Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The entourage followed Meesei's pack through the main Ayleid ruins as well, not letting them leave their sight just in case. Despite the measure of security, the pack was awed enough by the interior of the ruin that they were too distracted to notice. The masonry was made from impossibly large blocks of stone so finely done that they could not have been placed and carved by hand. This place radiated magic out of every possible atmosphere. It was an interior, but also like a different world entirely. The space past the armoury was halted by an old metal gate that opened when the faces familiar to the gatekeepers presented themselves and signalled to allow passage. There was some rougher stonework past the gate that indicated some work to make the position more defensible, but Fendros noticed a balcony above the gate that would allow arrows to be fired down, of for a predictably terrifying sally by any defenders. It seemed like overcompensation for such a secluded location, but they had to be careful with the only defence being a secret with such a large community. The gate's narrow artificial passage held a few lookouts that peered down on the new faces curiously, but tried not to draw attention to themselves. The short passage led to another large room. This time, it was even larger. The space easily could have been accommodated in the world's largest royal courtyards. It stretched equal ways wide and long, about two hundred metres in the furthest direction. All space but the centre was covered in a hodgepodge of supplies, bedrolls, and people milling about. In the centre was a cleared and raised platform particularly illuminated by various magical lights. The ancient stone furniture that had been moved off to the sides indicated that perhaps rituals were held here, but the well lit area was instead being used to instruct a group of about twenty lycans in some familiar topic, likely combat techniques. In the darker sides of the room were a number of other lycans standing up against the wall, watching on. No one in the pack had seen so many lycans at once, but if they were impressed, it would be premature. They continued on through one of the many passageways that lead from the instruction chamber. Every alcove out of traffic was occupied by a crate or barrel of supplies, or a bedroll. Some of the bedrolls were occupied by curious eyes or soft snoring. The corridor they were progressing down turned down a set of spiral stairs and went straight on for a while. The wall on their left opened up to another large chamber, this one filled with cooking pits and people using them. Many people were sitting around eating, some on tables, some on mats or on the floor. A keen eye could spot that absolutely no one was alone in this place, in fact, no one was on their own in the entire complex so far. The ceiling of this room was stained black with soot, but this chamber was unique in that a dim ray of daylight could be seen through a hole in the roof. It must be that this was one of the few rooms with a chimney. The next staircase brought them up to a row of large cells closed off with intricate gates. The purpose of this place was not clear, but some private sleeping areas could be seen beyond the cells. the corridor of cells opened up to one last room at its end with a wooden table and a few people sitting around it, eating. One of the light emitting stones appeared to have been moved to be resting on the table while the group discussed something that was hard to make out in the echoing halls. This place in particular seemed less noisy than anywhere else in the ruin. The discussion became more audible as they approached. "...depend on if we could find another place to accommodate another new pack. Keeping mouths fed here is..." The Redguard who was speaking immediately stopped when Meesei's pack came into the light. He turned his head to them along with everyone else at the table, and then smiled. "So this is what I could smell?" He stood up and walked around the table, "Who is this pack, Anders?" "Wait, you're the champion!" A bulky looking elderly Nord who was twisting his body to see them pointed at Meesei's hand, "That ring! You're the champion of Hircine!" "Well, that explains it. I've been told to expect you. I'm Jerrick Salazar, this is my...well I guess you could call it my immediate family more than my pack." He shook Meesei's hand and gestured to the others around the table as if it was very important that Meesei know them before stating anything else, "My lieutenants, Oswall;" The elderly Nord nodded, still bewildered by Meesei's appearance. "It is an honour." "Harriet;" A sly looking, young Orc woman smiled confidently over the top of the blade she was inspecting while leaning back in her chair. "Darahil;" The Altmer next to Harriet seemed to have the opposite demeanour. His arms were crossed and he frowned at each of the pack, sizing them up. "And Vera, my wife;" "Welcome to our halls," Vera said with a small bow from her seat. The Redguard woman seemed to be the most open apart from Oswall. Anders took the moment to properly herald the pack's arrival. "Meesei and her pack here say they needed to speak with you about a possible danger coming our way, sir." Jerrick tightened the corner of his mouth at being interrupted, but clasped his hands behind his back as his only other reaction. His response seemed just as level as everything else he had said. "I see. Before that, though. How about you introduce me to your pack? I see you have quite the..." Jerrick stole a knowing glance at Kaleeth "...variety."