[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[Muttonhawk]

Fendros continued to sit with Ahnasha, bathing in the feeling of being close to her. He thought maybe he had fallen for her simply because he felt he had a responsibility to her as mother of his child, but as he got to know her Fendros found that she was everything he wanted to be, and then some. Clever, easygoing, brave, skilled. Her character exposed a beauty that went beyond his opinion of Khajiit in general. Sitting where he was, he felt as if nothing else mattered.

Moments passed as they watched the world. Soon enough they would need to start investigating the city, but he wanted to make this moment last. First, though, Fendros spotted something from across the camp that was out of the ordinary. "Ahna, over there, what's wrong with Runt?" Fendros pointed over to where Meesei and Runt were conversing. It was one thing to see Runt actually talking as much as she was, but quite another to see just how distressed she looked.

---

While there was noticeable relief from Sabine at being delegated the task of guarding the camp, she didn't answer Meesei's inquiries immediately. Whether it was by guilt at Meesei's words or some other apprehension from old memories, Sabine broke her stare and looked away from Meesei's face. It looked as if she wanted to just escape like she always did at times like these. This time, something was different. "A witch." Sabine began, her words small and quiet, "She hates us. She hates me. She is dangerous."

Expressing sudden worry, Sabine looked at Meesei again and took her by the arms. "Don't go near her! Please!" She pleaded.

[EliteCommander]

"Hmm, no idea. I'll admit, she's a strange girl. Clever, but reclusive. You probably know as much about her as I, and I've known her for over a year. She opens up to Meesei though, well, at least open by her standards." Ahnasha whispered to Fendros. From the conversation, it seemed like there was someone in Vos that Runt knew, which was especially odd. It seemed to indicate that Runt had lived in or around Vos at sometime in the past, or had at least been in the area. It was the most about her past that she had revealed, albeit unintentionally.

---

Meesei maintained a stern expression, though she was careful not to appear angry. "Well, what does she look like? I'll need to know if I'm to avoid her. Anything you can tell us will make this task safer for all of us." She said, appealing to Sabine's desire to keep the pack safe. She knew that the girl did not like to speak to others for any extended duration, but Meesei needed as much information as she could get.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine clenched her jaw in frustration, she evidently didn't want this to be so hard, why couldn't the Alpha just know? Still holding onto Meesei, she blinked a couple of times, recollecting. "Your height..." Sabine took one hand off Meesei and held a lock of her own hair frizzy, "hair, this colour. Straight, worn in-" she used both hands and held her hair in up in a bun, "-like this, held with two sticks." She let go of her hair, not looking directly at Meesei, and crossed her arms nervously, "blue eyes, dull blue eyes." Sabine shook her head, worked up more than before, "please don't go near her."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei looked at Sabine, judging her expression for a few moments. It seemed like she had gone far beyond her normal comfort zone, and Meesei was willing to relent on her questioning for the moment. She wanted to know who this person was and how Sabine even knew her, but that was not critical at the moment. Perhaps she would be able to coax it out of her later. "Very well. I will trust you to keep our belongings safe tomorrow. It is highly unlikely, however, that we will end up fighting the Orc without us all being together. I doubt he is careless enough to be found in a public place, so we will need to track him to his hideout. Make sure to be prepared to leave, in case we return and you need to leave in a hurry."

[Muttonhawk]

After Meesei finished talking, Sabine nodded vigorously. Lifting one of her heels and looking desperate to leave. It took Janius and Lorag approaching from their activity of beating the ash and dirt from most of the pack's bedrolls for Sabine to fully retreat. "What's the commotion?" Janius asked as Sabine emitted what sounded like a small, frustrated squeal through her nose and darted away. She stopped and sat down where she had set up her alchemical tools, hiding most of herself behind her cloak and continuing with her previous brew, withdrawn from the world. Janius and Lorag looked on, puzzled. "I've never seen her act like that before," Janius commented.

