Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The crowd seemed to settle only a few words into Meesei's main response. The reaction of the crowd was a momentary cheer. This time, when Meesei moved forward, they parted to give her pack space or walked backwards while facing her. The barrage of questions was more subdued now, but it still hovered beyond reasonable for anyone to answer at once. The slowed pace to the food was somewhat hectic in this way, but at least everyone could grab what they wanted. There was not only native game from the area, but also some pork and eggs on offer. To the side, a few large pots steamed with roasted or stewed vegetables as well as a few loaves of old hard looking bread. Given the way the meat was apparently portioned, the vegetables were necessary to fill the meals out. There were good cooks in the clan, though, so the stock and seasoning in the said vegetables made them smell delicious enough to be worth foregoing a little meat. Fendros helped to serve a meal for Ahnasha while her hands were occupied and then served himself. He hadn't had eggs for a long time, to he was sure to grab a couple as well as a skillet to fry them, along with some wild board meat and vegetables. All he needed now to complete the hearty dish was some wine, but the rations did not seem to take its luxury that far. Janius' meal choice was similar to Fendros', though he didn't go for the eggs and decided to try the domesticated pork. He was sure to explain what the eggs were to Kaleeth-Rei. He didn't see any hens in Black Marsh, and in the dim light the larger chicken eggs might have been mistaken for other kinds of eggs. Additionally, Janius found a lamb shank to occupy Leaps while they ate. The little wamasu was excitedly jumping at some people's legs, but stayed close to Janius on his command. Throughout the entire ordeal, Sabine held on tightly to Meesei's hand. She normally liked meeting new people, but all the questions were just intimidating. She didn't feel particularly hungry, so she put less than a complete portion into her bowl. Eventually, the pack wandered to what appeared to be an unoccupied cooking fire, but may have just been one that was cleared for them to sit by. Immediately, other people sat and stood around the same fire and attempted to introduce themselves. Some had food of their own, which made things less awkward. Mainly, the questions started to divert towards the orc slayer that all the alphas of Hircine had witnessed in his vision. Clearly, some situations had been exaggerated, but everyone wanted to know the tale from the pack that created it. "I think we should finally tell the tale, Meesei, else we might be regarded as more powerful than gods by the end of the night!" Janius said across the fire, while playing a small tug of war game with Leaps for the shank he had been given. "Indeed! It's about time I heard it as well." An older voice sounded behind the crowd that made everyone quiet. The people parted for Oswall, who had his own bowl of food. He stood watching with a smile. With his authority, it validated everyone else to eye Meesei expectantly. Fendros spotted out of the corner of his eye a couple more people looking down from the mezzanine. Jerrick was leaning against the railing, watching on, and Darahil stood at his side, his posture impeccable.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"It does seem a bit more like a village, doesn't it?" Janius agreed, chuckling at Kaleeth's comment about the temperature, "It is beautiful and warm down here as well. Up until we got down here, I thought I decided that the humid marsh was preferable to the cold, but now that I have a little perspective...it's nice not to sweat all the time." Janius grinned. "It's the main reason why most people think living in the marsh is insane," he quipped. Fendros nodded, "Right. That's a good idea." With some direction, now Fendros felt a little surer. Still, he wouldn't go wandering astray until he felt more comfortable that this wasn't all a big trap. Even though these people were probably the closest to sure allies they could depend on in all of Tamriel, save perhaps for Ariel, the memories surrounding the xanmeer kept him from relaxing. "I don't think I like being underground in places like this." He commented to no one in particular. When the pack came upon the cook fires, it only took one person to spot Meesei point her out. "There she is! The champion!" He shouted through his mouthful. A few more people had turned up for a meal, turning what might have been a small group of people into a small crowd as attention was brought to Meesei. From all directions, men and women moved forward towards the Meesei's pack excitedly and greeted Meesei all at once. "You're Meesei, right? The one who killed the Orc that appeared in all the alpha's dreams?" "The champion of Hircine! It is an honour." "Tell us how you won the ring!" "Here, have some of my pack's venison. We hunted it ourselves." "You don't carry weapons, are you a mage? My packmate is a mage, you two could talk." From between the people, young children peeked in and just seemed to want to touch the pack and run off. Thankfully, many other people present were content to watch on from their seats. It was clear that is was mostly the young and the excitable that were giving them attention. There were no shortage of those kinds of people in a clan with so many initiates. The others in Meesei's pack were not spared. Everyone was accosted by their attention in some form. "I heard your name said, Janius, correct?" "Lorag! Is it true that you punched a man's head clean off?" "You're the werecrocodile, right? I've never met one before, what is it like?" "Are you going to be winning this war?" "Your child is beautiful and healthy, what's its name?" "Please teach me your skills, I want to be a great hunter!" "Come, sit with us! We will share our kill with you." This and many other words were thrown at the pack. Fendros smiled and tried to ward them off. Janius seemed happy to indulge his ego a bit, but was eager to get forward and deal with his hunger. Sabine was just confused at all the attention and the endless questions that didn't make sense. At first, Rhazii was curious as ever, but the overwhelming attention brought him to the point of pushing his face into his mother's shoulder in fear and nearing the point of crying. Unfortunately, the crowd did not yield easily to the pack. Meesei may have to raise her voice and calm everyone down. At least people weren't being hostile. "Word travels fast, it seems," Fendros said to Ahnasha, keeping her close.

