EliteCommander

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

We're skipping the events of those two days, so the timespan will be irrelevant. Likely, it will be my next post that initiates the skip.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

It seems like with all the forces arrayed against Xyden, the goddesses could sit this one out.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei nodded. "Very well, I will let you decide who to accompany. We can rest here until it is time to move, or you can walk around to familiarize yourself with the town. Just make sure to be back here before dusk. We will need to make sure we can all follow them together once they find the information they are looking for, but I have an idea of how to accomplish that task."

Meesei sat down on the ground and laid her satchel down next to her. Reaching inside, she pulled out the items she would need: a few of the soul gems they had collected on their journey, and two of her bone necklaces. Ultimately, someone would likely need to track the rival pack once they left the city while the rest of them regrouped back at camp, collected their weapons, along with Sabine. While it would be possible for them to track the scent of their fellow pack member to locate the rival clan once more, Meesei did not want to leave anything to chance. She knew of an enchantment which would help guarantee that they would be able to find each other again.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

So we have Xyden in search of Leith on a murderous quest, Leith who has happened to run into Annabeth and Ssarak, and Ssarak who is on a personal quest for redemption and is just looking for ways to be a hero.

There are so many ways that this could turn interesting.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It is rather late right now, I'll respond in the morning. On the upside, I actually remembered to check this from time to time today.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I can say with confidence that these lycans do not serve our quarry. My vision with HIrcine revealed this Orc to be a staunch enemy of lycans. As for the apothecary, we may need to find her if our plan with the rival lycan pack does not work, but I would like to avoid her if at all possible, at least until I know more about her. We will need to wait until the end of the day, then follow each member of rival pack, or at least as many as we can. Hopefully, they will find what they are looking for. Fendros, do you believe you will be capable of tracking one of the lycans alone, without giving away your position. The rest of us have plenty of experience with tracking, but I would like an honest assessment of your own abilities from you. If you do not think you are up to the task, you can accompany one of us." Meesei asked. As much as she wanted to grow Fendros' skills, the time for training has passed, at least for the moment. The consequences of this hunt were very much serious.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Nothing other than normal investigative methods, to my knowledge." Meesei responded. "I believe there may exist some magic that can identify us, but they would need to examine us directly. That does not mean they are unaware of the presence of the other packs, however. That Redguard was being far from cautious. That may present us with an opportunity, however. Depending on what information Ahnasha recovers, we may be able to use them to get to the Orc.

"That would be correct, Alpha." A familiar voice said as it rounded the corner. Ahnasha approached the group, having tracked them from the market district. Since she was so familiar with all of their scents, it was a trivial matter to follow them. "That Redguard led me straight to his pack. There are seven of them, led by an Altmer male. No one I recognized, but I would not call him a wise individual. I overheard them saying that they intended to find someone to pay off if they found nothing by the end of the day."

Meesei crossed her arms and let out a sigh. "Unwise indeed. Anyone who knows of the Orc's location likely is already under his influence. Vos is his territory, so caution is the only way to approach this. Still...there may be opportunity hidden in their recklessness. If this pack does manage to bribe someone for information, then we can simply stay out of sight and follow them. If they are led to the Orc's lair, then we can compete to kill him first. If they are led into an ambush, then we can again stay out of sight and follow the hunters back to the lair. Does anyone else have any other suggestions?" Meesei asked. Although the final decision rested with her, she was always sure to listen to the advice of her pack members.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The shopkeeper shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. She is a Dunmer woman, but I do not know her name nor where she lives. I rarely see her around town." Meesei took note when the shopkeeper said the hunter selling the werewolf pelts was not an Orc male, but then again, if he had an entire band of werewolf hunters with him, then he probably wouldn't be the one performing the supply runs. It would make sense to use a Dunmer for the task, and the fact remained that someone was regularly selling werewolf pelts in the city.

"I suppose all there is to do is wait. We should find a place to stay." Meesei said to Fendros, keeping up the charade in front of the shopkeeper. After the Dunmer returned to the back room to put away the pelts, Meesei led the pack outside to search for a good spot to talk privately. It would be suspicious for them to leave and enter the city too many times, so they would need to find a place within the walls. They walked away from the bustling crowd of the market district and instead made their way to the poor district of town. The number of beggars rose dramatically, while the quality of the structures around them fell. The polish and beauty of the city disappeared, leaving only the basic functionality of the buildings...if even that. Some of them were structurally compromised, and others were abandoned entirely. Behind one of these abandoned buildings, Meesei was able to find a secluded enough place for them to talk.

"We have something, at least. If I had to guess, I would say that Dunmer woman is working with our quarry. There are a few options open to us for tracking them. We could wait in the city and keep a watch on the general store until the Dunmer returns again, but a better option might lie in that rival pack, depending on what information Ahnasha returns with." Meesei commented once she was sure they were away from any prying eyes.

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

Sharee observed quietly as the crowd split into their appropriate groups. As she expected, the group who could fight was a bit larger than the one who could not. Based on the way herself and Kilith had advertised this job, it would have a tendency to attract people who were not adverse to danger. Once everyone had settled down and stopped talking, Sharee continued, still giving the group of fighters a calculating stare.