From across the camp, Janius detected Fendros looking at him and turned towards he and Ahnasha. Janius turned his right palm to face upwards, then pointed to Sabine, effectively asking Fendros if he knew about the issue. If it was a sensitive matter that Janius missed, he wanted to make sure that he didn't say something inappropriate, a habit that had been assisted by Fendros at some points. Fendros' eyes quickly looked to the lump of hides that contained Sabine, then back to Janius with the same puzzled expression, and held out both of his hands with a shrug. Janius turned to Meesei, opting that it would be harmless enough to ask about the issue, "what's going on?"

[EliteCommander]

"Sabine seems to believe that the apothecary in town is someone she knows, and someone we should avoid." Meesei answered. "I did not ask how she knows this, but she gave me a description of the individual. She says she is dangerous, so I suppose we should avoid her. Sabine will be staying here to guard the camp while we search for the Orc. I will question her later regarding this Breton apothecary, but we have the important information for now, and I do not wish to stress her too greatly."

Meesei was not convinced that Sabine was being entirely truthful. She believed that Sabine certainly believed they should avoid her, but it was her reason behind it that was suspect. Meesei did not know if this Breton was truly dangerous, or if there was another, more personal reason Sabine would want to avoid her. Either way, unless this apothecary was directly involved with the Orc they were hunting, there would be no reason for them to approach her, so it was not vital that Meesei know the reason behind Sabine's fears at the moment.

[Muttonhawk]

"Right," Janius said slowly. He hardly imagined that Runt would have any connections this far out. He didn't know that she had any connections at all outside of the pack. Judging by Runt's retreat from them all, there didn't seem to be anything else to do about it.

Janius returned to finish his own activities and the last of the sun disappeared for the day. When the time came to eat, Sabine did not join the rest of the pack until she was effectively ordered to. Even then she somehow seemed more withdrawn than ever. As they were all tired from travel it wasn't a late night for any of them. Everyone was in their bedrolls straight after dinner, save for Janius, who opted to take the first watch. Staying close for virtually the rest of the evening up until then, Fendros mustered the courage to give Ahnasha a goodnight kiss on the cheek before they parted for their own bedrolls. He fell asleep with his thoughts dominated by her.

In the morning, they all dressed up in their civil clothes again in preparation for venturing into Vos. Fendros felt in his element after breakfast, as he formulated a rough idea of where he might start. The obvious choice would be the tavern, custom there would probably be light in the mornings, giving a little space with the barkeep to answer some questions. If there were any beggars in town, he might have some luck giving them some coins in case they had spotted any orc hunters passing through. He would just have to keep an eye out for that apothecary that Runt described. He didn't quite know what to make of it, but he trusted Runt in it being bad news.

[EliteCommander]

As soon as Meesei awoke, she ate her breakfast of kwama eggs and began to prepare for their visit to the city. She dressed herself in the clothing she had purchased on the mainland, which consisted guarhide shoes and a blue Dunmer-styled dress, which, like most clothing in the region, had a hood for use in ashstorms. The fabric itched against her scales and she found it generally unpleasant to wear, but it was necessary. Lorag styled himself as a bodyguard and, as such kept his iron armor and hammer. Fortunately, they would be able to keep their weapons in the city, as it was not at all unusual for travelers to be armed while making their way across the expanse of the ashlands. It would be more strange if they were all completely unarmed.

Ahnasha remained close to Fendros during breakfast. He could not look at her without her returning a smile. Unfortunately, they would need to avoid displaying their relationship in any form once in the city, as relationships between Dunmer and Khajiit were anything but common. It was unlikely to cause any sort of violent reaction from the locals, but they needed to avoid having any special attention brought on themselves.

Once everyone was ready and gathered around the campfire, Meesei addressed the group. "We must be careful while in the city. We do not know who this Orc has the ears of. It would be unwise to directly ask about him, as it may alert him that he is being tracked. Even worse, the information we receive could lead us into an ambush. If you ask the locals anything, try to avoid mentioning the Orc directly. As about local events, or perhaps steer a conversation about native creatures into one about local hunters. Never bring him up directly. Keep in mind that there may very well be other lycans here as well after the same quarry. It should be easy to smell them, but they can just as easily identify us. They are not likely to attack us, but neither will they help us. Still, we may be able to use their presence to our advantage. Just keep an eye out for opportunities."

