EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It seemed that the General's team, with perhaps the exception of the Nord, were skilled at blending in. Had Saras' agent not described the Orcs to them beforehand, Meesei would not have been able to determine with certainty that they were associated with Do'rhajul either. Regardless, Meesei made every effort she could to remember the faces of those around her. If she saw any of them in the future in the presence of Do'rhajul, then the chances would be high that they were affiliated with him. That was at least some value they could derive from tracking the General to this place. Meesei had a feeling that neither of them were going to risk open hostilities in a public place.

Do'rhajul stared down Meesei, showing some small hints of frustration in his expression. Unless this was an elaborate ruse, he had not intended to confront the pack here. This encounter served much more to the pack's advantage than his, as it confirmed beyond any doubt that Do'rhajul was tracking them.

The General finally spoke up in a heavy, firm tone. "This can all end much easier if you surrender. You will be stopped regardless, but you can prevent anyone else from dying. Any more lives from being ruined."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei held her hand out to her side, halting her pack behind her. "Be ready with the antidote if needed, but do not draw a weapon unless attacked. Anyone who starts a fight here will have all of the Sentinel guard upon them. Just watch, do not let anyone too close to you, and try to identify his associates."

There was a complete still and silence between the two groups before the Nord following them walked, just as boldly as ever, past the pack and straight up to Do'rhajul. The Nord finally broke the silence as he stopped near him. "So these are the monsters you brought me along to hunt?"

Do'rhajul appeared irritated as he looked down at the Nord. "You were meant to remain inconspicuous, Yerig."

"Wasn't me that gave it away. It was your bird that was too damn impatient. Sat right outside the window, despite what you told 'er." The Nord remarked.

The Cathay-raht gave an annoyed grunt. "Now is not the time for this. You can give your report later."

The Nord, Yerig, crossed his arms. "I can give it now; it isn't much of one. They just sat around...talkin' about their children." The Nord's tone, along with his stare, was almost accusatory.

"Now is not the time." Do'rhajul repeated, now obviously angry. "Just trust me on his, Yerig. You know me."

Yerig sighed. "Fine." He responded before stepping back behind Do'rhajul.

Though it was out of most of the pack's line of sight, Sabine's acute eyes may have been able to spot movement on one of the rooftops to the left of and slightly behind the pack. The other raven walked into view on the rooftop, focused on the pack beneath it.

Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

~|Strike Team Base of Operations, Feena|~

~|Day 6, 13^th Hour|~
Fa-Val-Kuul

---

The return of the team’s shuttle, along with what were apparently new arrivals, certainly threw a hydrospanner in all of their carefully-laid plans, but Fa was just as assuredly going to deal with it as best as she could. She had already called back Vebra’s scouting team out of safety concerns, in the event that the shuttle’s arrival happened to draw any Sith attention. When Master Gar emerged from the shuttle, he would find that Fa was not there to immediately greet him. Rather, she was in their camp outside the cave, giving orders and directions to her team. She made sure that her soldiers were covering the shuttle to make sure it was hidden the moment the engines powered down, as well as ordering a scan of all known Sith communication frequencies. It was a task made difficult by the propensity of the planet to seemingly jam sensors, but it was not a part of security protocols that Fa wanted to ignore.

Fa herself did not wear traditional Jedi robes, nor much of anything else. She did not speak nor carry herself with the kind of calm that was usually expected of Jedi. She seemed more like a military commander than anything else at the moment, making sure that each piece of the machine that was her team was doing everything necessary to ensure their safety. Were it not for the lightsabers on her belt, it would be difficult to identify her as a Jedi at all.

Once she finally had the time to do so, Fa did approach the old Human who had identified himself as Master Gar. Undeniably, Fa was not happy, but she did not want to let it show, at least not yet. There was no gain from starting out by berating this Jedi Master for his dangerous usage of their shuttle, and his unplanned arrival into enemy territory. Unless his business was exceptionally important, he likely did not realize how dangerous his arrival actually was. Even if it was important, there was still no guarantee that he would be familiar with how to operate behind enemy lines.