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Cool, I'll get something up.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hey Elite, I started a post, but I started filling in a lot of blanks with how the hideout would be laid out. I decided to pause because I didn't know exactly how much you had in mind. I was just putting down my impression of how 150+ lycans would occupy an old ruin. Was there any specific stuff you had in mind beyond just an old Ayleid place?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The black haired Nord leaned back in the chair he had taken with his arms crossed in front of him. He eyed Sabine and Meesei just as suspiciously as the others. That was, until Meesei brought up her ring emblazoned with the head of a wolf. At the sight of it, his expression fell away to reveal one of shock. He stopped breathing for a moment. He couldn't take his eyes off the ring. Meesei's request didn't even register in his mind for several seconds, but once he confirmed what the ring was, he stood up from his chair. His tone changed from threatening to surprised, "You weren't what I was expecting. You had better come with us, don't forget your coats." The man started towards the front door. "Us? Do you mean just you and your friend?" Janius started to ask. The Nord didn't respond. Instead, he turned around, stuck two fingers in his mouth, whistled loudly, and then pointed four fingers towards the general direction of the tables in the inn. Four more roughly dressed people approached along with the remaining man who had sat by the Nord when the pack arrived. The pack now had an entourage of six unknown Lycans escorting them, each donning their own coats and gloves. There was no telling how many more were in amongst the inn's patronage. At a strong walking pace, the pack and its escorts were led out of the inn my the Nord with the sound of crunching snow under their collective boots. They didn't head to the gate that they entered in, rather they ascended one of the staircases up to the second terrace of the town, then headed North to another gate. The guards seemed curious about the suspiciously quiet group of a dozen or so people walking through the streets, but they didn't stop them. Once they were all out of the gate, one of the entourage, a Bosmer man, cast a spell similar to Meesei and Sabine's, then began to light torches for everyone. "Stay warm," The Nord announced, "if this snow picks up any more, some of you might get frostbitten by the time we get there." "How far away is 'there'?" Fendros asked. "An hour or two on good time." That wasn't so bad, but if what the Nord said was true, then the cold could get worse than they thought. Fendros hoped for Rhazii's sake more than anyone's that it wouldn't come to that. Janius felt uncomfortable enough with the cold, but being guided by an equal numbers of strangers was causing him concern. He didn't know whether they were being lead into a trap, or into hospitality. He though perhaps some introductions would help. "So, what's your name?" He asked the Nord, walking up to him with Kaleeth up against his side for warmth. "Mine's Janius." Much to Janius' relief, the Nord smiled, grateful to let go of the situation's seriousness. He pointed a gloved thumb to his hide-clad chest. "I'm Anders. Nice to meet you." Anders looked at the ground while he walked, but seemed to relax a bit, "We normally look to find new lycans in town to pick up. It's an interesting enough day when we find a strange pack and have to chase them off to keep them off our game. Never expected the champion's pack to show up." He glanced at Kaleeth-Rei, "Much less a werecrocodile. Sorry if it sounded like I had something against Argonians, I've just not met a new werecroc in over fifteen years. What's your name? I take it from the way you cling to your friend that you're not used to the north." Whether Kaleeth-Rei participated in conversation or not, Janius kept chatting with Anders the whole way to their destination. While they climbed uphill, they learned the names of their entourage. Fenian was the Bosmer, a young mage, rather scholarly, infected while on a field expedition; Sara, the Imperial woman, apparently a farmers daughter; Coram, the Orc teenager who kept glancing at Lorag nervously; And finally, there were the Redguard twins, Isran and Alesan, inseparable and fast. All of these lycans seemed amiable enough when spoken to, but didn't want to keep a conversation up like Anders did. They were all clearly uneasy to be in the presence of Meesei's pack. The mountain path seemed to take longer to traverse than what felt like an hour, but they eventually neared the hideout's entrance. Anders cleared his throat and announced as much to everyone. "We're almost there. It's much warmer underground in our home."

