EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei chuckled and gave Lunise a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Do not worry, our secret is going to be perfectly safe. If we just avoid talking about professional matters, he will have no reason to be suspicious. And I am sure we will have plenty else to talk about; he is a scholar of the Dwemer. I think you might be interested in some of the findings we have had in our home, and I myself have a few months of catching up to do. I would quite love to show you around our city, but I suppose just the area around it will have to do. That is where we will be teleporting to. After that, though, I was thinking of letting you choose where we shall have our dinner, if any of those places I mentioned earlier sound appealing to you."

Meesei finally released her grip on Lunise to allow her to change, though she still looked on with a growing, amused expression. "Hmm, you know, personally have been wondering how you would go about blending in with lycans, should the need arise. I suppose if you cannot find anything suitable, you can have my clothes. I could make them fit, I think. You are a professional agent and diplomat, though, so I am sure you will do fine."

---

Marcaille answered directly and immediately. "Aye, I can do it, but I don't have a concoction already made. Just like with his enchantment, I would need time to finish it. Though...I would say I could have it by tomorrow. Enough time to still act on this, definitely."

"We should still ask Meesei and Sabine if one of them can assist me when we can speak to them, regardless. I don't imagine us trying anything without them, so we will have a chance. If we decide definitively that this is what we're doing, of course." Ahnasha suggested.

Marcaille did not disagree, but she did have one further suggestion. "I know the Champion is exceptionally capable, of course, but...I think Sabine might be better suited to help you. She can not only mask her life force, but she can hide in plain sight, as it were. Ravens are native to High Rock, you see. But...well there is another reason. A theory I have, based on how this team has been behaving. Now, I can't really be sure without proof, but if that zealot is one of the women of the wilds, then she may be using certain rituals to track you. It's the Psijics that are most famous for their scrying ability, but the followers of the Old Ways are not without similar rituals. Somewhere, sometime over the years, they might have found something of Meesei's, which might be used to hone in on her position in the world. It's not perfect, and it takes time, but it could explain how they found you to begin with. If the Champion gets close enough, though, it might possibly alert her."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I may not know him well, but Sabine certainly trusts him. I have faith in her." Meesei commented. "And it is important to remember that the vast majority of my clan does not know you exist, let alone what you look like. Only the leadership of the clan know who you are, and of them, only Saras has seen you directly. And those few warriors who were with him when you first made contact in that cave, I suppose. Regardless, Karl will have no reason to associate you with the Thalmor, and I will not be taking us to a place where I would expect to run into anyone else from the clan. It is simply in proximity to our city."

Meesei's nostrils flared for a moment. "And I think with a simple illusion, I should be able to give you a convincing lycan scent. To him, you will just be an Altmer woman from another clan."

--

Ri'vashi looked ahead, tapping a claw on the table in front of her as she thought. "That is a fair point. If they are not attempting to spring a trap, then a distraction might end up making it harder than it could be. Ri'vashi has trained her warriors how to be alert and watchful in stressful situations, and there is no reason to believe Do'rhajul's team is any less capable."

"If it is helpful, the enemy did not place their camp in a location which was easy to find. Our scouts did have to scour the area thoroughly, and even then, may have had some luck in finding it." Saras pointed out.

Lorag had a rather severe expression on his face, with conflicted thoughts going through his mind. "Still, havin' someone go in alone seems like it's just asking for trouble. How can we give them a way out if we can't get anyone else close?"

Ahnasha let out a quick, audible breath, but spoke with some determination. "I am willing to do it. I could plant the book. And I would not necessarily need to be alone, as long as my partner is a skilled enough mage to mask their presence from life detection."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I forget, is Karl blind, or was that someone else?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"We have all recovered by this point." Meesei answered. "Most of our wounds were not caused by silver, thankfully, and lycans regenerate quickly. If something does not kill us, there is a good chance we will recover fully. The children have been staying back in the clan for weeks, though Rhazii did witness his mother being shot with a crossbow bolt. That was not pleasant for him. Or her, but I think the scar it left on him is longer-lasting. He was quite insistent on helping us, and his parents finally agreed to allow him to start joining in scouting parties around the clan. Low-risk tasks to give him experience, and such."

