EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Oh, there are absolutely Senche-raht:

The Cathay, though, have been retconned as the standard Khajiit you would see the most across Tamriel. Previously, that was the Suthay-raht, which are now the breed of Khajiit seen in TES III: Morrowind.

I think now, the largest breed of bipedal Khajiit are the Pahmar-raht. Do'rhajul would be one of these:

For us, though, I think it makes the most sense to go with the canon at the time that we made the decisions, regarding names.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I do like that with ESO's Elsweyr expansion, there is now in-game representation of some of the other Khajiit breeds. Including the rather giant ones. Though, it also mildly annoys me that they've done a bit of retconning in which breed is which. The Cathay-raht were absolutely listed as the giant ones a few years ago.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The Redguard seemed quite relieved at the answer he had been given. Even if Meesei was not addressing the issue personally, he did not seem disappointed in the slightest that Fendros was taking charge of the situation. "Yes, right away. My name is Ghanir; I'll take you to my farm. The graveyard is not far behind it."

As soon as they were in the hall, Saras started to give his explanation of the situation as requested. "I am afraid there are not too many more details I can give. There have been at least three confirmed instances of missing bodies in the last few months, though it is possible there have been more. I can say that I do agree with Ghanir in that this is likely the work of a graverobber, and not a wild animal. In my observation of the graveyard, I noticed that some of the dirt on one of the other graves was unusually disturbed, suggesting that the grave might have been dug up and filled back in. If that is the case, then the times that our graverobber has been discovered have likely been times in which he or she was in danger of being discovered and had to escape prematurely. Without digging up graves ourselves, we do not have any way of knowing how many bodies have been taken. However, I do feel that I should warn you to approach this delicately. Although Hal-Neesa is a necromancer and a likely candidate, we do not have any solid evidence that she is guilty."

Saras added one last comment, this time speaking softly enough that Ghanir would have trouble hearing from ahead of them. "Personally, I feel that hiding and digging around in the dirt does not feel much like...her to me. Does it?"

The farm, and the graveyard near it, was only a short walk away from the city, and still well-within sight of the walls. Although the Silent City's light did allow for other crops to be grown, many edible mushrooms still grew quite well in the environment of the cavern. As such, many of their farms were mushroom farms. They were able to trade with other clans for other types of food, but those who were not fond of mushrooms did typically have to learn to tolerate them if they wanted to be well-fed. As for the graves, Fendros and Sabine would be free to examine them for as long as they liked. The most obvious detail was, of course, the fact that one of the graves had been entirely dug up. The wooden coffin had been broken open with minimal damage to any part of it, suggesting it had been done slowly, carefully, and likely quietly. Unfortunately, there were no useful footsteps in the dirt. There were a small handfull of prints that had certainly not been made by Saras or Ghanir, but they were only partial and did not show near enough detail to be helpful. The only useful information they might have provided was the fact that whoever made them had to have been skilled at leaving few traces behind.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I would normally be inclined to refuse, but...I do believe our forgemaster has a fair point. With what our pack is going to be facing, we need any advantage we can reasonably obtain." Meesei replied, turning her head to look down at Valgar. "Forgemaster, your first and greatest priority is still to forge high quality weapons, armor, and other equipment for our armies. The majority of your resources, and the resources of any other clan you may confer with, should still be dedicated to that task. But, as long as it does not interfere with that priority, I do permit you to forge weapons and armor for my pack of the highest quality materials available to you."

Ahnasha had an obvious smile on her face. Although she had been taking her time admiring the dragon bone armor, she had still been paying attention to the discussion of weapons. “Well, now that’s some news I can get excited for. I’ve often wondered how a daedric bow would perform, or perhaps the blades would make for a more impressive difference? Either way, I can’t wait to find out. But, uh, if you need to get my measurements or something, it will have to wait. There is something I need to go do right now.”

“Of course, you can all be measured for your armor in your own time. There’s still plenty I can work on before needing that.” Valgar answered.

Evidently, Ahnasha was in something of a hurry, as she moved to take her leave right away. On the way out of the forge, she passed Saras on the way in. While not every encounter they had with the Dunmer spymaster meant that there was some new emergency to deal with, that was his usual reason for seeking them out. On Ahnasha’s part, she simply quickened her pace out the door before she could get dragged into something else.