New Game Plus (MuttonHawk and Ontos)

Paying no more heed to the guard apart from a curt, "Thanks," Cassarah entered the fortune teller's residence and took a quick glance around. It seemed like a cosy place, but it just seemed so...stereotypically mystical. There were a few implements of magic, but many interesting shapes seemed to be mundane artwork. Nevertheless, Cassarah approached Sheera, getting down to business. "Greetings Mistress Solomon," She said in a less entranced tone than most of Sheera's customers were likely to sound, "I am Cassara Vincent, we talked over letters about my research? Would now be a good time to talk to you?" To her annoyance, the young guard bumbled in partway though Cassarah's greeting. She turned her head and shot narrow eyes at him. "Thank you for your help, guard. I need a moment with your mother," she said as if talking down to him. This strange young man was testing her patience.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius pulled a sturgeon face a nodded. "That ought to help. It would be nice to know what the people here are like, as well. I've had some strange looks." "We're strangers and we're in the champion of Hircine's pack, of course some people are going to give us looks," Fendros declared. "Hm, I guess I can understand that." Janius looked up at everyone else, "In any case, we might start in the food hall. I'm famished." That seemed to get everyone shifting to move in agreement. Everyone was hungry after being out in the cold for most of the day and climbing partway up a mountain. The cook fires seemed to be a good place to start getting to know people anyway. Janius approached Kaleeth and took one of her hands as they started to move. He had noted that she had been quiet since they left the meeting room. "A bit enclosed, but it's a nice place, I think. What's your opinion? How are you feeling?" Before everyone left, Fendros pushed himself off the wall and addressed everyone. "Just one thing. Jerrick and his 'inner circle' seem to be accommodating, respectful and all, but it feels like he's putting on a face. This pack has been around for a while, but...can we trust him?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros, Janius and Sabine all found various places to set up their bedding. They were all relieved to finally put down their luggage and wander freely. Sabine felt relatively safe here, more safe than most places. The only company were other lycans, it was hidden from outside, and anything else was behind barriers. Fendros and Janius, however, were not so comfortable. They had been wary as to the friendliness of their fellow residents since they walked in, not only for Vile's servants, but for the trust of Jerrick and his clan. Perhaps it was too reminiscent of Molag-Bal's xanmeer full of cultists, perhaps it was just their beast spirits being wary of so many potentially rivalling packs at once. "This place certainly seems like it has it all," Janius observed, looking over the ancient masonry again, "but you're right. We should make sure that there are no spies around." Fendros was leaning on the wall next to the railing with his arms crossed, looking out at the training in progress. "How are we going to find such spies?" Fendros asked, "We can't just going around interrogating everyone, one by one."

