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

[EliteCommander]

"Oh, I knew you would be a fun one." Hal-Neesa grinned, staring Lunise in the eyes with her long fangs on display. "I shall ignore the fact that you brought a Thalmor into the heart of my home without my permission, mutt. Even I must admit, a relationship with the Dominion is not what I expected from you lycans, though I should hope that you are not so stupid as to give any actual support to the Dominion. Trust me when I say that every Dominion, from the first to the current, have been collections of some of the most vile fools to have ever walked on Nirn. There have never been any beings, not Molag Bal or Mehrunes Dagon, not Dagoth Ur or Clavicus Vile, who have posed a greater threat to the future of all mortals in every part of Aurbis than these idiotic Thalmor. They are children who understand just enough to make some of the stupidest mistakes possible."

As if it were her intent to anger Lunise as much as physically possible, Neesa stepped up beside Lunise and placed a hand firmly on her back while maintaining constant eye contact. "But I doubt you are smart enough to believe me, nor do you even understand how it is your masters intend to doom all mortals to eternal imperfection."

Despite her immensely insulting attitude and quite intentional goading, Meesei found herself most surprised by the implications of what Neesa was saying. It seemed to be that, somehow, the vampire already knew of the Thalmor's plot to destroy Mundus and return Mer to their supposed divinity. Something that they had made great efforts to keep secret for the time being.

[Muttonhawk]

Lunise took most of Neesa's incendiary words with a stony coolness. She looked ahead to avoid Neesa's eyes. When Hal-Neesa made physical contact, however, Lunise uncrossed her arms and breathed out sharply through her nose. Her eyes faltered just enough to tell Meesei just how hard she was trying to stay calm.

"You complain too much, vampire," Lunise said through her teeth. "I hope you act more against Clavicus Vile than you apparently ever will against us vile fools in the Dominion. The Thalmor would have accomplished nothing had they sat and withered in an old Argonian rock-pile all their lives, begging for the scraps of a Daedric Prince's power. Do you even still remember why you became what you are?"

[EliteCommander]

Neesa did not move her hand, nor did Lunise's words seem to have much affect on her aside from amusing her further, based on her grin. "You are lucky. I would be offended, were it not for the fact that I find your ignorance so funny. Indeed, you truly have no idea exactly how ignorant you are; how much the nature of this world, or myself, elude you."

The group reached the Silent City in a short time, though Neesa was too engrossed with her conversation to pay much attention to it. She has showed some reaction upon arrival, but she was considerably less awestruck by the cavern than most visitors. As they headed up the stairs and into the courtyard, they were spotted by Ahnasha and Fendros, who had been awaiting their return. It was unusual enough that they were walking into the city, instead of taking a portal to the courtyard as Meesei would usually have done, but the sight of Hal-Neesa was something that neither of them had certainly expected. And of course, Neesa paid little attention to them as well, even after they approached.

"Perhaps I should grace you with the honor of hearing some of my story?" Neesa continued. "It is a tale that could fill multiple libraries, but it might help you understand how wholly outmatched you are in this little exchange. And, if your skull is actually a little thinner than a daedric helmet, you might manage to learn something. Oh, but perhaps I should not be so hard on you. After all, you were disadvantaged from birth by being born into the Dominion. You don't look like you could be much older than the current iteration of them, at least. We actually have something in common, you know, with our disadvantaged births. Surprised? No, I wasn't always the superior being you see before you; I was once a naive, pathetic weakling of a mortal, hardly worth anyone's attention or respect. I was hatched in the city of Silyanorn, as a slave to Elves. Do you know what that is like, Thalmor? Being a slave to Elves? What one might learn from that experience?"

[Muttonhawk]

Lunise had nothing to say back to Hal-Neesa. She merely pursed her lips as another sign of her withering patience.

"...What?" Fendros was at first utterly dumbstruck at the sight of Neesa amongst the pack. He closed the distance between himself and Meesei at a jog and slowed to walk alongside her. "What happened?" He asked, before lowing his voice to an equally fearful as much as angry hiss. "What is she doing here?"

