Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Alright, so, what effect do you reckon it would have on Sabine? Would it help sooth the terror she gets from her memories, or change her in a different way?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ariel shifted, unsure exactly what the alpha wanted. "Well, yes, I don't think there's much I can do if they catch me." Ariel slowly chopped her hand forward, "If they catch me." She looked slightly away and bobbed her head to one side in agreement, "You're right though, they are more skilled than I, even if I know them." Looking at the alpha again, the hint was processed, "Are you offering to help?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry for the double. Had to rush off for a second.

What are the details for this soul mending business? Was the broken soul in ESO traumatised at some point as well?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sounds cool.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I see," Ariel's eyes glanced to the alpha's wounds again. "For you, a brew to resist it may be made from Corkbulb root, Netch leather and Guar hide. It's simple to make, I can write the recipe down for you. If made properly, a dose should protect you for about an hour. As for what I intend to do to stop my coven, well... while inert in it's final form, the process for making the gas is very unstable. If they are making it on the scale that could fill these crates, then it would simply be a matter of sneaking in, like I did here, and setting some fire runes down where they are needed. With that, the runes will trigger and the whole laboratory will go up in flames. After that, I will find Lilia if she survived and... tamper with her memories." Ariel seemed less tense now as she explained. "It might sound a violent way to go about it, but in the time I have been away from it, I have come to realise just how evil my coven has become. Siding with a particular daedric prince was a death sentence anyway. How they were corrupted into agreeing with Vile is evidence of just how wrong they have become."

"Still," Ariel paused, "I cannot help but feel guilty for your wounds, if it was my gas that brought them about. If I can help in any way, I would be glad to."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ariel smiled slightly while she looked away and heard the words of the alpha. It looked as if she had recieved some comfort knowing that her sister had found a place in the world. A loving place amongst a family. Even if they were lycans, this pack seemed to be less savage than the ones that had attacked the coven. That of course did not say anything about the state of the cave they stayed in, but that was not important for now. The words that the alpha followed up with turned Ariel's expression back to how it was. It hurt because it was true.

Being given the task to pass judgement on Ariel, Sabine shot a glance to Meesei, then back to Ariel. She swallowed, feeling strange to have such a power. Sabine stepped up close to Ariel, who looked up at her from her seat with a hunched back. Sabine extended a shivering hand very slowly forward, as if afraid that Ariel would hurt her. With Ariel staying perfectly still, Sabine placed her hand on Ariel's shoulder and her jaw began to shiver along with the rest of her body as she slowly opened her mouth. "I'm..." Sabine blinked and a tear came down from one eye, "I'm scared... of you..."

Ariel closed her eyes, feeling completely resigned.

"But you... took me from the cage..." Sabine still had her eyes fixated on her sister. With both hands, Sabine held each of Ariel's cheeks, prompting her to open her eyes again. "Promise. Never hurt a werewolf again." Sabine said, a new confidence in her voice.

"I promise. I will never hurt a werewolf ever again. I saw what harm I did, I don't want to repeat it." Ariel said without any hint of thinking otherwise.

"Promise you won't hurt Meesei, or Lorag, or Ahnasha, or Janius, or Fendros!" Sabine said much louder, her eyes gleaming with tears.

Ariel glanced around as much as Sabine would allow her. Judging by the names, they were probably her packmates. "I promise. I will never hurt them."

"Promise you'll stop the coven from making the gas that you used on me!"

Ariel's brow furrowed, "What? They're making the suppressing gas?"

Sabine nodded furiously. "In these crates," Sabine pointed to the lines of crates and barrels, most still full of broken glass, but the scattered glass swept away. "The crates. They were full of them!" Sabine stepped back, releasing Ariel.

Her mouth slightly open in shock, Ariel sat up straight. "No, they couldn't have... not unless." Ariel's eyes widened and she brought one hand to her mouth. "Lilia... Vile..." She breathed from behind her hand. Lowering her hand and pursing her lips in anger, Ariel continued, "I will take care of that. I swear it."

