time she let go of Eleninne's hair in order to slap her across the face. "You will only speak when we allow you to speak."

Jespric's eyes widened briefly in surprise. "But, she didn't say anything!"

"I don't care." Ahnasha responded flatly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Jespric was just as silent as the woman and her daughter had been when they first came in the room. Just like they had, he avoided eye contact, and was entirely unresponsive until Fendros said his wife's name. At that point, he looked up at her with confusion, and a bit of anger. "You weren't supposed to tell them who you are, woman!" He shouted at her.

Eleninne let out a light sigh. "They know what we look like; it didn't matter. I think they know a lot about us. Let's just...tell them whatever we can so we can go home."

"Dear, I...I can't do that. You know I can't...you know what they'll do to us." Jespric responded.

More and more, Eleninne showed some desperation in how she was acting. "Does it matter? These people can hurt us right now. We can just...run away. Go somewhere far away where they can't find us. They won't go to the ends of Tamriel to chase our debt over a sword and a horse."

Jespric shook his head. "No, you don't understand. It won't matter where we go. We won't be able to hide. And...it doesn't matter what these people do to us. What they do to us will be worse if we say anything."

Ahnasha found the man's comment to be a good place to interject. "It actually does matter. Contrary to what your employers may have wanted you to think, neither Vile nor his agents are omnipotent."

"Wait, Vile? What are you..." Eleninne began, but Ahnasha did not allow her to interrupt.

"Shut up." Ahnasha snapped. "As I was saying, Vile is not all powerful, else we would not be fighting him. And I can say that, most assuredly, I am very capable of causing you just as much, if not more harm than Vile can." She said, pulling her dagger from its scabbard on her belt. Though, she did not do anything with it for the moment.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The woman likely knew that she could not keep up the lie, no matter how much she might have wanted to. Her whole expression was uncertain, and she had a hard time even looking at Fendros, but she did eventually have to answer. "I...I don't have employers, not like that. My husband, he's the one that works for them directly. I'm not a part of that...whatever they are. I really am a carriage driver; that was true. It's just that the people my husband work for usually have me help them move around the area, since they know they can trust me. I don't know that much about them; I don't know what they're called or what they really want. I know that some of them are good, friendly people, and some of them were...strange. Scary. Like that Imperial woman you mentioned. I stayed away from her. I...I do know that they hunt Talos worshiper. But, that's illegal, so my husband was just hunting criminals, right?"

Ahnasha stayed neutral in her expression for now, but she had taken a clean parchment and was taking notes. "That's not a common opinion out here in the Empire. Even outside Skyrim, it is usually just Thalmor and Thalmor sympathizers that think that way. The people who sell out Talos worshipers are usually either desperate or greedy for coin."

Eleninne continued to avoid eye contact. "My husband was just going to do it until he paid off his debt. He used to be a mercenary, but his sword arm was injured and it took months for the healers to be able to restore it enough for him to use. Our savings ran dry, we lost our home, and we had no other way out. My husband had to sell his sword to pay to keep us in shelter for the last month, so he couldn't even work. Then, he found them, and they made an offer. They armed and armored him, and paid him a...reduced rate so he could support us. And they gave me the wagon and horse so I could work too. In exchange, we work for them at least until we can pay off what we owe them. I don't know any more, but my husband might."

Ahnasha was not entirely convinced, but nonetheless nudged Fendros' shoulder. "Well, if that is true, then I suppose it is time for us to bring your husband in here too. Why don't you go get him, while I watch them." She suggested. Once Fendros was up, Ahnasha was quick to pull him aside as he was heading for the door. "If they're all family, this should be easy. Bring the husband in here and we'll get him to say whatever he knows. How about I be the one that does the shouting and the threatening, maybe roughs a few people up, while you be the one that nice and accommodating, and tries to offer them a way out?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha stayed just behind Fendros, looking over her notes and observing the woman and the girl. Both of them wore somewhat dirty, but otherwise well-made dresses that placed them firmly in the middle-class. She looked like she could be a carriage driver, at least. There was still the matter of why the girl was with them, but Ahnasha could think of a few reasonable explanations. The woman had long, dark brown hair and a freckled face, while the girl had pale skin and red hair. Ahnasha had some comments to make, but she stayed quiet until Fendros could get some response from them.

The woman knew she could not go forever without a response, and the time it had taken to travel to the cabin had calmed her at least somewhat. She sad right next to the little girl, with her arm around her for comfort. "I'm...Carine, and this is my daughter Kalena. We don't really need anything, we just want to go. Like I said before, I just drive the wagon. I bring my daughter with me so I can teach her the trade, and because there isn't anyone to watch her. Those people out there, I thought they were just normal clients. I've hauled equipment for mercenaries and adventurers plenty of times before with no problems. You have to believe me; I don't want to cause any trouble. I don't know what you are, and I don't really care about all of that. I just want to go home; I promise I won't tell anyone about you. I just want to put all of this behind me and my daughter and get back to our lives. All I can really tell you about those people is that they paid their fee in full, and all up front. I think the crates they put in my wagon might have had weapons or something in them, but I didn't ask to look inside."