Meesei paused and took in a long breath. "But, I do not think we need to focus on all of that this evening. At least not for now; I am sure we can discuss it later. You can rest assured that I do not intend to be caught off-guard by Do'rhajul again. For now, I had something special in mind for us tonight, if you would like to do it. Sabine has somewhat recently found a mate of her own, a scholar named Karl. I do not know him very well as of yet, so I was wondering if you would like to join myself, Sabine, and Karl for a nice dinner together? We have several destinations in mind, depending on what you would prefer. There is a place near Thorn that is beautiful beyond imagining, a spot near the hot springs in Eastmarch, or perhaps a scenic place right next to my clanhome. I know that you have not seen any other outside my room in my clan, and Saras would be furious if he knew I let a Justicar in the clan, but I trust you, of course. He does not know you like I do." She said, giving her another quick kiss. "That said, I...would not wear your uniform."

---

Ahnasha followed Fendros' response to Ri'vashi. "I agree. As much as I would like to just throw an army at them, that won't work. That zealot was able to put up a barrier with that staff that we couldn't penetrate, then teleport them all away in an instant. Much faster than either Meesei or Sabine can open a portal. If they know they are outmatched, they will just leave."

"That staff is what really gave them the edge last time." Lorag spoke up. Doubt that Breton could beat the Champion without it, and she knew it. Even with the staff, she was able to eviscerate that zealot. Ripped her open. When she started to conjure up those wisps, she was afraid. Saw it in her eyes. But...that probably also means she's paranoid about now. If I was her, I wouldn't let that staff outta' my sight. Doubt we're gonna be able to steal it."

Again, Ahnasha interjected. "I still think the last plan we came up with is a good one. We still have those notes. The original notes we recovered back in Elsweyr. If we can plant them where the General, or maybe Yerig could see them, then that might do something. The Nord is already doubting; that might push him over the edge. We would just need to be able to sneak into their camp."

"Possible." Saras commented. "But, perhaps not simple. Among the reason our scouts are keeping such distance is that they believe there are magical means of detection set up around the camp. The mages believe they have detected such enchantments from a distance, but they cannot get close enough to determine their exact nature, or position."

"It is possible to hide from life detection spells and enchantments, but not for many people at once. One, maybe two of us could probably get in without being detected." Ahnasha reasoned.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei lightly shook her head. "Not my clan, but my pack, specifically. We knew he was tracking us, and through some means, he was able to find us. He found us when we were investigating in Sentinel, but was unable to confront us in the city. Once we moved to High Rock, however, he and his team were able to follow us. Despite our best efforts, they were able to find where we teleported back and attack. Several of us on both sides were badly wounded, but there were no deaths. I do not know if he is aware of our purpose in High Rock, but he does know that we have some goal in being there, and he will not leave. Facing a dragon will be hard enough without him hunting us. We have no choice but to deal with him first."

Meesei made no effort to hide her worry in front of Lunise. "It shall not be easy. Not only does Do'rhajul wield the shield Spellbreaker, but one of Vile's zealots is with him; a woman by the name of Arinette. I am fairly certain she possessed the Staff of Magnus. It seems that Vile's followers have been hunting for artifacts over the years."

---

With a brief nod, Saras pushed a small stack of parchments across the table to Fendros. "Our scouts have drawn some maps of the area, and given some drawings of the areas around the camp they have established. So far, the scouts have been under orders not to approach the camp close enough to risk detection, so unfortunately, we do not have too many details of what has been going on within the camp. We do not know if Do'rhajul's team is alone, or if they have been receiving any supplies or other help from their allies. But, with a definite location, you can plan a definite attack."

"If...attacking is what you are going to do." Ri'vashi added. "Have you made any more decisions on if you are going to try to...reason with them? Just say the word, and Ri'vashi can have a small army surrounding that camp."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei lingered into the kiss for a short while before finally responding. Since she and Lunise only met when it was safe to do so, Meesei had stopped changing into her proper city clothes for the occasions. Instead, she was simply wearing her usual hide, leather, and bone adornments.

"Hmm, so I am in Arenthia this time. That would explain the pleasantly warm air. Regardless, I think we can take your mind off of all of that for the night." Meesei responded. The remained standing in front of Lunise, holding her hands gently over her partner's hips. "As for my pack, the good news is that we have found the Axe. We know exactly where it is, but...the bad news is that we now have to kill a dragon."