The Depths of Deception

Shiva hummed as she split her attention between recalling the Rahn'Masser and her healing task. She breathed in to speak when Telmeck approached. Shiva glanced up when he spoke, but he was nice enough not to startle them with his arrival. "Hello again, Telmeck. There's not much to see from this angle anymore, I'm afraid." Shiva said, shifting her fingers to direct the neutrium in another heading, "Rareth, I need you to hold your breath for a moment." Shiva was silent as she concentrated on shifting Rareth's ribs back into position. Rareth would hardly feel it due to the anaesthetic, but a sharp eye could spot the bones moving a tiny amount under her skin and muscle. It was a few seconds before Shiva fused the bones to the point of them holding their own in a stable situation like the treatment. "Okay, you can breathe again," Shiva said. Now all that was left was fusing the bones to full strength and cleaning up bruises. That required less precision, so Shiva resumed their conversation. "So, yeah, during the war, the Rahn'Masser were regarded in the same light as death spirits. If you saw them, you were already dead. No one in the sovereignty would admit they were afraid of you agents, but they secretly were. Our only solace was that there weren't so many of you that you could be everywhere on the theatre of war at once. I was never on the field against one, though. Not that I would know, really." Shiva shrugged, "Other than that, all I know about the Rahn'Masser is from you two." Shiva paused in her healing, changing her tone to be more professional. "Now, most soldiers I treat get upset if I heal their scars away. Admittedly most are from the Sovereignty, you might feel different. On the field I rushed with your epidermis here," Shiva gestured to the where the pattern broke on Rareth's scales where the puncture wound once was, "Do you want me to fix it for you?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine's smile faded a little and she actually became flushed with embarrassment at the realisation that Meesei couldn't read the letter. She fumbled slightly with the letter in one hand as she tried to face it to her again. With the combination of the cold and her flustered state, she stumbled over her words at first. "My...dar...dearest sister..." Sabine translated as best as she could while the two walked to the inn. Reading and translating at the same time was more taxing than Sabine had anticipated. Some words came out slightly differently to the letter, but mostly the same message was communicated. Sabine had to walk slowly through the snow to read and watch her step at the same time. Fortunately, this gave her enough time to get through the entire letter before they neared the inn. When Sabine finished reading out the letter, she looked at Meesei and very nearly jumped up and down in place. She let out an excited laugh the likes of which she had not expressed since before she turned. "Ariel is going to marry Rukeewei!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The warmth of the courier's office was such a relief that Sabine let out a breath and felt like just standing in it for another half an hour. However, Meesei urged her on. Given some confidence by the success of getting directions, Sabine walked up to the clerk with a bit less anxiety and placed her palms lightly on the desk. She started out quiet again, but her volume increased once she gained momentum. "I am Sabine...Montgrave. Is there anything for me?" The clerk looked up with a raised brow and stopped writing for a moment. "Let me just take a look, Miss Montgrave." He said as he put his quill away and stood up. With unintelligible mumbles and grumbles, the Imperial fingered through the various items on the shelves around him until he found a slip of folded paper that had been sealed with wax. Some writing had been scratched onto the front that the clerk read and reread before showing it to Sabine. "Is this your name?" The letter was addressed as such: Miss Sabine Montgrave Care of Bruma Courier Service Bruma, Cyrodiil Sabine didn't know what the 'Miss' meant, but it was Ariel's handwriting. That much made her heart skip a beat. She didn't care about anything else on it, her name was Sabine Montgrave. She nodded her head vigorously and smiled. The clerk returned the smile and extended the letter over the desk to her. Sabine took it with both hands and turned it, trying to work out the best way to open it. It was a few seconds before Sabine remembered her manners once again and looked up at the clerk. "Thank you." The clerk didn't respond with anything except a smile and a nod before he sat down and resumed his work. In her rush to read the letter, Sabine didn't even walk away from the desk yet. She didn't quite realise that opening the letter would be as simple as snapping the wax seal, so she ended up tearing the paper slightly, much to her dismay. It was not ruined beyond reading, thankfully. Sabine