Even Saras regarded Meesei’s new armor with a rare moment of visible surprise. It was doubtful that the forgemaster had been able to requisition the dragon bones without Saras’ knowledge, but the fact that he had a complete armor set ready was apparently a surprise. “I see your dragon bone project has finally bore fruit.” Saras commented to Valgar, but as usual, he was quick to get to business. “But at any rate, we have a rather…persistent issue that I’m afraid I have to bring to your attention. Normally, I would deal with this myself, but it may involve the vampire, again. I can’t be sure, but one of our-“

Before Saras could finish his explanation, someone else came stomping into the room, a Redguard man. He looked both determined and angry, though he was not someone that most of the pack was likely to know. He was not someone in a leadership position in the clan, but simply one of their mushroom farmers.

“I told you to wait outside…” Saras began to chide the man, but the Redguard simply talked over him as he marched into the room.

“I’m sorry, but it’s not Falmer, it’s not animals. It’s been going on for too long. It’s an insult to our brothers’ and sisters’ that we haven’t done something sooner. Champion, you need to…”

Given Meesei’s current appearance, the Redguard finally laying eyes on her was enough to curb even his apparent anger. Or, at the very least, her armored beast form was enough to make him act more outwardly respectful. He stopped in place, straightened up his posture, and swallowed nervously before continuing. “…Champion, my lady, you need to know what has been happening. I help tend the graves near my farm, and these past few weeks, I’ve found some of the graves dug up. And not just to be looted for valuables; bodies and even bones were taken too. I brought this to the clan leaders as soon as I discovered it, but it’s still happening. Another grave was robbed just yesterday.”

Saras’ expression was stern, and it seemed like he might have been reaching the edge of his own patience with the Redguard. “We did not ignore your concerns. We took appropriate action to protect the graves.”

“You assigned one of the machines, that Dwemer sphere to patrol the place. But, like I said, this wasn’t the Falmer, or some wild chaurus. I heard no fighting yesterday, and that machine is still perfectly fine rolling around outside the graveyard. It can only be that damned vampire. Who else could be so vile as to disrespect our dead, and we’ve all heard the rumors of how she can control the machines. And it’s not like there are any other necromancers in the cavern, except maybe some of those Thalmor. But my septims would still be on that vampire.”

Meesei grunted, though it sounded closer to a low growl. Her helmet allowed for few hints as to how upset she actually was, but she maintained a reasonably calm composure. “I cannot ignore this. Sabine, I want you to join me. We should go speak to Hal-Neesa right away.”

“Meesei…” Saras interrupted. “…you still have your obligations with Teroiah and gro-Tagnud. You already delayed this twice, and the Commander was more than upset last time. I do agree that the graverobbing situation should be dealt with, but it is not as time-sensitive.”

Again, Meesei’s frustration showed briefly through a growl. “Fendros, Sabine, do you think you two could deal with this?”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, I should be able to post tomorrow morning. And the next part I have in mind should wrap up everything I can think of before the activation of the portal. Was there anything else you had in mind?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Valgar's expression soon began to take on something of a more anxious or uncomfortable appearance. He hesitated, unconsciously rubbed his hands together, and ended up clearing his throat before finally speaking. "Look, I'm, uh...not really good at this sort of thing. But, um, I just wanted to say that I've always thought it was real honorable the way you treat us. Your pack, all of you. And I don't think it's just us blacksmiths that feel that way, but a lot of people here in the clan. People who make things, especially. You've never demanded any tribute from us, even though you've had every right to do it. You're our leaders, you could have asked for anything you ever wanted from us, but you've always traded fairly. But...it's not the time for that kind of thing anymore. Now that I know what's coming, now that I know that this war could actually, really be over soon, it's time for everyone to do our part. And you're going to be doing the most. You're our leaders, damned heroes, and you're going to be right in the frontlines. You're the best we have, so you deserve to get the best we have. I can't make daedric swords for a whole army, but I figure giving a few to you will do just as much."

Valgar shrugged and let out a long breath. "I mean, if you really think those hearts would be more useful somewhere else, then that's fair, but I'm going to be making you all something, and that's that."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei soon took notice of Narsi beside her. The armor made her seem potentially even more unapproachable than usual as Champion, as the gaze of her dragon skull helmet could not be much else except intimidating. However, her friendly attitude came in stark contrast to her threatening appearance. "Indeed. Dragon bone is an exceptionally rare and dangerous material to acquire to begin with, and on top of that, requires a master blacksmith to even begin to work with. I do not think your father was exaggerating when he suggested this armor could buy multiple houses. It is easily the...third most valuable item I have ever handled." She remarked, letting out a grunt at least somewhat comparable to a laugh.