"Get to the heart of the matter, Argonian," Lunise requested, with just a hint of urgency. "If you intend to get anywhere at all."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei acknowledged Fendros and Ahnasha with a nod as they approached, though she had to keep one eye on Neesa and Lunise at all times. Logically, she doubted that either of them would be willing to resort to violence, considering that Molag Bal himself had instructed Neesa to serve cooperatively with them, but that did not stop Meesei from being worried. To give Meesei a chance to focus, Lorag stepped in close to Fendros and spoke at a whisper. "The short of it is that we got the axe empowered, with too many strings attached. Alpha managed to beat the vampire in a duel to get the Daedra's help, but then he made her tag along with us. You, uh, can see how well that's going."

Meanwhile, Hal-Neesa stopped her smiling for the first time since they started speaking, perhaps disappointed in the fact that Lunise had stopped giving in to her goading. The vampire finally took her hand off of Lunise so she could cross her arms. "Hmph, what, do you not appreciate my story? Are you suddenly now so reserved about the knowledge you gain? Well, it was a trick question regardless; I learned nothing of value from those slaving despots. Sure, I thoughts I did at the time, and for hundreds of years after, but all I really should have taken out of it was how little I mattered. If you want to be worth anything, you have to earn it. No, I was hatched a pathetic weakling who couldn't free herself on her own. I could only thank Alessia that I managed to live long enough to make something worthwhile out of myself."

Meesei raised her brow at the curious choice of phrasing that Neesa used; it was not how she expected a worshipper of Molag Bal to speak, certainly.

[Muttonhawk]

"Tag along with us?" Fendros lowered his brow and flicked his eyes between Neesa and Lorag. "Against Vile? I...I cannot believe this." He ran both hands back over his hair. "Who else knows?"

"No one else," Janius answered. "We're working on what to do next, okay? None of us are happy about it, not even her." He looked at the back of Neesa's head. "This could go either way."

Lunise regained a little composure when Neesa unhanded her. "All either of us should care about right now is whether that worth of yours shall prove itself in the upcoming invasion," Lunise said. Her tone was as dismissive as ever, though she gave Meesei a fleeting glance. That glance signalled that Lunise believed that something was not quite right about Hal-Neesa, beyond what they definitely knew. Exactly what that was would have to be conveyed in words between Lunise and Meesei.

[EliteCommander]

Hal-Neesa gave a brief huff. "Typical. Too stubborn and thick-headed to see what is right in front of you. Though, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given your youth and inexperience. Sometimes, it almost physically pains me to know that people like you have the same potential as myself. If your leaders don't end up throwing it all away, of course."

Again, Meesei found Hal-Neesa's words to be somewhat bizzare, considering her personality. She did not seem to be the type that would willingly admit to anyone's potential, much less for it to be equal to her own. Regardless, Meesei saw the look that Lunise gave her, and she had no particular desire to engage Neesa in conversation, regardless.

"We should get you situated here." Meesei finally interrupted. "We can deal with all of the details later, once I have spoken to my council."

Hal-Neesa quickly disregarded any response Lunise might have had as she turned her attention to Meesei. "Yes...I will require your finest room available. I had little hope for what that would mean coming here, but I suppose the fact that you are squatting in a Dwemer city will make it somewhat more comfortable."

"Well, I am afraid our finest rooms are already taken, but..." Meesei began, though she was quickly interrupted.

"Then kick them out." Neesa demanded, narrowing her eyes. Meesei was about to open her mouth once more when Lorag stepped up alongside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, I'll handle this, Alpha. You've done plenty already today; take a break." He suggested.

Meesei took in a long breath and took a moment to calm her mind. She doubted Lorag was keen on dealing with Neesa either, so he was probably offering purely out of sympathy for her. She agreed to Lorag with a silent nod while Neesa, without a word, snatched her bag out of Janius' hands. She started to leave without comment, though not without a few more judgmental glances towards Lunise.