Tilting her head in slight confusion, Sabine questioned Ariel with her eyes.

"There is a war brewing, Sabine, anyone paying attention to Daedric affairs is aware of it. Clavicus Vile and Hircine have been trading blows." Ariel explained, "Lilia, one of the witches that assisted me in trying to find a cure, she has had dealings with Clavicus Vile in the past. She must have recreated my gas to use on werewolves, even after I destroyed my notes."

Sabine stepped up and took Ariel by the shoulders again. "You did not make the gas?" Sabine asked, her own eyes wide.

"Of course not. I've seen what it does. I've not made it since I released you."

Sabine stood silent for a moment, then began to shake again. This time it was not out of fear. She threw her arms around her sister and stayed quiet.

"I'll make sure that they never make the gas again, and I know just how to do it. I promise." Ariel reiterated, slowly bringing her arms up to return Sabine's embrace and closing her eyes. "Oh little Sabine, how you've grown."

Sabine's crying became audible now, they remained in each others arms for another while as the rest of the pack looked on.

When Sabine let her Ariel go, she turned around and wiped her eyes, before looking at Meesei. "I want her to live." Sabine said, wearing a rare smile.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Being in no position to object, Ariel stepped to the rock and seated herself. All of the eyes of the pack were on her, judging her. With the alpha's first question, Ariel's head lowered and she sighed guiltily. "What you say... It's true." Ariel crossed her arms tensely, "I'll start from the beginning, then. I don't know how many details you were told about."

Ariel raised her eyes to the Alpha, glancing at her dressed wound a couple of times. "Sabine and I, we were brought up in a witches coven in Vos, poached from the orphanage since before either of us could remember and raised by a community of hags. We would often get visits from various groups of people who wanted to commune with higher powers. Daedric princes, to be more specific. When I was sixteen years old and Sabine was ten, a pack of lycans approached us with the desire to talk with Hircine. They were very insistent.

"You know Hircine better than I do, most likely, but our elders knew enough to give no guarantees about getting any response from him. When there was no response, despite the tribute and payment provided by the pack, they protested. They said that we tricked them into paying us, conned them. Then they attacked."

Sabine snorted in her wolf form and twitched her head at this memory.

Ariel took her breaths slowly at while she continued, still shaken by what she remembered. "They... killed five of us before we could subdue and slay them. Injured at least three more. One of the injured was Sabine. She was infected by them, even though she had nothing to do with the summoning deal. She was innocent.

"Sabine was already chosen to be among the coven for life, as I was. She would not be able to survive among us as a lycan, she was almost killed by the elders if it weren't for myself and a few of my friends to protect her. Without warrant to kill all of us, the elders tasked us with ridding Sabine of her curse. I didn't know at the time that it was impossible, but it is a rule that witches of a coven share their own curses amongst them as a way to support each other. It was the elder's cruel way of reminding us of that rule.

"So my friends and I, we had to contain her while she transformed, so we put her in a silver plated cage, and tried everything we knew. Every ounce of alchemical and magical knowledge we had went into two years of trying to suppress and kill the... well the beast spirit, as you described it. Each time we tried to suppress or kill it, it would come back more enraged. It got to the point where he had to keep it back by more physical means while we worked. None of us realised just how much Sabine suffered. Not until it was far too late. I had realised it when I had fallen asleep amongst my research, and was awoken by her screaming in the middle of the night. Her nightmares were part of her torture, we were only making them worse. A week later, I knew I had to do something, there was no way we were going to find a cure before destroying everything else of her being."

Sabine was shivering as the story continued, but kept her wolf eyes on her sister. Ariel couldn't even bear to look at anyone at this point.