New Game Plus (MuttonHawk and Ontos)

And he's following... The guard's footsteps elicited a small sigh from Cassarah. She figured that this guy was probably just trying to help, and it was likely that her horrid sense of direction would get her lost again. She bowed her head forward and swallowed back a less civil response. "Okay, fine," Cassarah stopped and dissipated her spell without casting it, then looked at the guard without much patience, "Just so you know, my name is actually Cassarah." Cassarah held the guard's look for a few more seconds, glancing down the road and wondering why he still had that stupid grin. "Well, go on then. Take me to you mother."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The rest of the tour progressed about as expected. The forge was rudimentary, but it served the clan's needs well. It was placed in a room that appeared to be the symmetrical counterpart of the dining room, but the furnace had a brick chimney build up to its own hole in the ceiling. The training chambers were fairly simple rooms with a few statues around. There were some lit areas that people used for sparring and a space off to the side for archery training. The locked gate to the rest of the city turned out to be mundane, as they couldn't see very far past the darkness beyond. A similar notion could be said about the latrines, though at least flowing water could be heard running under the wooden structure. The study rooms were at the top of a staircase that Gallus didn't even lead the pack up into, reasoning that the few people up there did not like to be disturbed and he would have to answer to Darahil if they complained. Throughout the tour, the pack observed that despite the organisation of important supplies, many things were tucked away in crates in random places. Mementos, tools, and materials were in many places where one could stub a toe. They at least seemed to be off to the side, but there was no telling how everyone kept track of it all. As far as most of them could tell, the tools appeared to be nearest to their point of application. The weapons were near the gate, the smithing tools were by the forge, and there was even an amount of books, parchment and chalk stored around an empty chamber with chalk written upon one of the stone walls. Apparently it was where schooling was held. Additionally, the clan seemed to be relaxed about where one could set up a bedroll. Many people seemed content with taking unused rooms as pack groups, but some slept in corridors, alcoves, and sometimes main chambers. When Janius asked Gallus how people slept in areas where there would often be noise, he responded saying that he didn't know exactly, but that he has heard some say they prefer the noise as it helps them with their dreams. It made little sense on the surface, but Janius took Gallus' word for it. It took some wandering around for Gallus to find a space for Meesei's pack. Eventually they settled for an empty stone room with one wall missing, overlooking the main hub chamber over a stone balustrade one story up. It was more claustrophobic than they were used to, but not as bad as it could be. Upon request from Gallus, Tzirret ran to fetch a heating lantern for the pack and placed it in the centre of the room. Apparently they had the spare Ayleid stones to go around after sojourns into the unused depths of the city. "The main chamber gets much more quiet during the night, so noise shouldn't be an issue. People find it rude when a lot of noise is made around those times anyway," Gallus described, before flashing a mischievous grin, "As for privacy, well, no one is really going to be looking up here, but if you need some space, there are plenty of places out of the way. You just have to go looking." Just as quickly, Gallus reverted his demeanour and lightly punched Tzirret on the upper arm, "Anyway, Tzirret here is due for his tutoring on control. Is there anything you champions need before we go? Oh yeah, and if there's not enough food out by the cook fires, just look for a guy called Grolak. He's in charge of rations." Gallus raised a finger, "Careful though, he's all about that fair share rule, and he knows when you're lying."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Now this is probably one of the strangest things we have. When our numbers increased beyond being able to feed people with just hunting and foraging, we started raising livestock. When that wasn't even enough, and we had a greater need to feed ourselves than our stock, we moved on to growing our own crops." Gallus waved to one of the people with a bucket of water who was watering one of the rows, "It doesn't rain down here, so we have to move plenty of water. Thankfuly someone worked out how to use those blue stones to fuel some kind of sunlight making spell. It wasn't Darahil this time, it was one of his students. Tora, I think her name is." The pack moved completely to the end of the hall, where the smell began to get worse and worse. They reached the end of the corridor to behold one of the Ayleid gates with a man made lock securing it. Beyond was the calls of animals. Hens and pigs mostly, by the sounds of it. There were only a couple of stalls visible, however. "Beyond this gate are the animals, as well as a more secure larder. We have to protect them from any midnight snackers or unplanned transformations, so we keep it under lock and key." Gallus knocked his fist against the gate, "A minotaur couldn't get past these old gates. Only a few people have a key and most are already inside, tending to the creatures." Gallus turned around and started heading back to the hub chamber. "So this farming area is probably the biggest place in the ruin. It was empty when we got here, but the guys who study this place were convinced that this place used to be a library. It would explain all the shelves, I suppose." Gallus looked up to the ceiling in thought as they made their way back, "Let's see, you probably saw the armoury when we came in, I guess that just leaves the forge, the study rooms, the training chambers, the gate to the rest of the ruined city, the latrines, and finding you a place to sleep. There might be other things to point out as well, I'll remember as we go." In the quiet they had while heading back, Janius walked up beside Gallus to ask him a question. "Hey, Gallus, how long did it take for this place to get set up?" "Oh, I think it was about a year before it really felt secure." Gallus looked ahead, reminiscing, "For a while it was just a dark, barricaded hole that we were all sheltered in. We had to keep watches for creatures that lived in this place. Undead, mostly. Old undead. Even now, this place is so vast that we don't use all of it. There are still noises from down lower sometimes, but clearing the whole place out would take too long and too much manpower. We've just bricked up a bunch of openings and put a lock on the last remaining gate to the rest of the ruin. The only people allowed beyond are people studying the ruins, and that's with a bodyguard and permission from Jerrick himself."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret still held a frown, but his flat ears perked up slightly and he looked up at Ahnasha properly. Mostly, it was in reaction to hearing Ta'agra from someone new. He seemed to consider Ahnasha's words for a moment, but looked down again. "This one hears that from all. I am still learning. The spirit gets nervous when his host gets nervous. It still scares me."