[Muttonhawk]

With Meesei's briefing, everyone seemed to be ready. Fendros wore his sword, shield and purse, but decided to keep his chitin armour at camp in favour of the civilian clothing that had kept while they were traveling; flaxen breeches, green and brown shirt, leather loafers and a woolen scarf. These clothes would be less of a threat than his armour, especially important if he was going to be doing much of the talking, and he wouldn't be running the risk of anyone recognising the armour if the smugglers had passed through the area recently. The rules of engagement would likely be the same as when they went into other cities, with the camp being the rally point if they needed to disperse in times of trouble. The last thing that Fendros wanted was to be split up from the group. In a treacherous time and place like this, he had it in his head that to be caught alone could mean death by opportunistic packs, or worse. As long as they stuck together, there shouldn't be too much to worry about.

Their first stop, Fendros decided, would be the tavern. They would do well in the part of travelers if this was their first destination, and such a subject as travel could be an opening with the barkeep.

After they rose and started towards Vos, Fendros took Ahnasha aside for a moment and held both of her hands in his. There was one thing he needed to be clear about before being seen by anyone. Her smile was infectious as ever, but he made an effort to look serious. "Ahna, Meesei might have told you this as well and... this might seem strange, but... inside the town it would be dangerous for us to show affection," Fendros kept his voice soft and sincere, "my kind aren't very open with Khajiit and other beast races in general, you must understand."

[EliteCommander]

"I was about to say the same thing to you. As much as I hate it, we need to avoid drawing any sort of attention to ourselves. We already have enough of a disadvantage being such a...diverse group of people. Our hearing is better than your average mortal, though, especially mine." Ahnasha said, twitching her sizable ears slightly. "We should be able to stay out of sight and out of mind and listen in to what others have to say."

Ahnasha glanced over and saw that the others were already beginning to make their way out of camp, so she quickly threw her arms around his neck and kissed him for a few seconds. "And I certainly look forward to being able to do that again." She said with a chuckle before letting go of him and catching up with the rest of the group.

It was not a long walk to Vos, as they had made camp within sight of the city. Its tall, Imperial-styled walls masked the Dunmer city within. Unlike cities in Cyrodiil, the gates remained open unless there was a specific reason to close them, so they were able to walk inside with no issue, other than the Redoran guards, clad in bonemold armor, eyeing them down as they passed by. The buildings and structures inside the walls were made in traditional Dunmer styles from traditional materials. Though the buildings were made from clay, they were surprisingly strong. Perhaps not to the extent of the stone walls, but they were in no danger of collapsing. Meesei had no real desire to remain within any city for long, but the scholar within her had to admit that the architecture was fascinating.

[Muttonhawk]

The pleasant surprise of a kiss caused Fendros to keep still for a moment after Ahnasha went to catch up with everyone. So do I. A smile formed on his face and he ran to catch up with them all before he was going to be shouted along.

In the settlement of Vos itself, Fendros felt every single eye they passed inspecting them all. It made him wonder why they bothered trying not to attract attention in the first place. As planned, Fendros' first destination was the tavern, which thankfully was not difficult to find. Along the way he kept his eyes peeled for beggars. Back in Cheydinhal, you couldn't do anything in public without old Lute-Throat or Smelly Harry finding out. As the principle paupers of the town, they lived comparatively comfortably on the street as long as there were residents who wanted to know gossip. Here, though, he only spotted one thus far. A figure in tattered clothing slept at the base of a general store, sheltering under its wide eaves. He looked like a Dunmer. Fendros kept a mental note to find this man later.

The tavern Fendros found was compact, like some of the old houses, but multi storied, and extended. It looked almost as if it had used to be someone's house until renovated into an inn. A sign hung above the door with a finely painted little humanoid creature curled up in a pile of hay with its eyes closed and a grin on its face. Words on the sign read the Sleepy Scamp. When Fendros tried to open it, the door was unlocked. Good, we're not here too early, it seems.

