EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

After what seemed like an eternity, the Cathay-raht managed to convince the old man to divulge his information. Evidently, the password he was looking for was simply "password." Once the Khajiit handed over the payment, the man informed him of a camp to the northeast of the city which could hold their target. The Cathay was all too eager to leave, along with Ahnasha. She hid herself away while the Khajiit exited the alley, then shadowed him as she had before.

Meesei could not determine where the Altmer had gone and was forced to abandon her search. Enough time had passed that the others in the rival clan had either found information, or were returning to their own meeting point. Hopefully, Lorag and Fendros had been able to track one of the lycans, as they were the only ones she could easily locate. Taking the enchanted bone necklace from her satchel, she clutched it tightly in her hand and allowed it to guide her in the direction of her pack member. She was, of course, cautious in this process and payed close attention to the people around her. It would be unwise for her to openly approach Lorag and Fendros while they were stalking the other lycans, after all. She continued to mask her scent via illusion and eventually grew close enough that she spotted the rival clan. Remaining out of sight, she used the necklace to hone in exactly on Lorag and quietly joined their group.

After a short time, the Altmer leader and another of the rival pack joined with the rest of the group and exchanged the information they had gathered. It seemed as if the leader had little luck in his search, but the others had gained some indication that the Orc's camp lay to the northeast. The last of their pack took quite a while to arrive, well after nightfall, but when the Cathay-raht returned, he confirmed their suspicions, producing a rough map that indicated the approximate location of the Orc's camp. Now, there was nothing stopping their rivals from leaving in search of their quarry.

Ahnasha followed the Cathay back to his pack and hid herself around the corner in the shadows, under the influence of a chameleon spell. All of the lycans she had observed earlier were present, so it was pretty much a guarantee that at least some of her own pack members were nearby as well, watching from the shadows. She could not catch their scent on the wind, though it would not exactly be a good thing if she could. Still, it would be easy enough to locate them. All she would need to do would be to watch the city gates after the rival pack left the city. Her friends would need to pass through the gate at some point.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha listened in on the conversation, peering ever so slightly around the corner to get a look at the pair. The old man the Cathay was speaking to was some type of human, perhaps Imperial or Breton, with thick grey hair and a bushy, unkempt grey beard. He looked up at the Khajiit with a sort of haze over his eyes and a slight grin over his face.

"Oh, now this is a sight I haven't seen before: a big cat!. How exciting! What does the big cat want with me?" The human said, with small laughs dotting his sentences.

The Cathay did not seem nearly as amused as the old man, returning a serious expression. "Do not play games, you should know of this one. A few weeks ago, our associates spoke with a few of your...friends, regarding some information. You offered to sell the information, and we took some time to decide. We wish to take the deal."

The old man cackled for a few moments before finally giving his response. "Yes, yes, I was told about a big cat I might be meeting...but how do I know that you are the right big cat? What's the password?"

"Password? We were given no such information. However, we have been here for weeks, and this one has not seen a single other Cathay-raht in the city. There are none others here besides this one." The Khajiit said, obviously annoyed.

"Weeks? Ha! I've been here half my life. I might as well be a Dark Elf. Oh, I wonder if...never mind. Not important." The Human retorted, his voice and mannerisms beginning to hint at some mental instability.

The Cathay-raht crossed his arms and glared at the man. "So, you've been here for years. Have you ever seen a Cathay-raht before a few weeks ago?"

"Big cats like you? Nope."

" So you admit that this one is the only Cathay-raht in the city?"

"Yep,"

"Then will you give us the information?"

"No."

"How does that make any sense?" The Khajiit asked, now yelling with visible anger.

The old man gave a dismissing wave to the Khajiit and stood up slowly from where he was sitting. "You see, I know that there was only one big cat in the city. But, how do I know that you don't know that I know that? You could use the fact that you know I know it to trick me into thinking you're the one I know I saw, even when you know that you're not the one I know." He said, making motions with his hands as if they were actually helpful.

The Khajiit cocked his head to the side and stared at the man for a few moments. "...what?"

The man let out a sight, genuinely disappointed that the Khajiit did not understand. "Look, no password, no information."

The Cathay, obviously still confused, took a few steps back and put his hands up in front of himself. "Just...you were told to expect a Cathay-raht, correct? A 'big cat'."

"Yeah."

"You know you had never seen one of my kind until a few weeks ago."

"Indeed"

"You know you were told to meet someone meeting this one's exact description."

"Quite."

"With how far Vos is from the Khajiit homeland, you have to recognize that the odds of another Cathay-raht arriving at the exact same time as us is almost none, right?"

"Probably."

"So will you give the information?"

There was a pause of a few seconds as the man stared up at the Khajiit. "...what's the password?"

