Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Good hunting," Finley said as Meesei hurried from the tavern. They didn't even wait until she had left the area before hushed conversation sounded between them. This new development seemed to create more questions for them than answers.

As opposed to what might have been immediately expected, Meesei only sensed Galsek's presence in the general store. By the way the enchantment shifted, it appeared that he wasn't completely still, but he remained inside for longer than it would take to negotiate a purchase. In fact, the more Meesei focussed, the more she realised that Galsek was in a different spot to the main area of the general store, but he was still inside the building. It was late enough in the day that if Galsek was to find accommodation, he would have surely found it by now. That led speculation to natural ends.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"So that's how it went..." Finley looked about thoughtfully, "We'll, er...we'll do as you say. By the way he spoke, it sounded as if he would be staying elsewhere from the Tack and Tap. I didn't think anything of it, but it did seem strange." He cast his eyes to the others at the table, "I'm not sure if anyone from my pack knew Galsek too well. Anyone?"

Everyone at the table either didn't respond at all, shrugged, or hesitantly shook their heads with their lower lip curled forward. "He never seemed to like farming duties, said it wasn't in his blood or something. He always tried to talk his way out of it." The one young Nord lycan at the opposite corner of the table shrunk back a bit, not sure how useful the comment was, "That's all I know about him."

Finley's face turned back to Meesei and opened a palm, half shrugging. "Need anything else?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Finley sat down opposite Meesei without as much hurry. Everyone leaned in to hear what she had to say. While Meesei spoke, Finley lowered his brow in confusion, eventually putting up his hands and leaning back slightly. "Wait, wait, slow down now," he said, closing his eyes abd shaking his head, "Right...we know that Galsek is in the city, he said he just needed to pick up something from the general store, so we loaned him some gold. He also said that he would find a place to stay for the night and leave in the morning." Finley opened his eyes and looked worried, "With what you are saying, it's as if he's out to get us. We heard some rumours that Galsek may have been involved with what happened up the mountain, but we've not had the full story. Can you tell us what's happening?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As the previous pack had since rotated out, the lycans occupying the Tack and Tap were different. The most obvious concentration were four, one woman and three men, sitting around a table, chatting and laughing. As soon as the one closest to Meesei picked up her scent and turned his head, the rest quickly found her as well.

The one closest, the older looking Imperial with scraggly black hair - likely the one in charge - placed a hand on the table surface and pushed himself up to a standing position. He did not have hostility on his face, but he fully intended to confront Meesei before she fully closed the distance. About a metre of space was between them before the ring caught his eye and he halted in his step. "What is the likes of you...where did..." he became increasingly unsure as the nature of the ring came back to him. After a moment looking under Meesei's hood, he eventually came to a state of recognition and widened his eyes. "I remember you," he pointed to Meesei without lifting his arm very far, "You're the..." he interrupted himself and leaned in to speak more quietly, "you're the champion, aren't you. I remember seeing you back home." He broke into a toothy smile and extended his hand, "Well, welcome to the city, my name's Finley. What's your business here?" He peered over her shoulder, searching, "And where're the rest of you?"

Upon the positive reception, Meesei felt the eyes of the rest of the lycans scattered about wander away from her as they relaxed their guard.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That's alright. I'm just bringing Meesei to points where she has decisions to make.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius breathed out through his nose, put his hands on his hips, and looked away for a moment, while Fendros pursed his lips. It was clear they were uncomfortable with the plan, but they would follow Meesei's decision. Janius responded after a couple of seconds, "Very well."

The trip to the city did not take longer than half an hour at a hastened pace while Meesei was on her own. The guards gave her a lingering look on her way through the gate, but they did not accost her. Theirs was probably simple curiosity at a second lone Argonian traveller coming down from the mountains in one day.