"In the middle of the night, I sedated her and took the cage on a covered cart. I was able to sneak her out of the coven disguised as a shipment of potions to send to various institutions that ordered such things from us. I was trusted, so I had no trouble. I got her to the mainland before I stopped drugging her. When she awoke, I scared her off with an illusion spell, but not before giving her a few implements to take care of herself with, including a note telling her where I would be, and not much else. She was so terrified when she ran that I never thought I could forgive myself, but it served her to escape. We were close to Cyrodiil, and she ran for the border, I thought it would be suitable for her to hide in with the woodland.

Ariel looked up again, "After that, I was banished from the coven for betraying them. I put them under threat by releasing Sabine, they said. I still had the deed to the shop in Vos, however, so I didn't lose everything." Ariel took a deep breath, "And that is all. I cannot explain away what I did. I don't expect any forgiveness either. I just want to make sure she's safe."

With that, Sabine scrunched her eyes shut and began to transform back into Breton form. Once she was finished, she looked at Ariel with the same beady stare she always had. She was unsure what to make of it all, knowing that it was her sister all along that had released her, and that she had sacrificed her life with the coven for it. "Ariel..." Sabine said without any indication of judgement one way or another.

Ariel still couldn't look at Sabine. "Sister. I am sorry."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ariel nodded. From pockets, both hidden and apparent on her robe, she pulled four different kind of potions, a satchel containing a few ingredients, a dagger tha she had done well to hide up her sleeve but had no qualms about putting down now, and finally a scroll. She had her own shoulderbag, like Sabine did, but it was larger, and when she placed it on the ground, it clinked as if it contained similar equipment to what Sabine used regularly. She hesitated before slipping off her robe, obviously not used to being threatened as such. All that was left were her fur boots, which she took off as well, and her undergarments, which didn't appear to hold anything.

Janius was right, this woman is the spitting image of Runt, Fendros thought, why would she risk coming out here after scarring Runt's mind so?

The robe that the Argonian woman passed her was smelly and bloodied, but if it was the price of gaining this pack's trust, and of her life, she would bear it. After she dressed the robe over herself, Ariel put her hands up again. "I won't do anything, I promise." She said, "I didn't come here to harm anyone." It was then that Ariel thought of something to at least try and convince the leader of the group, "If I intended harm, I would not have come alone. Anyone who knows about werewolves would be dead if they tried to attack a whole pack on their own." Ariel's voice was still fast, but it seemed as though she had calmed herself from the shock of the initial alarm. "Please, with all the werewolves in the city, I thought that maybe Sabine was among them. I had to know."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine backed down, snapping and growling at Ariel, fuming.

Ariel had kept her hands where they could be seen, slowly she moved to take out the glowing vial that she had decided to store in a pocket of her robe, the rope attached to the vial was tied around her wrist. "I'm dropping my tracking vial," Ariel said, lowering the vial to the ground and sliding the looped rope off her wrist and onto the ground and shaking with fear. "Just I came to see if my sister was well. I know- I know that she likely has told you of what happened in the Vos Witches Coven, but you must understand, that was not within my control." Ariel nervously said, hoping dearly that the pack would not strike, "I did what I was told, the other witches and I, we were meant to find a cure. At the time we thought it was for the best, but with the suffering it was causing her, I had to break her out of the coven and send her into Cyrodiil. It was the only thing I could do for her." Her words were fast and frantic, she didn't seem at all like the nightmare that Sabine had described, just a witch who was looking for her sister, "I was worried... Sabine has always been an anxious girl. Please, please don't kill me."

With what Ariel said, Sabine's anger in her wolf form seemed to calm. She didn't transform back just yet, but there was a new detail in her mind that she had either previously forgotten or was completely unaware of. If anything, Sabine looked conflicted, even slightly sad.

The Hallows Inn

The introductions were reciprocated. The cheerful dwarf was named Caelyn, and appeared to make liberal use of his mouth. The lizard man, Arco, was indeed a paladin as Leo suspected, though not to a god that he was familiar with. The paladin concept seemed to carry over from his impression of them in any case. The fae was named Rye. She didn't talk at all.