Somehow, Meesei was looking even more uncertain about the situation than she had been before the axe was empowered. She had anticipated that Molag Bal's help would come with a price, but she had not expected that the help itself would be the price. "So..." Meesei began, though her words trailed off into uncertainty.

Ahnasha watched with no shortage of suspicion with every step that Neesa took away from them. "I don't think I need to say how much I don't like this."

Kaleeth had preferred to stay as quiet as possible with Neesa around, but she finally held up the axe, clutching it close to herself. "At least we have this...right?"

[Muttonhawk]

"Kaleeth is right," Sabine said. "Our tasks will be hard now. But, they are no longer impossible."

"What is Marod going to think of all this?" Fendros had a tightness to his shoulders as he glanced off in the direction Neesa left. "What are the other clan warriors going to think of this? We don't need any more reasons for this invasion to be tenuous-"

"-What was she trying just now?" Lunise cut in over all of their comments and left them silent. She was looking over in Neesa's previous direction before the vampire disappeared around the corner. "She knew I was out of place in that Xanmeer the moment she met my eyes. For most, it would have been enough to know who I was working for. But she was measuring me. Goading me." Lunise refolded her arms by habit. "I am unsure whether to conclude that her mention of Alessia and Silyanorn hints at her age going back to the days of the Ayleids. It is rather rich to believe."

[EliteCommander]

Lunise's comments said aloud much of what Meesei had been thinking about internally. Hal-Neesa seemed as strange as she was insufferable, and Meesei had difficulty reading into her intentions. Indeed, Lunise's observations also stirred up a few more questions in her mind. She motioned for the others to step in closer so they could speak more quietly as they headed indoors. "The Ayleids? I thought her phrasing was strange, but I suppose it would make more sense if she was being literal. But if her life goes all the way back to the Alessian Slave Rebellions, then she would be over...four thousand years old. At least. You are right that it is hard to believe."

Meesei paused as they moved through two large Dwemer doors, and she stayed quiet while they passed close to another group of lycans. It went without saying that they needed to keep this conversation private. Meesei would need to meet with her council as soon as she could, but their first task was to get the axe to their vault. It needed to be locked away securely. "But...it cannot be denied that she knows far more than we would have expected. The way she spoke about the Thalmor; it implies that she somehow learned of their ultimate goal of destroying Mundus, and supposedly returning themselves to divinity. It required a high-ranking Thalmor defector for us to learn of it, so I am not sure how she would know. And the way she phrased it was strange as well. She said the Thalmor would 'doom mortals to eternal imperfection.' That seems quite the opposite of becoming divine. Do you think it would be worth questioning her about it?"

[Muttonhawk]

Lunise emitted a short hum. She did not answer immediately.

"Even if she isn't as old as Saint Alessia's rebellion," Janius said as he lifted off his helmet. "She might have been old enough to encounter the Thalmor's goals before they took power." He held the helmet under his arm. "Of course, she have reasons to lie."

At that point, Lunise lifted her eyes. "I do think it is worth asking her," she said. "But I shall not be the one speaking to her. It is my belief that she wishes to hold over my head compromising information. I am not meant to know about the Thalmor's ultimate goals. This is a trap to have her tie strings around my wrists and tug at them."

"Wait," Fendros lowered his brow and tilted his head. "If you don't investigate her, would that not imply to her that you know what she speaks of already?"

"It may, but that is not the point," Lunise corrected. "She cannot prove I know. Indeed, my protocol would be to make her known to my superiors. But I am no mindless thrall; any move against her would not turn out well short of shipping across the most powerful mages in the Dominion. I shall not grant her any purchase to use me or the forces that the Dominion may send." She turned her head to Meesei. "But you, Meesei? Or...Sabine, perhaps? You would both be right and prudent to follow up her little invitation. That knowledge cannot harm you. But she may still seek to lie and harm you in other ways. Vigilance is necessary."