"Greetings, strangers." A tired and decidedly unenthusiastic voice sounded from behind the bar. It was spoken by a Dark Elf woman with grey hair and plain clothing, she had bags under her eyes and didn't look up from her large book. Presumably, the book was a ledger or something. Fendros entered and looked to the corners of the room, it seemed like the place was completely empty this morning. "Ah, greetings," Fendros said, placing his hands on the top of the bar near the woman, "I was just wondering if, perhaps, my companions and I might be able to reserve rooms tonight? We've traveled much of the night, and are staying here for a time."

The barkeep looked up at Fendros, then leaned to one side to have a look at the pack. "Apologies, young master, but the only room I have available currently is the stable," her voice seemed slightly venomous, "I presume these are your... companions?"

Fendros, trying not to take to heart her disrespectful tone, responded. "Correct! Though, business partners might be more appropriate. We're in the hide and leather trade, you see. Imperial fashion tends to undulate in various directions, and this time the creatures of this area wear the skin of what is in, if you will."

The woman chuckled and put down her quill, "that would explain the Imperial s'wit accent and the dregs you dragged in with you. Look, I don't sell hides here, much less to the kind of people you're with. What do you want?"

"We won't bother you much longer," Fendros said, feeling his already thin welcome evaporating, "I would just like to know if there are any hunters in the area who might have anything for sale."

"Looks like timing is not on your side. I had two groups of hunters over the past week. One checked out two days ago, another this morning." The woman raised her brow, "now is that all the business you had, or do I need to throw you to the general store where they actually sell hides?"

Fendros put up both of his hands, "that will be all, thank you. You have been most helpful."

The woman let out a disbelieving pfft as they all walked out of the door. Once out of earshot of the barkeep, Fendros furrowed his brow. "What a horrid woman," he commented, "well, now we can either find that vagrant we saw on the way in or try the general store, I think. Where first?"

[EliteCommander]

Meesei and the others said nothing as Fendros spoke to the innkeeper, preferring instead to remain silent and listen for any hint of information she might drop. Unfortunately, she had little of useful information, other than the mention of other hunters who came through her inn. Those could have been allied to the Orc, or they could have been lycans, or perhaps simple hunters. Regardless, without any sort of hint as to where they went, the information was not useful.

Once out of the inn, Meesei stuck close to Fendros and listened to his suggestions. She did not wish to deal with the beggar. Coin could make him give them any information they wanted, but the same privilege applied to any willing to pay him. It could be that the Orc and his hunters could make use of informants such as the beggar as well. "We will go to the general store. I do not trust the beggar." Meesei whispered before leading the group along in search of the general store. She did not speak Dunmeri, but fortunately, she understood the Daedric script they used in their signs and was able to recognize which of the buildings was the general store.

As usual, the storekeeper and a few of the customers turned their attention to them when they entered the store, but quickly returned to what they were doing before. Meesei showed no reaction as she entered, letting Fendros take the lead, but there was one thing she identified the very moment she stepped inside the building, a scent that was unmistakable for those who could identify it: a lycan. There was no denying it, one of the "customers" in the store was a werewolf, likely with the same goal as themselves. She simply needed to determine which one it was.

[Muttonhawk]

When Fendros stepped into the general store, he hesitated and looked around. There were a few customers present, browsing the various wares. Amongst them was a smell he recognised as lycan. Trying not to compromise himself and the group, he continued slowly to the counter, eying the merchandise on display. Hanging on a rack near to the counter were a number of pelts that looked like they had been recently cleaned. At least the innkeeper wasn't lying.

"Hello there, travelers! Welcome to my store, is there anything I can help you with?" The portly Dunmer shopkeeper spread his arms wide from behind the counter, it was likely that even if he was as bigoted as the innkeeper his business would probably fail without a necessary variety in customers.

Fendros smiled back to him and addressed him with his accented Dunmeri, "Greetings. These pelts over here-" Fendros pointed to the rack nearby, "-are these the only ones you have for sale?"

"Well I have a number drying out in the store room but they won't be ready for a number of days. Uhh, these are the only prepared ones I have for sale at the moment," The shopkeeper weaved his fingers together as he explained.

"Ah, recently had hunters come by, have you?" Fendros said, glad that so far his ploys had worked. He glanced to one side for an instant to check on what patrons he could keep track of. He would have to be extra careful now that there was another lycan among them. Any information disclosed here would reach another pack as well.