The city was much the same as it had been since the last time Meesei had been there. The working day was winding up and all the market stalls were packing away before the sun could dip behind the city walls. The most loud activity was coming from the tavern. Meesei knew she could find members of the clan there, but they likely knew Galsek to be more trustworthy due to familiarity. Thankfully, Galsek was not in the tavern, according to her ring. His presence was coming from further up the terraces. As Meesei got closer, it appeared that he was within a general store a short distance from the gate of the keep.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Nice

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"As you wish, we know a location nearby that will suffice." Oswall turned and barked back at the warband. "We're distance ourselves to the outcrop grove and make camp! The champion will enter the city afterwards!"

The warband started to move as one in the opposite direction, except for one of the alphas. "Oswall," the alpha called, "What are we to do once we make camp?"

"Await further orders," Oswall responded curtly. The remains started moving then. Janius and Fendros simply followed along and trusted their companions to know where they were going.

Harriet lingered for a moment longer at the top of the hill and lifted her lip in disdain at the city. A small, frustrated kick at the snow punctuated her disappointment at her fate being delayed.

A twenty minute walk brought the warband to their point of rest. The 'outcrop grove', as it was named, was a cleared area with an extinguished fire pit, hidden by relatively thick vegetation and rocky outcroppings around it. It was clearly a camp site that the clan made use of. With the numbers they had, space was at a premium, but the jutting outcroppings were still big enough to shelter them from the prevailing wind. As most of the band's accommodation was simply made up of thick bedrolls, the camp was set up in a quick and orderly manner. The mages took charge of setting up camp fires as soon as sufficient firewood was found. Once her duties were done, Harriet simply sat on the ground with her back against one of the outcroppings with her eyes closed and her javelins at her side. She seemed at peace, but there was a sadness to her posture.

Before Meesei left, Janius and Fendros approached her, encouraging Ahnasha and Lorag along as well. "Meesei, are you going alone?" Janius asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

All good.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

There was a half-smile from Harriet at Meesei's plan. "Good. This is the first good scent of him I've had since his tracks faded," Harriet said, looking ahead, "The bastard must be using some kind of magic to hide his tracks as well as he is. No wonder we've had so much trouble trackin' them down in the past."

Trusting in Meesei's direction, the warband followed along. Harriet was quiet and kept her eyes and ears open, but without a trail to follow, she was mostly following Meesei as well.

While they marched, the mood of those marching loosened up. They kept pace, but Janius was beginning to converse with one of Oswall's alphas and swapped stories of their hunting experiences. Other small conversations came up between the different clan members to keep them occupied as they went. Their hunt was becoming less focussed without anything in particular for them to do.

After another couple of hours of keeping pace, Oswall jogged up beside Meesei and tried to get a better look ahead. He had his eyes squinted, though it wasn't clear whether it was just the white snow or a suspicious look. The tightness of his lips behind his facial hair brought weight to the latter. "Champion, this way seems familiar. I have a feeling..." he trailed off as he thought to himself.

"...I know exactly where he's heading." Harriet remarked with a serious face as they began to crest a hill. The pointed spires of the temple were visible first ahead of them. With timing aligned with the rest of the walls and buildings being revealed down the ridge several kilometres ahead of them, Harriet slowed to a halt and reminded them all of the name behind the yellow banners that were suspended among the grey and white. "Bruma."

Oswall raised a fist at everyone behind, motioning for them to halt before they could be spotted by the lookout guards on the walls. Curious, Fendros looked over the hill as well and his shoulders slumped slightly. "I suspected as much," he said, for what it was worth.

Indeed, according to Meesei's ring, Galsek's presence was inside the walls.

"What should we do?" Fendros asked the leaders, "Are some of us going in, or should we camp out and see if he moves on?"

Oswall regarded Fendros for a short moment, but faced Meesei with a response, "If we make camp, we should pull back a distance. We don't want patrols mistaking the likes of us for a bandit gang." He looked to the warband behind him, "We're too large to be your run-of-the-mill hunting party, after all."