"Alright, this will work. The split here is good enough. I have a plan on how to take the ship, but it will take a few days to prepare. Everyone, take the next two days to do whatever you need to do in the city. Buy supplies, say goodbye to friends, get drunk, I don't care, just do whatever it is in the next two days. Just make sure you're here before dawn on the third day, because that is when we will strike. Now, get out of here, you're dismissed." Sharee said, but just before she stepped off of the rock, she stopped, remembering one more thing. "Oh, wait. I also need a group of Argonian volunteers and a mage familiar with feather spells to stick around for a bit, doesn't matter if you can fight or not. I'll need your help with something."

With that, Sharee stepped down from the rock and the group began to disperse. She walked over near the edge of the clearing and stared out into the forest, waiting impatiently for her contact to arrive. After a minute or two, Kilith stepped out from the shadows with a thick journal in his hand.

"So, did you do your job like I asked?" Sharee asked.

"Of course. Myself and a few of my boys were watching the meeting from the sidelines. We matched all of the descriptions we had to members of the crowd. We'll make sure no one turns traitor and gets away with it." Kilith responded

"Good, I have enough to worry about without my crew becoming a problem. Don't go easy on any traitors if you find any." Sharee ordered.

Kilith crossed his arms and gave a mischievous grin. "You know, I find that the services I am providing are beginning to overstep the limits of what you paid me for. I do not think I will be able to help too much longer. Have to pay my boys, after all."

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry your greedy tail off. You'll get your compensation. You still have those contacts in Lilmoth, right?" Sharee asked, to which Kilith nodded in response. "Well, let them know we're coming, and we'll make sure to sell our first haul to them. You'll get a nice cut of the profits."

"Alright, I'll take it, just make sure your ship doesn't go down in flames until after I get my cut." Kilith said with a chuckle before disappearing once again into the shadows. Sharee turned around and rejoined the remainder of the crowd. She would need to explain her plan to the volunteers she asked for, then see if Sarel had stuck around.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Just as before, Meesei was silent, observing the other customers for any sort of reaction to Fendros' words. Fortunately, it did not take much of a trained eye to spot the lycan, as he made himself known pretty easily on his own. A Redguard male walked close past the group towards the exit, locking eyes with Fendros as he neared. "Nice try." He said with an arrogant grin before exiting the shop.

Well, he is far from cautious. Meesei thought, immediately casting her gaze over to Ahnasha. Meesei nodded, to which Ahnasha nodded back, then walked around behind the group to obscure herself from any of the other customers. With a subtle motion of her hand and the faintest glow of magicka, she cast a spell of invisibility over herself and followed the Redguard outside.

"If we cannot track the predator, then we can track its prey." Meesei whispered, her voice almost inaudible to anyone without the exceptional hearing of a lycan. "Let us see if these pelts are what we are looking for, then find somewhere more private to...discuss this."

---

Though Ahnasha was invisible, she still followed the Redguard at a safe distance in case her scent gave her away. She continued along, staying out of the way of the crowd until the Redguards stopped at a stall in the market district. Taking the opportunity to get a better postition, Ahnasha scanned the environment until she found a likely spot to gain a foothold on the side of one of the buildings. With a run and a jump, Ahnasha latched onto the side of one of the shorter buildings and climbed to the top, with the bustling of the crowd hiding the noise she made. She repeated the process to climb to a taller building, which took just enough time for the Redguard to finish purchasing the supplies from the stall and continue on.

Now that she was out of sight, Ahnasha was able to weaken her invisibility down to a much less magicka-intensive chameleon spell. She followed along from rooftop to rooftop, though her dress made it more difficult than usual. She wished she could just discard the thing, but it was necessary for her to blend in. Eventually, she was able to stop when the Redguard ducked into an alleyway between buildings and met with what she presumed to be his pack. As expected, it was a rather diverse group of individuals, in this case seven of them. Ahnasha was out of sight on the building just above them, listening in on everything they said.

"Any luck?" A Bosmer woman asked as the Redguard approached.

"No, but I bought lunch." He responded, laying his bag down on the ground and opening it to reveal an assortment of meats. They each sat down, taking their own share of the uncooked meal. "I did discover that a new pack has arrived in the city, though."

One of the pack members, a large, Cathay-raht Khajiit grunted. Even sitting down, he towered over the rest, and the oversized warhammer on his back left little guesswork as to his fighting style. "Another one? This one believes we should hurry. Just find someone to pay off for our quarry's location. Too many hunters are competing for the same prize."

"Agreed, I am done being cautious. I will not let this opportunity pass me by because I was too afraid to act. If we find no evidence of the Orc by the end of the day, then we will find someone whose lips can be loosened with a bit of coin." An Altmer male responded. By his tone, he seemed to be the pack leader. Unlike many Altmer, he did not appear to be a mage and was instead well-built, with an axe on his hip and an elven shield on his back.

Ahnasha believed she had heard all she needed to hear, so she slid down off the other side of the building, cancelled her chameleon, and walked back out into the street, blending herself into the crowd as she left to find her pack once more.