The shopkeeper nodded, "As a matter of fact I have. A number of hunters have passed by recently to sell pelts. There must be rich game in the area, quite good for business, if I do say so myself."

Oh, you have no idea how correct you are, Fendros thought. "So... what kind of hunters have been passing by? Do they hunt large game, or keep small?"

"Hmm, a variety of pelts, but mostly large game by the looks. There isn't much small game to be had in these parts in the first place, if you don't count the rats." the shopkeeper furrowed his brow and tilted his head slightly, "if I may, why do you ask?"

"Of course. My partners and I, as you can probably tell, are from Cyrodiil." Fendros gestured with his palm to the pack, "we hear that there are a number of creatures in these parts that bear materials that are in fashion in the Imperial Provence presently. We are in the business of procuring those materials." Fendros raised his brow and angled his head forward, trying to play the part, "Tailors, to an extent."

"Ah," the shopkeeper grinned and put an index finger to the side of his nose, "so you wish to deal with the hunters directly? Broker a deal to minimise cost to yourself?"

"I can see you are a well versed businessman," Fendros replied, "but we do not wish to undercut your business first and foremost. You may have some of what we require."

"Go on."

"Thick, large pelts of wolf fur. Dark, if at all possible. Black is best." At this point Fendros was concerned that he was running out of subtlety, but this was the best method he could think of, and it was better than bringing it up directly.

The shopkeeper rubbed his chin, "Hmm... I might have one in storage. Give me a moment." The shopkeeper disappeared through a door behind him.

When the shopkeeper was out of sight, Fendros exhaled. He realised that his heart was beating hard and his hands were shivering slightly. He turned around and looked to everyone else, silent. He wondered whether they had anything to add, but it was unlikely while there were other customers in the store. Speaking of, Fendros scanned the various customers, trying not to make eye contact, but trying to locate any of them that were out of place. The smell of lycan still hung in the room. With a sudden idea, Fendros decided to gamble and try and provoke a reaction from the customers. "I told you we should have talked to that Orc we crossed paths with this morning," Fendros said to no one in particular in the pack, hoping that the group would catch on to his trick and play along, "you said he was a bandit, but he was loaded with the pelts we needed." Fendros let out a frustrated sigh, "he's probably miles to the south now, we'll never catch him."

[EliteCommander]

Just as before, Meesei was silent, observing the other customers for any sort of reaction to Fendros' words. Fortunately, it did not take much of a trained eye to spot the lycan, as he made himself known pretty easily on his own. A Redguard male walked close past the group towards the exit, locking eyes with Fendros as he neared. "Nice try." He said with an arrogant grin before exiting the shop.

Well, he is far from cautious. Meesei thought, immediately casting her gaze over to Ahnasha. Meesei nodded, to which Ahnasha nodded back, then walked around behind the group to obscure herself from any of the other customers. With a subtle motion of her hand and the faintest glow of magicka, she cast a spell of invisibility over herself and followed the Redguard outside.

"If we cannot track the predator, then we can track its prey." Meesei whispered, her voice almost inaudible to anyone without the exceptional hearing of a lycan. "Let us see if these pelts are what we are looking for, then find somewhere more private to...discuss this."

---

Though Ahnasha was invisible, she still followed the Redguard at a safe distance in case her scent gave her away. She continued along, staying out of the way of the crowd until the Redguards stopped at a stall in the market district. Taking the opportunity to get a better postition, Ahnasha scanned the environment until she found a likely spot to gain a foothold on the side of one of the buildings. With a run and a jump, Ahnasha latched onto the side of one of the shorter buildings and climbed to the top, with the bustling of the crowd hiding the noise she made. She repeated the process to climb to a taller building, which took just enough time for the Redguard to finish purchasing the supplies from the stall and continue on.

Now that she was out of sight, Ahnasha was able to weaken her invisibility down to a much less magicka-intensive chameleon spell. She followed along from rooftop to rooftop, though her dress made it more difficult than usual. She wished she could just discard the thing, but it was necessary for her to blend in. Eventually, she was able to stop when the Redguard ducked into an alleyway between buildings and met with what she presumed to be his pack. As expected, it was a rather diverse group of individuals, in this case seven of them. Ahnasha was out of sight on the building just above them, listening in on everything they said.