ran her finger across the line of text as she slowly deciphered the Daedric runes written to form Dunmeris. The words were cramped on the small sheet such that Ariel did not have space to put paragraphs on the sheet of paper, but it wasn't a problem. She skipped over the date, but it was obvious that the letter was written in response to the letter Sabine sent in Leyawiin. My dearest sister, This week has been the most wonderful week in my life. Business was good for a start, I made more returns than I had predicted for this month. I received your last letter, it was a relief to hear that your voyage was going well, despite the difficulties of living on the ship. To top it all off, Rukeewei gave me the biggest fright when he invited me to his inn and presented to me a ring of engagement. A gold band with three of the most beautiful amethysts you have ever seen! He even hired a bard to perform a ballad in my name. I could barely speak, but when I accepted, the cheer from the patrons was deafening. I can barely contain my happiness at this moment, but it is all I can do to keep focussed on work and help to organise the wedding. At first, I didn't know how we would pay for a ceremony, but it turns out that Argonians are community minded enough, even in cities, that we have received help from friends and family of Rukee's. Some friends I've made in the city and even some of my customers have pushed gold into my hands demanding that I contribute it to the wedding. It warmed my heart so much for all the support. We are to be married a month from now, enough time for Rukeewei's relatives to gather. It might be embarrassing to have no family there, but I have made some friends that I intend to invite. I wish you and the pack could be there, Sabine, but I know that the distance between us and the duties you have makes that impossible. Speaking of which, you must tell me of you journey from Leyawiin to Bruma. I want to hear everything, from the people you meet to the sights you see. How is the pack? Have Ahnasha and Fendros found some help yet? How is little Rhazii and Leaps-On-Elves? And most importantly, how are you, sister? Cyrodiil must be different under the light of your new perspective. I want to know how you have developed over this time. My address is the same as always. Please write back as soon as you can. All of my love to everyone. Your sister, - Ariel "Do you need anything else, Miss?" The clerk spoke just as Sabine reached Ariel's signature and she was snapped back to reality. "What? Um...no." Sabine's voice was jumpy, suddenly full of energy. She turned around to Meesei and her face spread into one of the widest grins she had ever pulled. She very nearly sprinted the two metres up to Meesei and held the letter up to her. "Read!" She demanded with excitement, too elated to remember to say please or to provide any more context. --- The bearded Nord crossed his arms and frowned. He was not going to believe Lorag immediately, but he wasn't going to drive them all out of his pack's territory just yet. "Then I will stay to wait for her. Then we can find somewhere more appropriate," he responded, continuing to give suspicious glances to Kaleeth. Janius had honestly hoped for a more warm welcome, but he couldn't blame the stranger for being as cold as the weather. He was dealing with a foreign pack that might present competition for their hunting grounds, or worse, present a threat to his own pack. Janius might have tried to engage him in pleasantries to try and lower the tension, but he figured it was best to follow Lorag's lead here.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Well, it's been going for a while, oZode. Long time no see.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While the others went into the inn to find a lycan contact, Sabine stayed with Meesei and thought of how to proceed. Thankfully, she had a moment so distract herself in making a small magical flame to keep warm. It was a simple spell, less simple than just making light, but still simple. She stood still for a few moments to make sure that it was at a manageable magnitude, then nodded. For the little warmth it gave, at least it kept her fingers from freezing off. Now, directions. Sabine looked around and spotted a pair of the vibrantly dressed guards patrolling. They were helpful unless they were corrupt. It was a start. Sabine approached the guards, but not so eagerly that she would slip over in the snow. The guards kept an eye on them as they approached. No doubt two hooded strangers with magic fire in their hands was not a sight to ignore. Sabine spoke quietly to get their attention. "E-excuse me." The guards didn't hear her behind his helmet, so she tried again a little louder, "Excuse me." One guard stopped and faced them, prompting the other to stop as well. "Can I help you, citizen?" His tone was slightly grumpy due to the weather. Sabine paused, thinking she had said something wrong. But found