Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"That is not something to doubt, Meesei." Lunise turned to meet her eyes. "Marod has made it quite clear with you how he intends to integrate the clans as protected communities. Taxes shall not be the only thing lycans are likely to produce."

Sabine nudged Karl while bringing out the components of their coming meal. "Tell them about your work, Karl," she encouraged.

"Oh, my research? Well...where to start." Karl paused to slowly breathe in and gather his thoughts.

Lunise turned on one foot and regarded Karl with interest.

Karl spoke roughly in Meesei and Lunise's direction. "This place has...more relics and history than most archaeologists uncover about the Dwemer in their entire lives, elves included." Though he was holding on tightly to his cane with both hands, he gained confidence as he continued. "Much of my work has been in understanding the automatons that still guard this place, due to the council's interest in repurposing them. However, the city itself has been a trove of suggestions as to how the Dwemer themselves lived day-to-day. How they interacted. The pipes and pressure systems they set up reduced the need for many of the everyday chores that we do. Simple things like drawing from a well or grinding grain, all done by machines."

---

Fendros looked down and crossed his arms. A moment passed, he itched behind his ear. He turned his eyes up to Ahnasha and spoke frankly. "I honestly think the undead are the best option we have right now. I am not happy that it is our best option, but that doesn't change the facts. I might be able to convince enough of the council, even if they do not like it either. Perhaps by a promise that this would be the only time we use undead and that the thralls are destroyed after the mission, I don't know."

After another stressed breath, Fendros closed his eyes and turned his head up to lean against the wall. "The automatons should be a fallback if we cannot convince them of the thralls. I could not feel right sending you and Sabine in without a way out. It is not worth the risk. Especially with their capabilities." His eyes peeked open. "The best case scenario is if some divine inspiration strikes one of the council and comes up with a better plan."

Fendros pushed off the wall and brought his hands up to Ahnasha's shoulders. "Are you sure you're alright with infiltrating the camp, either way? I do not doubt you can do it, only that this holds a high risk for something that we have no guarantee of success with."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"So the basic amenities are provided, with the rest being down to what little coin circulates?" Lunise hummed thoughtfully. "Well, if you have made such a thing work on this scale, those common challenges you all face must be a strong bond after all. And even after all the time spent trying to track you down, I doubt either myself or Marod could have conceived this. We only knew you were operating from the Winterhelm hold." Lunise peered across to try and see the far ends of the cavern. "But with the size of this cavern, I would predict your reach is further than that. How far does this stretch, exactly?"

Meanwhile, Sabine and Karl exchanged hushed words by the fire. Sabine smiled still. A spell from her lit the tinder she had laid. They would have coals for cooking soon enough.

---

Ahnasha's words were encouraging, at least.

"Alright," Fendros said. "I do not foresee them needing more complex orders than to follow, stay still, and stop Do'rhajul's team. But I am not the one to know. Do you think Marcaille could help you control them? Would she need to go with you?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine and Karl exchanged a glance. Sabine nodded.

Lunise was more direct. She put her hands together and spoke. "Perfect. I would hate to leave this place too quickly."

"Seat yourself, Karl, Lunise," Sabine said. "Meesei and I shall set up the fire."

"Do you need any help?" Karl asked.

Sabine shook her head and smiled as she stepped away. "No, thank you."

Not quite ready to sit down yet, Lunise cast her eyes up at the soft blue speckles on the distant ceiling. "So tell me, Meesei. How ever did you find this place? Something so large must be incredibly well hidden if there are no records of it, as you suggested."

---

Any attempt at a strong exterior Fendros was maintaining melted away when he and Ahnasha found themselves alone. He leaned his back against a nearby stone wall and sighed in turn. "At this point, I would do anything to make sure you and Sabine make it out in one piece. But you're right, I have a feeling there will be a few people beyond convincing." Fendros breathed in and raised his fingers. "However, I also want to know if it's even feasible. I didn't want to call upon you in front of everyone in the meeting for the sake of those who don't know about your expertise, so...what is your opinion? Can you take enough thralls to cover an escape? Will they be quiet enough, and undetectable by their spells?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Are the council as a whole aware of Ahnasha's necromancy skills?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine tried to play off Meesei's teasing with her usual flustered laugh. "I did mention it," Sabine answered. She looked to Karl with a grin. "Karl? Where would you like to go?"

