Muttonhawk

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Ah yes. The exit.

Well, I'm sceptical about hellfire raining from the sky at this point, but I can't deny that a bumpy ride is in the Great British future. Keep calm and carry on and all that.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Au revoir mes amis! Auf wiedersehen amigos!

@Kho

What's the haps, Kho? Are you disappearing again?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Understood," Gallus said as Ri'vashi left. He turned back to Meesei once more. Without making eye contact, he mumbled to himself, "This is all going to oblivion by the hour..."

For the first time since he entered, Gallus displayed a chink in his stern expression. He sighed heavily and scrunched his eyes shut. "Meesei." He paused and opened his eyes to look at Meesei directly. He took a slow breath in. "I am...sorry for being insensitive right now. I'm just..." Gallus trailed off and glanced at Sabine and Marcaille. They did not stop their work. That at least made Gallus feel more comfortable expressing himself.

Gallus walked up to Meesei's bed and placed a hand on her upper arm. "I've lost someone dear to me today. One of my closest friends. For as much as you can control it..." Gallus stopped to chuckle at the absurdity of his request, but assumed a tight frown afterwards. "I would rather not lose another any time soon. But, if I do, I want you to know that it has been an honour and an experience travelling with you and your wonderful pack. You...inspired me to go out travelling this far. You continue to inspire me. I've learnt a lot. I'm grateful."

---

"No," Fendros answered softly. "No, you haven't."

Fendros took another few moments of staring down and forward with his knees up. His eyes blinked over to Ahnasha where she lay. "Come here." Fendros leaned over and cupped Ahnasha's cheek so she gently faced him. "I trust you," Fendros conceded. "You're right, I...have been reacting to what I don't understand." Fendros began to shift, straightening out his legs. "I think we both need some sleep, if we can get any."

Fendros laid down beside Ahnasha and put an arm around her, laying a kiss on her cheek. "I love you, Ahna," he said, before resting his head and closing his eyes.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Got an exam this afternoon. G'night until tomorrow!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Of course, moving the encampment is a higher priority," Gallus clarified with a nod. "And finding out more about this gas is important as well, though we do not know how long that will take. Especially with many of the alchemists busy healing. Apart from sending a scout to look from a distance, it may be a better idea to defer action until the encampment is moved."

Gallus looked down and rubbed under his collar, lowering his brow with a thought. "On the note of the reinforcements...Ri'vashi?" Gallus turned to the clan leader, "Do we still have the numbers available to ambush them? Should we try at all if they are potentially equipped with more gas?"

---

Fendros pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and ran his hand up his face and through his hair, facing forward again. "You have to know! It's..." Fendros cut himself off and huffed. He took a breath to try and calm down so he could think about an actual answer. He eventually opened his eyes and resumed.

"Call me an ignorant fool if you like, but I've heard plenty of stories about necromancers in Morrowind from my parents." Fendros brought his knees up to lean his elbows on them. "They start off wanting to do something important to them, like gain immortality or bring their loved ones back from the dead, but...something changes them. Something drives them to -- maybe it's out of desperation -- they end up disregarding the lives of others. They start by taking people that are inconsequential to them, like slaves or criminals. As they go, they take the lives of the criminals' families, innocent strangers...even their own servants." Fendros sighed and shook his head. "It sounds hysterical, I know, but the insidious thing is that it happens so slowly that they never realise what they become. It's like those people from the Molag Bal cult, in that Xanmeer. They were so callous, so...uncaring and selfish around other lives. Most, if not all of them, I'm willing to wager, started off as fine people."

Fendros raised his head and looked to Ahansha again. "Up until now, Ahna, it's been quiet acceptance of what you have been doing." He looked down and up. "Now, though, I guess I feel like I need to know where your boundaries are with this. When is your research going to start impacting bystanders? At what point will you need resources that you can't get without doing something horrible? If you want to know about what I think the 'dark path' is, I just don't want to see you become...detached."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While there was pause for thought, Gallus added. "I'll mention that we might send a scout simply to see if the gas has gone. If it still lingers there is no point the the exercise at all. One person with the ring retrieving bodies is infeasible."

Gallus cast his eyes to Ri'vashi again. "It's just a guess, but with how the gas was used in the assault...in barrels hefted out instead of those flasks that they had the suppression gas in, it might be the case that they have none left to use. If we go out in force, they would have to be completely insane not to run away immediately." His head turned to Meesei again. "They're outnumbered, outmatched. However, they would expect us. And they may still have Do'rhajul."

