Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"All heard!?" Oswall shouted to the assembled band. All of the warriors of the band pumped an arm or a spear to the sky and sounded a quick shout of "All heard!" in unison. Without any further delay, the warband began to jog through the snow. They left the thankful Nilly behind to warm herself by the last remaining fire.

The warband gave the city an appropriately wide berth as they caught up to Galsek. Though it slowed them down somewhat, it gave time for Meesei to realise when Galsek's presence seemed to circle around to a south-south-east heading, and eventually to a heading straight east, into the rising sun. This didn't immediately seem strange until his heading sharply turned north. By this point, the warband had caught up enough to slow their pace.

"I don't understand. Is he lost?" Janius asked idly, to no certain response from the others.

Harriet gave Janius a brief glance from her spot next to Meesei, but her expression seemed less confused. "I'm more curious about that Elf that he met up with. Where would she be going?"

Oswall sounded a grunt of apparent agreement, "Either Galsek's lost and desperate, or he knows he's being followed and he's leading us astray. I would much like to know why that High Elf saw fit to leave the city at all."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For all the patience they had, the warband was grateful to have the fires still going while they waited. It was another half an hour before the sentries spotted someone approaching. As the cloaked figure came into view, hiding most identifying features against the cold, Meesei would eventually recognise her as one of the runners Finley had sent out to notify the lookouts at the gates last night. She jogged up to the camp just as the tip of the sun was coating the land in a bright orange.

"It's Nilly! She's from Finley's pack!" One of the warriors announced, somewhat redundantly.

Nilly strode into the camp with no one stopping her. Some gave a greetings to her, to which she simply nodded back. She was most focussed on looking around for Meesei, and came up to her as soon as she spotted her. "Champion, Galsek has left." She seemed slightly out of breath, blowing streams of fog out of her mouth. She stopped and swallowed before continuing, "But, he was with someone at the gate. He left with an Altmer woman, they walked out side by side but pretended not to know each other. Once they were out of the city, Galsek started moving south-east, the woman moved...north, up into the ranges. Regus was on watch then, he said he wouldn't have thought they were connected until the woman touched his arm and asked something with a sad face. Galsek got angry and swatted her away before moving faster." Nilly looked down to the snow, "It's not much, but we thought we may as well tell you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Now that Meesei was back, the pack had little reason to stay awake. They all settled in shortly after. The cold bit through even the layers of fur used in their bedrolls, but thankfully there wasn't any worse weather than mild snowfalls.

The point at which Meesei was awakened by the enchantment was at a point where everyone was coldest and groggiest. It was early morning. One horizon of the night barely diplayed a peeking blue preceding dawn, and Galsek was on the move. Though sleepy, the warband was disciplined enough to break camp in short order.

"If he thinks he can get away by slipping out before dawn, he's got quite another outcome in his future," Oswall commented while buckling on his weapon belt.

By the looks of things he was about to head south-east, off the road and down the mountains. It would be rough terrain, but it would not be unlikely that the lair of Vile's cult was out of the way.

"If he's leaving, that means that the pack in Bruma is going to report to us, yes?" Fendros asked.

Janius shrugged, "If he only just left, I'd say that someone would be heading up right now."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Let me know when you would like to end the scene.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a moment, those around Meesei became concerned when she rushed to the fire. If she was in a rush, they likely reasoned that her news was urgent, possibly dire. Her explanation served to calm their nerves somewhat. The mention of Finley lit up a few eyes in recognition.

"How decadent," Janius said, "he stops over at a nice, fire-warmed building."

Fendros had sat himself up against Ahnasha to share warmth as they had on the way to Bruma. He responded more directly to Meesei's comment. "Well, it's why there are plenty of Nords here. They don't really feel the cold as much, from what I hear."

"'Tis true," Oswall said. Whether he had Nord blood or not, he didn't seem quite as bothered by the cold. He angled his head at Meesei and then decided to get up and walk to one of the warband's small luggage piles.

"Times like this, I wish I was born a Nord, instead of just looking a bit like one," Janius said slightly bitterly as he looked into the flames.

