Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Why Teroiah appeared so confident despite Hal-Neesa's reactive posturing could only be speculated. It might have been something left unsaid or it could have been simple misplaced boldness from familiarity with the vampire. She responded with a look that would have paralysed any of her subordinates, though only clashed with Hal-Neesa's own leering.

"Hal-Neesa, the only detail I feel the need to mention is how gratified I am that you would place your bountiful power in the hands of a pathetic, ideologically blinded, foolish, too-young, too-inexperienced, too-brash-and-proud, too-spoilt, too-idiotic, bested-by-a-beastfolk-shaman Thalmor commander." Her eyes widened only slightly. "And that is to say nothing of the Orc and the Khajiit. You may rest assured we shall not be putting your capabilities -- much less your pull on the enemy -- to waste."

Sabine's eyes darted between the two.

Gro-Tagnud was the one who broke the silence. "With all due respect, how about we leave the underhanded crap for our strategy against Clavicus Vile? Come, we have map positions to size up."

Unlike most Orcs, Gro-Tagnud did not use even light profanities save for exceptional circumstances.

---

Lunise let her eyes close to recall every detail she could from the sight of Artaeum. Granted, much of the memory was dominated by the voice and touch of her mother Nytala and a younger version of her father Pircalmo, but the image was there all the same. The sound and smell of the waves against the docks framed the feeling of the wooden deck under her feet. Bright sunlight shone over robed figures walking between buildings backed by the scant island terrain. The tower cast a shadow over the whole scene just as Meesei finished opening the portal.

And then it was right there in front of her.

Meesei's hand on her back brought Lunise back into reality. She stepped forward with her. In their hurry, Lunise fell into the water as well, in spite of trying to pull back when overbalancing. She yelped before hitting the water. The skirt of her dress billowed out with the air trapped underneath before she could resurface, and she opened her eyes in shocked anger when she did.

"Why is it your portals mishap whenever I must be the one to direct you!?" She snapped, despite only one mishap occurring before. "Ugh! My dress is ruined!"

Lunise's tantrum was cut short when she turned her head to see what Meesei was seeing. Her face sunk. Connections from senses to memory reunited in a fit for the first time in centuries. She was so distracted that she did not start towards the shore until Meesei tugged her along.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ah, I get it now. Yeah, she would be on the docks.

In fact, I had originally envisioned her seeing off her mother from the docks of the nearest landmass to Artaeum at the time right before her mother boarded a ship for the island, but we don't have to be strict about that.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I'm not quite sure what you're referring to. Do you mean the point where Lunise was standing at the docks when her mother said goodbye or the point where Lunise is trying to envision the portal opening up?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Probably a larger balcony somewhere. Something easy to make out from a distance. I'm not closely aware of what Artaeum exactly looks like, so I'll leave the details to you.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

At the end of Hal-Neesa's explanation, Teroiah brought a hand up to rub the bottom of her nose and closed her eyes. The gesture was just such a convenience to cover the sly smirk that she involuntarily pulled.

As usual, Gro-Tagnud was more direct. "Perfect. Every eye you pull away from the teams going after the objective is an advantage."

"Is Vile the type that would pursue you personally if you were present, Hal-Neesa?" Sabine asked.

"Oh, even better," Teroiah breathed, drawing looks from Sabine and Gro-Tagnud.

---

Just the words Meesei finished with brought a deep flush up Lunise's cheeks. After recovering back to her usual complexion, she kept to the original subject. "My mother is a stranger to me by now, as well. You have not lived half as long as she time between now and when I saw her last. But, still..."

She took a deeper breath, regaining some confidence. "This disgusting panic in my head," she accused herself. "If I shan't see her now, I will never forget that I might have just stepped onto Artaeum today." Meesei felt Lunise turn around to look her in the eyes. Lunise looked hopeful. "Meesei?" She said directly, holding her hands tightly. "...Divines, you could lift the spirits of a dead rat." She very suddenly pecked her on the front of her snout. "I am going to use those words you said to wear a strong mask if your portal succeeds. But, inside, I could never fully banish the feeling of my stomach churning in fear, so I will very much be comforted by your presence in this."

As if realising how rabidly she was speaking, Lunise slowly straightened her back and resumed a more elegant cadence. "Do speak when you are ready. I shall do my best to recall the distant island. Even with all the years intervening."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Whether or not the underhanded slight was deliberate, Teroiah did not heed it except with a slightly sharper look.

Sabine looked at the bright spot gravely. "Not many other things could be that powerful."

Gro-Tagnud was more direct. "It'll take some time to observe how these skaafin are moving and how the terrain can be used here. There sure are plenty of features to exploit -- might even gain an initial foothold with superficial casualties. Rapid advance, hop, skip, and a jump, and a hard fight to approach that light. But..." He looked up from the map. "We have to know if this extra power going to require a different strategy."

---

The only movements Lunise made were to hesitantly change into the fresh dress Meesei had brought. Meesei might have noticed the small, almost amused sigh Lunise made when she first picked it up. Without asking her, there was no knowing whether or not the reaction meant Meesei had picked the dress Lunise would have chosen. Nevertheless, it was a dependable maroon flared dress that wrapped and fastened close to the left side of her front, hemmed with a thin line of black silk. The shoes she brought with her to the island were simple enough to match. Even with all the time spend changing, she went right back to staring out to the sea by the time Meesei returned.