The forgemaster, meanwhile, was predictably open towards Janius' request. "Oh, of course. It will be our pleasure to have you. I have already begun training some of the more seasoned smiths here in the techniques required to work with the bone. I have every confidence that we will have everything ready for you in time for the invasion. Unfortunately, I...don't think we will have enough materials left over for dragon bone weapons. Even with two skeletons to work with, bone armor, especially for lycans, is resource intensive, and not all the bones are suitable. We do probably have enough scales to make one or two more sets of the light armor than the three you've asked for, but the scales aren't suitable for weapons. We might be able to make one weapon if we're lucky, but...even if we're not, I can still make my best weapons for you. I know how to forge daedric metal. If you'd like, and if you can get the alchemists to part with a few daedra hearts, I can craft you some of the most deadly weapons you'll ever see."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha hummed to herself for a few moments, looking particularly at Janius. "It's a hard call to make for you, to be honest. Between Meesei, Sabine, and me, we do have the pack's magical needs covered, so it might be that you could contribute differently in your lycan form. But, at the same time, you do have a very well-balanced skillset that might make it better to keep your options open. Honestly, I think you would be just fine either way. We can plan around either."

"Well, if Janius is stickin' to this form, then I'll have to take heavy armor for a werewolf." Lorag commented with a nod towards the forgemaster. At least a few of us should go in lycan form. It gives us more options as a team to have both. I can move faster than Kaleeth, so I can take on enemy flanks with the armor keepin' me protected."

Regardless of whether Narsi would actually go through with touching the armor or not, Julan ended up interrupting her when he nudged her in the side, grinning with just a hint of smugness. "See? I told you we ate a dragon."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Valgar nodded back at Sabine. "Of course. Now I'm, uh, no expert on something like magic, but it's my understanding that these bones are ripe for enchanting. Naturally, you can choose whatever magic you want to put in them. I'll leave that to experts like you."

"In that case, I think I'm of the same mind as Sabine." Ahnasha commented. "While it would be wonderful to be a dragon-armored werewolf, we need to think carefully about how we want to approach the battles we're going to be taking. This armor is going to be incredibly useful, but it does mean that none of us will be free to transform unless we're prepared to lose it. So, we need to decide this now. I think a mixed composition between our normal and lycan forms would work best. We're probably going to be taking on special objectives more than we're on the frontline, so the versatility will help us. We should think about what kind of balance would help us most as a team Myself, I think I bring the most to the table with access to my magic, so I'll take light armor for my normal form."

There had been some hesitation from Kaleeth, but Ahnasha's perspective made her realize that the choice for her was rather obvious. "Then I will probably need heavy armor for a werecrocodile. If it's really as strong as you say, then it could let me be very aggressive. Even more than normal, especially if you can enchant it to help protect me against magic. I could charge into enemy formations and disrupt them without too much risk. I know the rest of you can do a lot to take advantage of that."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Even with his prideful demeanor, one could perhaps see that Valgar was holding back a bit of laughter. "Eh, sorry kid. Materials this valuable have to be reserved for the best of our warriors."

Lorag huffed. "'Valuable' is right. I wonder how many houses you could buy with one of these suits?" He remarked, walking in a circle around Meesei as he admired the crafstmanship in the armor. Being that he had some experience in smithing himself, it gave him an even greater appreciation for the accomplishment. He personally had no idea how to even start working with something like dragon bone, but he had never been a "master" blacksmith. "So we can all get suits just like this one, then?"

"Yes. Or to whatever specifications you want." Valgar answered. "I was confident that you would benefit from armor in your beast form, Champion, due to your abilities. But for each of you, I can, of course, craft the armor to suit each of your specific needs. This is heavy, dragon bone armor that can stand against anything short of siege weaponry, but dragon scales, on the other hand, are lighter and tougher than any other light armor you could find. Even for those of you not used to wearing armor, I would say that dragonscale armor would be worth wearing for you. I can make the armor for your normal or lycan forms, though...not both. It's hard to say exactly how much armor we can make with what we have, but you'll definitely need to pick one or the other."

"And since this armor will probably take time to make, that means you all will need to decide soon what form you intend to take for the invasion." Meesei added.