Oswall returned with a fur blanket and tossed it in Meesei's direction. "Wrap up, champion. You may be Hircine's chosen, but I've seen too many Argonian initiates die of exposure up here where others survive." Oswall walked back to his seat and eased himself down. "Now, what is our strategy moving forward? Will we follow him during the night if he leaves early, or wait for the sun before we break camp?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Finley returned Meesei's nod before she left. Immediately afterwards, be began to brief the three pack-mates he had summoned, instructing them to inform those watching the gates on Galsek.

The night that Meesei walked into had a worse chill to it than before she stepped into the tavern. A small wind quickly went from cooling her face to stinging it, bringing into question how anyone would be convinced to watch the gates at these hours. Still, there was enough snow on the ground to reflect the strong light of the moons and guide her way without the need for extra light.

The journey back to the outcrop grove was uneventful. There were the scents of some animals in the air, but they all gave Meesei a wide berth. The hidden position that the encampment held meant that Meesei had to follow her nose and her memory right up until she got close. Even the flickering from the various fires was difficult to detect, enclosed as it was between the rocky walls. What gave the position away visually when she was close enough was the smoke, and even that was wispy and difficult to see.

The sentries did not announce Meesei's arrival officially, recognising her scent on the wind before she came into view. She was let into the camp without issue and found her pack sharing a fire with some of the more restless members of the warband. Many were wrapping themselves in fur sleeping bags preparing to turn in for the night, but others were still awake.

Fendros was the first to spot Meesei. He said "She's back" to everyone around the fire, causing them all to turn their heads. Some looked relieved, some simply gave a wave.

"Welcome back! Is he still in the city?" Janius asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Finley leaned in to listen as Meesei did to lower her voice. He gave a solid nod of understanding, "We normally have a few people set up in hiding places to watch over the gates. I'll have them informed about Galsek and report as soon as he leaves." He leaned back suddenly and craned his neck to look across the tavern. "Seamus! Nilly! Wenda!" Finley shouted to different corners of the room, and from amongst the patronage, three fur-clad lycans wandered up to Finley's table.

Finley took in a breath to instruct the three, but stopped short for confirmation from Meesei. "Anything else? Is he likely to be dangerous?" He asked Meesei.

The Depths of Deception

Dee Eee Dee

Indeedy. It was fun anyway :)

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm..." Finley put down his knife and fork to cross one arm over to support his other elbow while he cupped his chin. "Well, the shop is called Novaroma. We trade there every now and again. It's run by an Altmer couple, Karinnarre and Suurootan, though I've not seen Suurootan himself for a while now, come to think of it. Apparently they've run the shop for centuries, even through the great war and the oblivion crisis." Finley sniffed and tightened his mouth, trying to think, "They've never seemed anything more than simple, friendly people. If they had any further connection to the clan, we would probably know about it. I can't say about any connections with Galsek, I'm afraid."

Next to them, a young Nord woman in hide armour leaned across to the pair. She clearly had the scent of a lycan. "Sorry to interrupt," she said slowly. Finley faced her and nodded, granting her some confidence. "I spoke to Isran and Alesan before we left. They were in Bruma before us and they mentioned they noticed Suurootan was gone as well. They didn't think anything of it, though. Neither did I."

Finley looked back to Meesei with a concerned expression. "Now, it's never good to jump to conclusions, of course, but by the sounds of it..." his arm lowered from his chin, "...well, it wouldn't be the first time there were hostages involved with our enemy."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The warmth of the tavern blasted onto Meesei upon entering. This time it was louder. Regular patrons joined the others as workmen finished for the day. Meesei's entry into the Tack and Tap gathered a less tense response than the first time, even if the eyes still followed her.

Finley was in a different spot this time, eating a hot dinner with some other members of his pack. He stopped eating and swallowed when he saw Meesei approach, but he didn't stand up like before. He seemed more comfortable, much like the other lycans around him. "Greetings again," said with a bow of his head, "Any luck? He's not been back here since you left."

The last of the natural light that was peeking through the windows finally darkened to black. Though the moonlight still lit up the snow outside, it was contrasted completely by the light of candles and the fireplace while indoors.