[EliteCommander]

Meesei considered Lunise's suggestion, though she could not be sure if Neesa's intentions were so straightforward. At least, they knew so little about the vampire that trying to assume her motivations was difficult. She could agree with Lunise that it would be wise to be cautious, however. "At the very least, a vampire cultist's word is not likely to be held in high regard among our allies. Unless she could prove that she gave you compromising information, it would just be the word of a servant of Molag Bal. We would certainly deny that she ever mentioned it. Of course, it would be preferable that she never speak to your superiors at all. Regardless of what you were or were not told, she could be damaging to an already tenuous alliance. Your argument for not speaking to her does make perfect sense, Lunise, and I do agree. But, I do still have a few worries. Unfortunately, it does seem like she has taken a special interest in you, Lunise, and it may simply be because of who you serve. She has been insufferable since the day we first met her, but she became twice as bad the moment she learned you were a Thalmor. If anything she said is true, then she has a genuine dislike of the Thalmor as an organization."

Meesei let out a sigh, rubbing her hand over her temple. "I am conflicted. It does seem to be the safe choice to speak to her without you, Lunise, but I worry what will happen if she catches on that we are intentionally keeping you away from her. She certainly does not shy away from starting trouble, and that might just motivate her. Nessa...the way she acts is strange. It is like she is...bored, almost. As if she is more concerned with keeping herself entertained than dealing with the threats we face, and like whole war we are fighting is no more than an irritant for her. Her arrogance is obvious, but it is hard to imagine anyone taking an invasion of Oblivion so lightly. But I do wonder if we can use that to our advantage? If we can keep her mind occupied with other things, entertain her, in a manner of speaking, then she might be less likely to cause trouble for us elsewhere."

[Muttonhawk]

"Now, I don't like the sound of that at all," Janius said with one narrowed eye. "You saw the ways she...ahem, entertained herself in that Xanmeer. Her tastes aren't exactly savoury."

Lunise rolled her eyes. "Janius, I believe Meesei was alluding to the fun she was having goading me into anger." She addressed Meesei again. "Playing that game with her is a dangerous approach no matter how you do it, Meesei."

"How long do you need to keep her occupied?" Sabine asked.

"For as long as it takes for the Dominion and Empire to stage their military commitments here." Lunise shifted uncomfortably.

[EliteCommander]

"So, too long, in other words." Meesei commented. "For the most part, we just need her to be content enough not to interfere with the Empire or Dominion. Neesa is irritating, but we can put up with her. Our allies may not be so patient. It would help if we knew more about her. She is an exceptionally powerful and possibly ancient vampire, but we really have no way of knowing how much of what she says is true. If she is really that old, then she likely would have seen or experienced anything we could possibly try to keep her occupied. Novel experiences are probably rare after four thousand years. I would suggest perhaps giving her the freedom to study some of the Dwemer mysteries present in this place, but she dismissed the idea that anyone should study them."

The group's conversation was interrupted when they reached the vault. It was deep underneath the Silent City, in a sturdily built room that the Dwemer might have used for the same purpose. The clan had applied their own enchantments to the door to bolster their security, and as such, Meesei went by herself to store away the axe. She was away for only a few minutes before returning, having thought of no new answers to their problems in the interim.

Ahnasha had been looking uncomfortable for the entire duration of their conversation. She stood somewhat back from the others, her arms crossed and her gaze down on the floor. "Look, I...know it's probably not a good idea to leave Neesa to herself for too long. Never mind how Lorag might be handling her. Knowing him, he might end up either starting a fight, or in bed with her. Not sure which would be worse. It's just that...I really don't want to be around that woman. I hated even having to look at her again. I know that she wasn't the one that hurt Rhazii, but it was because of her and her husband all the same. If you need my help with her, you have it, don't get me wrong. I'd just like to stay away from her if I can."