Meesei allowed a moment for the seemingly absurd statement to settle in before continuing. "So, the bounty hunter we are tracking is evidently either the most over powerful, or the most overconfident warrior in Hammerfell. I am leaning towards the latter. He, and a small group of other bounty hunters, have decided to take a bounty that the East Empire Company placed on a Dragon harassing their ships just off of the coast of High Rock. A dragon that fully-armed warships have not been able to deal with. Chances are that he has already left for the island containing the dragon's lair, so he is probably dead. And we will have to go to the island to claim our prize."

Pausing, Meesei let out a sigh. "...After we deal with Do'rhajul. He found us."

---

Saras nodded. "Yes, please collect as much of your pack as you can. We have some new information, and will likely need to act on it within the next day or two. If the clan needs to provide any resources, I would like to have the time to prepare and mobilize them." He responded.

Saras moved to get the meeting started as quickly as they could, so it was just half an hour later that everyone was seated in the meeting chamber. Saras, Ri'vashi, Marcaille, Vera, and the rest of the clan's council were all in attendance, as well as most of the pack, apart from Meesei and Sabine, who had already gone to the spot that Meesei was planning to bring Lunise.

Since he was the one with the relevant information, Saras started off the meeting. "It is good you could all be here on short notice. I received a report from our scouts that they have found Do'rhajul's camp, and from what they could tell, they were not spotted. I have their report here, including a full description of the topography of the area.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I haven't thought much about it either. Great that it will actually go to completion though. I did not expect it to go 4 years, and it might be slightly my fault that it did. I think I let some things go on too long, maybe added parts that weren't necessary. Regardless, I think next time I go into a 1x1, I will start with a sort of beginning, middle, end in mind. This one has been great, though, and I have put a lot of thought into the last parts. A few ways it can go, though. Haven't set anything in stone.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

So, the big things that are left are Do'rhajul, claiming the axe, the assault, and an epilogue. With those, the end of the story is getting fairly close. I have to ask, what do you intend to do once this story is over? Just curious.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For those who were injured, the following week of recovery went thankfully uninterrupted. Kaleeth stayed in bed, under the watchful eye of the healers for an extra day so they could make sure her recovery proceeded properly. Physically, she was deemed healthy, and she thankfully showed no signs of the mental issues that could follow traumatic head injuries. She tried to remain cheerful around Julan, but in private with Janius, she confided in him the fear that the experience had given her. It had served as a reminder that death was not the only possible outcome if something went wrong. With worse luck, she could have become unrecognizable as a person. Regardless, she did her best to move past it, as she knew she would need to.

Unfortunately for Meesei, her planned dinner with Sabine, Karl, and Lunise had to be delayed, as Lunise did not respond indicating that it was safe to teleport to her. Nor did she give the okay on the next evening. Evidently, Lunise's duties had taken her somewhere unsafe for them to meet, which was not terribly unusual for her. Being a representative of the Thalmor, she spent significant time around people who were important in the Dominion, and who could not know about Meesei's regular meetings with Lunise. Granted, since Lunise was assigned as the Thalmor's representative to the lycan clans, it was highly unlikely that the first assumption upon seeing them together would be a love affair. But, the fact that Lunise had not reported the meetings to her superiors could raise some eyebrows among them.

After a week, however, Meesei finally received a positive response from Lunise. Immediately, she informed Sabine, then returned to her room and made a portal to Lunise's location. As usual, she did not know where she would arrive.

Meanwhile, Fendros was in the courtyard, walking between buildings when he was approached by Saras. The Dunmer's clothes did not make him stand out from anyone else in the clan, but he moved with a distinctive purpose. Usually, he sent messengers, so the fact that he was approaching himself was somewhat odd. "Ah, Fendros, it is good I was able to find you. I have gained some new information on our target and cannot find the Champion. You can speak for your pack, yes?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I wanted to have Meesei discuss some things with Lunise as well, so they could be doing that while Fendros speaks for the pack for their plans. After that, we can go to the next encounter with the general. Then, retrieving the axe.

After that, there is only one more shorter task for the pack to accomplish with the axe before it is time for them to push their planned attack against Vile himself. I imagine that will be exciting.