---

Fendros didn't flinch. He wasn't going to let Ahnasha make him lie for the sake of winning an argument. He did not look away as he spoke. "You know that I would do anything to protect you and Rhazii," he said as he angled his head forward. "But this isn't about me, Ahna. Meesei warned you against going down a dark path. You knew what that meant, didn't you? Look me in the eyes this time." Fendros turned his shoulders to face Ahnasha better. He spoke quickly, trying to get a handle on the conversation before it could escalate further. "Tell me you won't go down that path. You might know it better than I do, but I'm scared that if we're not careful, you'll end up treading upon it without knowing. So tell me. Please, just promise me."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

A tree branch has fallen on my driveway. I'm going to be busy cutting it up for a while.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus gave Ri'vashi a sideways glance and then gave a nod to Meesei. "Good. I was hoping that it would be Lorag. He can take good care of it."

Though he didn't move from where he was standing, Gallus blinked towards the floor briefly and let out a small breath. "Something a bit more short term, now," Gallus continued, raising his face again. "I have been thinking about the gas and the remaining forces in the ruined stronghold. Our morale is low in camp, as you can probably tell. I have been trying to think of ways to improve it and...well, far be it from me to disrespect the ring, but we might have a use for it." Gallus tilted his head slightly. "I would hear both your opinions, but if we can scout the fortress with someone immune to the gas, check for hostiles, there is a chance that we could organise an effort to retrieve bodies. They might have gone into full retreat, what's left of them. And that gas that's already there...it ought to disperse eventually." Gallus gestured to Meesei. "It's something you could do when you get back to health or...otherwise."

---

Fendros leaned back onto his hands where he was seated and let out a sigh onto the top of the tent. He curled his lips and closed his eyes for a short moment, before turning his eyes to Ahnasha again. "If I fell in battle, would you raise my corpse to fight? Even with the others watching?" Fendros looked determined to drive the point home, no matter Ahnasha's reaction. "Would you raise Rhazii?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well," Gallus started off, quiet enough to at least give the effort of tact. "We heard that the odds are not in your favour tonight. There are a few things to discuss, but...I think it's most important that we arrange the matter of your succession." Gallus' eyes flicked from Meesei's face to her ring. "Normally, as far as I'm aware, the ring either disappears back to Hircine or it's fought over until someone else claims it. The second option isn't something that we need right now."

---

Fendros tried to say "You don't know that," after Ahnasha tried ruling out retrieving bodies, but he was spoken over as she continued.

"Ahna, you can't just speak for them," Fendros responded, pausing in packing away his armour. "I may not be the most orthodox Dunmer, but tradition matters to me, okay? Burial is important. You don't just let the body walk around, wave goodbye to the soul and pretend nothing has happened. There's grief, there's respect, there's...haven't you ever had a loved one die before?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus was already motioning to start walking. "I don't know if the healers would stop working at this rate, but there is unlikely to be a better time than now."

On the quick trip to the tent, Gallus made his tension completely clear in his body language. Despite the intimacy that he and Ri'vashi had shared the previous day, he didn't even glance in her direction. His paces were brisk and his shoulders were slightly hunched. He was a completely different person.

Gallus pat his hand against the entrance to the tent when they reached it, before lifting the flap and stepping through. He hesitated upon seeing Meesei, but didn't shift his face. He stepped aside to make room for Ri'vashi and let either her or the champion begin.

Sabine gave the visitors a curious glance, but she was too engrossed in her alchemy to give them any more notice.

---

Fendros did not dance around the issue as Ahnasha did. "It was the thrall, Ahna. You raised the body of one of our fallen soldiers. It turned to dust and now his friends and family will never be able to lay him to rest themselves." There was a dull thud and ring as Fendros' sword and scabbard dropped to the floor. He continued speaking as the rustling of his leather and padding soon followed.

"Look, I..." He stopped and sighed. "I know you. You're not the kind of person that gains pleasure from the suffering of others, but...I've been noticing things. Since you started researching this..." Fendros raised one palm upward and shook his head. "...This life extension. The cadavers. You may be used to them, Ahna, but the way you speak about it so callously..." Fendros' face softened. "What has changed?"