"Any luck?" A Bosmer woman asked as the Redguard approached.

"No, but I bought lunch." He responded, laying his bag down on the ground and opening it to reveal an assortment of meats. They each sat down, taking their own share of the uncooked meal. "I did discover that a new pack has arrived in the city, though."

One of the pack members, a large, Cathay-raht Khajiit grunted. Even sitting down, he towered over the rest, and the oversized warhammer on his back left little guesswork as to his fighting style. "Another one? This one believes we should hurry. Just find someone to pay off for our quarry's location. Too many hunters are competing for the same prize."

"Agreed, I am done being cautious. I will not let this opportunity pass me by because I was too afraid to act. If we find no evidence of the Orc by the end of the day, then we will find someone whose lips can be loosened with a bit of coin." An Altmer male responded. By his tone, he seemed to be the pack leader. Unlike many Altmer, he did not appear to be a mage and was instead well-built, with an axe on his hip and an elven shield on his back.

Ahnasha believed she had heard all she needed to hear, so she slid down off the other side of the building, cancelled her chameleon, and walked back out into the street, blending herself into the crowd as she left to find her pack once more.

[Muttonhawk]

It was the Redguard. Almost too easy. He didn't appear to be fooled by the complete ruse, but in hindsight Fendros believed that was to be expected. He and the pack smelled of lycan as well, after all. A slight pang of anxiety hit Fendros as Ahnasha walked out of the door to follow the Redguard. Trying not to think of his nightmares, he had to reassure himself that Ahnasha was well suited to the job. She would be fine.

The sound of a door opening behind Fendros caused him to turn around to face the counter again. The shopkeeper closed the door behind himself, holding in one hand a pelt of black fur. "This and few others I have drying in storage, is this what you were looking for?"

The shopkeeper extended the pelt to Fendros, who took it and inspected it. Looking closely, Fendros noticed that the hide had been cut to look like it came from a conventional wolf, but the scent of lycan was still on it. Along with the scent of the shopkeeper, as well as... something else. The hunters? "What do you think?" Fendros handed the pelt back to Meesei to see if she could glean a more accurate scent than he. Once she and any other interested pack members were done taking a look at it, Fendros handed the pelt back behind the counter. "This is indeed what we're looking for," Fendros said with a smile, "and you've done a sterling job processing them so far. Tell you what, we are going to be around for a few days, how long did you say these would take to be finished?"

"Three days," the shopkeeper returned the smile at a possible deal.

"Good! We will return when they are done and purchase them then." Fendros put his hands together, now that the Redguard is out of the way... "In the meantime, the one who sold these pelts to you, who is this hunter? Where might we find him... or her of course?"

[EliteCommander]

The shopkeeper shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. She is a Dunmer woman, but I do not know her name nor where she lives. I rarely see her around town." Meesei took note when the shopkeeper said the hunter selling the werewolf pelts was not an Orc male, but then again, if he had an entire band of werewolf hunters with him, then he probably wouldn't be the one performing the supply runs. It would make sense to use a Dunmer for the task, and the fact remained that someone was regularly selling werewolf pelts in the city.

"I suppose all there is to do is wait. We should find a place to stay." Meesei said to Fendros, keeping up the charade in front of the shopkeeper. After the Dunmer returned to the back room to put away the pelts, Meesei led the pack outside to search for a good spot to talk privately. It would be suspicious for them to leave and enter the city too many times, so they would need to find a place within the walls. They walked away from the bustling crowd of the market district and instead made their way to the poor district of town. The number of beggars rose dramatically, while the quality of the structures around them fell. The polish and beauty of the city disappeared, leaving only the basic functionality of the buildings...if even that. Some of them were structurally compromised, and others were abandoned entirely. Behind one of these abandoned buildings, Meesei was able to find a secluded enough place for them to talk.