Even so, this was the situation that Fa now had to deal with. As much as she wished they had not shown up in such a manner, she did at least need to figure out why they were actually there before saying anything about it. “Master…Gar, is it? Excuse the lack of pleasantries, but if a team of Jedi is arriving here of all places, then there must be something important happening. I need to be briefed on what you know.” Fa said directly. Her tone did not display anger nor frustration, but it did convey the severity with which Fa was approaching the situation.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak knelt down next to the wooden hatch and tried to listen for any movement below, though his hearing was not the best for listening for faint sounds. Not to mention, the warded mind of the thief made it difficult for him to reach inside and discern his exact location. But, one thing that Ssarak was sure of was the fact that they could not afford to wait long. It was possible the thief might know of a secret exit, so they had to act quickly, or risk losing their property.

”I have an entrance on the roof. I can jump down inside safely, capture, and hold their attention. Everyone else, enter from different entrances and hit them from all angles immediately afterwards. With luck, our thief or thieves will surrender immediately. If not, prepare for a fight.” Ssarak said telepathically to all of his allies.

Ssarak looked to Lyn and spoke quietly. ”It would not be wise of me to try to jump down carrying you. I do not know what I am dropping into. You carry plants or seeds with you, correct? Can you support me from up here, Lyn?”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

From her vantage point in the sky, Sabine was able to lead the pack far more reliably than they could have from the ground. The birds flying through the sky certainly drew eyes from the ground since they were not a common sight in this part of Hammerfell, but it was unlikely that many, if any at all, of the city's citizens recognized what was truly taking place.

The chase eventually led the pack towards the market, which Sabine would have saw the raven fly into from above before going out of sight. The rest of the pack as quickly as they could get through the crowds, which, while they were not at their thickest at this time of day, were still something of a hindrance. All the while, the Nord from the inn was still following behind them, and still making seemingly no effort to hide that fact.

Regardless, the pack was not in the market long before they spotted something that caused them to halt in their tracks. Among all of the early-risers, shopkeepers, and stall owners starting out their day, there was a rather conspicuous individual sitting on a bench around the market's center fountain. He was dressed in local garb, but there was no hiding the fact that he towered over everyone else around him. He was a Cathay-raht: Do'rhajul. He had the appearance of not being armed or armored, but there was no way to know for certain if that was true. And he noticed the pack just as quickly. He stood up, stared at them from only a short distance away, but did not move himself. Around him, there were several individuals, but it was hard to tell which ones were actually associated with him, and which were just citizens who happened to be sitting at the fountain. The only ones who were distinctive were the twin Orcs at a nearby bench.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"And how could we 'deal' with him anyway?" Lorag added, looking at Janius. "Can't attack him here; the whole city guard would be on us." He pointed out. Even as they moved out of the tavern, they were just rushing into the crowded city streets. That alone would make it even more difficult to follow the raven.

"We cannot split up, and we cannot leave the sight of the crowds." Meesei said firmly. "Not all of us are armed for a fight, and there is no guarantee it would not be a trap. We can't do anything about that Nord, and he knows it. But the same applies to them. Just keep following the raven as best we can, but if it leads us somewhere isolated, we will stop."

Even with there only being a single raven in the entire city, the raven was far from easy to follow. It could fly in a straight line over the buildings, while the pack was limited by both structures, and the people in the streets. They were already getting strange looks from the people they were rushing past. It was difficult to get more than an occasional glimpse of the bird to keep them going in the right direction.

"Don't suppose you know how to turn into one and fly after it?" Ahnasha commented towards Sabine in her growing frustration at the crowd slowing them down.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It did not take long at all for the pack to put together the pieces to form the same conclusion about the mysterious bird outside their window. They had been forced to stay in one place for a while, and Do'rhajul could have very well tracked them to Sentinel. The raven noticed Sabine looking at it just as easily as Sabine had spotted it watching them, so it quickly started to fly away.