words before the guards walked off. "Courier's office. Do you know where the courier's office is?" The guard's demeanour seemed to change to be helpful. Perhaps he was expecting something more stressful. He pointed down the street along the wall, away from the temple. "See that house on the left with the sign with a horse on it?" Sabine had to squint to see what the guard was mentioning, "That's the office right there." Sabine didn't look at the guards before she started walking again, but she stopped a couple of steps later to turn and smile. "Thank you." "Just doing my job. Stay warm, young lady." The guard turned and seemed hunched again as he continued his patrol. As soon as they walked out of earshot from the guards, Sabine smiled triumphantly at Meesei. "Those guards were not corrupt, weren't they?" --- The rest of the pack opened the door to the inn to be blasted by heat, smoke, chatter, and various smells. It was not unexpected, but the contrast with the frigid outdoors made it seem more powerful. Stepping inside, they quickly found that they had to discard their outermost fur cloaks in the warmth. It was warmth that they had never been so grateful for in their lives. The inn itself was not especially large, but had more people than they were expecting. Some people were drinking or eating, some were just standing around to warm up for a moment. Virtually everyone was talking amongst themselves. There were a few patrons that threw glances at the pack, especially when they spotted Leaps' head sticking out from the collar of Janius' makeshift fur greatcoat where he was being kept for warmth. The hatchling's body was already making his front seem strange and contorted without his uniquely shaped head drawing everyone's attention. The inn had its fair share of roughly dressed individuals, so even with the faint trace of an unfamiliar lycan in the air, they could guess that one was their agent. Fendros looked to the others briefly, "Let's wait by the fire for a bit. I have a feeling that an agent will come to us eventually. We'll look more closely if we get nothing by the time Meesei comes back." True enough, while the pack warmed their extremities up, a group of three people around a table in the corner eyed them and discussed quietly amongst themselves. After about a minute, one of them walked out of the inn, picking up his coat in a hurry. The another stayed seated while the third approached the group briskly. He was a Nord who looked about as old as Lorag, probably a local. He wore his shoulder-length jet black hair combed back to reveal a widow's peak and he wore a thick beard that obscured his lips, but was not long enough to grab. His demeanour was authoritative, but not threatening. "You four. I know what you are, you know what I am. You are in Jerrick's territory. I can see that you have a child, so we will not attack unless you force us to. What is your..." A confusion came over the man as he cut himself off, he stared at Kaleeth-Rei for a moment, then continued, "...What is your business here and what is one of your kind doing so far up north?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros was still unconvinced. He frowned and narrowed his eyes in ambivalence. "Again, I don't know about your family, but I'm not so sure about mine. From what I know of my parent's culture, the shame of having your only birth child run off with a Khajiit could be worse than simply having them die. In fact, they may treat the event as just the same, and their grief would just perpetuate." Fendros closed his eyes and shook his head, looking at Ahnasha again before continuing, "I don't know how much it will accomplish, but I will think about it. For you, I would hate to see you go through the pain, but if you think it's the right thing to do, I will trust and support your decision." "Oh, okay." Sabine's eyes darted as she was taken off guard. She would have to navigate Bruma? She might get lost again. What if the Bruma was even more difficult to navigate than the Imperial City? She tried to calm herself down as they approached the gates. She would have everyone with her this time, at least. The driver spoke over his shoulder in a husky cold-touched voice. "Welcome to Bruma. The city of mead and mountains." The caravan proceeded under the gates of the snow covered stone walls and beyond into the streets. To their left rose a tall temple to the Nine Divines that looked over the tiled roofs of the buildings to their right. The buildings, some houses, some shops, all lined up on a number of terraces that ascended up to the keep at the top of the central thoroughfare with some treacherous looking staircases along the way. The guards here wore yellow emblazoned with a black bird. and the entire ground save for some cleared parts of the streets were blanketed with a layer of mountain snow. The pack had a few moments to take everything in before they would disembark and wait for Meesei's next intended heading.