"We have something, at least. If I had to guess, I would say that Dunmer woman is working with our quarry. There are a few options open to us for tracking them. We could wait in the city and keep a watch on the general store until the Dunmer returns again, but a better option might lie in that rival pack, depending on what information Ahnasha returns with." Meesei commented once she was sure they were away from any prying eyes.

[Muttonhawk]

The march to the slum was one that Fendros was wary of. He kept his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary, but with all of the beggars and shady types around he didn't think he could keep his eyes to all of the possible threats or informants. At least they found a somewhat out of the way place to discuss things.

Once out of the way, Janius was the first to reply to Meesei. "I say we cannot afford to wait around. If a rival pack got here before us, it's going to be likely that they have more information than us," Janius said with crossed arms.

There was a pause and Fendros stopped to think for a moment. "Well, now that we know that there is at least one other pack in the area, do you think the hunters might know that we're here? I know the other lycan probably just smelled us, but would the hunters have some method of detecting us within the city?"

[EliteCommander]

"Nothing other than normal investigative methods, to my knowledge." Meesei responded. "I believe there may exist some magic that can identify us, but they would need to examine us directly. That does not mean they are unaware of the presence of the other packs, however. That Redguard was being far from cautious. That may present us with an opportunity, however. Depending on what information Ahnasha recovers, we may be able to use them to get to the Orc.

"That would be correct, Alpha." A familiar voice said as it rounded the corner. Ahnasha approached the group, having tracked them from the market district. Since she was so familiar with all of their scents, it was a trivial matter to follow them. "That Redguard led me straight to his pack. There are seven of them, led by an Altmer male. No one I recognized, but I would not call him a wise individual. I overheard them saying that they intended to find someone to pay off if they found nothing by the end of the day."

Meesei crossed her arms and let out a sigh. "Unwise indeed. Anyone who knows of the Orc's location likely is already under his influence. Vos is his territory, so caution is the only way to approach this. Still...there may be opportunity hidden in their recklessness. If this pack does manage to bribe someone for information, then we can simply stay out of sight and follow them. If they are led to the Orc's lair, then we can compete to kill him first. If they are led into an ambush, then we can again stay out of sight and follow the hunters back to the lair. Does anyone else have any other suggestions?" Meesei asked. Although the final decision rested with her, she was always sure to listen to the advice of her pack members.

[Muttonhawk]

With a small sense of relief, Fendros smiled as Ahnasha returned. The information was good news, an opportunity for strangers to be the decoys for what traps that would inevitably be set for them. "As reckless as they seem, I don't think we should underestimate them," Fendros added, "they know we are here, and if we could pick up on their scent in the store, then following them through crowded streets may be difficult." Fendros looked away, "However, I don't really see any other way to do it."

Janius leaned the knuckles of one hand on his chin in thought, "I don't know whether I'm just being too cautious, but I sincerely hope that this pack we're going to follow isn't in the hunter's employ." Janius shook his head, "it's hard to believe, but... I don't know, my gut believes it enough." He looked up at the pack, "We also have something of a lead in the apothecary. Runt said that she hated 'us', I presume meaning lycans, perhaps there is a connection to our target?"

Fendros pulled a worried expression, "Janius, she seemed very upset by it. I think we should heed her warning."

"I suppose," Janius said, tilting his head to one side, before straightening up, ready to move. He stayed where he was in case anyone else had something to say, but it appeared that their course was set for the moment.

[EliteCommander]

"I can say with confidence that these lycans do not serve our quarry. My vision with HIrcine revealed this Orc to be a staunch enemy of lycans. As for the apothecary, we may need to find her if our plan with the rival lycan pack does not work, but I would like to avoid her if at all possible, at least until I know more about her. We will need to wait until the end of the day, then follow each member of rival pack, or at least as many as we can. Hopefully, they will find what they are looking for. Fendros, do you believe you will be capable of tracking one of the lycans alone, without giving away your position. The rest of us have plenty of experience with tracking, but I would like an honest assessment of your own abilities from you. If you do not think you are up to the task, you can accompany one of us." Meesei asked. As much as she wanted to grow Fendros' skills, the time for training has passed, at least for the moment. The consequences of this hunt were very much serious.