Meesei did not allow for much of a a pause to think. She stood up quickly from the table. "We cannot simply allow ourselves to be tracked, hunted. We have to try to follow it and find Do'rhajul ourselves. I will not allow him the chance to attack us on his own terms."

Meesei was quick to start out of the inn, scanning her eyes across the sky for the bird. She did not necessarily intend to engage the General in a fight at the moment, but she did want to find him. Any advantage that they could remove from Do'rhajul could be valuable. If this raven ended up leading them to wherever the General and his team were hiding, the pack may have been able to use that. Even if they were spotted, it would at least remove the General's preferred hiding spot as an option for them. Not to mention, the pack might be able to learn more about who they were facing. If the raven ended up flying somewhere secluded, where they might be attacked, then Meesei realized she would likely need to end the search.

As the pack was leaving the inn, someone from another table stood up. He was an older Nordic man wearing a similar type of Hammerfell-styled garb as the pack. He had a bald head covered by a hood and a long, greying beard. He started to walk after the pack, seemingly making no effort to hide the fact that he was following them.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Eventually, the rest of the pack made their way down to join them at the table. Out of a concern for safety, they tended to stay together when in the city, so those who had already finished their breakfast simply waited and conversed while the others ate. Kaleeth and Fendros continued to talk about their children for some time, with Ahnasha quickly joining in once she arrived.

The tavern was not empty, and there were others around them, but the pack avoided discussing anything particularly suspicious. They spoke mainly about more mundane matters, and references to the "war" could easily be interpreted as referring to the Thalmor. Despite the treaty that technically had ceased the fighting, most in Hammerfell still considered the Thalmor to be the enemy.

However, near the end of their meal, something happened that might draw a sharp eye out of a nearby window. There was a gust of wind, and the brief fluttering of some sizable wings. On the edge of a rooftop across a narrow street outside, there was a rather large raven, looking into the window at them. Most notable was the fact that ravens did not naturally inhabit any areas close to Sentinel.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded in agreement. "He means well, but I feel that he does not truly grasp the severity of the situation we are in. It is understandable, considering his limited experience. I cannot say that I did not feel the same way at one point in my life. If you will allow me to forego humility, he has exceptional teachers, but that may only contribute to his confidence."

Kaleeth let out a sigh, staring at the last remnants of the duneripper steak. "Honestly, I don't know if I want them to be like us. I mean...I don't want to tell you how you should raise Rhazii or anything, but for Julan at least...him wanting to be like us really scares me. We've been in this war so long, and they were born into it. I don't want Julan to have to risk himself like us, or go kill people. I doubt he'll ever be satisfied just staying at home, but there's a lot of a difference between hunting animals and killing people. We didn't choose to have this war in the first place, but...I'm just really hoping we can end it all before they get old enough to be able to help."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth grinned. "Hmm, you would not believe how difficult it was to convince Janius of it. He seemed so afraid of starting a family back then. Though if I'm being honest, I don't know if I was really thinking everything through back then either. I have to admit that having hatchlings, at that time, was a really big risk. We didn't really know how the war was going to go, or if we were going to be able to take care of a child. But, obviously, I'm really glad we did it, and I'm really glad it worked. Can't be afraid to take risks, I guess. And I'm glad that he had a brother to grow up with. I know I would have hated to grow up alone as a hatchling. Rhazii has always looked out for Julan too, and not to mention been a good challenge for him. Julan's the little brother, so that means he always has to try to be better than his big brother at something. Right now, it's magic. He's practically been begging Janius to train him whenever he can. I just like seeing him so motivated."

It was not long before a few other members of the pack started to make their way downstairs. Meesei and Sabine soon joined Kaleeth and Fendros at the table. Their plan for the day was the same as it had been for much of the previous week, so they would check to see if the Orc had returned to Sentinel after their breakfast.