Ahnasha nodded, seemingly sympathetic. "You'll get out of here perfectly safely, but there's no need to rush. Any detail, even the small ones, can be important. You might not think you remember anything, but I have some questions that might guide your memory. Now, are you sure you don't want anything? Perhaps some refreshing water, little Aneitta? We even keep it cold with alchemy." Ahnasha offered, looking specifically to the little girl.

The little girl looked up at Ahnasha upon hearing the name and paused for a few moments in thought before responding timidly. "Y-yes...please. I am thirsty."

Ahnasha maintained a neutral expression, nodding for a moment before returning her attention to the woman. "Of course. But you see, that's interesting, because you didn't call her Aneitta. You called her Kalena. Yet, she responds to Aneitta without question. You see, I have in my notes a description of a man named Jespric; a description that perfectly matches a man in that other room. Jespric has a somewhat short, brown-haired wife with a face full of freckles named Eleninne, and a little, ten-year old red-haired daughter named Aneitta. I see three people, all matching those descriptions, all in the same group, and you can see how I might be suspicious. You are lying to us, Eleninne, and I would very much recommend that you be completely, uncompromisingly honest with us from this point forward. I am not one to tolerate deceit." Ahnasha threatened.

The little girl looked up to her mother in fear, as she knew she had done something that would get her in trouble, but the woman could hardly take her eyes off of Fendros and Ahnasha, since she was paralyzed with the fear she felt towards her captors in that moment.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha seemed more confused than offended at Fendros' refusal. She shrugged and responded just as quietly. "If we're forced to kill them anyway, what's the difference?" She did not seem to acknowledge the fate of their souls as being important. Being a necromancer, she was quite educated on matters of souls, so her lack of concern did not come out of ignorance. Her research into the dark arts the past few years had forced her to study the ways of very callous individuals, so it was possible that the years of exposure to such ideas had rubbed off on her. Ahnasha was not regularly placed in such morally compromising situations, so it was uncertain for how long she had held such views. In interrogations, she had shown herself to be capable of cruelty in the past, but only towards the enemy.

Regardless of her objection, the fact that there were also enemy captives present meant that Ahnasha did not dwell on the issue. "Well, at any rate, let's get everyone inside."

The cabin was not in great shape, but it was at least not in danger of collapsing anytime soon. They brought the prisoners in first to make sure they were properly bound, then Sabine led in the driver and her daughter, since she was the least outwardly threatening among them. For the sake of not panicking the pair, Kaleeth and Malithus' pack remained outside for the moment.

Ahnasha took the time to collect together the notes and documents she had recovered on her mission. It was a fairly thick stack of parchments, but she had an idea of what information would be useful. "Hmm, I think I recognize two of those men, based on these descriptions." Ahnasha explained quietly to Fendros. "I have some descriptions to put to that list of names, in addition to some interesting facts about some of the hunters. Those two might be a good place to start, but..."

Ahnasha looked closely at the mother and daughter, studying their features in detail for reasons she did not explain. After a few moments, she pointed to them. "I think I want to start with the driver and the girl first. I have a hunch. You want to start us off, try to calm them down?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha had a sympathetic expression as she slowly shook her head. "She killed herself? Zealots, they can never make anything easy, can they? If it's any consolidation, I doubt someone like that would have given up a word to us, no matter what we did to her. At least we still have someone left to question. Several, by the looks of it."

Bringing up her hand, Ahnasha rubbed her chin contemplatively. "But a wagon driver you say? Hmm, you don't think she knows anything? You sure she was telling the truth? It might be safest just to let me take their souls. Never know what they might tell the guards, and besides, I am getting so very, very close to my goal." She suggested, her tone almost casual. Ahnasha was, of course, willing to use the souls of their enemies for her goals, and they had already come to an agreement on that long ago, but this was the first time she had been in a position to suggest using the soul of anyone not provably hostile to them. Not to mention the fact that she was apparently intending to take the soul of a little girl; granted, she was still unaware of the girl's exact age.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

This was an interesting development. Ssarak was by no means an expert on vampires, but he had a basic education from the College. He had never heard of a natural vampiric child, and it was no small matter if one was suddenly born. Even if nothing else happened during their mission, that would certainly be a piece of information of interest to Lucilia.

Ssarak felt little in the way of anxiety when approaching the Baron. He did not come from a place where the leadership were considered unapproachable to the average person, so he could speak with the confidence befitting a diplomat.

”It is a pleasure to be here.”” Ssarak responded, returning the Baron’s polite and pleasant greeting. ”College life has been personally treating me quite well. In times such as these, it is hard for anyone to truly say that all is well, but the College continues to be a place of learning and strength. I can tell you, it is like another world entirely compared to the Scorched Lands, but I would not consider leaving it. Apart from assignments, of course. Lucilia is the one who requested that we attend. I am sure she would have liked to have visited herself, but she has many duties to keep her busy.” Ssarak explained.