"That may be harder now that she is here; I doubt she will take kindly to us if we try to restrict where she can go. Nor would she obey if we tried. But, I'll try to keep you two apart." Meesei answered. "Who does feel that they could come with me to speak to our new guest? In any case, I plan to keep this staff on hand at all times. Neesa may be stronger than me, but not with the staff's power on hand."

[Muttonhawk]

The pack hesitated to answer. The whole situation remained uncomfortable.

"I shall accompany you, for now," Lunise said. "If only to give her more to think about."

"I'll go, too," Sabine added. She looked afraid, but kept giving the Staff of Magnus looks that betrayed where she was truly going to be calm about it all.

Janius gave Kaleeth a look and worried his brow. He turned his eyes to Meesei and breathed in. "I don't know how much help I'll be. I think I first want to let the boys know enough about this not to get curious."

"Me too," Fendros said tersely. He was looking at a nearby wall with frustration in his eyes.

[EliteCommander]

"I understand." Meesei nodded to Fendros and Janius. "It is fortunate that Rhazii was too young to remember anything about Neesa, but you may need to convince him of how dangerous she is. Believe me when I say that I do not relish the thought of her being so close to our families, but I think we should all keep in mind the alternative. If Vile wins, he will ultimately claim their souls. And our own."

While most of the pack was rightfully hesitant to want to be around Neesa, Kaleeth looked more uncertain. "I want to help, but is there anything I could really...do by coming with you?" She asked.

After a moment's thought, Meesei shook her head. "Unfortunately, not likely. If there was any danger from her, you would need magic resistance to help face her, but it would not likely be a good idea to have a 'friendly' conversation with her in full armor. But, I would appreciate it if you could go speak to the council and inform them of what transpired. I am sure we will need to have multiple meetings about all of this, but I suppose they should at least be able to start thinking about it."

With some dread in her eyes, Meesei sighed, then faced Lunise and Sabine. "Well, I suppose we should make sure our guest is settled. Hopefully, there has not already been a disaster."

---

Meesei did know approximately where Lorag would have taken Neesa, since they did have rooms that were usually set aside for guests from other clan, though she did not know which specific room on the floor Lorag would have selected. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, it was not terribly difficult for them to discern where they had gone from Neesa's muffled voice barking out orders through the walls.

If there was some good news, it was that Neesa had not already turned violent. Although, when Meesei and the others stepped in the room, they found she was practically tearing it apart as she examined every detail. She had opened up every one of the Dwemer drawers, cupboards, and other containers, and half of their contents were floating telekinetically around her. She seemed to show no trouble precisely manipulating multiple objects at a time, all while complaining towards Lorag. "Forks? Why are there drawers full of forks? In my room? What am I going to do with a Dwemer fork, much less five of them? And these floors, they simply won't do. I loathe walking on stone barefoot. I shall require a few rugs, and new blankets while you're at it. My preference is in Khajiit quilts, but I suppose Altmer cloth is an acceptable substitute. How much of this are you getting, Orc?"

Lorag, standing in the corner with his arms crossed, replied quite tersely. "None."

Neesa sighed. "Of all the..." She mumbled before her attention finally fell upon Meesei, Lunise, and Sabine. Of course, she did not care to actually greet them. "You Altmer tend to have decent heads on your shoulders, can you remember any of this?"

[Muttonhawk]

Lunise was braced enough to behold Neesa's behaviour, if curious at the many floating articles in the room. Being abruptly singled out caught her silent for a moment. She turned incredulous before lightly shaking her head. "This is no palace, Hal-Neesa," Lunise said. "Are you quite alright?"

Meanwhile, Sabine couldn't take her eyes off the forks slowly hovering in various directions. Power was one thing, controlling this many objects through telekinesis took skill. Neesa made it look impossibly easy.