Lunise closed her eyes and wrapped a hand around over the top of Meesei's.

"I do not have an answer," she admitted. "This whole...possibility is such an unknown." She showed her teeth and forced out words that Meesei seldom heard from her. "I am afraid. What would you do if it was your mother on the other side of the portal?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmph." Gro-Tagnud stroked his chin looking down at the large light. "That's awful easy. Assuming Vile doesn't know we're looking at his realm, that would be the obvious objective to strike, whatever is under there."

"Assuming," Teroiah echoed. "Though, even if it was meant to draw our attention, our means of locating Vile narrow it down to that area. We will have do deal with it."

Gro-Tagnud raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he's just not on his plane right now?"

Teroiah rolled her eyes. "And where else would he be?"

"Hiding somewhere."

Sabine spoke over the conversation. "Hal-Neesa. What was the last phenomenon you witnessed with this much energy?" She glanced to the others. "I fear it may involve the souls Vile took from us."

---

Lunise remained sitting on the stone, staring ahead with her arms around her knees, for a long pause after Meesei finished speaking. Her usual stern mask of a public expression was cemented onto her face, even as her blonde hair curtained around its sides.

After a long half-minute, Lunise slowly stood to her feet. She regarded Meesei with her hands clasped low in front of her. "Retrieve the dresses, if you please. I shall need a moment to think."

She then turned around and walked several steady steps nearer to the edge of the rock. She stood looking out over the horizon of the ocean, unmoving but for the light waves of wind disturbing her dress.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The group had seen enough Dwemer machines at this point that the clunk and whirr of the armatures proved no reason to be startled. However, the scale of the machine before them did cause a stance of cautious observation. The map radiated onto the floor beneath their feet and drew them all to peer down and around it.

"Sabine informed us you had a means of observing Vile's realm," Gro-Tagnud ventured. "Is that what we are looking at?"

---

Lunise curled her lips in and swallowed. "Meesei...you do amaze me." She turned her head down. "I have little doubt of your own sureness. But, you must please forgive me if I do not share it. I have long lived with my mother's absence as a matter of course. While it may not do harm to try and find Artaeum -- if you find it at all...I am fully willing to admit I have not a thought of what I should do."

Her upper body curled forward as if the air of her lungs was being sucked away. "So much has changed." She breathed in again, straightening a little. "Look, if you wish to entertain the idea, let us not speak of it as determined until it is confirmed. Such high hopes and fancy tempt imprudence."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Sabine did not take especially long to find and gather up Ri'vashi, Teroiah, Gro-Tagnud, and any other relevant parties or entourages thereof, each minute extra required to convince them to attend personally and at once made her show a little more stress. Her patience mercifully held out as it turned out that a means to spy on the enemy from within Mundus was intriguing even at the busiest of times.

Sabine deposited them at the entrance via her portals for relative speed. Her stomach felt queasy by the time she was able to lead them through the front doors from all the magicka potions she took to get everyone together in such a quick time.

Much to Sabine's chagrin, Commander Teroiah was not careful with her comments on the ramp leading up to the main mechanism. "So the immortal savant has discovered some Dwemer curiosity. Are you certain what she has...meddled together performs as you described it, Miss Montgrave?"

Sabine sighed. "I have not seen it work yet. But she has been working on it a lot and she knows more about it than anyone."

"Why so sceptical, Teroiah?" Legate General Gro-Tagnud dryly asked. "We wouldn't be here if this was nothing valuable."

"I simply think it convenient that after all this time-"

"-It is just up ahead," Sabine interrupted, even though the sentiments were already abundantly clear to Hal-Neesa listening on.

They all emerged before Teroiah could resume. Sabine stopped partially into the chamber, prompting the others to stop behind her.

---

Lunise took a moment to process it all. A glimmer of sadness showed in her eyes, but was quickly replaced by a hardened look back at Meesei. "Have you done this before, Meesei?" She asked. "Do you know? Or is this just something you read somewhere?"

Either answer had elements Lunise did not want to hear, she expected.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

A happy smile spread across Sabine's face once Ahnasha gave the all-clear. She was halfway through swinging her arms roll the effort out of her muscles before she spotted Hal-Neesa in her peripheral vision. Everything slowed to a halt.

What she said was a relief. Sabine had expected some new extra detail she had not considered to be tasked to the rest of her day. The thought that the effort might finally be over gave her a new buzz of cautious energy.

"It-? Uh, right." She turned to the construction team. "The archway will hold itself up now! Carefully take apart the scaffolding and we will be complete until we are ready to open the portal. Thank you, everyone."

She was tempted to give further instructions but Neesa's patience had been trained into her mind. She turned back to Hal-Neesa. "Meesei is outside today, I do not know where. But I can find out where everyone else is. I will go tell them at once."

---

Lunise sat up and listened on with interest, though the only betrayal of any nervousness was how she held onto Meesei's hand. However, what was finally said caused her small smile to fade and her grip to loosen.

"Artaeum?" She echoed carefully. "Meesei, you have done quite enough impossible things without needing to say something so fanciful. Why are you saying it so seriously?"