"Tzirret had some rough experiences. He's been seeing old Najirra about it." Gallus commented, "That old cat has a knack for helping marks of the mind."

Gallus' words caught Fendros' attention so rapidly after he described this 'Najirra' person that he swore his own ears visibly perked up. "Do you mean like wounds in the mind?" Fendros asked in a low voice.

Gallus shrugged. "That's one way of putting it. Many people have bad experiences in turning. He has this weird way of helping people. Some think it's magic, but I'm not sure that it's magic, at least not completely."

Fendros had gone from mildly interested to intrigued. "How might one go to meet this Najirra?"

"If he hears that you're having trouble, he'll send for you. I don't know how he hears so well, but no one can hide their problems from him for long." Gallus looked at Fendros directly, "Got something you need to deal with?"

Fendros looked forward and didn't reply. He didn't want to elaborate, really.

"Ah, fair enough. I had some problems in the past that Najirra helped me live with. I think he'll ask for you soon." Gallus looked forward again, "When he does, just trust him. He's got strange methods, but he won't harm you or waste your time."

The pack touched on the last chamber in the corridor with the canal nearby. It wasn't a particularly large chamber. In reality, most of its size was cordoned off into alcoves with various barrels, vats, buckets and crates. Circles of clothing hung on lines around the radiant warmth of more magical stones, casting shadows about the slightly darker room. A few people stood or sat around, apparently sewing clothing and working leather. "This is where we store some furs, soap and tools. Generally, if you want to clean your clothing, this is the best place to go to dry it off. There aren't always spaces available around the stones, but hanging up clothing elsewhere is difficult."

Given that the room was fairly simple, the pack moved on further. The next corridor lead to the cooking area that the pack had looked over from the balcony near to Jerrick's inner circle's quarters. There were many people here, going about their business eating and drinking. Anders and a portion of his pack could be seen talking and laughing around a fire. Lining the edges of the room was a similar, albeit larger scale, set up to the one that the werewolf hunters led by the Orc had used. Crates and barrels of food, utensils and other knick-knacks gave everyone clear access to anything they would need to feed themselves.

"This is where we go to cook, if that's your thing. Plenty like their meat raw, but you get an appreciation for warm meals up here in the Jeralls." Gallus took a long sniff of whatever meats were in the process of being cooked. "I love it here. You can eat anywhere, but most people just eat here if there's space. You probably spotted the hole in the ceiling, that lets the smoke out. It's one of the few here at home that doesn't get snowed in, and the only one with a room this big beneath it. Jerrick uses this place for announcements as well."

New Game Plus (MuttonHawk and Ontos)

"She predic-?" Cassarah let out the rest of her breath and looked away, shaking her head. She had been in contact with the woman via courier message. Mrs Solomon's reputation for being relaxed about the truth was beginning to become apparent. Cassarah sincerely hoped that it was not a bad idea to seek her out. At least the woman didn't tell her strange guard son why Cassarah was there, else she would be running from them or in manacles by now. Still, this guard's behaviour was thoroughly confusing. Was her spell so obvious that he thought she meant her harm? Cassarah decided to lower her staff to the ground calmly, but kept energy in the flash if she needed it. "I'm not going to hurt you, now leave me alone," Cassarah said simply, letting go of her anger. Cassarah turned to leave and her cowl-hidden expression spoke of nervousness while it was facing away from the guard. Please don't follow me, please don't follow me, please...