[EliteCommander]

As they spoke, Hal-Neesa walked around the room, sorting through all of the items she found and levitating those she did not want into a pile on one of the tables. She used her hands or magic interchangeably, and with apparently equal effort. "It is no palace right now. At their height Dwemer cities were the envy of nearly every other place on Nirn. They had more of a taste for stone than suits my taste, true, but their power, their technology, granted the Dwemer a standard of living unmatched by any civilization of their day. They held greater power over the the Earth Bones than any people before them, or any that have lived since. Had they mastered tonal manipulation to enough of an extent to bring it to bear in combat, they would have dominated all of Nirn, without question. Massive underground cities, automatons to serve their whims, they were a people far ahead of their time."

Suddenly, Neesa stopped in her thoughts for a few seconds, setting down the last of the items she was levitating and settling her gaze onto Meesei. "And on that topic, I know I saw non-hostile automatons on the way here. Have you...no, why would I even ask? You have not unlocked the secret to their creation; that would require at least some mastery of tonal manipulation, and you certainly have not approached that level of knowledge. Far more likely is that you managed to find some of their control rods, though that would require some luck to find the automatons they are bound to. Perhaps...you reactivated an animonculory, then? That would not be beyond your capabilities, if it were not damaged. Of course, with your level of knowledge, that would mean..."

Neesa's voice trailed off for a moment, though she spoke again before anyone else could get in a word. "I demand you take me to one of the machines."

Neesa's demanding tone was, as ever, far from endearing. Meesei gave a wary glance to Sabine and Lunise, unsure if there would be some danger in giving her what she asked for. Of course, if she was going to stay in the city, then it would be quite impossible to keep her away from the automatons. With that in mind, there was no point in denying her. "Very well, it should not be difficult to find one on patrol. Just follow us." She replied, motioning for the others to follow her out the door.

[Muttonhawk]

While Neesa's lectures and orders were hardly pleasant in their delivery, Lunise followed along willingly. She was simply relieved that Neesa was no longer focussing so intently on her.

Meanwhile, at the back of the procession, Sabine's small voice began. "The...scholars here, they have been studying the Dwemer since we arrived here," she said cautiously. "You speak as if you know much more. Did you study the Dwemer yourself?" She hesitated. "Have you met any?"

[EliteCommander]

"Met them?" Neesa replied, a chuckle following a grin that formed across her face. "I married one. My first husband, Curac. I believe I mentioned him before? He was a passionate, brilliant man; a full-fledged tonal architect. Though, he was something of a black sheep to his fellow Dwemer. He would have to be, to run off, become a scion, and marry an Argonian. He never rejoined them after running off with me, not that they would have given him the option. But, he did not stop his research, and I put my best effort into helping him. The man was too kind to admit to me how useless I probably was working on a subject as daunting as tonal manipulation. I was still a young, naive little lizard, hardly a few hundred years old. One who had her sights set on learning the power of the Dwemer. At least until my husband disappeared, at which point I, uh, re-evaluated my priorities." She explained, adding another chuckle at the end.

Meesei had to make some effort to hide her skepticism. The story she told seemed fantastic, not even the least reason being how ancient it would make her. It was true that vampires were immortal, but it was still highly unlikely for one to survive for so long. Even without disease or hunger to concern her, Neesa would certainly have encountered many dangers in that time. Granted, they had all witnessed firsthand how difficult she was to kill.

Meesei did her best to keep her tone neutral. "So you say you walked among the Dwemer at the height of their Empire? And not only that, you studied their magic with a tonal architect?"

Neesa glared at Meesei and scoffed. "Magic? It is an insult to even call it that. Do you have any concept of what tonal manipulation even is? Any hints from all your 'research'? Anyone?"

[Muttonhawk]

No one had a good answer for Neesa. Lunise was not at all interested in giving her an excuse to chide, whether she knew anything about the Dwemer or not. Sabine was not a scholar of the Dwemer herself, though she was close to one who was. Karl had taught her a thing or two. Though even that was not enough.

"They did not leave much to go on," Sabine said. She spoke to defend her partner's discipline of study more than express knowledge. "Records are either stricken, damaged, or too incomplete to be useful. If you were close to and studied under a Dwemer, you likely know more than most Dwemer scholars across the world."