Karl looked surprised. "Do I get to choose?"

"...It depends. We are deciding." Sabine peered up at Lunise. "Do you prefer any one of the locations, Lunise?"

Lunise lightly shook her head. "As I have already indicated to Meesei, none of the options are places where I would not enjoy myself."

Sabine reverted to Karl, who was silent and lifting his brow at the pressure. "I have neither been to Thorn nor Eastmarch, I admit. Though I could not rightly decide between them."

At this, Lunise closed her eyes and breathed out through her nose. "Meesei," she said flatly, though with an amused quirk at the corner of her mouth. "If we are to be so terribly inept at making decisions, I fear we may require the assistance of coins to flip."

---

"In that case, the limit is whether we can gather the resources we need in time." Fendros peered around. "Look, I understand all reservations about this. Using undead is an unpleasant precedent for how we fight, devalues life, is against the sensibilities that many of us have grown up with, and is against Hircine's view of hunters and prey in this war. We should not use this as an excuse to introduce undead into everything we do, but instead..." Fendros gestured to Saras. "...to use this as a tool to preserve lives. As long as it is towards that goal, I will see it as an option we may take. Now then." Fendros placed his hands on the table. "I feel as though we need time to ponder on this. We need to have clear heads to plan. And a few minutes might inspire alternatives. Let us take a quick break and continue in a few minutes."

Fendros stood up from his seat. Breaks from long meetings were not unheard of, though the timing was different this time. He seemed in a rush to find the doors and stand outside. Janius watched him leave and stood up to stretch his legs, as did much of the council. He was not the only one still visibly uncomfortable with the current plan. In particular, Oswall stood, walked around to the back of his chair, and clutched it until his fingers turned white. His lips pursed behind his beard. He was fuming.

Fendros did not take long breathing in the fresher air outside before he sought out Ahnasha. He gently took her hand and mumbled into her ear. "Could I consult you a moment, Ahna?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lunise's amazement was interrupted when Meesei greeted Sabine and Karl. She quickly cleared her throat and faced them, apparently having not noticed them at first.

Sabine and Karl had themselves been standing close together and quietly talking while their hands loosely held onto the fingers of the other. They stepped to face Meesei and Lunise when they emerged through the portal. Sabine had a wide smile. "Hello again," she said. "Today has been well."

"Quite well." Karl nodded. His voice was almost as hushed as Sabine's was. Behind his own small smile was nervously shallow breathing. He stood only two finger-widths taller than Sabine, thin and dressed in a hide coat, shoes, and breeches. His fair clean-shaved face and grey-blue eyes were slightly worn with the experience expected of a Breton in his early thirties. His short widow's peak brown hair was also unfortunately thinning. Though not an impressive physical specimen, his brow, nose, and cheekbones gave him a handsome look. The easiest signs of his visual impairment Sabine had previously explained was a straight stick in one hand held close to the ground and Sabine guiding him by the crook of his arm. He evidently still had enough sight to make out Meesei and Lunise's outlines as he made eye contact and bowed his head in respect.

When Karl breathed in, Lunise spoke with more initiative by coincidence. "A pleasure to see you again, Sabine. And you must be Karl?"

"Correct," Karl said after a pause. He took another shallow breath and tried not to stammer. "It is an...honour to meet the champion in person. And her partner."

Sabine looked to Karl and pulled at him teasingly and murmured to him. "You do not have to be nervous, Karl."

---

Fendros wiped his hand over his cheek. He was just as reluctant as Ri'vashi was. "I would like to hear another plan if we can think of one. I am merely presenting an option." He lifted his voice. There was no point in drawing it out further. "We have means of reanimating corpses through necromancy. If we can raise enough of them, and they prove hidden enough, they may serve as a harassing measure to buy enough time for Ahnasha and Sabine to escape should they be noticed. If undead may get close enough without triggering the wards, it is an immediate form of help that at once is disposable and surprising. And I do not see them presenting a mortal threat to any of Do'rhajul's party."