Both the Cathay-raht and Ahnasha let out a sigh simultaneously. It seemed this was going to be a long conversation.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak found himself nervous, still believing that much could go wrong in approaching Mar. Perhaps he was being too cautious. After all, with how far along Mar's pregnancy was, she was certainly not in peak physical condition and might realize the risks involved with lashing out at someone. Regardless, Ssarak still did not wish to offend her. The Nagas' customs were entirely alien to both Human and Esyire cultures, so neither he nor Annabeth had any real idea of what expectations they had for social interaction. Perhaps he would be able to convince Annabeth to present the gifts to Althalus, instead of Mar? He was Human, and much more friendly and approachable than Mar. Allowing him to take the gifts would serve the same purpose with less risk.

Just as Ssarak was about to speak up, Annabeth rounded the corner at the same time as another individual, who ended up falling to the ground as a result of the impact. Upon closer inspection, Ssarak saw that it was his roommate, Leith. He seemed unharmed as he stood up and dusted himself off, and Annabeth had managed to keep her footing, so there was no cause for concern. "Good morning, Leith." Ssarak added after the two introduced themselves.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

It's rather late, so I'll respond tomorrow.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I don't think any race I would create would add anything that isn't already here.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I would have made a custom race had the Esyire not already been perfect. Well, almost.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I'm wondering if I should respond before lucius.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei stepped out from the alleyway, wiping the blood from her claws. It had been over quick, but not quick enough. The Altmer had evidently not decided to investigate the source of the noise. Perhaps the thought drunken brawls were common in the slums, which they likely were. Nevertheless, he had escaped her sight. She searched the area and could find his scent, but in a city, scents became so mixed and diluted that it was difficult to track them for long, especially considering that lycans had been in the city for some time. Meesei spread her search for the Altmer outward, but every moment that passed reduced the chances of finding him. Vos might not have been the largest city in Tamriel, but it was large enough that she couldn't simply guess where he was going. Meesei could only hope the others were having more luck than herself.

Ahnasha had confirmed that the Cathay was definitely lost. At first he had been somewhat subtle in his movements, but now he was just leaning around every corner, into every alleyway. Unlike most Khajiit, the Cathay-raht, were not known for their agility or subtlety, and they were prohibitively large for anything other than a direct approach. She almost wanted to give up on the Khajiit until he finally decided to walk down one of the alleyways he approached. Curious, Ahnasha ran over and peered around the corner in complete silence, due to the effects of her muffle spell. She could not see clearly around the Cathay's large body, but he was just starting to talk to someone who appeared to be wearing old, torn clothes that were practically rags. A strange sight in the wealthy district. Interesting. She thought.

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

Sharee spoke to the Argonians and the mage, who conveniently was also Argonian, who volunteered to help with preparations. She could not offer to pay them immediately, but promised them a slightly higher share of the profits for their assistance. It was not much more, as their task would not be especially dangerous, but it was enough to convince them to bother with it. After explaining the task to them, she sent them away. Some of the crew stuck around for a while conversing amongst themselves, but they all left one by one to retire for the night. Sharee sent Allaina back to the city and informed her that she would not be returning for the night. Instead, she remained outside, shared a bottle of wine with Sarel, and readily lived up to her offer.

The next day, Sharee went straight to work on her preparations. Based on the number of fighters she had in her crew, there were some items she would need to purchase for her plan to work. Mostly, she went to apothecaries, general stores, thieves guild contacts, and anyone else who sold ingredients for the potions she needed to make. Overall, she ended up spending pretty much all the coin she had left, so she was going to make sure that this attack was going to work. The rest of the day she spent in her room at the inn with a veritable assembly line of potion brewing. Allaina was beginning to show her usefulness, as Sharee was able to teach her how to set up the potions, so Sharee could quickly and easily perform the more difficult, final steps to finish them off. The only time Allaina left the room during the day was to go out to where Sarel was making camp to bring him some food and fresh water, so that he wouldn't starve, or risk exposing himself to the guard.

Sharee stayed in her room and drank for most of the next day until late evening, when she met outside of the city with the group of Argonians she spoke to after the meeting. Despite being intoxicated, Sharee guided them out of sight underwater along the bottom, pushing through the thick layer of kelp until they were directly underneath one of the East Empire vessels in the harbor. They swam up to its anchor, then had the mage cast feather over the heavy weight while the rest of them picked it up and moved it to the side. They drug it underneath the dock and wrapped its rope around a few of the pillars supporting it. When the crew attempted to draw up the anchor, it would get caught on the pillars and they would be unable to raise it. When they captured the East Empire frigate and started to leave the harbor, the other military vessels would certainly attempt to give chase. They would be able to cut the ropes to free themselves of the anchors, but hopefully it would provide enough of a delay for them to escape. Sharee and the others repeated the process for every military vessel in the harbor, except for the frigate they intended to capture.

Before the sun had even rose over the horizon, Sharee was in position and waiting at the meeting spot. She, Allaina, and Sarel were already there, and others were beginning to arrive. Due to her work in the harbor the previous night, she had not been able to get too much sleep. She was operating on stamina potions and had a slight hangover, but adrenaline would push those worries aside once the attack began. She would probably end up going straight to her bed after it was all over, but at that point, she would be going sleep a captain, a thought that caused a grin to come over her face as she looked out over the harbor.

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

In the interest of time, I will have my next post skip to right before the attack.