Leopold was not nearly as enthused by the dwarf's story as this paladin seemed to be. Maybe it was just the lack of patience in wanting to seek the help of the little fae, but a sense of fun which didn't encompass listening to tipsy dwarves was likely an influence. Leo thought he'd never shut up by the time he lifted his mug in a toast to his 'madre'.

It was with no small appreaciation, then, that the hulking great paladin brought the subject of the conversation back to something that Leo could deal with. Arco explained the circumstances that he had met Rye and pointed out that her condition was in fact what its appearance implied; unhealthy. It was no wonder, some alchemist had decided that he would do away with conventional means of finding out whether a plant was poisonous and use the poor creature as his own personal taste tester. Disgusting behaviour by all accounts. Arco put the request to help Rye as an offer, but with his eyes fixated on the fae, Leo saw it more as a challenge.

"I'll take a look at you right now, Rye," Leo said, reaching into his knapsack and pulling out a leather envelope of various tools and implements, untying and opening up the array of strangely shaped components.

Out of one section Leo took a small pebble of granite with a number of runes etched into its side. "I need you to hold still for a moment," Leo ordered, as he held the stone between his thumb and his forefinger and guided a spell with his other hand to flow some kind of signal into the runestone. It felt awkward using a tool made for someone closer to his size than a fairy. "Now fae, from what I've read are very magical in nature, so..." Leo trailed off as a few of the runes started to glow, "Ah, they are that magical." Leo said before shifting the fingers of his other hand to direct the spell in a new way. Quickly, all of the runes began to shine brightly. "...Oh, I've not seen that before..." Leo mumbled to himself. "That means treatment would have to be in the form of a somatic lattice to induce a change in the ether flux of this body. Any direct physical interference might not even register at all, let alone may cause damage to the hyperxactial formation, but on such a small scale? Hmm..." Leo's mumblings only became more and more mysterious and theoretical that he barely made any sense by the time he actually got to a physical examination. To start off, he pulled out a short small lens tube that he used to get a better look inside people's ears to actually get a clear look at Rye in sufficient detail. Leopold began to ask a few questions that Rye could answer with a yes or a no as he tried to judge her state of health. Her being so intertwined with magic meant that he had to dip into theory he thought he'd never use in practice to diagnose her. "Open your mouth wide and try to say 'ah'," Leo finished with. From what Leo could see of Rye's throat through his lens tube, she was dreadfully inflamed, even looking at it was painful. After a few more questions, some relating to the different substances that the bad man had forced her to ingest, Leo put down his equipment and folded his fingers together.

"Well, it's about what you'd expect to get if you were to ingest what this man seemed to administer," Leopold explained to them all, "of course, Rye, you have attributes that have kept you alive, courtesy of your nature, and the man's... abilities. Most others would be dead if they took in the equivalent that you did. Now, not only does it hurt to talk, you can hardly even move your vocal chords." Leo made gestures with one hand, "I would say that the grennenroot twig that this man tried to get you to swallow scratched the inside of your throat, causing a damaging paralysis to your nerves there. Very inflamed. The good news is, I can help with that. As for the other physical ailments you have, they may last a while, but as long as you aren't eating any more poisons and you lead a healthy lifestyle, they should eventually fade on their own." Leo then shrugged, "Of course, much of that would be on assumption that your case is typical. I have not properly treated a fae before, only studied their physiology in books and such. With the magic you have in you, Rye, it may just by a matter of finding a magical leyline to rest underneath for a night once I get that grennenroot scratch closed up. There is probably one somewhere under or around the inn, judging by the power this place has, but I cannot pinpoint it easily." Placing both palms on the table in front of him, Leo looked in close to the fae, "Now then, would you like me to begin the treatment for your throat? It shouldn't take longer than fifteen minutes and a little sting every now and then, but I'll deal with the inflammation as well." Leo's to-the-point tone through his entire diagnosis gave off the air that Rye didn't really have a choice in the matter, even though he omitted repeating the detail on just how small of a scale Leo would have to invoke his magic, meaning that he would have to concentrate hard through the entire treatment.