Janius bared his teeth tensely. "This is not exactly how I expected we would go about this."

"Unless we have enough grease and magic to make some automatons silent, I do not see what else we can dispose here," Fendros said, half-seriously.

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

Rest assured, we shall endeavour in this RP to keep the cancer restricted to the IC, where it is both metaphorical and literal, and therefore superior.

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

@Lauder And now we have been memeing for so long that the depressive nihilist memes have emerged. God damn it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"In that case, I shall take my effort in appearance as a small advantage," Lunise said. Nothing about the situation was a competition, though her arrogance was rarely completely absent.

Lunise kept her hair loose and let its straight length part at her shoulders. After a quick closer look at her make up, she took Meesei's hand and turned to traverse the portal.

It took a moment for Lunise's eyes to adjust to the subterranean light. When she rubbed her eyes with a finger and looked up, she took in a slow gasp. Her lips remained slightly parted. Her head turned and raised to behold the sheer size of the nearest tree-sized glowing fungus. She stopped breathing. The rest of the enchanting view rendered her just as awestruck as anyone Meesei had seen in Blackreach for the first time.

"Never in all my years," Lunise breathed. "This must be some plane of oblivion. Where have you taken me, Meesei?"

---

Fendros bit his upper lip in thought. "If that is the case...Sabine might be able to bring forth a spriggan again? No...If it is only one it will not help. Summoned daedra? Hold on..." Fendros lifted hand up to his mouth and stared at the wood of the table.

He did not answer for long enough that the others grew curious.

Janius leaned forward. "Do you have another idea?"

"I may. It may not be liked. It may not even work."

"Then say it," Janius said, turning his palm up. "We need any options we can get."

"Those wards, if they only detect life, then..." Fendros lifted his eyes. "How many unbutchered corpses do we have stored?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lunise listened on as she removed and folded away her uniform. She pulled the black dress over her head when Meesei finished.

"Very well," she said while pulling her sleeves up her arms. "I wore this dress last to infiltrate a cult of Vaermina. So I think it shall be just unpresentable enough." She switched to a quieter tone and gestured to the undone cords that sutured the back of her dress. "Would you mind fastening me, Meesei?"

Standing in front of the mirror, she carefully let down her hair and found a brush to even it out. "I wish I could say the rest of your advice is helpful," she continued. "So far you have told me much about what is not present. How should I behave if not as I normally do?"

---

Acknowledging Marcaille with a nod, Fendros spoke to Lorag. "It goes without saying that Sabine and Ahansha will need to be in and out as quickly as they can. Every second is more risk of getting found out. Under cover of night, I would have Sabine survey the area from above, flying over only once to avoid suspicion. She can then meet Ahnasha nearby and plan an approach." Fendros turned his eyes to Ahnasha. "You'll need to know exactly where to plant those documents. Inside luggage, hidden from plain sight but easily noticeable by Yerig. I think he will be our best shot. Only try planting the book in Do'rhajul's belongings if Yerig is not an option. If you can do neither, then get out of there and we will try something else. If there is any indication that they know someone is nearby, back away. Sabine might be able to open a portal out of there but there is no guarantee, we shall have to ask her."

Fendros straightened. "As for the rest of us, we shall have to be in a position to intervene should the alarm be raised. Running in beast form to pick up Ahnasha and Sabine and running away may be the fastest way, though there may be a better way to do it. Forcing Do'rhajul to run away with an overwhelming force is another option, though only if they have not captured either infiltrator. And it may take longer to react. Some means of quietly communicating when Sabine and Ahnasha need help may be needed, but throwing a fire spell into the sky would alert us all the same."

"I'm really very sorry for interrupting," Janius said. "I just have something on my mind. Marcaille?" Janius spoke across the table. "Is there a way for us to track Do'rhajul with that ritual you mentioned?"